From PCOS to Pregnancy: The Journey That Changed My Practice

If you've spent any time with me during a prenatal visit, you've probably noticed that I like to talk about more than just your baby's growth or your blood pressure.

I ask about nutrition, sleep, stress, movement, and the products you use in your home. I want to know how you're feeling as a whole person, not just how your pregnancy is progressing.

That wasn't always my approach.

Like many women, I spent years dealing with irregular cycles. I have PCOS, and for a long time I accepted that unpredictable periods and hormonal symptoms were simply my normal. I never really stopped to ask why my body was struggling. I just assumed this was something I would have to live with.

Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me.

I started asking different questions. Instead of wondering how to manage my symptoms, I wanted to understand why they were happening in the first place. That led me down a path of learning about hormonal health, nutrition, inflammation, and endocrine disrupting chemicals found in many of the products we use every day.

The more I learned, the more I realized how connected everything really is. Our hormones don't exist in a vacuum. They respond to what we eat, how we sleep, how we manage stress, how we move our bodies, and the environment we live in.

I began making changes in my own life, not because I was chasing perfection, but because I wanted to better support my body. I started paying closer attention to the foods I was eating, the products I was bringing into my home, and the daily choices that can influence our health over time. I quickly realized there was so much about women's health that I had never been taught.

That journey changed more than my own health. It changed the way I practice as a midwife.

Pregnancy is often viewed as a series of appointments, lab work, and ultrasounds. Those things are incredibly important, but they're only one piece of the picture.

I don't believe pregnancy begins the day you see two pink lines. Pregnancy is built on the health of a woman's body long before conception, and that foundation continues to matter throughout pregnancy and into the postpartum period.

As a Certified Nurse Midwife, I believe in evidence-based care. I also believe there is value in asking deeper questions and looking at the whole person. Every woman comes into pregnancy with her own health history, nutritional status, lifestyle, stressors, and environment. Those pieces deserve thoughtful consideration because they all play a role in supporting a healthy pregnancy.

This philosophy has naturally become part of the care I provide. During prenatal visits, I enjoy having conversations about nutrition, lifestyle, stress management, and environmental exposures alongside the standard prenatal care that every pregnancy deserves. My goal isn't to overwhelm families or expect perfection. It's to provide education so women can make informed choices that fit their own lives.

My interest in hormonal health eventually led me to become certified in integrative gynecology. That education has expanded the way I approach women's health and reinforced something I already believed: caring for women means looking beyond individual symptoms and considering the whole person.

One thing I've noticed is that we spend months preparing the nursery, researching strollers, and choosing the perfect baby gear, but we often spend very little time preparing the mother's body for pregnancy or thinking about what she will need after birth.

Mothers deserve that same level of preparation and care.

Whether you're planning a home birth or simply looking for a provider who values whole-body health alongside excellent prenatal care, I hope you know there is space for these conversations. You don't have to have all the answers, and you certainly don't have to be perfect. My role is to walk alongside you, provide evidence-based care, and help you make informed decisions that support both you and your growing family.

Because caring for a pregnancy starts with caring for the woman carrying it.