Where can I listen to this podcast?

This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.

Does this podcast accept guests?

Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

HOW TO BE A WOMAN

Claim This Podcast

by Dr Natalie Hutchins

33 episodes

Updated Daily

Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇬🇧

Podcast Overview

HOW TO BE A WOMAN: Everything you were never taught about women’s health, finally explained. Hosted by Dr Natalie Hutchins- GP, women’s health doctor and creator of The Woman’s Handbook, this podcast brings you the facts, the nuance and the science behind every major stage of a woman’s life. Every other week, Natalie sits down with world-leading clinicians, psychologists, scientists and thought-leaders to break down topics women are so often left to figure out alone. We cover the 5Ms- the 5 key milestones that a shape women’s health: • Menarche: puberty, periods, PMS/PMDD, teen mental health and how to raise happy, confident & resilient girls • Menstruation: cycle health, contraception, fertility, endometriosis, PCOS and reproductive wellbeing • Matrescence: pregnancy, birth, pelvic floors, postpartum recovery and the psychological transformation into motherhood • Menopause: perimenopause, midlife mental health, HRT myths and knowledge to help you navigate this transition feeling empowered • Matriarchy: providing you with the rulebook to avoid chronic disease, and live well for longer If you want smart science, honest conversations and tools you can use today, you’re in the right place. New episodes alternate weeks. Your handbook starts here. Www.thewomanshandbook.com Instagram @thewomanshandbook <a href="https://thewomanshandbook.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">thewomanshandbook.substack.com</a>

Language

🇺🇲

Publishing Since

8/30/2025

Visit Website View on Apple Podcasts RSS Feed

2 verified contact emails on file for HOW TO BE A WOMAN

Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.

See contact details

Recent Episodes

June 16, 2026

Your Pregnancy, Your Longevity: What Your Pregnancy Can Tell You About Your Future Health

For some women, what happens during pregnancy is so much more than just a chapter in their journey to motherhood. It’s a preview of what their physiology is capable of under stress, and a map of where the fault lines lie. The data we need to understand a woman’s long-term risk of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, metabolic ill health, and hormone sensitivity can appear decades before menopause, during pregnancy. We’ve known this for some time, and yet conversations about women’s specific longevity keep starting at the menopause, despite many women carrying important information about their future health from a much earlier point in their lives.Pregnancy is one of the most extreme physiological events a human body can undergo. Cardiac output rises by 30%, the kidneys filter up to 50% more blood per minute, and metabolic rate reaches levels comparable to elite endurance sport. As well as having a significant impact in the perinatal period itself, complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and perinatal mood disorders are markers. Women with gestational diabetes are up to 70% more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within ten years. Women who have had pre-eclampsia have a 2 to 4 times increased lifetime risk of heart disease. And women who deliver preterm carry a 1.5 times increased lifetime risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. This points to subclinical endothelial dysfunction and metabolic susceptibility that existed before the pregnancy began, and that may endure long after the baby arrives.This information isn’t new. The issue is whether a care structure exists that allows that knowledge to be held by someone able to offer continuity across a woman’s life course. A woman who’s just had a baby is, of course, focused on surviving those early days: feeding, sleeping, healing, and keeping a new human alive. The last thing she’ll be thinking about at six weeks postpartum is her lifetime cardiovascular risk. But that moment passes and if the healthcare system hasn’t built in a mechanism to follow her over the long term, those signals go unread.This episode is about changing that. I’m joined by Dr Christina Aye, consultant obstetrician and clinician scientist specialising in maternal-fetal medicine, to talk about what pregnancy can reveal about a woman’s long-term health across cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental health domains, and what a life course approach to women’s healthcare would actually look like if we took that information seriously.Guest Bio<a target="_blank" href="https://oxfordobstetrics.com/">Dr Christina Aye</a> is a Consultant in Obstetrics and FetalMedicine and Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford. She completed a DPhil in Cardiovascular Medicine at Oxford and her research focuses on the long-term cardiovascular consequences of pregnancy complications, including hypertensive disorders and preterm birth, in both mother and child.What We Cover[00:02:18] Pregnancy as a Physiological Stress Test• Why pregnancy puts the body under demands comparable to running an ultramarathon, and how complications that arise in that context are often early signs of vulnerabilities that were already there.[00:09:42] Pre-eclampsia: What It Is and Why It Matters Long-Term• What pre-eclampsia actually is, how it is diagnosed, and why having it in pregnancy raises your lifetime risk of heart disease and stroke, even after your blood pressure returns to normal.[00:17:51] The Placenta, Blood Vessels, and What Goes Wrong• How a healthy placenta remodels the blood vessels that supply it, why that process fails in pre-eclampsia, and new research showing that the effects on the kidneys can still be measured months after birth.[00:23:25] What Should Happen After a Hypertensive Pregnancy• Why monitoring your blood pressure at home in the weeks after birth can have lasting benefits, and why so many women currently leave hospital without the follow-up plan they need.[00:27:49] Preterm Birth and Long-Term Health• Why giving birth early, for any reason, is an independent risk factor for heart and circulatory disease later in life, and why women who have delivered preterm are rarely told about this.[00:30:05] Gestational Diabetes: A Metabolic Warning Sign• Why gestational diabetes does not simply disappear after pregnancy, what the statistics on type 2 diabetes risk actually look like, and what checks you should be having in the years that follow.[00:39:21] Perinatal Mood Disorders and Future Mental Health• How postnatal depression can be a signal of longer-term mental health vulnerability, including at perimenopause, and the striking data linking it to cardiovascular risk decades later.[00:45:11] What Pregnancy Can Tell Us About Our Children’s Health• What the science of epigenetics and fetal programming actually means in practice, why the messaging around it needs to be handled carefully, and how to think about your child’s health without adding to the pressure of pregnancy.[00:52:57] What Better Postnatal Care Would Look Like• What a joined-up system of care after a complicated pregnancy would actually look like, including the case for using your obstetric history as part of every future cardiovascular health check.What You Will Learn• Why is pregnancy described as a stress test for the body?• What is pre-eclampsia and does it increase the risk of heart disease later in life?• Does preterm birth affect a mother’s long-term health?• What is gestational diabetes and does it go away after pregnancy?• How soon after gestational diabetes should you be checked for type 2 diabetes?• Does postnatal depression increase the risk of cardiovascular disease?• What is epigenetics and how does pregnancy affect a baby’s long-term health?• What follow-up should women expect after a pregnancy complicated by high blood pressure or gestational diabetes?Key Takeaways• Complications like pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth are early signals of underlying vulnerabilities that require long-term monitoring. You may need annual checks.• If you had postnatal depression, perinatal anxiety, or struggled with your mental health around pregnancy, that history may be relevant to your future mental health and, emerging evidence suggests, your cardiovascular health too. It’s worth telling your doctor.• Your obstetric history is part of your health history. Whether you are navigating midlife health decisions or speaking with a new clinician, what happened in your pregnancies matters.Further Resources and SupportCardiovascular Health After Pregnancy<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/">British Heart Foundation</a> — Information on heart disease risk, prevention, and support for women.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/heart-disease-and-stroke-statistics">American Heart Association</a> — Resources on cardiovascular risk in women, including pregnancy-related risk factors.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.world-heart-federation.org/">World Heart Federation</a> — Global resources on cardiovascular disease prevention across the lifespan.Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy<a target="_blank" href="https://www.action-on-pre-eclampsia.org.uk/">Action on Pre-Eclampsia (APEC)</a> — Education, support, and resources for women affected by pre-eclampsia.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.preeclampsia.org/">Preeclampsia Foundation</a> — International support organisation with resources on diagnosis, management, and long-term health.Gestational Diabetes<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gestationaldiabetes.co.uk/">Gestational Diabetes UK</a> — Peer support, dietary guidance, and information on postnatal follow-up after gestational diabetes.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.diabetes.org/">American Diabetes Association</a> — Information on type 2 diabetes risk, prevention, and management following gestational diabetes.Perinatal Mental Health<a target="_blank" href="https://www.pni.org.uk/">PANDAS Foundation</a> — Support for women and families affected by perinatal mental illness, including postnatal depression and anxiety.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.postpartum.net/">Postpartum Support International</a> — Global network offering support, resources, and provider referrals for perinatal mood disorders.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/">Maternal Mental Health Alliance</a> — Advocacy and resources focused on improving access to perinatal mental health care.Preterm Birth<a target="_blank" href="https://www.tommys.org/">Tommy’s</a> — Research and support for pregnancy complications including preterm birth, miscarriage, and stillbirth.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.marchofdimes.org/">March of Dimes</a> — International organisation working to improve outcomes for mothers and babies, with resources on premature birth.Women’s Health Research and Longevity<a target="_blank" href="https://www.rcog.org.uk/">Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)</a> — Clinical guidelines and patient information on pregnancy complications and women’s health across the lifespan.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.womenshealthresearch.org/">Society for Women’s Health Research</a> — Advocacy and resources promoting sex-specific research and women’s health across the lifespan.DisclaimerThe content of this podcast is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding any health concerns or before making changes to your care or treatment. The views expressed are those of the individuals speaking and do not represent the position of any institution or organisation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://thewomanshandbook.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">thewomanshandbook.substack.com</a>

June 9, 2026

IN FOCUS: How To Cut Dementia Risks, A Neurologist’s Top 3 Lifestyle Changes

Two thirds of people living with dementia are women.It is the leading cause of death for women in the UK and Australia, and a significant proportion of those cases are preventable.In this short extract from our recent episode on women’s brain health, Dr Natalie Hutchins asks Professor Cassandra Szoeke, neurologist and principal investigator of the Women’s Healthy Ageing Project, one direct question: what are the top three things women can do right now to reduce their dementia risk?The answers are specific, evidence-based, and in some cases, not what you might expect.She also weighs in on creatine, vitamin D, the ketogenic diet, and what the data from over 20,000 Australian women actually shows about diet and brain health.For the complete conversation — including what happens to women’s brains at menopause, why brain fog is not the same as dementia, and what 30 years of longitudinal data tells us — watch the full episode here:This post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute individual medical advice. Please speak to your doctor for advice tailored to you.Thanks for reading The Woman's Handbook! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://thewomanshandbook.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">thewomanshandbook.substack.com</a>

June 2, 2026

How to Navigate IVF: Success Rates, Treatment Add-Ons, and How to Choose the Right Clinic for You

IVF is one of the most emotionally loaded journeys a person can take. By the time most couples walk into a fertility clinic, they have already spent years trying, months grieving, and countless hours searching the internet for answers. That combination of hope and desperation is, in many ways, what makes navigating the IVF landscape so difficult. Vulnerability and high-stakes decision-making do not make easy companions.The problem is that the IVF industry does not make it easy to choose wisely. Success rates are presented in formats that are virtually incomparable between clinics. Regulation varies dramatically from country to country, and even within regulated systems, quality of care, laboratory standards, and treatment add-ons fall largely outside the scope of oversight. A clinic can display a headline live birth rate that looks impressive and entirely fail to mention that it only accepts patients with excellent prognosis.Then there is the question of cost, access, and geography. In many countries, publicly funded fertility treatment is limited, inconsistent, or unavailable. Waiting times can stretch to a year or more, and the eligibility criteria can be opaque until you are already deep in the process. The result is that the people most in need of support are often the least equipped to navigate a market that is, frankly, not well designed with them in mind.In this episode, I am joined by Emma Whitney, an embryologist and chair of the fertility charity Fertility Action, and Professor Bassel Wattar, a gynaecologist and clinician researcher specialising in reproductive medicine. Together we cover everything from how to read a success rate, to what actually goes on in an IVF laboratory, to which treatment add-ons have genuine evidence behind them and which do not. If you’re thinking about IVF, already in the middle of it, or just trying to understand your options, this episode gives you the tools to ask better questions and advocate more effectively for yourself.Guest Bios<a target="_blank" href="https://www.emmatheembryologist.com/about/">Emma Whitney</a> is a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.evewell.com/team/emma-whitney/">clinical embryologist</a> and the chair of <a target="_blank" href="https://fertilityaction.org/">Fertility Action</a>, a charity dedicated to improving access to fertility treatment and supporting those navigating the fertility landscape. She has extensive experience in clinical embryology, including embryo selection, preimplantation genetic testing, and laboratory quality.<a target="_blank" href="https://basselwattar.info/">Professor Bassel Wattar</a> is a gynaecologist and clinician researcher with a specialist interest in reproductive medicine. He co-leads a research unit dedicated to evidence synthesis in women’s health and the Clinical Trials Unit at Anglia Ruskin University with a focus on delivering high quality applied clinical research.What We Cover00:03:04 Access to IVF: public funding, waiting times, and the postcode lottery– Why 60% of IVF cycles are now done privately, and how eligibility criteria for publicly funded treatment vary enormously depending on where you live.00:10:48 The global picture: how other countries fund fertility treatment– International comparisons showing that some countries offer unlimited IVF cycles as a matter of public health policy, in response to declining birth rates and demographic pressures.– Why the economic and societal case for funding fertility treatment is largely absent from political debate in many places.00:13:10 How to choose a clinic: what to look for beyond the website– The role of specialist matching, multidisciplinary team culture, and continuity of care in predicting a good clinic experience, none of which are visible on league tables.– How corporate ownership models and rented laboratory arrangements can fragment the care pathway in ways that matter to outcome.00:16:55 Understanding IVF success rates and how they can mislead– Why live birth rate per embryo transferred systematically excludes patients who never reached a transfer, and why cumulative and per-cycle-started metrics give a more honest picture.– How patient selection, including excluding older women or those with low ovarian reserve, can significantly inflate a clinic’s published success rates.00:26:55 The embryology laboratory: the part patients never see– What makes a high-quality embryology lab, including time-lapse incubation, seven-day working, and embryologist involvement in clinical decision-making.– How the embryologist consultation works in practice, and what questions patients can ask to understand the lab team’s role in their care.00:38:55 IVF add-ons: what they are and how to evaluate the evidence– How the add-on designation works, what it means in practice, and why the current regulatory framework for assessing add-ons has significant limitations.– The distinction between add-ons offered to everyone versus those targeted at specific patient groups, and why that distinction matters for evaluating the evidence.00:43:21 Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT-A): green, amber, or red?– What PGT-A does and does not do, including the risk of discarding mosaic embryos that might have self-corrected, and why the evidence base is still contested.– Why age is the key variable in deciding whether PGT-A is appropriate, and how to have an informed conversation with a clinician about whether it is right for you.00:51:41 Endometrial scratching, embryo glue, and other add-ons reviewed– An evidence-by-evidence review: endometrial scratching (limited and contested), embryo glue (minor benefit, no additional cost, now standard in many labs), time-lapse incubation (standard, not add-on).– Why immune treatments for recurrent implantation failure, including intralipids, IVIGs, and steroids, currently lack robust randomised trial evidence despite being widely offered.01:00:13 Going abroad for IVF: regulation, risk, and what to ask– How regulatory standards for IVF clinics and laboratories differ significantly between countries, and why some popular destinations for fertility tourism have minimal oversight.– Practical advice on accessing reliable information about overseas clinics, including the value of seeking referrals from clinicians who have direct knowledge of the labs they recommend.What You Will Learn• Why is publicly funded IVF so difficult to access, and does it depend on where I live?• What happens if I am on the waiting list for IVF and I age out of eligibility before I am seen?• How do I choose between IVF clinics when they all look similar online?• What does an IVF success rate actually mean, and how can it be misleading?• Why do different clinics show different types of success rate, and which is the most honest?• Should I be asking to meet the embryologist, not just the consultant?• What is a high-quality embryology laboratory and how would I know if a clinic has one?• What is a treatment add-on in IVF and how do I know whether it has real evidence behind it?• What is PGT-A (preimplantation genetic testing) and should I have it?• What is the risk of discarding a viable embryo through genetic testing?• Does endometrial scratching improve IVF success rates?• What is embryo glue and is it worth having?• Is there any evidence for immune treatments like intralipids or IVIGs in IVF?• Is IVF abroad safe, and how do I know if a clinic in another country is properly regulated?• What should I ask a fertility clinic before I commit to treatment?• Where can I find free, reliable support and information about IVF?Key Takeaways• Success rates on clinic websites are not straightforward. Always look for live birth rate per cycle started, ask about age banding, and find out what patient groups the clinic accepts. A high headline number may reflect careful patient selection, not superior care.• The embryology team matters as much as your consultant. Ask whether you can speak with an embryologist before treatment begins, and find out whether the lab operates seven days a week. These details are not on the regulatory website, but they are worth asking about.• Most IVF add-ons are offered ahead of the evidence. Before agreeing to any additional treatment, ask what the current evidence shows, whether it is targeted at your specific situation, and what the additional cost is.• Knowledge is your best protection. The IVF market, wherever you are, is not perfectly regulated. Educate yourself, seek peer support, consult more than one specialist if you can, and make use of the independent resources that exist.Further Resources and SupportRegulatory Bodies and Official Information• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hfea.gov.uk/">HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority)</a> — UK regulator of IVF clinics; includes a clinic search tool with independently reported success rates and a guide to treatment add-ons.• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hfea.gov.uk/choose-a-clinic/clinic-search/">HFEA Clinic Finder</a> — Search and compare licensed clinics in the UK, including reported success rates and available treatments.• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/treatment-add-ons/">HFEA Treatment Add-Ons</a> — Independent evidence ratings for common IVF add-ons, updated regularly.Charities and Peer Support• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fertilityaction.org.uk/">Fertility Action</a> — UK fertility charity co-chaired by episode guest Emma Whitney; provides free peer-to-peer support groups monitored by qualified psychologists, plus advocacy for improved access to treatment.• <a target="_blank" href="https://fertilitynetworkuk.org/">Fertility Network UK</a> — The UK’s leading patient-facing fertility charity, offering information, emotional support, and community for people at all stages of the fertility journey.• <a target="_blank" href="https://resolve.org/">Resolve: The National Infertility Association (USA)</a> — Advocacy, education, and support for people experiencing infertility in the United States.• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eshre.eu/">ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology)</a> — Professional body for reproductive medicine; publishes evidence-based patient guidance on a range of fertility topics.Mental Health and Emotional Support• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bica.net/">British Infertility Counselling Association</a> — Directory of counsellors specialising in fertility, pregnancy loss, and assisted conception, for patients in the UK and internationally.• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mind.org.uk/">Mind (UK)</a> — Mental health charity with resources on managing grief, anxiety, and the emotional impact of fertility treatment.Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tommys.org/">Tommy’s</a> — Research and support charity for pregnancy complications including miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth; includes guidance for those experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss.• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/">Miscarriage Association</a> — UK charity providing support and information for those affected by pregnancy loss at any stage.• <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sands.org.uk/">Sands.org.uk</a> — Support and information for anyone affected by the death of a baby, including a helpline, online community, and local groups.DisclaimerThe content of this podcast episode and these show notes is intended for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical guidance, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your individual circumstances before making any decisions about your fertility care. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not represent the official position of any regulatory body or institution. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://thewomanshandbook.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">thewomanshandbook.substack.com</a>

33 total episodes available

Similar Podcasts

Discover related shows you might enjoy

The Rest Is Politics

Goalhanger

Great Company

Jampot Productions

The Fertility Podcast

Natchat Productions

Deep-dive analytics for HOW TO BE A WOMAN

Frequently asked questions

Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

What is HOW TO BE A WOMAN?: HOW TO BE A WOMAN: Everything you were never taught about women’s health, finally explained.

Hosted by Dr Natalie Hutchins- GP, women’s health doctor and creator of The Woman’s Handbook, this podcast brings you the facts, the nuance and the science behind every major stage of a woman’s life.

Every other week, Natalie sits down with world-leading clinicians, psychologists, scientists and thought-leaders to break down topics women are so often left to figure out alone.

We cover the 5Ms- the 5 key milestones that a shape women’s health:

• Menarche: puberty, periods, PMS/PMDD, teen mental health and how to raise happy, confident & resilient girls • Menstruation: cycle health, contraception, fertility, endometriosis, PCOS and reproductive wellbeing • Matrescence: pregnancy, birth, pelvic floors, postpartum recovery and the psychological transformation into motherhood • Menopause: perimenopause, midlife mental health, HRT myths and knowledge to help you navigate this transition feeling empowered • Matriarchy: providing you with the rulebook to avoid chronic disease, and live well for longer

If you want smart science, honest conversations and tools you can use today, you’re in the right place.

New episodes alternate weeks.

Your handbook starts here.

Www.thewomanshandbook.com Instagram @thewomanshandbook <a href="https://thewomanshandbook.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">thewomanshandbook.substack.com</a>
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates daily.
Where can I listen to this podcast?: This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Does this podcast accept guests?: Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

Legal Disclaimer

Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.

All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.

We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.

By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.