Mother of Fact: the podcast

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Podcast by Emily Sylvester

Mother of Fact: the podcast

Conversations with the clinicians, directors, and changemakers shaping the future of maternal and reproductive health and wellness. Hosted by Emily Sylvester, Founder & CEO of Mother of Fact, this podcast dives into the real-world strategies, challenges, and breakthroughs transforming care for moms and babies. From front-line clinical insights to system-level solutions, each episode offers practical takeaways and fresh ideas for improving outcomes, streamlining operations, and advancing health equity.
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Latest episodes

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09 June 2026

Could Just One Minute Change Provider Burnout? Reclaiming Agency, Purpose, and Wellbeing

Burnout isn’t just about working too much. It’s about losing the ability to recognize yourself in the work you once loved.

This week on Mother of Fact: The Podcast, Emily sits down with resilience coach and healthcare leadership expert Deb Shannon for an honest conversation about what clinician wellbeing really looks like, especially for women working in healthcare.

Drawing from years of coaching women physicians, OB-GYNs, midwives, nurse practitioners, and healthcare leaders, Deb explores why provider burnout has become a women’s health issue, how caregiving at work and at home collide, and why small moments of pause can transform patient care.

From practical strategies for reclaiming agency to reimagining flexible healthcare systems, this episode offers real tools for clinicians who want to build sustainable careers without sacrificing themselves in the process.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • Why burnout often looks like decision paralysis, not just exhaustion.
  • How finding your allies may be more important than self-care alone.
  • The surprising neuroscience behind “The Power of the Pause.”
  • Why clinician wellbeing directly impacts maternal and women’s health outcomes.
  • What Germany’s job-sharing model could teach us about supporting women physicians.
  • How direct primary care and flexible work models may reshape healthcare.
  • Practical ways to advocate for yourself and your colleagues inside complex healthcare systems.

Who should listen:

OB-GYNs, midwives, nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, healthcare leaders, practice managers, entrepreneurs, and anyone passionate about building a stronger, more sustainable future for women’s healthcare.

Resources:

✅ New episodes of the Mother of Fact Podcast drop on the second Tuesday of every month. Follow, subscribe, and share with a colleague who’s ready to help transform care at work and beyond.

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12 May 2026

The Difference Between Treating Patients and Transforming Systems

In this episode, Emily sits down with Dr. Olamide Sobowale to talk about what it really takes to improve women’s healthcare from the inside of the system. From frontline clinical care to leadership across women and children’s programs, Dr. Sobowale shares how innovation, technology, and better system design can help clinicians do their best work while meeting patients where they are.

You’ll hear:

  • Why improving women’s health outcomes requires more than excellent clinical skill
  • How strong systems can expand the impact of great clinicians
  • What hospitals need to make innovation possible without overwhelming care teams
  • Why clinician champions are often already inside the system, but need support to lead change
  • How digital tools and AI can reduce burden when used thoughtfully
  • How health systems can identify risk earlier in pregnancy and women’s health
  • What it means for everyone in healthcare to work at the top of their scope

Who it’s for and why:

This episode is for women’s health clinicians, healthcare leaders, innovators, and advocates who are trying to build better care inside complex systems. If you care about reducing burnout, improving access, and designing care that works for both patients and providers, this conversation will resonate.

Show Resources

✅ New episodes of the Mother of Fact Podcast drop on the second Tuesday of every month. Follow, subscribe, and share with a colleague who’s ready to help transform care at work and beyond.

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14 April 2026

From Teen Coder in Lagos to Women’s Health Informatics Leader: Creating Technology That Truly Cares

In this episode, Emily sits down with Dr. Bilikis Oladimeji to talk about what it really means to build digital health tools that improve women’s healthcare. From her early interest in coding in Nigeria to leading clinical programs at Progyny and founding SheriBell Global, Dr. Bilikis shares how data, technology, and systems thinking can strengthen care while keeping real patients and clinicians at the center.

You’ll hear:

  • How Dr. Oladimeji's early experience with computers and medicine shaped her path into health informatics
  • Why innovation in healthcare must be grounded in real patient and clinician experiences
  • What digital health means in practical terms for women’s healthcare providers
  • Why not every technology problem should be solved by building first
  • How rural clinics and under-resourced systems can think about digital health realistically
  • Why strong data infrastructure matters before layering on AI tools
  • What equitable digital health design looks like in practice and how we can successfully adopt technology into care

Who it’s for and why:

This episode is for clinicians, healthcare leaders, digital health builders, and women’s health advocates who want innovation that actually improves care instead of adding complexity. If you care about designing smarter systems that meet women where they are while protecting equity, trust, and clinical usefulness, this conversation is worth your time.

Show Resources

✅ New episodes of the Mother of Fact Podcast drop on the second Tuesday of every month. Follow, subscribe, and share with a colleague who’s ready to help transform care at work and beyond.

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46:16

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10 March 2026

Beyond the Diet: Why Nutrition Advice Alone Fails Women

In honor of National Nutrition Month, Emily sits down with Dr. Loneke Blackman Carr to explore why nutrition advice alone rarely changes health outcomes. As a behavioral scientist, professor, and registered dietitian, with Dr. Loneke shares how caregiving demands, structural barriers, and lived environments shape the way women eat, move, and care for their health. Dr. Loneke is currently Assistant Professor of Community & Public Health Nutrition at UCONN.

You’ll hear:

  • How clinicians can move beyond the word “diet” to build trust with patients
  • Why evidence-based nutrition programs often succeed in clinical trials but fail in real life
  • The structural barriers that shape nutrition behaviors and health outcomes for women
  • Why Black women experience significantly higher obesity rates despite equal health awareness
  • How stress, caregiving, and social context influence nutrition and lifestyle change
  • The importance of addressing context before expecting behavior change

This episode is for clinicians, dietitians, women’s health advocates, and healthcare leaders who want to understand how nutrition, equity, and context intersect in maternal and women’s health. If you’re working to improve patient outcomes and build care models that actually fit women’s lives, this conversation will change how you think about nutrition interventions.

Show Resources

✅ New episodes of the Mother of Fact Podcast drop on the second Tuesday of every month. Follow, subscribe, and share with a colleague who’s ready to help transform care at work and beyond.

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40:45

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10 February 2026

From Screening to Showing Up: A Better Model for Women's Mental Health Care

In this episode, Emily sits down with Kristin McGregor, PhD — clinical psychologist and National Clinical Director of Integrated Behavioral Health at LifeStance Health — to unpack what integrated care really looks like when it centers women and families. From fertility to postpartum to menopause, they explore what happens when we stop treating mental health as separate and start embedding it where it belongs.

You’ll hear:

  • Why behavioral health must be embedded in OB/GYN and pediatric settings
  • How screening can fail patients if systems aren’t ready to act on the results
  • Real-world stories about missed flags, maternal mental health, and provider gaps
  • What Kristin means by “meeting people where they are, especially when they’re not doing great”
  • How stigma still shows up in healthcare systems (and how to dismantle it)
  • What integrated models like LifeStance are doing to intervene earlier and faster
  • The challenge of supporting moms who are expected to lead the conversation while struggling
  • Strategies for providers to talk about behavioral health without losing trust

This episode is for OB/GYNs, pediatricians, care teams, maternal health leaders and advocates who want to create care pathways that actually serve birthing people, especially when they’re most vulnerable. It’s also for anyone building systems that treat mental health as health, not a referral out.

Show Resources:

✅ New episodes of the Mother of Fact Podcast drop on the second Tuesday of every month. Follow, subscribe, and share with a colleague who’s ready to help transform care at work and beyond.

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44:22

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13 January 2026

Smart Leaders Know: Women’s Health Isn’t Optional Anymore

When is the right time for employers to take women’s health seriously? According to Jim Hettenbach, VP and Head of Business Ventures at Unum, that time was yesterday — and the smartest companies are already catching up.

In this energizing and insight-packed episode, Emily sits down with Jim to explore how employer benefits are evolving beyond check-the-box wellness to whole-person care — including nutrition care, lactation support, postpartum recovery, and pelvic floor rehab (yes, even that!).

With humor and honesty, Jim shares what it was like to be one of the only men talking about maternal health in corporate rooms — and why that’s exactly what needs to happen if we want to scale meaningful change.

You’ll hear:

  • How Unum Ventures is bridging the gap between clinical care and employer support
  • Why outdated benefit models are breaking under the weight of real-world care needs
  • The shift from point solutions to platforms — and what that means for maternal care innovators
  • How employers can support health journeys before employees even ask for help
  • What employers are learning about AI, privacy, and trust in the digital health era
  • The growing role of employers in the care economy — and why it affects us all

Whether you’re a healthcare leader, policy advocate, HR decision-maker, or women’s health entrepreneur, this episode will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the real conversations happening around maternal health, innovation, and what it takes to build a better, more human-centered future of work.

Show Resources:

Learn more about Unum.

Connect with Jim Hettenbach on LinkedIn.

Follow Mother of Fact for more episodes, tools, and updates.

✅ New episodes of the Mother of Fact Podcast drop on the second Tuesday of every month. Follow, subscribe, and share with a colleague who’s ready to help transform care at work and beyond.

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46:32