Two OB-GYN physicians in Bend have begun a new podcast aimed at educating women about their health — with a little wine to sweeten the deal.
Dr. Sarah Hellmann and Dr. Erin LeGrand work together at St. Charles Health System doing a full spectrum of women's health, from surgery to obstetrics to a general clinical practice. Hellman and LeGrand bonded when they both moved to Bend in 2015, after each spent time in Michigan; LeGrand earning undergraduate and medical degrees at Michigan State University; Hellmann working as a social worker in Flint and Grand Rapids before attending medical school at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.
While their work is rewarding, they said, the two found themselves dreaming of a less-formal venue for sharing some of the finer points of women's health. That became the "Wine with Your Gyn" podcast, which debuted this year.
Below is an excerpt of a conversation with Hellmann and LeGrand, lightly edited for clarity.
Source Weekly: Share the origins of "Wine With Your Gyn."
Sarah Hellman: I really wanted to do something that was outside the box in regards to my work, my knowledge and my skill. I was just, you know — I've been in practice for a while and though I really enjoy it, sometimes you feel like a hamster on a wheel. And so, I just wanted something different, and I love educating people about their health. I love normalizing things for women and teaching them about their bodies. So, I was just kind of sitting there and I was like, you know... it would be kind of fun to do a podcast; it would reach a lot of people. Of course, I wanted to do it with Erin. We'd call it "Wine with your Gyn." And it was just kind of like this thought. And then, I said something to Erin – 'hey, Erin, I had this funny thought. I mean it's so ridiculous. But how about this,' and then she was just, like, yeah, we should do it. And that, when she said that, that was the first moment that I really was like, 'oh, maybe we really should actually do it.' And then you tell the rest.
Erin LeGrand: I went to a fundraising gala and met mutual friends that we both know because they own the Strength Warehouse, the gym, and I delivered her baby. So we both know them from different ways and so I ran into them and I was, like, 'really funny — Sarah and I were talking about doing a podcast,' and Nate was like, 'Well, I already have a podcast. You could use my equipment. If you want, Megan could sponsor you.' and it was just, like, you know, dominoes started falling, it was crazy. It was how it lined up. It was insane.
SH: It's like everything just kind of took off. Yeah, like just barreling down the tracks.
EL: And then everybody we've talked to — 'Can we be on your podcast? Can we be on your podcast?' Um, yeah, sure, but tell me what you want to talk about.
SH: It's obviously medically focused, but we're also focusing on other, really, all aspects of being a woman. And so, our podcasts... one was about sexual desire versus pleasure. One was about fitness; one was about empathy. Like, how do you have empathy for yourself and for others? You know, the main goal of this podcast is to educate, for free, good information. Let's go off the blogs, OK? Let's get some actual good medical information in the hopes that were normalizing things and building community. And, fighting the patriarchy, essentially, because the patriarchy wants to keep us separate. And if we would just organize and connect with each other, that would be a way that we could...
EL: And, to drink wine.
SH: Oh, yeah. I mean, there's some wine.
SW: I'm very curious about your thoughts about wine and estrogen and all that stuff, because I don't really understand any of that.
EL: Unfortunately, wine exacerbates hot flashes and night sweats and all those menopausal symptoms. But you only have one life.
SH: That's the thing. We are just being who we are. We want women to feel like they can be who they are and operate in this world in a non-perfect way. And I mean, wine is delicious, and we enjoy it and we know that there are health risks associated with it if imbibed too often. So our podcast —we're not encouraging excessive alcohol use. It's just kind of a fun little "Wine with Your Gyn."
EL: And it does, I think, take inhibitions down!
SH: Oh, totally! It makes the guests less nervous, and it's just fun. But certainly, we have no qualms about the reality of you know, yes, you drink too much, it increases your risk of breast cancer.
SW: You said something, Sarah, about the misinformation — some of the bad information. Do you have, like, some examples of stuff that's, like, really stuck in your craw... things you want to dispel?
SH: I think there are a lot of things.
EL: One of our first episodes is the "Top 10 Gyn Myths."
SH: All of our podcasts thus far have certainly addressed misinformation. The one we just released this weekend is about perimenopause and hormones. Like, how is it, that every single woman that lives to 50 goes through this process, yet no one can define it? It just goes to show how neglected women's health has been in health care, in the mainstream, and it's just a travesty.
—Find Wine With Your Gyn on Apple, Amazon and anywhere you get your podcasts.