Viva La Vulva LA

What Doctors Get Wrong About Trans Menopause CareMenopause is already one of the most under-discussed transitions in medicine. For trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer people, it's often treated as if it doesn't exist at all. This week on Viva La Vulva, Dr. Cara Quant sits down with Lasara Firefox Allen, MSW (they/them), author of the bestselling Genderqueer Menopause and an accredited expert in gender-affirming menopause education. Together they dig into why menopause can intensify dysphoria for some and feel unexpectedly affirming for others, and how HRT shifts and surgical histories change what "typical" menopause looks like.From there, the conversation moves into pleasure, care, and what needs to change. Lasara shares what it means to redraw the map of what feels good as your body changes, and what sexual health care gets wrong when it treats gender-expansive bodies as theoretical. They also break down what a real care model looks like (spoiler: a rainbow flag in the waiting room isn't it), which intake language drives patients away, and what providers can do in a single visit to build trust with someone who's been dismissed before. Whether you're a clinician, a patient, or someone who has never felt seen in menopause conversations, this episode is for you.Resources: WebsiteSocials: @lasara_firefox_allen

Your Baseline Beats the Chart: Rethinking Pregnancy MonitoringStandard charts tell you where the "average" pregnant body should be — but what about yours? Dr. Kat Sylvester joins Dr. Cara Quant to make the case for personalized baselines over one-size-fits-all norms, showing how MommyMonitor helps women track what's actually normal for their own bodies. It's a fresh take on pregnancy monitoring that puts the individual back at the center of her own care.Resources: The link to order Dr. Kat's book is below:⁠⁠⁠Get your copy of Pregnancy Principles⁠⁠⁠The link to Dr. Kat's free tracking cheat sheet is below:⁠⁠⁠365Vitals Daily Health Snapshot⁠⁠⁠Contact information:Website: ⁠⁠⁠365vitals.com⁠⁠⁠IG: @operationmistFacebook: Operation M.I.S.T.LinkedIn: Katherine Sylvester, PT, DPTYouTube: ⁠⁠⁠@TheMommyMonitor⁠⁠⁠Email address: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

How Moms Are Using Data to Make Doctors ListenToo many women leave appointments feeling unheard — Dr. Kat Sylvester is changing that with numbers doctors can't ignore. In this segment of Viva La Vulva, she talks with Dr. Cara Quant about how real-time data from MommyMonitor is helping moms walk into the doctor's office armed with proof, not just symptoms. It's a look at how technology is shifting the balance of power in the exam room — and finally getting women believed.Resources: The link to order Dr. Kat's book is below:⁠⁠Get your copy of Pregnancy Principles⁠⁠The link to Dr. Kat's free tracking cheat sheet is below:⁠⁠365Vitals Daily Health Snapshot⁠⁠Contact information:Website: ⁠⁠365vitals.com⁠⁠IG: @operationmistFacebook: Operation M.I.S.T.LinkedIn: Katherine Sylvester, PT, DPTYouTube: ⁠⁠@TheMommyMonitor⁠⁠Email address: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠

Her Own Pregnancy Nearly Killed Her... So She Built ThisDr. Kat Sylvester's own terrifying pregnancy experience left her determined that no woman should be dismissed by the system again. On this segment of Viva La Vulva, she tells Dr. Cara Quant how that moment became the spark for MommyMonitor — a platform giving women real-time data about their own bodies. It's a raw look at how personal crisis turned into a mission for protection, power, and being believed.Resources: The link to order Dr. Kat's book is below:⁠Get your copy of Pregnancy Principles⁠The link to Dr. Kat's free tracking cheat sheet is below:⁠365Vitals Daily Health Snapshot⁠Contact information:Website: ⁠365vitals.com⁠IG: @operationmistFacebook: Operation M.I.S.T.LinkedIn: Katherine Sylvester, PT, DPTYouTube: ⁠@TheMommyMonitor⁠Email address: ⁠[email protected]⁠

De-M.I.S.T-ifying Pregnancy with Dr. Kat SylvesterWhat if your body could talk back — with data? In this episode of Viva La Vulva, Dr. Cara Quant sits down with Dr. Kat Sylvester, PT, DPT, physical therapist, certified VBAC doula, and founder of MommyMonitor, to unpack how technology is rewriting the rules of pregnancy and postpartum care. From her own home births to building a smart platform that gives women real, real-time data about their bodies, Dr. Sylvester breaks down why being informed is the ultimate form of bodily autonomy — especially for the women most often dismissed by the traditional medical system. This is a conversation about power, protection, and finally being believed.Resources: The link to order Dr. Kat's book is below:Get your copy of Pregnancy PrinciplesThe link to Dr. Kat's free tracking cheat sheet is below:365Vitals Daily Health SnapshotContact information:Website: 365vitals.comIG: @operationmistFacebook: Operation M.I.S.T.LinkedIn: Katherine Sylvester, PT, DPTYouTube: @TheMommyMonitorEmail address: [email protected]

Pleasure, Autonomy, and WorthinessAt its core, this conversation comes back to one question: who gets to decide what you're worthy of? In this segment, Ebonie Michelle closes with the message she most wants women living with cancer or chronic illness to hear — that pleasure isn't a privilege reserved for the "fully healed," and their body, however changed, still belongs to them. It's a powerful affirmation of autonomy and self-worth, and a reminder that reclaiming pleasure is its own act of healing.Resources: Follow our guest Ebonie Michelle MPH on: Socials: @prowlthelabEmail: [email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Why Not Quality AND Quantity?Somewhere along the way, illness can make it feel like you have to choose — survive or feel good, live longer or live fully. In this segment, Ebonie Michelle pushes back on that false choice, making the case that quality of life and length of life were never meant to compete. It's a bold reframe for anyone who's been told, implicitly or explicitly, to put pleasure on hold while they heal — and an invitation to ask for both.Resources: Follow our guest Ebonie Michelle MPH on: Socials: @prowlthelabEmail: [email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Dr. Cara and Viva La Vulva on socials: @vivalavulvala and @drcaraquant

Rediscovering Your Pleasure MapYour body has changed — so the old rules of pleasure might not apply anymore, and that's okay. In this segment, Ebonie Michelle walks through what the "re-introduction" to pleasure actually looks like after cancer or chronic illness treatment, from practical entry points to addressing physical realities like dryness, pain, or loss of sensation. It's a grounded, hopeful guide to redrawing the map of what feels good, at whatever pace your body needs.Resources: Follow our guest Ebonie Michelle MPH on: Socials: @prowlthelabEmail: [email protected]⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ Follow Dr. Cara and Viva La Vulva on socials: @vivalavulvala and @drcaraquant

How to Claim Your SexualityIllness can make you feel like a stranger in your own body — but your sexuality isn't something cancer or chronic illness gets to take from you. In this segment, Ebonie Michelle shares how she coaches women through body shame, shifting body image, and the quiet grief of feeling disconnected from themselves as sexual beings. It's a candid look at what it actually takes to move from surviving to reclaiming — and a reminder that desire, pleasure, and identity are yours to define, on your own terms, at any stage of healing.Resources: Follow our guest Ebonie Michelle MPH on: Socials: @prowlthelabEmail: [email protected]⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ Follow Dr. Cara and Viva La Vulva on socials: @vivalavulvala and @drcaraquant

Pleasure After Cancer & Chronic Illness Diagnosis — featuring Ebonie Michelle, MPHWhat happens to desire, intimacy, and pleasure when your body has been through cancer or chronic illness? In this episode of Viva La Vulva, Dr. Cara Quant sits down with Ebonie Michelle, founder of Prowl The Lab, for an honest, tender conversation about reclaiming sexual identity after diagnosis and treatment. From navigating body shame and altered body image to the physical realities of vaginal dryness, pain, and loss of sensation, Ebonie brings both expertise and heart to a topic too often left out of the exam room.Whether you're a patient rebuilding your relationship with your own body, a partner learning how to show up differently, or a clinician wanting to open the door to these conversations without overstepping, this episode offers real tools and radical permission. Because pleasure isn't something you have to earn back — it's something you're always worthy of. Tune in for a conversation that centers healing, connection, and the unshakable truth that illness doesn't disqualify you from desire.Resources: Follow our guest Ebonie Michelle on: Socials: @prowlthelabEmail: [email protected]⁠Website⁠ Follow Dr. Cara and Viva La Vulva on socials: @vivalavulvala and @drcaraquant