Latest / Birth at Work / S2 EP16 | Dr. Frederica: Acupuncture & Bringing Fertility Back
Transcript
- Krislyn Powell: Dr. Frederica, it is so lovely to have you today. Thank you so much for joining our show. And I would just love it if you could take a couple moments and share a little bit more about you. So we know you're a medical professional, holistic minded, offer a number of different treatments to the community and just a wealth of information. So I would love to hear from your point of view, just who you are, why you've come on the show today and a little bit about how we can look forward to this conversation. Dr. Frederica: Thank you for having me. It's wonderful to be here and get to have an authentic conversation on all things birth and motherhood and integrating how we live our lives in a more private way with a professional world. So I think that that's needing light shined on it more and more. yeah, as an acupuncturist, I... I work with mostly women and advocating for balance in their lives is really what's near and dear to me. I find that it's so easy to become out of alignment with one's own self, with one's own truth, not even know what that is, and then where are we really living from, right? So holding space for people, not just women, but it ends up being that way. So yeah, space for them to hear what they need to understand within themselves, feel what that is, and create space for themselves to live that truth. So in the practice, we are usually supporting. women's health, that can range from fertility to regulating cycles to... even just rejuvenating treatments and that can be facial acupuncture, which is another passion kind of, I would call it of mine. just because there's so much pressure from the outside world on women, especially in the beauty industry, to look a certain way. And not everybody wants that, but also still wants to take care of themselves. So I love to bring that to women and give them another option to take care of themselves. bit more about me. What else is there beyond the acupuncture world? I'm a yoga teacher so Kundalini yoga really helped me to center myself in life. Before acupuncture school I became a regular student of Kundalini yoga and it's where I ended up meeting my husband. It's really where I manifested my pregnancy so it's been the backbone of even how I'm a practitioner and showing up in the treatment room for people. So as you see behind me there's a gong, a big gong and it's a big Krislyn Powell: Yes, very fitting. Dr. Frederica: part of just meditation so that's a big part of my private life I would say. I don't exactly have the time to teach even though I love to because of a mom also so a newer mom of nine months. Finding ways to integrate all the things as we do has been a practice, of course. So being a mom is definitely taking most of my time right now. And then as far as being in the treatment room with patients, it's definitely not what it used to be. I'm only there just once a week, so. There's that side of course that loves to be with people and loves to work and wants to figure out ways to make more, right? But then one has to remind oneself, like, wait a minute, why did I become a mom? Like, where are my priorities? And so learning to balance that in my own life is definitely a daily practice. And I can really relate them to my patients too who are also seeking exactly that for themselves in their own lives. So I'm right there, right there with my patients, feeling it out and drawing wisdom and just trying to reflect their own wisdom back to them. Krislyn Powell: So lovely so so special and just so I just transparently too I want to mention to our listeners who are tuning in that you are my acupuncturist that I see regularly and someone who has helped me with my fertility journey and also kind of the beauty and magic of Just that whole relationship is it was so cool when I let you know that I was pregnant and was so excited about that with my last baby you were you had mentioned to me like I'm pregnant too and what a beautiful journey that was so I love how you mentioned that you are able to relate to your patients on that level of balancing motherhood with, you know, maybe some societal pressures, but also just kind of our personalities of what we want to contribute to the world and how we feel like we're productive or not and how, you know, life is meaningful to us. So. some really cool takeaways and I'm excited to dig deeper, but I too, I just want to throw out for our listeners as well, realize that like the rhythm that's working for me is kind of a one day a week gig where I'm, you know, working on my projects, consulting a bit, and that's working right now, but it is really hard sometimes to remind myself that. this is the right thing to be doing right now for me. Like this is the rhythm that's working and I'm trying to honor motherhood. So that's really meaningful that you shared that. So thank you for doing that and being open about how it's been a blessing, but it's also like you have to continue to remind yourself of the meaning behind that rhythm. Dr. Frederica: Yeah, the ambition is always there, right? So it's really how do we harness that? Yeah, find our rhythm for the moment, right? Because this is what's now. And of course, it's good to remember that in the future, too, things will be much different. And so it's not always going to be like this. And that's wonderful and also something to look forward to, that you do get to Krislyn Powell: Yes, yes. Dr. Frederica: develop yourself in the future. And it's not all gone. Krislyn Powell: Yeah, it's a season. It's a season and it goes so quickly. It feels like it's forever sometimes when we're in it. Dr. Frederica: you Krislyn Powell: But what beautiful seasonal changes and yeah, and just honoring that. But I'd Dr. Frederica: Hmm Krislyn Powell: love to dial it back just a little bit here and dig into your story specifically relating to acupuncture. So I understand that acupuncture was one of the things that helped assist. in your birth experience as far as like not you as a mother, but when you were actually being born, your mom harnessed acupuncture in that journey as well. So tell me a little bit about like the parallels of that and then you deciding later to pursue deeper education into Chinese medicine and what that journey looked like for you holistically as far as deciding like that was your life's path. Dr. Frederica: Yeah, absolutely. My mother over 30 years ago was on her fertility journey and even at that time, know, acupuncture has been growing and growing and becoming more, I think, accepted and sought after and respected. But of course, it's been there, you know, for thousands of years, but we're... Everyone's on their own timeline and here in the West, we're waking up more and more to those complimentary ways of supporting ourselves. So yeah, 30 years ago, my mom was on her fertility journey and she was a very ambitious, busy woman. She rode horses and that was her profession and was go, go, go, you know, nonstop, even at that time. her inner rhythm was definitely not in alignment with what was going on on the outside. so her doctor wasn't very understanding to her of supporting her in becoming pregnant. And she didn't feel very cared for in the Western obstetric appointments that she was going to. And so... She began to see an acupuncturist, had heard that it might be something supportive for her and continued with her treatments. And one day I went to her appointment with her acupuncturist and the woman was feeling her pulses and she said, you know, today I think we'll take a break and I want you to go and get a pregnancy test. And I think that, I think you're pregnant. That woman absolutely felt the difference and change in her pulses. And yeah, my mom had conceived me. So it brings chills to me. Just thinking Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: about it because this medicine is so subtle and so powerful. And the fact that we can just tune in and feel something like that in a body, right? It's just a fingertip away, literally, feeling the pulses. Krislyn Powell: You Dr. Frederica: Right? So, I... hadn't really thought about that in like years and years and years though and I know my mom had shared that with me like in a conversation that we had in life and but I didn't begin my journey to acupuncture school until I was about 28 so I had kind of been trying to find my groove and was very interested in health and wellness and had begun began to health coach and was feeling like I wanted to go deeper, but not really sure which avenue to go with that. And I ended up starting a master's program in health promotion management at American University. And I was trying. Like, I was showing up, and I was putting in the time, but it was just not feeling like me when I would go to my classes. And so... By the time the first semester was ending, I was like, I need to find something that I actually am excited about showing up for. I've always been that type of Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: person that if I'm not excited about it or truly feeling it, I just can't make myself show up. So I'm thinking, if this is my life path, this isn't going to work. I went to an open house at a holistic school that was offering a master's program in health coaching. And they also had several other programs that they were... showing, I guess you would say, in the open house. And the acupuncture program was one of them. And I just sat in on the talk that night. And I remembered my mom. And I remembered, my gosh, acupuncture was such a big part of my life growing up. We had an acupuncturist come to our house and work on the horses that my mom was training. And then she would come and work on my parents. And so it was just like all of sudden. waking up to the reality, right? It was like I had to live these life experiences up until I was 28 and then suddenly I got to like, this is what I'm supposed to be Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: doing. But I wasn't supposed to learn about it when I was 20 or it wasn't gonna be that clear of a path. So. Yeah, that's kind of like the beginning to my acupuncture journey. Krislyn Powell: Yeah, you mentioned it was around 28, but was it, I think if I'm understanding right too, like throughout your 20s, you started noticing that your health and wellbeing were precious pearls of sorts, and that that was really meaningful to you in your life, and so you started making some life changes around that. Like you said, you were getting your master's in health promotion, and I think, was it around that time too that you... maybe kind of leaned in and took a closer look at societal pressures or structures as far as like industrial elements of our society and the patriarchy and had some deeper thoughts on what path to take with your life due to some of the things that you were seeing systemically. Dr. Frederica: Gosh, yeah, that was an ongoing awakening I would say beginning and maybe when I was like 20 or so It came out of a darker place actually for me, which is interesting in many ways I Struggled with an eating disorder probably that got worse and worse with anorexia It started when I was around 16. And then I began college and I got really wrapped up in cocaine actually and then realized how that could like even make the eating disorder I guess like it would get the results that I would want from the eating disorder right Krislyn Powell: Yeah, yeah, well. Dr. Frederica: and so that fun would lead to like other psychedelic adventures, right? And so the one thing that rose out of those psychedelic like adventures was this realization of, wow, we're so separate in our bodies and how we relate to life and to the earth. And it just started to really... Yeah, wake up this realization that how a lot of us are living in this world is so out of alignment. And I started to really see how the petrochemical industry, how we grow our food. I just started to wake up to, my gosh, how I'm feeding myself. is not even healthy and like what am I putting into my body and what are we doing to this planet? there was, out of this darkness I started to kind of like even realize like how I was treating myself and how that was so unkind. And I didn't realize it, right? In that time of my life. And... As I started to, I started to kind of realize how the friends I was choosing weren't supportive of what I was actually feeling. So as time would go on, I started to make big changes. I had left a boyfriend that was kind of holding me in this dark place and I began to eat better and just seek ways of supporting myself that were actually supporting myself. So I think by the time I was 22, I had fully cut out any drug use and that's when I went back to school or started school for the Institute of Integrative Nutrition after graduating college. So I Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: had a little lapse there. yeah, so it was this kind of like trajectory in this journey and the eating disorder definitely fell away and then came back and fell away and then by the time I started my master's program when I was 28. I had moved to DC and... was working and also was looking for it as another job to support myself while I was in my program and decided to start to model a little bit. And so I had walked Krislyn Powell: Mm-hmm. Dr. Frederica: runway there and of course that's going to be so triggering to an eating disorder to somebody who's had one. So that was really the last time Krislyn Powell: Right. Dr. Frederica: I like fell off my path but quickly came back on again and realized you what has all this work been for? But I think a lot of times when we've had darkness in our life, you know, we can kind of like run away from it and touch back into it and it's this ebb and flow until you finally are strong enough to stay in your truth and stay in your power. So it was a long way around the barn, I guess, so to speak, to get to these realizations for myself. But I find that I'm also so grateful for all of that because I feel I can really see people in their struggles and see them as people and not feel afraid of them and want to help them and know what they're capable of. So I'm really grateful for all of that. Krislyn Powell: Yeah, wow. I, well, and I also just wanna take a moment and reiterate that like. every person that's listening to this episode, everyone on this planet has their own kind of dark night of the soul, right? Like that shadow part of them that they face maybe multiple times in their life. I think if we, I mean, this is personal opinion, but it probably rings true for many people is just that when we're able to... hold space for that part of ourselves and understand where it's coming from and why we're experiencing these things that we do that are hard and painful, I think it opens it up to a lot of beauty and balance and harmony and direction in our lives. For you to be able to experience what you did on that level, it's very challenging. And then not only meet it, but also be able to to, I think, understand yourself on a deeper level and spin that around to use that experience and help others, I think, come closer to, it sounds like creation and the creator, right? So to find their own path of spirituality and to connect to deeper, well, deeper to nature and the earth in... and our natural rhythms and of ways of being and to find that peace and stability that you had to travel, you know, many roads to get to. think that's Dr. Frederica: you Krislyn Powell: just really beautiful. So holding space for that is like, you know, we all experience that darkness that you mentioned. It doesn't look exactly the same, but that's amazing that you were able to. take such a path to get to where you are today. I Dr. Frederica: Mm. Krislyn Powell: really appreciate you opening up about that. Dr. Frederica: Yeah, I think it's so important to be authentic about who we are and where we've come from. And that gives permission to others to accept themselves and not be ashamed of what might be perceived in the public eye to not be okay. because that's the only way Krislyn Powell: Yeah, and I Dr. Frederica: we can grow. Krislyn Powell: Yeah, on that note too, it's like, I think, you know, it can be kind of human nature and normal and expected in our society to numb out. like those numb out the hard parts, right? Numb out Dr. Frederica: Mm. Krislyn Powell: the difficult parts of life. when that numbing happens, that's when we kind of turn to things that aren't as healthy for us or people in our lives that maybe aren't as healthy for us. And it's only when we stop numbing and tune into what's really happening in our lives and better understand who we are that we can move through it. So yeah, Dr. Frederica: Absolutely. Krislyn Powell: I think. Yeah, it's just, it's like, I think that a lot, you know, I come from the corporate world. There's a lot of people that are listening that are also have corporate careers and there's a certain sense of numbing or of masking, you know, how we're really feeling. think anyone managing a public image or experiencing... pathway of high performance kind of goes through that too. And so at some point there's that bridge where we have to cross and meet our true selves and decide like, is this the way of living that I wanna carry on? Maybe Dr. Frederica: Mmm. Krislyn Powell: not. Like where do I go next? So yeah, Dr. Frederica: At what cost? Krislyn Powell: yeah. And with that being said too, if you're open to it, would love to kind of weave in some elements of your fertility journey. So I think maybe some of what you experienced impacted your menstrual cycle a bit. Is that right? Could you Dr. Frederica: Right. Krislyn Powell: share a little bit about as you made some life changes, what you noticed in your body and in your health journey and when you decided like, really, wanna... look at my fertility and consider having a family, like that's important to me. What was that like for you? Dr. Frederica: It's interesting because I went through collectively about six years on and off where my cycle came and went, depending on how much I was eating, right, and how much I was able to sustain being in that positive space. Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: and a big part of. my cycle coming back and returning was through herbal medicine and was through acupuncture. That was probably, yeah, I think I was 28 when I started to seriously work with an acupuncturist on my cycle and actually be more concerned about it in the past before that. I didn't even go to a doctor for it. just kind of, it was a little bit of who I was, like doing things on my own, like not too worried, a little too cool to be worried about things, like kind of just that, like. Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: person in their 20s who's just like so confident in like their own self in a sense and yeah you can't tell them anything Krislyn Powell: I can relate. Dr. Frederica: right that was like me in my early 20s. And I had a friend my girl in the past friend she was like, know like it's not it's really not good that you're not getting your cycle and I'm like it's fine like I'm fine like it just kind of brushed it off and And then eventually I was like, okay, this is really something I'd like to pay more attention to and started working with an acupuncturist. And one of the first things she had me also do was to begin not only eating more, but eating meat. And I had been a vegetarian for so long and it just, I think, got to a point where it wasn't serving my body. And that's something I've now learned more so about. I've also been a vegetarian again since then, that was a big shift that created a big shift in my body to start really eating for. what my, yeah, what nourishment was. and that I think I was mentioning, but, that it wasn't the last time I was a vegetarian. So since that point in time, I felt like, I'm not really feeling meat. I think meat has always been a little bit of a chore for me to eat, like, I get a sense that I want some, but then I quickly am like, I'm not loving this. So when I wanted to become pregnant, it was like, okay, I need to be consistent because I know that my body needs this. And I also believe that just the growth of a baby really requires that type of nourishment. So. And yeah, to this day, even with breastfeeding, like I don't feel called to give up meat, even though it's not my favorite thing to eat, but I feel like it's my job. I think that Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: sometimes something we have to do right when we know, know better. And sometimes we don't feel like it, but also we have to just show up and do it for ourselves. Krislyn Powell: Yeah, yeah, I hear that. It was kind of funny the other night, invited, well, my mom was here over the weekend and I cooked dinner with her and when she walked in, I said something like, oh mom, I got beef liver for us. And I had this like pack of, like an actual beef liver, like raw, like ready to chop up and put in our spaghetti meat. And she was like, oh, that's great. It's not, yeah, it's not always yummy or delicious or something we want to do. yeah, it's interesting like health-wise when you could tell that your body was needing it and especially when you're nourishing another being that like there are things that you can change and shift as and that it was supportive for you too in helping your fertility and also, yeah, you nourishing your baby. So I'm curious too, like, when you were able to conceive, obviously you were seeing patients and building your practice and I'm curious, mean, I know that I was kind of on a similar path as you around the same time pregnant, but what was it like from your point of view, like holding space for other people's journeys as you were pregnant and did you have any challenges that... like that you are navigating with your fertility, pregnancy, and now postpartum that you feel like would, our listeners could benefit from or you're called to share just openly here. Dr. Frederica: Yeah, I think the beginning of conception was challenging. I actually had suffered from a miscarriage in the very beginning and still went to work but was just feeling so sad on the inside. And I remember showing up for other patients too who were on that fertility journey in that time. And it was just, it was so challenging to kind of just show up for them, right? And the conception of my son after that was a complete miracle. After the miscarriage, I started giving myself acupuncture and red light therapy treatments and was taking herbs for myself, like on a daily basis. that actually changed my ovulation by seven days. Like normally I ovulate like pretty late in my cycle. They would call it late lydial defect. I was always around like 21 days. And in that one cycle after the loss of that child, I ovulated on day 14. And it was, had lost a child in the beginning of the month and I was pregnant with another at the end of the month. And it was just this kind of like... surreal Krislyn Powell: Wow! Dr. Frederica: place to be in, right? Like you're just still kind of grieving and then like a little bit afraid to be excited because you're like, this just happened and I don't really know, you know, just stuck kind of in all of these emotions and feelings, not stuck, but like feeling all of these emotions and feelings. And what it's really just brought me to is just the miraculous nature of life because Wow, you know, it's such a reminder to not get stuck on our past stories, right? And just to even see, maybe like for me, I saw that that child that came before really prepped my body and brought my hormones to a level, but now I was now able to support my son. Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: Yeah, just seeing the happenings of life as all meant to be and not becoming too dragged down by them, right? So. Krislyn Powell: That's incredible. That's such a quick... you know, change like you said, it was as if you, you know, you were still in that process of grieving the loss, but then welcoming the blessing at the same time. It seemed, you know, so quickly that changed. And, and, and like you said, kind of a miracle. I mean, it really is like that, that happened. And also really beautiful that you were caring for yourself with the skills that you had built and learned and shared with so many others. And that helped in your fertility journey. And you also used the acupuncture as kind of a natural induction, right, for your son when you were ready to bring him into the world? Is that right? What was your decision like as, you know, that time was nearing and, you know, you felt he was ready, you were ready? What did that look like? And if you could explain a little bit about the natural induction process, I think that would help some of the listeners better understand it for those who aren't familiar. Dr. Frederica: Yeah, absolutely. So with acupuncture, we can really help the body to be relaxed, right? We're all about regulating the nervous system. so frequently towards the end of birth, especially with first time moms, like there's this anticipation of, of course, you know, we haven't given birth before. So it's like, okay, I'm excited to see my baby. But that part in between now and baby in my arms, like, I don't know what that's going to be. And so I think that that can start to close off the body a little bit, even on an unconscious level. And so having your treatments with acupuncture just helps the body to be held, helps to move the energy, helps to open these pathways, these meridians in the body, helps to open the uterus and relax the heart, relax the liver, relax our organ system so that we can just allow life to come through us, right? And so when you go to see your practitioner and you have your, know, maybe hour long treatment, you can be in that space and you can let all the stresses fall away from you. Nobody can contact you. It's just a place for you to bring your intention and for you to just be and be cared for. And that sends a message to the body. It sends a really powerful message to allow oneself to just be what you need to be to show up to birth your child, I feel. And there's really nothing quite like it when it comes to preparing your body for birth. So I knew at 37 weeks, like, okay, I have the green light from my midwife to start moving things, right? And I was planning, my husband and I, were planning for a home birth. you know, that 42 week little threat there, if you call it almost, was in the back of my mind. And I was like, okay, like at 42 weeks, they're telling me like I... don't get to have this dream that maybe like that we've been dreaming of and so at 37 weeks when I got that green light I was like okay what are the things I can be doing for myself to really support my body and my nervous system and allow things to start moving. And so I had several labor ready massages and I was eating so many dates in my third trimester. Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: My husband was giving them to me as a snack every night. He was so wonderful. And I had several acupuncture treatments. And the last one that I had was on a Friday and my baby was born on a Sunday. And I remember on that Friday after I left, like the Braxton Hicks were like full on happening. And then Saturday night I was in the pool with my husband and it was just like constant Braxton Hicks. And in retrospect, it was like, I was in labor then, early labor. But of course, like I didn't know what early labor, I didn't, know, it's your first time. Krislyn Powell: Yeah, yeah. Dr. Frederica: In a sense, you're just, you know, and I wasn't in pain, right? So I'm like, okay, things are good. Like my body's like having all these contractions, but I'm happy, like feel great. So I thought really nothing of it. And what was interesting though, it was July 4th, the day that I got my last treatment. And my family was all getting together that night. And I was like, I'm staying home. I'm in my like energy bubble of like starting to draw in words and like I'm just really feeling like I want to savor this energy and not add anything else in to shift it. Like not add any outer thoughts or energies or I just was feeling like a mama bear like ready to go into her den. Krislyn Powell: Yeah. Dr. Frederica: And I honored that and I'm so glad that I honored that, you know, it was what really I think brought me my son into the world. such a short time and also before his guest date too you know a couple days before but still we were in a safe window as far as not having to venture to the hospital and be induced or anything in that medical way so yes. Krislyn Powell: Beautiful. I just love birth, but wow. So cool and amazing that you were so in tune with the energy and how you were feeling and you know the mother vibes, right? Like you already knew, okay, I need to just kind of hunker down. Like it's coming close to it. So yeah, Dr. Frederica: Hmm Krislyn Powell: so lovely. Just thanks for telling that story and explaining a little bit more about like how acupuncture impacts the body, the meridians that you mentioned and helps energy flow. I know it's something that I used not only in the fertility journey, but all of pregnancy and then close to when the baby was coming. And then I don't think we actually did any induction points when I went in. We were going to and then we didn't need to like the baby came. But Dr. Frederica: Hmm. Krislyn Powell: now into postpartum and I've used acupuncture to induce before. as well with my first and so it just something that can be used at all ages and stages I feel like no matter where you are in your life. Dr. Frederica: Hmm. Krislyn Powell: I'm curious too, as you've kind of shifted into this postpartum phase for yourself, what that has looked like. I know you said you made some decisions on working once a week and having that rhythm and honoring motherhood at this time of your life, but when did you decide that? What was the transition like for you and how did you know? you know, how to balance the physical and energetic changes in postpartum and are you still, do you still feel like you're learning a little bit more about that? What has that postpartum experience been like for you? Dr. Frederica: So I definitely was ambitious when I returned to work and in my mind I made those plans before my baby came and I thought okay I'm returning to work very part-time like Two months down the road seems like plenty of time. And so much different to mentally plan for it than experiencing it after the baby arrives, right? So I did start work two months later, but I found that I overcommitted because I started back with one day a week and then I brought another day on pretty quickly and... hadn't fully been honest with assessing like where I was at and where our family was at and definitely allowed like the expectation and pressure of like you should go back to work and like that was I think running a little bit in the background for me and I'm very grateful because I was able to assess that for myself and realize this isn't working for me. It's too early, it's too soon. I'm not ready to be away from my baby or even work towards being away from him more. So I was luckily able to change my schedule and I'm very grateful for that, but it's been interesting in the postpartum, You don't, you know, you have all this preparation, I think for the baby coming and all this support in your pregnancy and then suddenly nobody's really there for you. And so you really start to have to make those decisions for yourself. and not feel bad about them or feel like you should show up for other people. Like suddenly the shift comes inwards to your family and it's not about showing up for others, keeping people happy. It's like, no, this is my priority. So that's been the interesting journey of postpartum in some ways. And then of course, there's dealing with breastfeeding. I've committed to breastfeeding really full on. Like we don't formula feed and I'm blessed that I don't have to supplement with any formula, but also that is work and it's a big job. when you have an oversupply, it's also even more complicated and that which is a blessing and also a complication. so mastitis was something that I've dealt with a lot. Like my gosh, like more than 10 times. Right. And so luckily I never had to take antibiotics, but it was, you know, a scary thing to have to deal with and not really know how she navigate as well and then you're like, should I change what I'm doing with breastfeeding? You know, you're constantly just checking in with yourself and questioning what you're doing and that's stressful. And so I'm very grateful that I'm not having to show up in a full-time position and it shocks me that our country doesn't support women to not have to show up in a full-time position. My gosh, we do so much and We really need to be supported in that, so... Krislyn Powell: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I feel like, you know, just looking back over this conversation and everything that you've shared, it seems like a consistent theme here is like throughout your journey and finding your career path and in helping others look inward and find natural rhythms and honor their energetics and natural flow throughout their body. It's like there's also been a theme here of listening to yourself and following the energy that's right for you and what you need in your life and kind of like a bolder awakening of what's right and maybe like contradicting some things that are happening in society and being willing to question those. So as we're... Kind of closing out, I want to ask you, what would you say to some of the parents that are listening right now that are in kind of demanding jobs or careers and they're trying to build families while they're doing this? How would you encourage them to listen to their bodies, the quiet whispers, know, make space for the quiet knowing as you've learned along your journey? Dr. Frederica: It's about learning to find those little pockets of time for yourself really and valuing those little pockets of time. Because when you are giving so much energy outwards, one has to realize, you know, what is this all about? Right? I know you have to start asking yourself, I think those kind of harder questions. and really just listening. So when you're starting to feel like you're being pulled in a direction that's not yourself, like that's a calling and that's a beautiful symptom and a kind of a portal to... learning how to slow down and listen, right? When you're feeling like, my gosh, like I'm showing up so much in this job of mine and yet like time is moving and what do I want, right? And so, See that symptom as something that can be nurtured and cared for and start to seek ways of nurturing and caring for it. So that's one reason acupuncture can be so wonderful is you might have this demanding job, but if you can get away for, you know, that time for your appointment and you come to that appointment with your intentions of what you're seeking, have that conversation with your acupuncturist and they can fully support you in that space. of taking those small seeds and starting to manifest what it is you're seeking to really grow for yourself in your life. then you can start to maybe work that into like a daily, daily practice of kind of manifesting what your needs and truths are. And so it's starting small, really, right? So maybe like it is that hour long appointment and from there unfolding. into something greater and more. But don't overwhelm yourself, but definitely put yourself first. Krislyn Powell: Such wise words, thank you. Let's recap too. Where can we find you? How can we support you? Where can we connect with you outside of the podcast? Dr. Frederica: I'm a practitioner at Mount Sunny, which is a studio for wellness in Phoenix, downtown Phoenix. I'm there on Wednesdays. So if you're interested, definitely putting yourself on my wait list is a great way to get in the door. As the future kind of builds itself, I'm also toying with doing house calls for my fertility patients and postpartum patients. in the greater Phoenix area, especially postpartum, you know, I think that that's such a hard time to get out the door, but you could really use it in that time. support women in their homes. yeah, apparently not teaching yoga. Otherwise I'd say you can find me at the yoga studio, but yeah. Those are the two places. And then, on the web, so Instagram, Dr. Federica, it's my handle. I'm not the most active there, but I'm there. And you can always reach me there and send me an email. Krislyn Powell: I can attest anytime I see your, like stories, you're very active on stories. You share like all the gems on Instagram stories. Dr. Frederica: Yeah. Krislyn Powell: So I'm always like, okay, what's today? What are you sharing today? But yeah, I love it. Thank you so much. And we close each episode with kind of looking forward for future working parents. you know, as you're... Kind of speaking your truth and laying the foundation for future generations. What do you hope for them as time goes on, as society shifts and as we're being more open about what it's like to build families while building our careers? Dr. Frederica: I mean, podcasts like this are incredible, right? Because we're able to come here and just speak our truth. that collectively is just growing and growing and growing. And I am excited actually to see how that begins to shift. the support that we can get as parents in the future and the time that we can hopefully get away from work to be parents and then have jobs to return to, right? I look forward to that day and it seems like it's not too far away actually. So that's my hope and that I see that hope on the horizon is that we're getting closer to have this integration of family and supporting ourselves and it's not just some distant out of reach reality. So I'm excited to see, let's say I have maybe a year away to raise our children and then, you know, at the very least, right? At the very least. I was with Krislyn Powell: Bye. Dr. Frederica: friend the other day and she told me that her husband had two weeks of paternity leave and I just thought, my, like, What is that? So, but the fact that we're having these conversations and I think the more people become aware of this and the more people become aware of like, that's not real. That's not going to work for us. I'm learning to put our foot down and step away and stand up for ourselves and demand the treatment that we deserve. You know, I think that that's a beautiful thing that we're living in a time where we can ask for what we need. So, yeah. Krislyn Powell: Yeah, I love that. I echo that sentiment. think, you know, as we continue to talk about it and embody, you know, what we need and want and have these conversations and be open about it, then it comes into reality, right? We speak it into reality, our words have power. So thank you so much for Dr. Frederica: Mm-hmm. Krislyn Powell: taking the time and sharing your story and being willing to have this conversation. I think this is a really bold big step and we so appreciate having you on the show. So thank you. Dr. Frederica: Thank you so much for having me. It's wonderful to be here and to share in this.