Q & A with Holistic OBGYN w/ Special Guest Dr. Nathan Riley

<p>Welcome back to the Period Chats podcast! Today Kate talks with holistic gynecologist Dr. Nathan Riley. &nbsp;Today is all about understanding Dr. Riley's work and learning more about how he views the birth world.&nbsp;</p> <p>Dr. Riley began practicing as a regular OB/GYN, and soon became disillusioned with the popularized maternity care model that seems to contain too many interventions and treat pregnancy as a disease.</p> <p>He explains the history of male surgeons stripping birth care from midwives by inventing instruments that could only be legally used by them, and then zooms in on what it’s like as a typical doctor today:</p> <p>The feeling of having “golden handcuffs,” higher-ups watching that you’re doing things the way they want, and having to see way too many patients each day.</p> <p>He shares that part of the problem in the medical world is that doctors aren’t incentivized to think critically and push back. Patients are prevented from bringing legal recourse against a doctor if birth control or other recommendations don’t work out.</p> <p>Kate and Dr. Riley describe the typical doctor visit: an assistant walks you through a set of questions without looking you in the eye, the doctor enters and listens for an average of 22 seconds before beginning their work up, and some parts of the exam can feel rushed or even non-consensual. This model can only excel in the areas of meds, tests, and surgeries.</p> <p>Dr. Riley now practices more of a midwifery model, helping people give birth with vitality.</p> <p>In this episode we also took questions from our audience, which included: finding a holistic OB/GYN, examining the birth control pill, pros and cons of giving birth on one’s back, and advice for regulating one’s cycle.</p> <p>(BTW, if you want an amazingly clear explanation of the menstrual cycle and its phases, check out Dr. RIley’s breakdown at 22:15 and the following).</p> <p>Dr. Riley feels that a loss ceremony, ritual, and storytelling around birth have left out some of the wonders. He teaches us