Birth Control, Why I'm Taking It: A Dive into Reproductive Justice

In this episode, Megan Austin joins me in the tea-tasting room to talk about all things birth control and reproductive justice.  We're not shying away from the tough conversations about access, affordability, and autonomy, and we're bringing our personal stories to the forefront to break down taboos and cultural barriers surrounding birth control and self-advocacy in health.

Wrapping up, we dissect the myriad of birth control methods and the essence of informed choice in sexual health. From barrier methods to long-acting reversible contraceptives, we underscore the vital role of comprehensive sexual education. It's a call to arms for patient autonomy and empowerment, equipping our listeners with the necessary knowledge to confidently engage healthcare providers. So brew your favorite tea and join Megan and me for some hot tea all about enlightening but emboldening advocacy for equitable reproductive rights.

A little about my Brilliant guest:

Megan Austin is a PhD student in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior (HPEB) with a focus on maternal and child and sexual and reproductive health at the University of South Carolina (USC). She obtained her Master of Public Health in HPEB and a Graduate Certificate in Health Communications from USC in 2022. She is passionate about reducing disparities in maternal and child and sexual and reproductive health outcomes in the United States, but specifically in the American South. Megan has experience exploring topics such as sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancy, sex education, and group prenatal care as well as working with adolescents and young adults through partnerships with non-profits and volunteer roles.

Connect with Megan on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and wet student. Join me in the tea tasting mode where we spill the tea and find and balance and promote a positive living while doing it all. Hey, hey, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya. I am happy to be here in the tea tasting room with you. I hope you have done something within this past week to pour into yourself, to make yourself better, to reach to the next level so you can achieve your goal this week.

Speaker 1: 0:42

To be honest with you, my friend, I was down for the count as it relates to my migraine. My migraine knocked me out literally completely. It could not do anything. It caused me to be behind on some of my schoolwork, to be quite honest, and if you know me, you know I'm ever the overachiever, so that was not making me feel any better. But I am grateful to have understanding grad school professors. You know, sometimes in undergrad you get so nervous because they just like oh, if you missed this assignment, you're going to fail this class or you're going to get this amount of grade on your assignments. But I think having the opportunity to be able to network and have conversations with my professors. You know obviously they've now come to friend that Tanya suffers from chronic migraines. But at the end of the day I am grateful. I was caught up. I decided to redownload my Pomodoro app, so I was doing my work in like 25 minutes intervals and when I tell you I got caught up. I got caught up, I was. I pushed through the tail end of my migraine Because you know, if you're someone who suffers migraines, you know something that they can knock you down for a day or two and you just know when you're in the position to start pushing yourself and doing work. So I was able to push through late Friday and got caught up with my schoolwork. I am pleased and I'm proud. So I'm going to ensure that I'm doing everything that I can to prevent a migraine, which I've been doing. But sometimes the migraine is just on migraine. What can I do about that? But I'm definitely happy to be back here in the tea tasting room with you for another good episode, as we are on this journey to continue to live our best lives, to work on ourselves and to promote our health and wellness and positive living.

Speaker 1: 2:23

This week in the tea tasting room I am, let me tell you I am drinking a variety of different teas, so I kind of even sit here and tell you this is the tea of the week. I've been drinking lemon grass tea. I've been drinking garlic, lemon and ginger tea because for some reason, those two teas were just helping me with my migraine. I've also tried Jasmine tea and for some reason, that made me feel calm and it did help me to sleep better, because I've also been having some issues with sleeping. For some reason, my mind is just. It keeps racing because, again, in addition to being a grad student working the full time job, running this podcast and, of course, running a nonprofit organization, where knee deep in preparations or planning for our third annual work, the flow health expo, which is going to be held in Antigua, and I'll probably share my what that with you guys in another episode, but I am knee deep into that. So that's probably where my anxiety is. Seven for my lack of sleep. But I am doing better. I am not perfect. You guys know I'm trying to be on this straight and narrow when it comes to my health and wellness, but I am not perfect. I can tell you when I'm doing too much, which I'm not, but my migraine is just is messing with my time management. Because when I say, if you are someone who suffers from migraines, you know how much that can just knock you down for the count.

Speaker 1: 3:38

But nevertheless, we are back here in the tea tasting room and today we're going to be diving into the complex yet controversial world of birth control. But this time we're going to be doing it within the framework of reproductive justice, and you know, reproductive justice goes beyond just the right to choose. It encompasses factors such as the access, the affordability, autonomy when it comes to reproductive decisions. And I am joined by a classmate who I literally met this semester for the first time. We're taking our maternal and childhood class, and this class, let me tell you, I cannot wait to even create content surrounding these topics that we're talking about. So when I'm in class, I'm making sure, of course, taking good notes, but I'm also ensuring that I'm taking the notes so that I can apply them and come and educate and empower you guys about the various topics that I am learning.

Speaker 1: 4:29

However, I just want to talk about briefly, the importance of networking. If you've been listening to this podcast, you know, my friend, that I talk about the importance of networking, how we can utilize social media for good and not always negative. And, as Issa Rea said a few years back, she spoke about networking across. So instead of trying to get to the I think she used the analogy of instead of wanting to reach out to Talapari or Ava DuVernay or whatever big film producer that there is in Hollywood she tried, or she works towards networking across with her peers, people who are just as passionate about the same things or in the same field, and that's what I think I did or I am working on doing. When it comes to our guest, megan Austin, like I said, she's a PhD candidate. I'm sure Talia bought herself coming up.

Speaker 1: 5:16

But it just felt good that I took the lead, because one thing about me whenever I have to ask a guest about, I have to ask someone about being a guest on the T-Retanya podcast. I love talking, I am great, but for some reason sometimes I just get shy or thinking you know what, maybe they would decline, which that is fine as well. But in this case I was able to network across with my classmate who is as passionate about reproductive justice, reproductive health, body autonomy just as much as I am. So it felt good to have her come and shed some light on break control, on why we are on it, why we're not on it, and so that you can better learn to make informed choices. So let's tap into this week's episode.

Speaker 1: 5:59

Welcome to the tea tasting room to my amazing and I know you're always saying this about every guest and I'm going to probably be a working record every guest I have. But I have a guest who, I think, the very first day of class, something about her energy and the way she talks in class that just made me feel attracted to you in a way. You know, like your mind, the way you think, the way you say certain things, megan, and I'm happy to have you here in the tea tasting room. I was nervous to ask you. I'm glad you did.

Speaker 1: 6:28

On the podcast, I was very happy when you said yes, and I can't wait for us to talk about today's topic because one day in class, guys, she is going to tell you about herself. But she is an amazing, amazing individual and I'm happy for us to be talking about contraceptives and break control, because that can be a very controversial topic and I'm happy to have this amazing young woman here talking about it with me today. So introduce yourself, megan, to the tea tasting room, as we call it here.

Speaker 2: 6:53

Yeah, thank you so much, Tanya, and thank you for asking me to be here. I hate you, I'm nervous, but I'm glad that you did ask. So my name is Megan. I am a PhD student currently getting a degree in health promotion, education and behavior, and my focus is really on sexual and reproductive health and going into the maternal and child health realm as well, and I am originally from South Carolina, so the American South area, which definitely plays a lot into kind of the way I was raised and my beliefs and how there's definitely been a lot of shifts in that over time. But I have been in South Carolina my entire life, but I love traveling and sports and reading is definitely like my hobby that I do the most of on the side and, yeah, I'm just excited to be here and talk about these really important topics with you today.

Speaker 1: 7:48

Yes, I mean, reading is one of my hobbies too, so we'll probably definitely share what we're reading at the end of this episode. I'm really happy to have you here, the future doctor, megan Austin. What we're going to be talking about break control and through the lens of justice and empowerment, because I think sometimes we forget that reproductive justice is very important when we're talking about women's health and women's reproductive health. I'm happy to be talking about that today. So I want to share our story before we get into the meat of the episode about break control. And, to be honest, talking about this topic, I'm very nervous. If you guys hear my voice, just don't judge me. I'm coming from nerves because, again, the belief and going up in the church and how society is sometimes is always nerve wracking and having to express your views in society because you can get cancer. So, guys, don't cancel me or Megan, based on what we may say today. Sometimes you get cancer, sometimes it's just really hard to have these conversations, depending on who you're having the conversation with, and for me, I'm going to share why I'm on break control. So, mommy, if you listen to this episode, yes, I mean you probably know, but nevertheless, if you didn't, you know now, but I think for me the choice to be on break control was a no brainer for me at that point in time when I'm in the choice. But sometimes, again, when we talk about making choices, especially in this country, in the United States and even from Antigua, where we know, again a very Christian background or Christian society back home in Antigua, when you think about break control, you start thinking about all these personalities, probably sexually active, and again, that may be the case. But there's so many different reasons as to why people decide or choose to go on break control. And I know for me I didn't want to get pregnant, like I have grown up all my life with normal periods. I mean, you know I'll knock on wood for that, because some people that's something that can put other people, but for me I grew up having normal periods. I was 11 years old when I had my period. My mom was away. When I had my first period I said my grandmother oh, my goodness, you know, but thankfully I had a whole look at her cousin and I'll give her a shout out Aneesha, she was the one who taught me how to put on a pad and gave me the brief education as it related to period. Of course, that conversation again was taboo in society. It still is, and it's why I also founded my nonprofit organization, scrublife Care, to combat and remove that stigma surrounding periods and reproductive health.

Speaker 1: 10:11

Again, my choice to go on break control wasn't necessarily to fix a problem. It was just my choice because I wanted to. I don't think I'm ready to be a parent, but of course there are other ways in which you can use break control or contraception. I will talk about that later. But that was my choice for whatever reason. Again, my choice, keyword here being choice, the right to choose, and I don't want to say I love it, but again, it's what works for me. I have been torn with the idea of, you know, giving my body a break from hormones or break control for a while, but I am. So I'm currently working through that process of weaning I know that sounds crazy, but weaning myself from break control to ensure that there's not any health implications, as I get ready to do that, for being in break control for that long period of time. So that's my story. It wasn't something that was forced on me, thankfully, but again, as I grew older and I realized the, of course, the risk and the benefits of choosing to get on break control. I, again, that was the better option for me. I'm not saying that it's like a, it's safe in my life Because, again, of course, you want to ensure that you're protecting yourself, because I think sometimes we think about break control as the end or be all for anything as it relates to women's reproductive health, and that's not always the case.

Speaker 1: 11:27

My story may be different than your story, megan, or those of you listening. It could be totally different. Like I said, I grew up with norming periods. I do like that. My periods are. My periods, in quotation marks are pretty short because I just, I mean, if you're someone who menstruates, you know you don't want to see a period. I mean, you know it's a good sign up that you're healthy, but at the same time it's like who wants to be cramping or it's just, it's just a lot when you're busy, like your PhD student, you know, master's student, we, it's just, it's crazy.

Speaker 1: 11:55

But again, for me it was just a choice to ensure that I was taking every precaution I could possibly take, because I am not ready to make the decision to be a mom, just a parent, you know, just yet. So that's my story. It's nothing grand, I'm on it. So what? Judge me if you want, but at the end of the day, that's why I decided it was best for me. But of course, you know that use of using protection is still a thing. I did not say that you know what. It took away everything from protecting myself. It was just a choice for me in this current phase of my life. So you'll say it might be more entertaining than mine, megan.

Speaker 2: 12:26

Yeah, no, I feel like in a lot of ways it's kind of similar. Like I, like I grew up in the South, which is a conservative environment, and there's definitely some views on, like pre marital sex and stuff that were kind of placed on me from a young age. But in a similar vein, one of my largest motivating factors was, yeah, I didn't want to have a baby. I wanted to do everything possible to make sure that didn't happen. But I think another piece for me was I similar sounds like you were also young when, like you, had your first period.

Speaker 2: 13:01

I was nine and my hormones were crazy pretty much from then on out. So I had really bad acne and all of like. I can't remember a lot about my periods back then because I've been under control for so long at this point, but naturally I know that they were like I was cramping really bad. I had super bad acne, like overall my hormones were rural in the world a little bit. So I kind of had dual motivation to get on birth control and since getting on it when I was 16 for the first time, I have had a lot of thoughts about getting my body a break or trying different things because I'm concerned about like what this could be doing to me, which I feel like there's, especially when I was kind of an undergrad in college time period, so like six ish years ago, there was a lot of really uncertain or unknown findings kind of coming out about the effects that birth control could be having on a female's body and their risk to like cervical cancer and stuff like that, and so I did take a time where I decided to change my birth control method from being on the pill to having the implant in my arm, which is one of the long acting, reversible contraceptive options that's on the market, and that was probably the worst choice I could have made for myself, just from my personal experience with them I'm not saying that it's not for anyone, I mean, I've had friends that have had good experiences with it as well but my main driver was concerned about the hormones that had been in my body or that I'd been falsely putting in my body for so many years, and I made a decision to make a change.

Speaker 2: 14:50

That changed then and ended up with me like gaining 50 pounds and having periods twice a month and all of these things that were very much not positive for my personal experiences, and so I ended up making a change back to the pill, and life's been great since then. But I do think that everyone's experiences with birth control are so different, from the time that they're getting on it and the reasoning for all of that, all the way up to the way that it actually affects their bodies and it's not a one size fits all sort of thing. No method is going to be, which I think is really important within this conversation too.

Speaker 1: 15:30

No, I agree because I've chosen. What I've ever done was. The pill is worse than I can know it. I'm going to take it at X time every day. I'm putting the timer on my phone because I've heard of seeing friends and people close to me have like a negative reaction to the long acting. It was a contraception, like you know what, my body was not made the right way. Sometimes I just can say that. But I know my limitations. I know what may affect me differently and I decided you know what. The pill has never had any issues. Let me just you know, stick to what you know, stick to what works for you. I think sometimes again I will talk about that later down we are often forced to take a particular method that we have no idea what it's going to do to our bodies. We are forced to know when you're trying these things as well, it's always a tried and error, but again, it's not enough education surrounding the use of break control. But I do want to take it from a reproductive justice standpoint.

Speaker 1: 16:24

So you know you bring the product you are. If you can just tell us we're five years old, tell us what it is to define, or define reproductive justice and explain how it differs from the traditional reproductive rights framework.

Speaker 2: 16:38

Yeah, that's a really good question and I feel like when thinking about reproductive justice, it comes to thinking about it as human rights. So I think, in a lot of ways, when we think about traditional reproductive health, a lot of times that burden falls on the woman or the mother, the person with the uterus, the person with the uterus who could be getting pregnant and have the consequences of reproduction and the actions that take you through that so the consequences of sex, essentially. And so I think traditionally we have this very limited mindset about what reproductive health is and what it means to have good reproductive health or to fight for equality within reproductive health. But reproductive justice takes this larger lens and it takes a step back, saying that, in reality, reproductive justice affects everybody. It is a human right and it is a choice in the way that I want to experience my life and my body. So it's giving that choice over your own body. Like you were saying earlier, choice is going to be such a key word throughout this whole conversation because it is about giving choice to everyone, and that is regardless of gender, race, sexuality it does not matter, but that choice is going to be pertinent and that choice is not only the conversation of oh well, when are you going to get pregnant, meaning, oh yeah, I can get on birth control now and I'll get off later and have kids when I'm ready, but also if you want kids at all and in the way that you're going to go about having children.

Speaker 2: 18:15

So not everyone wants to have a natural childbirth.

Speaker 2: 18:19

Some people want to adopt, some people want to use a surrogate, some people are wanting to have a completely natural birth, all the way through even the labor and delivery process, other people do not and they want to epidural.

Speaker 2: 18:33

All of those things are choices that we have the right to make, and even when you go into the way that it affects raising our children, you have so many choices in that fact as well.

Speaker 2: 18:45

And so taking a look at reproductive justice really includes all of these pieces, and it pulls in an understanding that some communities and some populations of people do not have the same choice that others do, due to historical systems of oppression, and so when we think about this choice in reproductive justice, it really goes back to thinking about oppression as a whole and how our systems have set up this oppression to then limit the choice that individuals have, and often that is our low income families and communities, it's our people of color, it is going to be rural people living in rural areas. It's all of these different factors that are coming together to create systems of oppression. And reproductive justice fights not only for that choice to decide to have a baby or to not, but it fights for equity and equality throughout all of the services that are offered to people to dismantle the systems of oppression and then lead to equity of choice for everyone.

Speaker 1: 19:51

And I think it's very important that we understand that. You know, when it comes to or think about how intersecting identities can shape. You know individual's experiences when it comes to reproductive health care because, again, that were a choice. This stems back from before we were even born. You know, and I think sometimes for me growing up in there, in a small Caribbean island, we think about break control. Of course we talk about access as well, but, again, that stigma surrounding, oh, why you got to be in break control, or we usually will say, oh, no, this person is too fast, Like in your case. You know, you had a really bad acne.

Speaker 1: 20:27

There are different uses for, again, the different types of break control. But when we think about the lack of access, the lack of education that many of us may have had going up at the time and then having to deal with our parents or even our grandparents, who does have this particular mindset about this is what it is, this is what it means, is very, very hard for us to think as break that stigma. Because you know, even having this conversation, I'm like, oh, my goodness, why am I having this conversation? But if not me, you know then who?

Speaker 2: 20:55

exactly, and we're able to speak of our own experiences, in addition to being able to speak on the knowledge that we've gained from the position that we are in as highly educated women, and so we kind of have this dual sword of the power to speak. And so it does come back to if we're not willing to use our voice, then who will and who can?

Speaker 1: 21:17

No, that is true and I think about you. Know, I've been living in this country for almost oh, wow, almost 15 years. That's crazy. You're back home, you're an antica, but anyway, I've been living in this country for almost 15 years and, going up, to be honest, I wouldn't experience anything as it relates to, you know, racism or looking at this person's skin color or these different things, but of course, there were different classes when it comes to different people in in in Antica as well. But how, living here, I've learned so much as to one, know my place, but I'm also going to take up space as well, you know. But how do factors such as race, class and gender, you think, intersect with access to break control and even reproductive health care? And I know you're coming from a full blown American background, but you know, think about my retirement people as workers. Again, like I said, we may have been dealing with like racism itself, but of course, when it comes to that gender and class, it's is universal at this point.

Speaker 1: 22:10

So how does these factors intersect with the access to break control and reproductive health care?

Speaker 2: 22:15

Definitely. Yeah, that's a really important point to point out. You know how different factors do impact access, and so much of it you know from from an American context goes back to history. You know you can't what is the saying like? You can't move forward without remembering the past or looking behind. You have to learn from that history.

Speaker 2: 22:36

Well, in the US, you know, so much of our history has been built on the sacrifices of people of color, but specifically of black people in this country, and that goes all the way back to slavery and the oppression that's been built into our systems throughout time. I mean, even like you look at our government and certain laws and policies that are in place there that create systems of oppression, just kind of from that top down lens, but on a more like minuscule level. You also look at systems such as redlining, which is where people of color were pushed into certain neighborhoods that were then granted less access to resources. Those resources do also include safe and really good health care facilities, and so if you want to talk about direct access to a doctor who is going to give you good and equitable service, then you already have one big limiting factor there. You also want to talk about employment opportunities and education opportunities, and all of those are going to weigh directly into access in terms of the ability to get certain insurance coverage, insurance as a whole. We have. We do have systems like the Affordable Care Act, but then there are states who chose not to expand their coverage, and so all of these systems all kind of come together to create this marginalized population and keep pushing the population down, decreasing their access more and more, whether from a distant standpoint inability to take time off of work to go to an appointment, inability to get medication or access to certain birth controls due to their insurance status, the inability to have a job to where you have sick leave benefits or the benefits to take time off to go to the doctor because of a lack of education. And none of those things are going to be by choice. They're built by the society leading that movement. So unfortunately, that's very much the American context that has been built over generations that I feel like there is movement to dismantle, because people are becoming more aware of these systems and people are having conversations like the conversation we're having today to bring awareness to these things, and that's really going to be the first battle at breaking it down.

Speaker 2: 25:03

But I think, when we think on a larger standpoint as well, globally which, again, global is definitely not the experience that I've had and it's limited work but you think about access again in terms of healthcare across the world, and I mean, I think a lot of people can, a lot of people can just see that that's definitely not going to be the same for everyone and in a lot of ways, there is a lot of quick fixes that people want to put out there, For example, the long acting reversible contraceptives, like the arm implant that I had experience with, or even an IUD and intrauterine device that is another form or even sterilization. So any of these longer acting sort of contraceptive methods can often be pushed on people as a way to I mean, in reality it's going to be eugenics if we want to call it what it is, but it's a way to make people not have more children, it's a way to limit the amount of reproduction that someone is able to do, Because in the end it's going to be cheaper, it's going to be easier to access for people, but it also removes some of that choice that people have and in recent years, since long acting reversible contraceptives or LARCs is another term that we use to refer to them colloquially. In recent years it's become more popular. It's seen more and more likely that oh well, people who don't have great access to health facilities. We can highly encourage or push them to use a LARC so that way they don't have to keep coming back to get a shot, they don't have to keep coming back to get a new prescription for the pill. It's going to be good for multiple years of a time and, although great if you don't want to have kids and that's exactly what you're looking for, that's a wonderful resource.

Speaker 2: 26:55

But for many people birth control is going to change throughout their lifetime. It's going to change really often and you're not really having a total choice when your doctor is just saying, well, this is what you should do, this is going to be the best option for you, and so we see that on a national and a global level happening, with people getting their choices kind of removed or narrowed down a little bit more for them. So that's kind of my viewpoint of some of the ways that I can impact all these. Different factors can impact choice and access to the different birth control methods. I'm not sure again from your experience in Mantiva if you have other thoughts on it too.

Speaker 1: 27:34

Well, I know, for us back home now, again, having the conversation is still still stigmatized, just like, you know, any part in any way in the world, globally. But again, I've been seeing different organizations playing their role on playing their part as it relates to providing the education, but also being more upfront with the benefits for the pros and the cons, and having individuals, whether you come from a low income family there is more accessible now than before, because I saw someone on Facebook the other day posting basically it was trying to say that it wasn't as available, but then I also ended up learning that the access to contraceptives has become easier back home in Antigua, which is a which is a growth, because you know before that we didn't know what was available. It was again something that you just was afforded the privilege to see that doctor or be able to have access to these resources, but now they also catering to individuals from all walks of life, which is very important. I want to talk about the misconceptions about break control, because for me, growing up again, when you hear about break control, you know this person we call it. We put them as too too fast as in. You know they're sexually active, so their mom is going to be putting them on break control because they know what that child is doing. So let me just go ahead and have this quick fix. As far as you know what, she's not going to be a result of teen pregnancy, but you know, go have all the sex you want to have. Well, that's, again, not really the case as you go up and you learn more and more about the different reasons. Like I've had friends who've had bad acne. That was one of the benefits for them. I mean, should there be number of control? I don't know, that's not my decision or my choice to make, but again, there's certain benefits to being on break control as well.

Speaker 1: 29:12

And I think, in society, because I had a guest on a doctor, an OBGYN, a few episodes ago and we were talking about the language that we use surrounding sexual health education and reproductive health. Education is very, very important as well. And, of course, again because of the different cultures. Sometimes she said that you know, for her patient she likes to have a conversation Because sometimes you know you, you know here you go to see a doctor 20 minutes tops. I just said what do we get done in 20 minutes? Sometimes I'm dealing with like a sheet of paper with some questions. I'm not. I mean, I'm that patient sometimes, you know, because I have concerns and then when you're not being heard as well you know, it's like, okay, this is a mis. You know, getting break control. I've had friends who have PCOS or endometriosis and the first thing that they've been told is to get on birth control. Again, there might be some fix in there. Again, like my OBGYN would like to say, we can't think about doing that. We talk about holistic health. We also have to think about.

Speaker 1: 30:07

you know medication does well because they go hand in hand. But again, these misconceptions when it comes to birth control it's very, very bad in our society, like we're trying and of course you know you have people on one end of the spectrum and then the other end and then there's no meeting ground in between for us to have like a common, I guess, goal or a common understanding of the importance of birth control, but also the right to choose and maybe the cons of birth control, because everything is not perfect. Any medication that we may end up taking doesn't matter what it is, it's always going to be frozen cons. I have chronic migraines. I'm taking my medication for the last year and I'm still having migraines.

Speaker 1: 30:43

That at this point, me too. You know what I mean. But I just want to first to talk about some misconceptions about birth control and how the impact they have on our decisions when it comes to contraception.

Speaker 2: 30:56

Yeah, no, I think that's great, and you brought up a lot of really good ones with the idea of, like, only certain types of people are going to be on birth control. I think that that's one of the biggest things that you hear. I mean even like as someone who's interested in researching birth control and sexual health and reproductive health. I mean even as someone doing that people have misconceptions of what that means about me as a person, and so I think that that's one of the biggest pieces to it is that we have, in somehow of a way in our society, labeled people that are on birth control as like said fast, or like easy or whatever other term that you want to use. I think that another one that really comes to my mind is that it is that like one size fits all, like okay, well, like just get on birth control, it'll fix anything, like it'll fix this, it'll fix that, and I think it's great that, like your OBGYN is willing to sit down and have conversations with you about kind of the side effects, and you said in Antigua, a lot of times those conversations are happening more and more frequently, and in my experience it's been almost the opposite. Like I go in with questions and I'm someone who's going to ask a lot of them and it's almost like annoyance that I am asking these questions and if I'm expressing my concerns about like I also have bad headaches and I get them pretty much every single day and I ask my OBGYN about it and they're like, well, that's just a side effect. Like, would you rather have a headache or have a baby? And I'm like, well, really neither, but thanks. And so I think that you know that idea of like one size fits all or like like it's. You have to be on this if you don't want to have a baby. Like there are more natural ways of like natural contraceptive methods, which personally, I don't trust myself enough to use, but that's like me as an individual. But those are options that are out there for people. I think.

Speaker 2: 32:58

Another one is that a lot of times, people think, okay, well, I'm using a birth control method such as like the pill or an implant or the shot, so I don't need to use condoms, and I think that that is something that we really need to do a good job breaking down and making sure that people understand these are, yes, protecting you both from having a baby, but a lot of methods of contraceptives that are female focused do not also have the benefits of protecting you from sexually transmitted infections, and so I think that there is a really big misconception about that, that, especially kind of in the adolescent, young adult population.

Speaker 2: 33:42

That you know, hey, it's like well, you're on the pill, right, so like I can take a condom off and great, understood, okay. But maybe let's think about the other potential consequences that are out there from doing that, and I don't think that that's always top of mind for people. So I would say those are kind of the big three for me that I have seen and heard of from personal experience, but also kind of from literature as well. I'm sure that they vary, you know, around the world and even around different areas of the US, but from my experiences those are the top three.

Speaker 1: 34:19

And I think for me, because I had an experience, I want to say at least two to three weeks ago well, I'll say a month, because the way I had this it might have been longer, but I think it's been a month and I was going for my annual pap smear and I know sometimes again, when you're a certain age, I recommend, I think 21 and up, you should have a pap smear every two to three years OBGYN. She was like you know, your insurance is going to cover it once a year. I suggest, you know you get it. I'm like no problem, also because I'm not going to go against it. You know it's going to be free. Go right ahead, make sure I'm okay. Yeah, we're not.

Speaker 1: 34:50

But I remember because, even though and I always tell myself, you know I am a I'm very educated, I understand and know about many different things, but at the same time I'm always learning and I noticed that my stomach was getting bigger. I'm like you know, okay, I'm getting wage. You know that's life as you age, you know how it is. But it just looked, it was distended in a way that it wasn't, it just didn't seem or feel normal and I remember going to her for that particular appointment, wasn't going to talk about it. But I'm like you know who else, if not her, then who? Because I'm trying. I made a decision last year to make sure that I'm taking care of myself in all ways, not just going to therapy, not just eating healthy in every way possible Because, again I said, I'm priming my body for pregnancy whenever that may be. But I'm trying to make sure that I'm in tip top shape overall, not just going to the gym, but in every aspect. And one thing I love about her she was like you know, okay, it does look distended. She did a little examination, she wanted to rule out the likelihood of fibroids or making sure that everything was looking good with my uterus or my ovaries and whatnot. And she recommended getting ultrasound, a transvaginal ultrasound.

Speaker 1: 35:54

And I was like that kind of caught me off guard because I've been trying to get one again for the same reason for years. And I was just like you know, oh, you're young, you know you're going to go out of bed, or it could just be a side effect of your brain control, it could just be, you know your diet. I'm like, okay, well, I know how I feel, but okay, you know, at the same time, I'm also trusting you as my care provider, to know best as well. And that's what I was. Having a conflict as well, you know. Yeah, they got. They went to medical school eight, nine, 10 years. So they should know to me everything, almost everything, when I am, from the public health standpoint, learning what I'm learning. So how do we meet in the middle when I'm trying to advocate for myself?

Speaker 1: 36:29

But long story short, I went and did the ultrasound about two weeks later and that visit was very short, but again, long search that I even know what I knew. I was like you know, I hope my ovaries are okay. I'm like could I have fibroids? Doesn't want to my family, but I'm just one thing about me. I'm going to diagnose myself with something that has no business being thought about, you know.

Speaker 1: 36:49

And as the tech was doing the ultrasound, and then my doctor came in a few minutes after and she said everything was great and she got up. I said okay, okay, everything was great. Now, okay, let's, let's walk you through. Like, what is great, can I have children? Like what is healthy, what is normal? I need more than just everything. Look great, you know. And she explained in going into full details, and I mean 45 minutes, which made me late for my third recession, but nevertheless I was able to get a full explanation as to what is going on. I say, yes, it's great, but I need to know how many days, how many, that was going on.

Speaker 1: 37:22

But my point is, again, not everyone is going to be me or you, megan as it relates to maybe having a better understanding of how our body works. Because, again, you know, we go to school, we take our biology classes, we're learning about the anatomy and then we leave it there. We just bought our business. Okay, I'm supposed to bleed every month, or I have an abnormal cycle, I'm bleeding every two months or twice a month, or I'm missing periods for an entire year. And we think, again, we normalize, or I'm having heavy period or heavy flow. All these are things that we normalize because, again, society or a doctor never really took the time to say, you know, let's run these different tests because it could be something else, because at 12, 13, 14, even 21, 25, 35, we shouldn't be having these extremely heavy periods with these excruciating pain as well. So I'm saying all that to say you know, it comes down to the education that we have and the education that's being provided to individuals in our society.

Speaker 1: 38:19

So one thing in my non-profit we try to teach sexual education, of course age-appropriate, because we're not five to eight, it's a different age grade. But you also want them to be aware. We talk about good touch, bad touch. So I know I'm long-winded but I just have to share my little story. But I just want to know the importance, tell us the importance of I may know, but my listeners may not know but the importance of comprehensive sexual education, because I think growing up in school and I think we talk we spoke about this in class, madam, in last week or two weeks ago.

Speaker 1: 38:49

You know we just the sexual education that we got, I think during my time, was appropriate, but I graduated high school. I graduated high school a long time ago. I'm not going to even give the number, but what they're doing now in the school back in Antigua is totally different than what they're doing. What they did during our time is like it's non-existent. Then I was talking to all the class but another man in our class because guys, we have a bunch of mangers in our class, there's like five of us but she was telling me about even the lack of comprehensive sexual education, and that's something that I'm fighting for with my non-profit to get into the schools in Antigua, because we miss that mark when it comes to making informed choices, not only about broken children, but just in general, when it comes to anything health related. But in this, in this case, in this podcast, how important is comprehensive sex education and empowering individuals to really make informed decisions about their health, but also when it comes to break control.

Speaker 2: 39:47

Yeah, you are really getting in on my passion topic right now. Sex education is like the topic of my dissertation. This is definitely something that I am very passionate about, and that passion comes from my personal experience of having extremely limited sex education that was more stigmatizing and fear based than to the extent that it did nothing, but that I don't even remember a lot of it and boys and girls were separated in school and so many of these things are still happening. And, in the same way, I feel like I graduated high school so long ago at this point that I'm like why are these things not changing as our society is changing, and I feel like a lot of young adults, adolescents and now youth are becoming more comfortable talking about these topics of uncomfortable things, of uncomfortable things in quotes, because they shouldn't be uncomfortable, they shouldn't be stigmatized, but things such as like menstruation and even mental health or in their sexual health and their sexual experiences and all that. So I see change happening, but our school systems in a lot of ways are not following that, and sex education or comprehensive sex education specifically, is to help people have that choice and have the knowledge and, like you were saying, you and I have this knowledge from our experiences and life and from studying these topics. And knowledge really is power, because it is going to be what's guiding you as you're speaking to healthcare providers, as you're advocating for yourself and for the care that you deserve to receive, and so, to me, sex education is like the first step to fixing it all. It might not be the easiest step to start with, but I think that we have to make these changes, starting from our future, which is the next generation, and I think that it's difficult for a lot of people to wrap their minds around because of the stigmatization that they grew up with talking about these topics. But again, times are changing and our schools need to be changing with it.

Speaker 2: 41:55

Conference of Sex Education is supposed to be starting from kindergarten, all the way up until your senior year in high school. It's supposed to take place during all of your primary education, and it is medically accurate, age-appropriate education that focuses on so many different topics. Like you're saying, it focuses on consent and when it's okay for someone to touch you or not, when you tell them that they can. It talks about recognizing not only your own anatomy but also anatomy of the opposite gender. It's talking about being able to recognize when things seem off with your body. And what does that mean? It talks through changes of puberty. It talks through social relationships and familial relationships and recognizing what makes a healthy relationship versus an unhealthy relationship.

Speaker 2: 42:48

So many times when people hear sex education, then it's just this automatic fear of like, oh, you're going to teach my children how to have sex or something like that, and I'm like that is so far from the truth.

Speaker 2: 43:02

We're teaching them how to participate in healthy relationships and how to make sure that they're aware of their bodies and the things that are changing within their bodies and changing within society around them.

Speaker 2: 43:14

There's multiple different lessons that can be taking place, from an individualistic perspective to a interpersonal perspective, all the way up to looking at how society talks about the role of women, for example.

Speaker 2: 43:28

And so all of these things are supposed to be a topic that's covered in comprehensive sex education that so many children, not only in the US but across the world, are not receiving. And by not providing that education, we really are doing our children and our adolescents a disadvantage, because they're not learning how to have these conversations in a comfortable way. They're not learning how to recognize changes in their bodies or how to point that out to someone. They're not learning who safe adults are going to be that they can trust to have these conversations with, and we don't know what happens behind closed doors for individual families, and so making it known who other safe adults in the community can be is so important, and that includes doctors, that includes counselors, that includes, like community health workers, and so we need to be teaching all of those things from a young age to ensure that all of our children are going to have equal access to the care that they deserve in the future.

Speaker 1: 44:30

You know you're just speaking to my heart, because everything that you just said is literally pretty much everything that I'm trying to do or we do within my organization. Because, again, you mentioned that safe adult, because sometimes, you know, growing up again, given the household that you're in, having these open conversations may not be possible, because you know we just don't know what goes on behind closed doors. So being able to have this in schools, so individuals can know about their bodies, how the changes, and then also knowing who is a trusted adult to speak to if something seems off within your body or something happening right away with another individual and I think again, when we shun these, always we have we attach this stigma to these topics, thinking, oh, you're going to teach my child how to have sex, okay. And in my mind I'm thinking, okay, that's not the case. But even if we were to do that, would you prefer them be educated about something or not? You know what I mean and I think that's it's just, it's kind of it makes me so upset because, again, I think we try, we need to have that, I guess, bridge that gap between child or children and their parents as well, because sometimes, even though we talk about providing the education to our young individuals or adolescents. We have to start at home as well.

Speaker 1: 45:40

Again, we don't know what goes on behind closed doors within some homes, but again, it's up to us community health workers, everybody who's trying to, who has a passion as it relates to comprehensive sexual education to lead that charge so that we can bring the parents in as well, or the trusted adults, because again, how they grew up may not be.

Speaker 1: 45:59

It's not the society that we're in right now, where things are shunned or things are part of the culture. We're in a totally different society. I was just talking to a friend earlier today and I was like you know what I'm this age now and it's just crazy how life can pass you by. It's just crazy how some of the things that you wish you knew when you were younger, obviously you now know. But again, it's up to us to bridge that gap between our communities because again, we're failing our children, we're failing our society when it comes to stigmatizing sexual education periods, birth control that's the big one that we tend to forget, that body autonomy is very important. So I want to talk about, and I'm thinking about, a situation with a friend of mine who was experiencing PCOS and was just bleeding nonstop for like a month and a half straight.

Speaker 1: 46:53

Of course, going to the doctor to get answers and not being heard, just being like, you know, let's get him break control without thinking or without even having the education to make that informed decision. They got him break control. I can, like many of us, sometimes, again, like I said, I'm thinking that as a doctor, I'm going to trust you because we should have that trust between the patient and the client. It should not be any distrust. But she felt like she was forced essentially to get on break control, something that she did not want to do. She was not educated enough to know the difference between okay, I have PCOS, I'm bleeding for a month, month and a half.

Speaker 1: 47:28

What could be the reasoning behind that, instead of just being going break control that's going to stop it. Then you get on break control and you're still having the same symptoms it has not Plus other symptoms, plus other symptoms. So again, I think you know, from a courage and standpoint I'm pretty sure I'm butchering that words, I'm going to leave it to you to say the word properly, because my accent and my stutter and my tongue is not working with me. But talk about the way in which, you know, we talk about forced civilization or individuals are being forced into taking break control without having the education or having the autonomy as it relates to themselves when it comes to the choice of break control. Why are we being forced or forced into taking something without that full education? So I want to talk about that because it is such a good job teaching us the class the other day Control.

Speaker 2: 48:20

Thank you. Yeah, so coercion unfortunately occurs very regularly, especially in the reproductive health space, and we see that kind of like we were talking about earlier, with people who you know may have trouble accessing health care being highly encouraged to have these or utilize these longer acting, reversible contraceptive methods just because it's like a one time put it in and leave it for three years, and so we see it in that way a lot. But within the health care facilities, you know, even the way that birth control options are really discussed has been seen to be in a coercive nature and we are seeing some change in this, and so I'm not just going to try to sit here and like shame, you know all of these hospital settings, because so much clinical care is exactly that. It's clinical, it's looking at health outcomes specifically and it's about mitigating those health outcomes. So it's not necessarily always going to be a patient centered or person centered approach when there is a understanding that hey, well, I'm just trying to stop someone from getting pregnant or I'm just trying to stop someone from getting an STI, like that's. That's what my job here is. But in reality the job does go further than that into making sure that the patient is content with their decision, that the patient feels that they have a decision to begin with.

Speaker 2: 49:50

And so the way that birth control options have been discussed in the past and still I mean I've experienced this personally is there is a chart, basically, and that chart, in a lot of places, shows that you have the least effective for control methods and the most effective for control methods, and within that, the least effective are going to be like condoms or like using spermicide or the pullout method or tracking your fertilization or those sorts of things, whereas on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, at the very top, at the top of the page, where your eyes are going to catch first because if you know anything about health communications, you know that what's at the top of the page is what you're going to read first, because that's what we're taught to do and all the way at the top of the page, you're going to see a large bold whether is that say most effective, and that's going to be where your long acting, reversible contraceptives are, whether it's your IUD, your inner and uterine device, your implant that goes in your arm, or sterilization. And so even by just presenting those options first and saying, well, this is the most effective. This is 99% sure to not going to make you have a baby. And this is completely, you know, something that once you put it in, or once you get it done, like you don't have to think about this anymore there is no room for human error like it is effective. And so when you're being sold like that, then although yeah sure, you could say, well, I actually want the next level down, even with that, you're going to have this like social desirability to do the thing that's supposed to be best, especially if it's all going to be equally covered by insurance or things of that nature, to where it's not going to make a cost difference. It's just going to be the easier option for everyone.

Speaker 2: 51:44

And so, in a lot of ways, you know just the way that we speak about things and the way that we go about doing so. So, whether it is starting with hey, what are your reproductive goals right now? If we started like that, then we could have a completely different conversation than saying, hey, I noticed you have multiple sex partners and you're young, so I'm assuming you don't want to get pregnant, so let's look at these birth control options right now. And so, based on the way that we even approach that conversation. We being healthcare providers I am not one of those Let me disclaimer that right now.

Speaker 2: 52:22

But we being healthcare providers, the way that we train healthcare providers to approach that conversation can have such a difference in the way that people can approach their choice in the matter as well, and so we can reduce coercion by even changing the way that we discuss things, whether that's starting with the person centered approach and having that conversation first, whether that's changing the look of these charts and sure, yeah, the facts can still be the facts that this method is 99% effective and this one is 97%, but 99% versus 97%, we're still talking about really effective birth control methods that are on the market today, and so we need to make sure that people are aware of all of their options and they're educated about all of the side effects and symptoms that are possible from each of these options, recognize what an individual's goals are when it comes to reproduction and then, in the end, letting it be their choice instead of pushing a certain option on them, because that's what we see happening with a lot of people.

Speaker 1: 53:29

No, I agree, but you've been talking about the different types of break control defectiveness. So, if you can, as we get ready to wrap up, let's give us, you know, runners down, that chart of the types of break control Because, again, I think sometimes some people may only be familiar with, let's say, the break control pale or the IUD or the implant as well. But you know, again we're talking about break control and making informed decisions. I want people listening to know what's out there, the effectiveness, so that when they're going to the care provider they can have that conversation. Instead of just being told what to do, they can weigh their options. Just give us a list of the types of break control effectiveness of them as well.

Speaker 2: 54:08

Yeah, definitely. So when we think about this, I'm going to give another little disclaimer that all of these are better than doing nothing Like. Yes, some options may be more effective than others in terms of use and in terms of room for human error, but all of them are going to be effective to an extent and any option is going to be better than none. So let's just start there. But when thinking about break control, we do have things that people typically think about like condoms and condom success for both male condoms and female condoms. Those are going to be one of the only options that has dual effectiveness for pregnancy prevention as well as sexually transmitted infection prevention. When we talk about contraceptive use, a lot of times, not only do we talk about using one method, but we talk about using two methods. A dual contraceptive user. That would mean using another type of birth control methods, such as the pill, which I feel like is a commonly known one as well, in addition to a condom because of that dual effectiveness. With a condom, you have both of those options. As well as a diaphragm, you can have withdrawal People often it's colloquially known as the pull-out method. You can also have fertility awareness management Tracking your cycle to know when you're ovulating. And then there's often you just avoid sex during ovulation windows or you make sure you're using a condom or something during those times. All of those are going to be great. There are a lot of room for human error within them, unfortunately. We need to make sure that we're using them correctly, making sure, for example, with condoms, there's no holes in the condoms and whatnot. But they're all going to be options that are out there available to you. Oftentimes they're also the most accessible options. Again, if you have difficulty getting access to things, there are still things you can be doing to help prevent pregnancy if that's your reproductive goal. Additional things that we have that start going into hormonal options are the pill.

Speaker 2: 56:27

There are so many different types of birth control pills on the market today. They have some that are just estrogen only, some that are progesterone and estrogen. Ask your doctor all about the different options, because they all have different side effects. They all do different things to your body. Those are really important to know about. There's also a ring which you place. I believe it's about every three months. It might be a little more frequently, but you three weeks. Yeah, that's right. That's right, three weeks and then the shots three months. You place the ring right by your cervix. You can do that on your own, which is nice. You also have a patch which you can replace on your own. Often can be seen lower abdomen around your butt, or also some people do have another arm too. You have the shot or injections, which you do have to get from a healthcare provider about every three months.

Speaker 2: 57:23

All of those are going to be hormonal methods that are available. Again, there's different options within each of those. While they are hormonal and that makes them slightly more effective than the category we were talking about Beforehand there is still room for human error here. If you aren't taking your pill at the same time every day, or maybe you are late to your injection appointment, or you forget to change your patch for a week or something of those sorts. There is room for human error there, but these are going to be really effective options. Those are going to be good options out there.

Speaker 2: 58:07

Then there are the long acting reversible contraceptives, which I know that in a lot of this conversation we've spoken a little negatively about the way that they are pushed onto people, but these are going to be wonderful options if it's what you choose to have. There is the inner uterine device, which is hormonal or not hormonal they are both out there. There's the implant, which is hormonal, but it's progesterone only, and then there is also sterilization you can get your tube's tide, or vasectomy. All of those options are also going to be really good, and they do have really high effectiveness rates, because there is not quite that room for human error that there are in a lot of the other options. That doesn't mean they're perfect. None of these options are going to be perfect, and none of them are going to be perfect for every single person. It's about what's going to be perfect for you.

Speaker 2: 59:00

I do think, though, that, in addition to each of those options you think about that you can take on a regular basis, or those sorts of things, it's also important to point out emergency contraception, because those are also available in things that are on the market. A lot of ways we just hear this talked about is like plan B, but there are different types of emergency contraception out there, and those are, in most places, offered over the counter. Now you can get them without a prescription if needed, if maybe the method you were using failed at that time, and even if you're just a little concerned, you can go and have that option available to you. Unfortunately, they are still a bit costly, but a lot of nonprofits and such hand them out as well to have as an option. There really are a multitude of options for birth control available and you can get them out. A lot of nonprofits in your local areas, like Planned Parenthood.

Speaker 2: 59:56

If you're on a university campus, a lot of campuses offer some of these options for free or really reduced cost, and so I recommend trying different things, seeing what's going to work best for your body. Your body, again, is unique and there's beauty within that. It can come across as frustration when the same thing that works for you, tania, it doesn't work for me, but at the same time, we are all unique people and so we have to figure out what's going to be most effective for ourselves, what we're going to feel the best doing and what's going to impact our body the best. So it comes down to knowing you a little bit.

Speaker 1: 1:00:32

Yeah, knowing you and when we think about I know for us, we like to plan things in life. We like to plan what we're going to eat for dinner, we want to plan what outfit we're going to wear to go brunch with our girls, but you should also think about reproductive life planning. So this is all a part of that as well. You want to get familiar with your body, become more in tune, so you can know what may work for you, what may not as well. But have that conversation, be confident in having that conversation, which you can't provide, because as much as we put the trust in them, you have to have that trust and confidence in yourself as well to ensure that you are getting the education, getting the care that you need so that you can make these decisions, because it's not easy Something we're talking about it casually here but it's not easy to make that decision when it comes to the choice to either be in break control or not. So you definitely want to also do your research, because Megan and I can talk to you all day about this, but you also want to do your own research so you can have your questions to ask the provider. So you guys, it can be a you know not only an individual decision, but you both can come to a common understanding as to what you're looking for or what you're wanting when it comes to your reproductive life planning as well. So we want to point that out because it's very important Educate yourself. And, of course, again, some of these break controls is going to be trial and error. You may get the implant. It may not work for you. You may have to get it taken out. You may do the IOD the IOD same thing. So again, it's a lot of trial and error. So I'm not encouraging you to write off break control. I'm also not telling you to get on break control, but I'm just telling you to get yourself familiar with how they may interact with you, or just educate yourself.

Speaker 1: 1:02:04

Again, we talk about education. We have to educate. We have all we are on our phone 24 seven. It's a quick Google. Of course, make sure it's evidence-based, because I'm going to always say that I'm an evidence-based girlie. So we want to make sure that the website that you're getting it from is a reputable source so you can continue to educate yourself.

Speaker 1: 1:02:24

Megan, I am so happy that you decided to be a guest in the tea tasting room. You were just spitting some facts and you're just so well informed and I know those who are going to be listening is going to be really, really happy to have this information, because they've been bugging me for a while. To talk about break control. I wasn't going to do a solar episode. I'm like you know what. No, I need somebody else to come and help me digest and explain this to my tea taster, as I like to call them. But you know, thank you again for being a guest, but, of course, tell us what we can find you. If you're on social media documenting your journey through PhD school, whatever you want to tell us, just because we know you're here. We like to follow people in my business, but just if you have anything you want to share, it doesn't matter what it is, what is school related, whatever you did in the community knows your time to let us know so we can see what you have to do.

Speaker 2: 1:03:11

Awesome. Well, yeah, thank you again for having me, tanya, and this is a huge topic and it's a really important topic that I do think is, due to stigma, hard to talk about. So I'm glad that we were able to have a little bit of time to do this. But, yeah, no, I mean feel free to follow me on Instagram if you want. I have been working on being a little bit more real on my Instagram, so my Instagram is mechandelizabeth9101 and I can send you my app if you want it, but, yeah, I would love to have you all on there.

Speaker 2: 1:03:44

Yeah, I'm in the final stages of my PhD right now, so I am finishing up classes and about to be diving headfirst into all things dissertation. I've had wonderful opportunities of working within the community with a couple of nonprofits, such as Fact Forward, which focuses a lot on this work, and so I've had great opportunities to do that and get engaged, kind of outside of research a little bit too, which I highly recommend. Any other academics listening to you know, think about what that in the community aspect is going to look like too, because your research, yes, is so powerful it's going to take you so far. I want to do it for the rest of my life, but putting that into practice is also so important, and that's the real reason that we're doing what we're doing. So I just would second what you were saying, tanya, about education, and recognize that knowledge is power in a lot of ways, and so we want to make sure that everyone is educating themselves, and it's so easy today with all the technology at our fingertips. And so do your research not on Wikipedia, please, but other sites. Do your research, check out community partners.

Speaker 2: 1:04:59

Make sure that you're advocating for a legislature that is going to allow all of these different birth control methods and equity in the care that we are providing is happening within our federal and state governments. We know that there's some challenges with that right now, especially in the US context after the overturning of Roe v Wade, and so we want to make sure that we're keeping kind of that in our forefront too, because once you have this knowledge and you have this power and you feel empowered to advocate for yourself, then you can take it a step further and advocate for everyone as well. Just bringing it right back to that reproductive justice, making sure that we are taking a stab at dismantling oppression, and doing it one person at a time. So, again, thank you for having me, and I think that this is awesome everything you're doing on your side, and I'm very honored and blessed to be a part of it for this episode. So thank you.

Speaker 1: 1:05:55

Yes, thank you guys for joining us for this important conversation, and I want to end it here by saying that body autonomy is a human right. Remember, when it comes to reproductive choices, everyone deserves justice and autonomy. So until next time, take care and stay empowered. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.