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The Period Party Podcast · EP. 125 · August 18, 2021

An Honest Conversation with an OB-GYN

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podcast guest

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Dr. Heather Irobunda is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist currently practicing at NYC Health and Hospitals. Heather serves as the Medical Director for We Are Robyn, a service to connect new parents with specialists to find support for their unique parenthood journeys, and also serves as the Maternal Health advisor for Peloton, helping plan fitness content for pregnant and postpartum people.

This episode was inspired by the hundreds of conversations I’ve had over the years about uncomfortable gynecologic visits. I wanted to talk to an OB-GYN about ways to feel more comfortable and safe at these appointments. When you’ve listened, come find me on Instagram (@NicoleMJardim) – I’d love to hear your takeaways.

In this episode, we talk about how you can get to know your body, taking control of your OB-GYN visits, how to advocate for yourself, why you should be selective when choosing your OB-GYN, the systemic issues that perpetuate a lower standard of care for Black and brown people, and so much more!

Episode Highlights

Resources Mentioned

Fix Your Period

How Fix Your Period Connects Gut Health to Your Hormones

Nicole has long taught that gut health is foundational to hormonal health — the estrobolome, intestinal permeability, and microbiome diversity all directly affect the menstrual cycle. Here's how the app supports this work.

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Symptom Tracking

Track the gut-hormone connection through bloating, mood, energy, cravings, cycle regularity, and skin symptoms — the patterns that signal gut-driven hormonal disruption.

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Hormone Health Assessment

Take Nicole's free Hormone Health Assessment and get personalised results that reveal the symptom clusters most associated with estrogen dominance driven by poor gut health.

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Gut Health Protocols

Fix Your Period Premium includes Nicole's gut health protocols — covering microbiome support, leaky gut repair, SIBO, and the estrobolome's role in estrogen clearance.

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Gut-Hormone Education

Nicole's signature Period Pillars include a dedicated deep-dive on the gut-hormone connection — one of the most overlooked drivers of period problems.

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Nicole.AI

Fix Your Period Premium includes Nicole.AI — trained on Nicole's methodology — giving you personalised answers to your questions about gut health and hormonal balance.

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Personalised Protocol

Fix Your Period Premium unlocks your personalised protocol from your assessment results — a targeted roadmap for addressing gut-driven hormonal imbalances.

Explore the App — It's Free to Start

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from this episode — and how Fix Your Period can help.

What is the gut-hormone connection?
The gut microbiome plays a direct role in hormone metabolism. The estrobolome — the collection of gut bacteria that metabolise estrogen — determines how much estrogen gets reabsorbed into circulation vs. excreted. Poor gut health leads to estrogen recirculation, driving estrogen dominance and worsening period symptoms.
How does leaky gut affect hormones?
Intestinal permeability (leaky gut) allows bacterial toxins (LPS) into the bloodstream, triggering systemic inflammation that disrupts hormone signalling, stresses the adrenal glands, and impairs thyroid function. Healing the gut lining is often a foundational step in addressing hormonal imbalances.
What are signs that gut health is affecting my period?
Signs include bloating that worsens before your period, estrogen dominance symptoms (heavy periods, clots, breast tenderness, PMS), irregular cycles, skin issues like hormonal acne, and mood disruption — particularly anxiety and depression around the luteal phase.
Is there an app that addresses the gut-hormone connection?
Yes. Fix Your Period's free assessment identifies gut-linked hormonal patterns. Fix Your Period Premium unlocks Nicole's gut health protocols, dedicated Period Pillars education on the gut-hormone axis, and Nicole.AI for personalised support.
How does nutrition support the gut-hormone axis?
Key strategies include increasing dietary fibre (which binds excess estrogen for excretion), eating fermented foods to diversify the microbiome, reducing inflammatory foods that damage the gut lining, and addressing specific dysbiosis or SIBO with targeted protocols.
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