Embracing the New Rules of Women's Health: Meghan's Story | Healing Heroines

In this Healing Heroines episode, Chandler sits down with award-winning health journalist and author Meghan Rabbitt to explore what it means to truly listen to your body in her new book, The New Rules of Women's Health: Your Guide to Thriving at Every Age. 

Meghan shares her experience navigating severe fibroids, anemia, and ultimately a hysterectomy. She reflects on the physical, emotional, and identity shifts that followed. Drawing from Meghan’s reporting and lived experience, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at healing that integrates medicine, self-trust, and the courage to slow down. 

What You Will Learn

[00:07:30] How years of “powering through” symptoms can delay necessary medical intervention

[00:10:00] What led Meghan to pursue multiple medical opinions before choosing surgery

[00:12:30] Why hysterectomy decisions are highly individualized and not one-size-fits-all

[00:16:30] How preparing emotionally and physically before surgery supported recovery

[00:19:00] The role of community and shared experience in normalizing women’s health challenges

[00:26:00] Why deep rest and slowing down were critical parts of post-surgical healing

[00:28:30] How somatic and energetic work helped process emotional healing after surgery

[00:46:00] Why trusting intuition is essential when navigating women’s health concerns

Resources Mentioned

• The New Rules of Women’s Health by Meghan Rabbitt
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• Tyrer-Cuzick Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool

Let’s Connect!

Meghan Rabbitt

Website | Instagram | LinkedIn

Chandler Stroud

Website: https://healingheroespodcast.com/

Mixing, editing, and show notes provided by Next Day Podcast.

Transcript

Chandler Stroud: [00:00:00] Hey guys, it's Chandler and welcome to The Healing Heroes. I promise you.

I'm Chandler Stroud, an executive wife and busy mom of two who after years of living with anxiety. Health struggles and an unshakeable feeling like I should be happier, made a profound discovery that changed everything. Join me on a journey where unexpected paths lead to [00:00:30] healing and more happiness. On this show, we will explore unconventional ways to unlock more joy in your own life with the help of my very own healers.

And trusted advisors, the healing heroes.

Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Healing Heroes Podcast. I'm your host Chandler, and I am thrilled you've joined us today because this episode is a bit of a departure [00:01:00] from our usual healing heroes format, and also in many ways. Right here at home. My guest today is Megan Rabbit, an award-winning health journalist who has spent the last 20 years helping women understand their bodies and their health.

She's the author of a new book, the New Rules of Women's Health, which just released a book she was invited to write by Maria Shriver, who also happened to write the foreword of Meghan's [00:01:30] book. Megan isn't here because she's an expert with the answers. Don't get me wrong. She's certainly learned an incredible amount in the process of interviewing experts for this book, but she's mostly here because like so many women and those of you listening today, she's found herself inside a health crisis that she didn't see coming.

One that forced her to confront pain. Fear, loss of control, and [00:02:00] ultimately, a deeper reckoning with her body and with her life. After undergoing a full hysterectomy, Meghan began her own healing journey, one that included western medicine, psychotherapy, energy, healing, intuitive counseling, reiki, breathwork, and more.

Along the way, she did what she's always done best. She asked questions. She listened deeply and she sought to understand. What struck me most [00:02:30] in our initial conversation for this recording was this, Meghan doesn't position herself as an authority. Instead, she spent three years interviewing dozens of expert physicians, women's health leaders, and translating their insights into language that women can actually use.

Trust that spirit is what connects her work with this show. Very similar to my mission of connecting my own board of advisors, the [00:03:00] healing heroes with all of you. This conversation is about helping women feel less alone in their bodies, more informed in their choices, and more empowered to trust themselves.

I'm thrilled to have Megan here to share her personal story with all of you, what that season of her life felt like, what she reached for when things fell apart, and what healing actually looked like for her. We'll also talk about what she learned from writing this [00:03:30] book, what most surprised her, and most importantly, what she believes most women need to understand about their health.

Right now, I am. Eternally grateful to share this conversation with you. But before we dive in, here's a bit more about Meghan and her work. Meghan Rabbit is an award-winning journalist and author of The New Rules of Women's Health, your Guide to Thriving at Every Age. She specializes in writing about women's health and wellness, and her [00:04:00] work has appeared in many national publications including Women's Health, Oprah Daily Prevention, Maria Shriver's, Sunday Paper and More.

She's known for translating complex medical and scientific topics into clear, actionable information and for telling stories that help readers better understand their bodies, their health, and themselves. Megan, I am so thrilled to have you here today. Thank you for taking the time to be with us. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Thank you so much.

I [00:04:30] am, yeah, I am just absolutely thrilled to be here. 

Chandler Stroud: Well, we are thrilled to have you and are so honored because I know we are recording this conversation days before your book release, but when it launches, it will have just happened, and I know you have a lot of big plans for that week, so I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to be here with us.

Meghan Rabbitt: Of course, I, I love what you're doing and talking about on this pod, so I, I'm just again, thrilled to be here. 

Chandler Stroud: Well, thank you for saying that. And as is tradition when [00:05:00] heroines, the Healing Heroines join the show, we always like to start with a fun warmup question. So I would love to ask you, Megan, what is bringing you a small sense of steadiness or joy in your life right now?

Meghan Rabbitt: Mm. Joy pickleball. I have caught the pickleball bug. 

Chandler Stroud: I love that. 

Meghan Rabbitt: About two years ago now, I talked to my husband into doing a learn to pickleball learn to play pickleball clinic, and he kind of dragged his heels, and now both of us play [00:05:30] multiple times a week. We have made so many friends. The way I describe it is like you're playing ping pong, but you're standing on the ping pong table.

It's so 

Chandler Stroud: fun. Cool. I love that analogy. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. So that's bringing me a lot of joy. And I love the steadiness question too because what I, I'll share what I'm practicing with you right now to feel more steady. Love 

Chandler Stroud: that, please. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Which is. My mind tends to go a mile a minute. I'm often in my head and it's all the chatter of, you should do this, and where are you on your to-do list?

[00:06:00] And oh my gosh, this podcast just came out and my eyes look a little red or whatever the, the self-criticism. And what I'm trying to do is quiet that by feeling something in my. Whether I feel my heart space or my butt cheeks on my chair or like a little stuffiness in my nose, if I can get closer to the physical sensation, I find the chatter quiets a little bit.

And so that's what I'm practicing doing right now to stay a little more steady. 

Chandler Stroud: I love that. [00:06:30] I think the unlock is always finding presence and what you described as a beautiful way of finding that, and a very accessible way of feeling that wherever you are. And I also love the pickleball answer because we often say that like as adult modern women, it's so hard to just play for the sake of play sake, and that's exactly what games like pickleball or tennis or whatever you decide hobby is just, it's fun to just play for the sake of play.[00:07:00] 

Meghan Rabbitt: Absolutely. You feel like a kid again. You know, you do. When I play pickleball, I really do feel like I'm 10 years old on the playground again. And it's rare to get that feeling when we're grownups. 

Chandler Stroud: Yeah, totally. Though, I feel like you have a competitive streak in you too. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Oh girl, I, you talk to some of the people I play pickleball with, they would be like, Uhhuh.

Yep. You nailed that. 

Chandler Stroud: Love it. Love it. That's great. Well, maybe someday we'll play together and would love that. Megan, to get into the meat of our conversation, can you take us [00:07:30] back to that time in your life, when your health began to unravel and what was happening in your life, both physically and emotionally to the extent that you're comfortable sharing with our listeners?

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah, I, most recently, over the course of a few years, late thirties into my early forties, I really started experiencing some menstrual health symptoms. That, to be quite honest with you, I just powered through. So I [00:08:00] was always regular, quote unquote, like I got my period every 28 days like clockwork. And because of that, I kind of ignored everything else.

Meanwhile, my periods were very heavy to the point where I was always borderline and and then crossed the border of anemia and iron supplements is any woman who's ever had to take iron supplements probably can attest to they're really. Challenging to take and actually get your iron levels up. They can do a number on your system.

Multiple [00:08:30] doctors were like, I know we don't really have a great alternative for you. And I was feeling dizzy. And those first 1, 2, 3 days of my period were like as, as a doctor I recently interviewed about menstrual health said like crime scene periods where you stand up and you're like, what just happened?

You know? I just powered through, you know, I just powered through and ignored it and didn't even bring up these symptoms with my doctors, with my [00:09:00] healers, you know, whether it was my conventional like gynecologist, primary care physician or even, you know, I live in Boulder, Colorado, where I have a posse of.

Alternative healers, integrative healers. And I didn't bring it up with them either. You know, I really ignored my own body symptoms and yeah. And really the crisis moment came when I was passing clots, pretty big clots. I, I couldn't roll over in bed without getting dizzy. There's [00:09:30] one dizzy spell I remember.

And that's the low iron, right? One dizzy spell. I remember where. I mean, the room was just spinning and, and as anyone who has dealt with vertigo or, or like an intense case of that can also relate to, I'm sure it is terrifying. You know, it is really, really terrifying. And, and so I finally brought these symptoms to a gynecologist that and it was a nurse practitioner who I brought this up to.

And even when I think back, I just [00:10:00] played it off as no big deal. Like, oh, I'm sure it's perimenopause, and, you know, and she was like, well, how big are the clots that you're passing? And she just asked questions that helped me unravel the story a little bit more. And sure enough, she said, you know. Who knows, but let's schedule a vaginal ultrasound.

I did that within days, and the next thing I know, I'm laying on that ultrasound table and the tech was like, you have fibroids, uterine fibroids, everywhere [00:10:30] they can be, every type you can have. And like it was almost like, you know, when you're. In, in one of those medical situations. And you can tell on someone's face that like they're surprised at what they're looking at.

That's, that's what was happening. And so, yeah, I got a diagnosis of, of fibroids, again, a super common diagnosis for a lot of women. And that started a whole other few years of me trying to really hold onto the reality of that diagnosis. And [00:11:00] then, wrap my head around it and also grapple with really this feeling that my body had betrayed me, which is sad.

It's a hard, it's a hard feeling. 

Chandler Stroud: Yeah, I can imagine. How long would you say that you lived with the fibroids until you had to have a more serious procedure done? 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah, so I. Thought I could just deal with [00:11:30] them. And, and multiple doctors I saw were like, look, you've, you've got a few options. Some of the options for treating fibroids weren't going to necessarily work for me because I had so many and they were in every place they could be.

And so like. One example is an IUD. A lot of women who have fibroids, you might have an IUD placed to at least control the bleeding and that wasn't an option for me. My sense is that there was nowhere to put the IUD, like that's how full of fibroids my [00:12:00] uterus was. And so I had conversations with my doctors who said, you.

They will shrink after menopause. And the average age of menopause is 51, 52. And so I was like 41 at the time. And so I was like, okay, 10 years, can I just deal with this? And I really, I really grappled with it and I didn't want surgery, so multiple doctors had said the only option for my case of fibroids would be a hysterectomy.

And I just, that felt like a big surgery. I didn't really want [00:12:30] it, and I just figured I could try to power through. And then finally I just after so much fatigue, more symptoms, really, you know, a week of hemorrhaging as I like to call it, you know, kind of in a joking way. But it, there was nothing funny about it.

It was really. Debilitate it, you know, life altering for a good few days, a week of just dreading how heavy my cycle was gonna be. I finally said, okay, I think I really need to get serious about a [00:13:00] hysterectomy. And so I interviewed surgeons. You know, I put it out to my people here in, in where I live and sort of asked.

Everyone you know who has had this procedure or who knows someone who's had a hysterectomy, who was their surgeon. So I got some really good recommendations there. And then I went to three different surgeons before I landed on one that felt like a really good fit for me and, and who I felt [00:13:30] like, you know what?

You're my surgeon for this really important. Procedure and I feel like I'm really passionate now about helping women understand that, that, that they can do that. You know, I understand there's a lot of privilege that comes with this. I live in an area and have insurance and the means to be able to get multiple opinions.

I know not everyone is that lucky, but I think if you are in a position where you can get a second, a third, maybe even a fourth opinion and really make sure you're landing on the, [00:14:00] the. Person who feels like the best fit for you. Ugh. It's worth the time and energy and, you know, disappointment because I left one appointment and I remember just being like, oh my gosh, like that is the last person I want to do this procedure.

You know? It just felt rushed and I didn't feel seen. I didn't feel like she was really listening to me. And then I gave her no impression that I was like, ready to, to go for this. And she, as I was leaving, she was like, okay, so let's get that scheduled. And I was like [00:14:30] no. Like, I'm gonna wait on that. So really important to have the people you feel confident in working with you.

Chandler Stroud: We say that all the time on the show, picking your tribe of healers and support system is maybe the most critical element to going on any sort of healing journey of your own. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I was really hoping to have it done laparoscopically. Which he was able to do, which is pretty remarkable.

[00:15:00] When I first woke up after the procedure, I was like, he showed me pictures of my internal organs, which is kind of this really cool, as anyone who's had it, they put a camera in your your belly button, basically rub a hole right above your belly button and you can see your liver and your ovaries and the uterus, and they take pictures of everything.

And when I. Came out of surgery and I woke up. He was like, you had a really big uterus. I think it was even bigger than he was anticipating. So due to the fibroids and I actually had [00:15:30] another condition called adenomyosis. Most of us have heard of the term endometriosis, which is when lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus.

Adenomyosis is when the lining of the uterus actually grows in the wall of the uterus. And so. It doesn't always create as, as many problems in terms of the lining growing on other organs. However, it does create a lot of inflammation and it can cause more symptoms. So in addition to the fibroids, I also had this other condition I had no idea I [00:16:00] had, which was likely creating the crime scene periods, and he said the average uterus should weigh 70 grams, seven zero.

Mind weighed almost 500. And so the fact that he was able to do it laparoscopically, I just blew me away and I just felt so grateful. I think, I think I said thank you like a million times when I was waking up from that surgery. And the healing process from that was intense and I had a really great experience, so I had.

What's [00:16:30] called a total hysterectomy with bilateral cell pate, which is a whole bunch of medical jargon to say they removed my uterus and my cervix as well as both fallopian tubes. They were able to keep my ovaries, which is really great news for me because at I was 45 when I had this procedure and I was able to not go into menopause immediately.

So I didn't experience a lot of the, yeah, the, the symptoms of menopause that can come on board [00:17:00] right away if your ovaries are also removed in a hysterectomy. So, 

Chandler Stroud: got it. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. So I, when I woke up, you know, I, I had a really great healing, you know experience in the immediate aftermath of the hysterectomy in that I was up, I was moving, I walked out of the hospital.

Well, no, I took a wheelchair outta the hospital 'cause they make you, but I was walking around the floor within a couple hours of waking up and so, wow. Really, really positive experience now. Partly that's because they were [00:17:30] able to do it laparoscopically, right? So I didn't have an overnight stay, but I think what I would want any woman listening who maybe is considering hysterectomy or that's been tossed around as a possibility, because it is a very common surgery, like second only behind C-sections in terms of how common it is in our country.

There's a lot of fear around it. There's a lot of fear about, it's a big surgery and I had a lot of fear around it before I had it. And I think if I could [00:18:00] talk to myself before I had the hysterectomy, it would be like, of course you have fear. Like that's a really normal emotion based on the, you know, bigness of what's about to happen and it's gonna be okay, you know?

It, it was a really smooth process for me. I think in a, in a lot of ways I was really healthy going in. I was doing my work, eating pretty well, moving my body, doubling down on my healing practices, you know, getting, I go to [00:18:30] a Rolfer who I absolutely love, who was working not only in on my fascia, but also with.

Me emotionally, you know, like the, the body keeps the score, right? Oh, 

Chandler Stroud: we love that book here. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. And so I think, you know, my, my role for was really, like, I had my people who were helping me prep for this surgery. And so I'd also say to, to your listeners, you know, do, yeah. Like no matter what, what procedure it is, when you double down on those things to help shore you up, I, I think it helps, you know, I think it has to help [00:19:00] as you're coming through a major, you know, procedure like that and, and in the healing.

Days afterwards. 

Chandler Stroud: Yeah, definitely. And I mean, I think that's so, I think that's such an important thing that you realized both before and retrospectively as you think about kind of what really helped you through. It's almost like you just feel less alone. Like you really have a support system holding your hand going in and on the other side.

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah, 

Chandler Stroud: they kind of look at the whole person versus just [00:19:30] pieces of you. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Absolutely. And I think, you know, something else that you just said that reminded me of what really helped was talking to other women who'd had a hysterectomy. Hmm. So if you actually start sharing that you've had this procedure, you're about to, many women will say, oh, I had that.

Oh yeah, I went through that a few years ago. Or a a, a good friend of mine went had one a few months after me and someone else told me that she, she says When you meet other people with who've had a [00:20:00] hysterectomy, we we're hyster sisters now. And I think when you can find your people who. Have faced similar struggles to you and just are it have been in it.

Man, if you can really lean on those people, that's so, it makes it feel so normalizing as well. You know, it just makes you feel supported, but also like, oh, like I, I, I've got this. 

Chandler Stroud: Yeah. Yeah. That's consistent [00:20:30] with a lot of the other advice we've gotten from heroines on the show who have been through their own sets of challenges is that finding a community of women who have experienced and have the wisdom of being on the other side can really make or break your ability to kind of stay.

Calm and confident going through a process like that? 

Meghan Rabbitt: Absolutely. You know, and it's interesting with hysterectomy in particular, I interviewed a doctor once who called it like an a la carte surgery. You can kind of have [00:21:00] whatever organs, multiple different types of organs removed. So in some cases you might just have the uterus removed, but not the cervix.

Not the tubes. So they mostly take the tubes these days. Because an interesting fact, actually most cases of ovarian cancer start in the tubes. Really? So, yeah. Which we know now, thankfully, because. Thank goodness for science and research. And so that's become pretty common and it's something that you should definitely talk to your doctor about when it comes to your a [00:21:30] la carte choices for hysterectomy.

But again, like I said before, it could have been like, had they found something on my ovaries, they probably would've taken those, you know? And so I think it's important to understand that just like you could have multiple different. Organs removed in hysterectomy, you can also have different types of surgery.

So my friend who had a hysterectomy, her uterus was even bigger than mine with even more fibroids and bigger fibroids, and they couldn't do it laparoscopically. They had to do an abdominal cut to take her [00:22:00] uterus and, and tubes out. And so I think just like that, we all go through different experiences in the healing process Yeah.

As well. And I think being gentle with ourselves and understanding that how I heal from surgery is gonna look really different than how my friend did and how my neighbor did, and how my mom did is also really important to. Remember, I think again, so that we can be really in our own experience rather than placing all these shoulds on ourselves, [00:22:30] which can be tempting to do.

Chandler Stroud: Totally. I always say stop shoulding yourself all the time. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Totally, totally. 

Chandler Stroud: It's so true. Well, I'm, you know, I'm so sorry you went through all of that, but what I will tell you listening is I was struck by. How incredible you, you were or how you knew to advocate for yourself from the start. Not just with finding the right partner in a physician, but and surgeon, but also getting that support system in place, [00:23:00] asking the questions, knowing and listening to that intuition that told you you didn't wanna just push through with the fibroids for the rest of your life.

You wanted to do something more significant. And I think those three actions in themselves can be really tough for women to kind of, to decide that they wanna move forward and build that support system or interview doctors, because that's obviously time and I think it's just really incredible how ahead of your time you were in handling a lot of [00:23:30] that.

Meghan Rabbitt: Honestly, I think working on the book that I just wrote really helped me and it really, my own experience became. Even more a part of my mission and my North Star as I was interviewing doctors and putting together this book, because I want all women to feel like they have the tools they need to advocate for themselves.

To feel confident advocating for themselves. And I think something I know that trips me up sometimes is when I just don't feel [00:24:00] like I, I can speak confidently about something, then I defer, I hand over my power and I say, well, you know, more, you know better. It's, you know, here you tell me what to do.

Whereas I think, you know, in this book, it goes beyond the gynecologic sexual health you know, female. Topics in that it also talks about heart health and immune health and brain health. And in all of those areas, partly we we're unable to have these great conversations with our doctors often because we just don't have a [00:24:30] good baseline education about our bodies and the various systems in our bodies.

And I had heard a beautiful phrase the other day, which is, you know, doctors know bodies, but we know. Our bodies. And I think the more we understand and can speak the language and have words to speak the language with our doctors about our bodies, the more we can remember, oh, I know my body and I'm gonna tell you what I'm going through.

And so it, it really was a process for me, you know, in terms of learning [00:25:00] more. About, you know, even just things about my uterus and my ovaries and my tubes that I was just like, how have I lived in this body for 40 some odd years? And I have no idea that, you know, about multiple aspects of, of my reproductive organs.

But once I learned, I was able to have those conversations with more confidence. And I think that's what helped give me the helped me feel empowered to interview multiple doctors, ask questions to land on the perfect surgeon for me. 

Chandler Stroud: Yeah. [00:25:30] Yeah, I can see how it would, I wanna ask a couple questions about the healing journey, bouncing back from such a big procedure, and then I have a whole host of questions about your process for the book, and I'm excited to get there.

But I'm, I'm curious first when everything felt really overwhelming or on the other side of this as you were. Healing your body, mind, spirit. What did you instinctively reach, reach for, to feel better? 

Meghan Rabbitt: Hmm. [00:26:00] Yeah, I think, you know, in the immediate days after my instinct was to just stay close to myself. You know, I, I still had a lot of work to do, but I took two solid weeks off.

I cleared my calendar. It sounds really silly, but I bought myself an electric blanket and it w. It was one of the best things that I did because it was winter when I had this surgery and [00:26:30] I would just get on the couch, I would get under my electric blanket and I would read, I'd watch tv. I just leaned into doing whatever I felt like doing in the moment, and I really think it helps my, my physical healing, because I think it was just my body.

I moved as much as I could, you know, like I, walking post-op was gonna be the best thing I could do to speed the, the recovery. And so it's not like. All I did was sit under that electric blanket. You know, I, my, I have a picture of my husband, you know, I put my, he would [00:27:00] help me put my hiking boots on, and then the yak tracks on the bottom, just because it was snowy and I didn't wanna fall post-op, you know, and so I would take walks, but really just leaning into, rest, which I think is something as women we have a hard time doing. It makes me so sad that that's the truth. But it's, you know, when you, when you have to deeply rest, you remember how much, how good it feels, and how much it's needed, you know? And then I think after [00:27:30] that, my instinct really was to. Talk to my healers, not, not my surgeon, not the post-op six week post-op appointment, though, that was great.

But I wanted to really talk to my healers and see my healers who were gonna help me tackle the emotional aspects of healing. And I think, you know, with the hysterectomy and even the way I've described it right now, it, it was a very physical thing. It was very physical symptoms of heavy periods and, you know.

Other [00:28:00] symptoms due to the fibroids. It was a very physical, we're going to remove your uterus and your cervix laparoscopically. There were five little holes in my stomach to, you know, little scars to prove the physical nature of that. But I think there was so much emotional work I had to do afterwards as well in terms of, wow, like that was a pretty stressful buildup to a big surgery.

And then the come down off of that was also pretty big and emotional and really grappling with like what it [00:28:30] means as a woman to no longer have your womb. The seat of creativity and womanhood, you know, and I think that's when I, I really leaned into my therapy, my therapist psychotherapist is just remarkable and helping me climb into my body and, and really feel the emotional space of where my uterus was.

And that was really transformative work. And then when I was cleared for [00:29:00] pelvic floor pt. I was really lucky in that my pelvic floor physical therapist didn't just do physical work. She did a lot of energetic healing as well. So there the whole first half hour of my pelvic floor PT appointments was just.

Reiki, it was her hands hovering over my body trying to understand what my body was telling her, and I'll never forget the first session. It was all actually not focused on my pelvic floor muscles, but rather my [00:29:30] diaphragm. Because after that surgery you're, you get in a laparoscopic hysterectomy, your belly gets blown up with gas and everything kind of, you know, shifts around.

And my diaphragm wasn't actually moving fully down when I was taking a deep breath after that surgery. And so her energetic work, yeah, I can feel my whole body just relax, even just in the memory of that because it's just it really felt like transformative, you know, in, in me getting used to both physically [00:30:00] and emotionally, this new orientation of different insides.

Chandler Stroud: I love this so much for so many reasons, but I think it's such a beautiful example of how. Western ME medicine can be supported by a lot of these practices. And then it does go so far beyond just the physical remnants of what's left behind after a procedure like this. Right. And I think what you're describing, you know, is so moving [00:30:30] to me because you said at the start that you felt like your body had betrayed you when you got this diagnosis.

And what I'm hearing is you coming back into your body and learning how to forget. Not just forgive it, but love it again. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Totally. Totally. And, and also, you know, again, in that energetic work I did a lot of thanking my uterus for all that it did for me until the hysterectomy. Now I don't have children. [00:31:00] So it was interesting in that that gratitude didn't come with what I think a lot of women would feel, which is like, oh my gosh, you were home to life.

You know, I, I've never been pregnant. However, man, like I had a regular cycle all my life, every 28 days, giving me this guide to my body and this external cue of what was happening with my hormones, and I had a lot of gratitude towards that. You know, I had just a lot of, [00:31:30] yeah, feelings of gratitude towards how my uterus connected to other parts of my body, you know, and, and just, and for being there as.

Possibility for me, you know? 

Chandler Stroud: Yeah. 

Meghan Rabbitt: And giving that space and name, that, naming that gratitude, I think really did help me a lot in the healing process. 

Chandler Stroud: I'm sure it did. That's a very powerful energy that you cultivated in practicing that kind of gratitude. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. Yeah, and I think as women, [00:32:00] we can be hard on ourselves when it comes to our cycle.

You know? I don't know any women who really loves their period, like, 

Chandler Stroud: nope, 

Meghan Rabbitt: as much as it is this, you know, sometimes. Even when my period got really heavy, I was like, well, at least it's this like detox. I'm flushing things outta my system. But like, that was just like a sugar coating. Like I did not enjoy it, you know?

And I, I think there's there's a way that all of us, no matter what's happening with us, can just kind of climb into our bodies and just be like, oh, thank you. Like, [00:32:30] thank you ovaries. Thank you, uterus. Thank you. Heart. Brain. Like. Butt cheeks, like whatever it is, you know, I think it's really important because we just roll through this world so outward facing all the time and in our heads and just plowing through.

And I think to take those moments to really climb in and be like, what's happening for me right now? I. Yeah, I, I wonder actually, if I was in a more steady practice of doing that in my younger years, if I [00:33:00] would've actually clued into those symptoms a little earlier and and not had to suffer for so many years.

Yeah. 

Chandler Stroud: Yeah. Yeah. It's a fair question. I think it's so hard for us as women to be present in our bodies, and I think moments like this can be really life-changing in learning, to your point, how to crawl back in there and be grateful for how it served you up until this point and continues to serve you.

Megan, what does healing look like for you now? Not as a destination [00:33:30] necessarily, but as you think about the way you're living your life today. 

Meghan Rabbitt: First and foremost, it's, it's making time for myself. I think it's. Making sure that I am nourishing my body, that I'm moving my body. I'm a big fan of strength training right now.

Mm-hmm. We're hearing a lot about it, but Wow. It's just, it feels like it puts me in my body personally. It's just, it works me in a way that just. Helps me climb in. I still see my [00:34:00] Rolfer, who, you know, as she's working on the fascia and things are reorganizing, we're talking about what's happening for me emotionally, and I see that Rolfing massage as such a key part of my healing because it's just, it gives me those, I think those practices are really cool because it's physical.

And emotional at the same time. And it's like as she gets deep into some of those, you know, muscles or fascia, I might have like memories come up. [00:34:30] And because it's such a safe space, I'm able to share them and it's, it work through them I think, in a way that I otherwise wouldn't be able to. And certainly therapy.

I mean, that is just, it has been a truly transformative experience for me. I've, after seven years of working with this therapist, I feel like experiences in my life are just different. I'm, I'm changed in a way that I feel proud of. And so that feels like a really important part of my healing journey, [00:35:00] not just from the hysterectomy, you know, but my on helping me heal on this path that I'm on, this go round.

Chandler Stroud: I share so much of that sentiment with you. I think, I mean, I supplement with lots of different things, as I'm sure you do, but I think the therapy has been really instrumental in moving me forward and helping me understand my life and my power better. Coupled with the somatic work. Myofascia release is how I've started.

But I [00:35:30] tried the Rolfing as well. Love Rolfing. And then the last piece, which I think you touched on in how you climb into your body and in the breath work and the meditation and in the gratitude is the spirituality aspect. The knowing that like you're supported in this, there's some larger force at play that is, you know, holding you in this pain and in this healing, and.

I, I just, I love hearing another woman talk about her [00:36:00] path and her journey through that lens of just, it came from everywhere. Right? But you were intentional about what you were looking for and what you needed to support you. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. And, and I think too, you can be really intentional about what you need and what's gonna support you, and I think it's so important to stay open then.

You know, and I think that was a big learning for me in terms of, you know, you can't, you can't always control how your healing is gonna go. What's gonna happen [00:36:30] to you? What's gonna need to, you know, I'm, and I'm thinking a lot about that now at 46, I'm about to turn 47, and I don't know if it's that middle age sort of hits and you're.

Oh, I'm not so invincible anymore. Things start happening to the people we love, and diagnoses happen and, and scares happen. And I think it's the more we can lean into these healing practices. And remember remember that as we go through these really hard, scary times, remember that we can shore ourselves up with what's worked in the past.

[00:37:00] Yeah, the better off we'll be, you know, it's, as my therapist would say, it's God's work. You know, it is. God's work. It is pure love. When you have to lean into fear and let yourself sit in that space, that is, that is hard work. 

Chandler Stroud: Megan, you've lived this all from the inside, and then you spent three years listening to experts across the women's health landscape for your book, the New Rules of Women's Health.

I'd love to talk [00:37:30] about what happened when you brought your own world of healing together with this research world that you dove so deeply into in the process of writing this book when Maria Shriver asked you to write this book. What did you feel called to say within it and to the women that you knew would eventually read it?

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah, it was such a cool assignment. You know, as a journalist, I take assignments all the time, and I'm sitting in LA with Maria Shriver who says, [00:38:00] Megan, I want you to write a women's health manifesto. And I, I think immediate initially and immediately I was just like. Okay, Maria Shriver, like, I got this.

Then I went back to my desk and was like, oh my goodness. Like this is this is a project, you know, because when you think about women's health and a woman's body, and what Maria wanted me to do was not just cover the typical, you know, what sexual health, reproductive health, breast health, [00:38:30] what we now refer to as bikini medicine.

She wanted me to cover the female brain and heart and. Lifestyle habits like exercise and nutrition and sleep, but through the lens of what women specifically need to know it, it was really daunting. I'm not gonna lie. Like it was really like wow. And you know, I think, I live in Colorado. I do a lot of hiking and I, I really, as I started on this project, I really thought about it as a climb.

You [00:39:00] know, and, and sometimes in that class you just have to plot your course, and that was what the outlining was. And then at multiple points in this juncture, I was just, okay, I gotta put my head down and just right left, right, left. Focus on my feet, focus on the small steps forward at multiple points. I wanted to stop and say, I, this is too big, I can't do this.

And then I kept going. And so yeah, it was, it was a tall task, but one I felt really honored to be working on. 

Chandler Stroud: I love that you call it a [00:39:30] manifesto and not a book, because that to me is exactly what it sounds like. Based on our earlier conversation together, you mentioned interviewing dozens of experts. Was there anything that you repeatedly heard that women are being told or maybe aren't being told clearly enough?

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah, I, I mean, I think overall, you know, women report and even our doctors and the [00:40:00] people who take care of us report that too many women are not feeling seen and heard. So I think that was an overall trend of like, wow, like we as women, if you feel dismissed, if you have ever felt unseen, if you have ever walked away from an interaction with a healthcare provider and just felt super disappointed and like you weren't heard.

You're normal, join the club. It not that that makes it better, but I think knowing that you're not the anomaly [00:40:30] can, can be actually really supportive. Yeah. And yeah, I think, you know, when it comes to what surprised me throughout every aspect of this book, every chapter, there was something that absolutely shocked me, you know, and, and, and really then made me a little mad that we, we are not taught these things.

You know, everything from it, you know. Research in an organ, as important as the clitoris, for example, was all based on cow research, not human. And so [00:41:00] finally, just a few years ago, a researcher said, we need to be looking at. A human clitoris to understand how many nerve vendings are in here, you know? So something like that, just shocking.

I feel like when I interviewed a doctor about breast health, she said, you know, doctors aren't actually talking to us about our lifetime risk of breast cancer. We think that when we get a mammogram. We're on top of it, we're, we've got our breast cancer prevention covered, actually mammograms and other, it's a screening tool, [00:41:30] right?

What we should be doing is a breast cancer risk assessment, and that's something we can do ourselves online. Olivia Munn was talking a lot about this in her own journey fairly recently, where her doctor said, let's do a lifetime risk assessment. It's called the Tire Cusic Test, and you can all take it online.

And her doctor 

Chandler Stroud: will link that in the resources, by the way, 

Meghan Rabbitt: fantastic. I feel really passionate about if every woman could take this and bring the results to your doctor. It just helps you have a better conversation about, look, is an [00:42:00] annual mammogram good enough for me, or do I need additional screening?

And so I think something like that, after I heard that, I took the test myself and I, I had never had a doctor ask me to if what my score was or do the, do the test with me to show me my score. And so, and sure enough for me, it led to me needing my first breast MRI recently, you know, and so that's shocking, you know?

And so at every turn I really did feel like, gosh, we we need a better, better [00:42:30] education about our bodies. It's, it's time and because we don't get that we have to take matters into our own hands. 

Chandler Stroud: It would be great if we could flip the script on that though. And I'm not saying that women shouldn't be empowered or feel like.

They can advocate for themselves, but it would be great to be met halfway with that education on the part of the medical system as well. 

Meghan Rabbitt: A hundred percent. Yep. And I think if you look, you know, the thing is every doctor I interviewed said [00:43:00] she meets with, and they're all female doctors, researchers, clinicians in the book.

I felt really passionate about really having the female expert voice. There's 132 female, all female experts in this book. 

Chandler Stroud: Wow. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. 

Chandler Stroud: 132 female experts. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yes. Who you will hear from in this book to help give us that education about our bodies and various aspects of our health. What they say is all their patients have come to them with like.

Until you I have felt [00:43:30] unseen. I have felt ignored. I have felt like dismissed. And I do have hope, like clinicians like them, the the ones that are in my book and also others, like they do, like they do wanna work with us. They do want us to feel like the good ones do want us to feel like, they can help us, you know?

And so I think it's not, again, it's not all doom and gloom, but but it is on us to really find our people, to find the ones who we feel like, oh yeah, you're, [00:44:00] you're, you get me, you, you're listening to my symptoms and you have a plan for me that I'm on board with. 

Chandler Stroud: I totally agree. I think that's the assignment.

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. 

Chandler Stroud: For every woman listening, that is the assignment. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. 

Chandler Stroud: You have to take ownership of the future. You, no one else is gonna step in and do that. That has to be your job. And I just, I think it's great that you're advocating for that kind of awareness and action from women. [00:44:30] 

Meghan Rabbitt: Absolutely. I mean, you know, I ha Maria Shriver often says.

As women, we have to become the CEO of our own health. And when you think about that, that big CEO energy is confident. If I don't know the answer, I'm gonna know, I'm gonna get the answer, I'm gonna find it. You know, it is very much like I'm gonna take the reins here and say, okay, this is where we're going.

And I think we all as women, can do that. You know? Sure. Should we have to? Would it be great [00:45:00] if we were working within a system where we felt like that was a little easier? 100%, but we're working with what we're working with and so it is incumbent upon us to, to really take control. You know, I loved a friend of mine who's in marketing, when she saw my book cover, she was like, the New Rules of Women's Health.

She's like, I love that because ladies, we've been letting other people make the rules for far too long. It is time for us to make new rules that work for us. And I think really for [00:45:30] the rules look different for all of us, right? You've got different health concerns than I do. You have a different past than I do.

And it's really important for us to give airtime to what we're, what we've been through, what we're feeling right now, and then create those new rules that we wanna follow, that that will help us feel our best. And also. Break some old rules that don't work, you know? 

Chandler Stroud: Yeah, absolutely. No, I love that spirit.

I think that's exactly right. And in [00:46:00] that, what would you say coming out of the process of writing this book, what do you want women to trust about their bodies? 

Meghan Rabbitt: Your intuition? Is, is speaking to you, man. Like if you have that sneaking suspicion that something's a little off, listen to it. You know, in this culture where we can often be told nothing to worry about, no problem, that's not good enough.

You know, if, if you feel like something is off, travel down that road [00:46:30] and, and until you meet people who will really, help you feel seen in that? Because you know, as women, a lot of times our symptoms are a little more subtle than male symptoms. You know, certainly when it comes to heart attack, for example, the man gets this crushing pain arm pain for women.

Oh my goodness. It can feel like, you know, you're a little more fatigued. You're a little nauseated. You're, you know, and it's just like, you might have this intuition that something is drastically wrong. When the world might be like, Ugh, you're a little [00:47:00] nauseous. What are you gonna do about it? You know? And I think we know our bodies.

Chandler Stroud: We do. We absolutely do. And I think that's such a mic drop answer because we are such huge advocates and fans of helping women reconnect with that intuition here on the show and not just reconnect with it, but learn how to listen to it again and feel like. You have permission to do that even when it feels challenging, even when it feels like you might be rocking the boat, [00:47:30] even when it feels like it's not what everybody else around you is doing.

Right? Like give yourself the permission to listen to yourself and actually explore what that means for you. To your point, Megan and I just, I love that advice. I love it. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah, and what's, what comes to mind right now too is like this conversation has been so much fun because it's reminding me that even though I am about a year almost to the day after my hysterectomy, and I feel great [00:48:00] and 

Chandler Stroud: congrats.

Meghan Rabbitt: Thank you. Yeah. I feel like a new person in a lot of ways. I am, I'm feeling inspired to get out that electric blanket and like to carve out some time to get back on the couch to deeply rest. You know, as I think the way I'll speak personally, the way I am able to really listen to my intuition is by slowing down.

Yeah. Is by getting on the couch or into bed early is, is, and not reading something or listening [00:48:30] to something or watching something, it's like, just be quiet, you know? And can, can I climb in and really get curious about what's happening? Because I think it's, it's hard thing to do and this go, go, go get everything done.

Culture we live in. But I think. For me, that's the secret to really being able to listen to what my intuition is saying is, is quieting down. You know? 

Chandler Stroud: It was the secret for me too, and so many other women who have been on this show, [00:49:00] and ultimately I think that's what a lot of the practices we talk about, do they give you access to that quiet again, where it feels so inaccessible some days.

You know, 

Meghan Rabbitt: it really does. Like I'm wondering, and I'm a journalist, so I always ask a ton of questions, so you can tell me to pipe down if you want to, but how do you personally find like those hits of quiet? Like is there something that helps you throughout the day? Because [00:49:30] it's really hard to do, right?

Chandler Stroud: Yeah. Yeah. I. Make it a point of waking up before the world. And by world I mean my house, my kids, my husband. I wake up and I have about an hour to myself and yoga. First thing, 15 minutes, 10 or 15 minutes, not for exercise, just to move energy and remind myself that I live in this body and it's a gentle way of loving [00:50:00] myself to start the day.

And then I try to get outside and I don't. Listen all the time to podcasts or music. I really listen to nature and sometimes I just, I don't know, listen to a song or meditate or get on a bike, or I'm a huge fan of warm yoga, but whatever I do in the morning is for me, it's to remind myself that I'm in my body and that this time is however I wanna use it, and if I need it throughout the day.

My [00:50:30] heroes and healers have given me so many ways to access that quiet when I need it. Whether it's deep breaths, whether it's meditation on, you know, more. If I'm going through a challenging time, I do what you've done. I call my Rolfer or my myofascial release specialist. I go to church, I pray. I love praying prayer, I pray.

32nd prayer every night before bed. And then there's one that I love saying when I'm out walking or just driving to a yoga class, but it just grounds me. It reminds me what's important. [00:51:00] And once I remember what's important, that quiet comes a lot faster and a lot easier. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Mm. It sounds too like you don't make it a big thing.

You inter, you know, you weave it throughout your day and you don't set like high standards for it. Like, I think sometimes what I do is I'm like, oh, if I don't have 30 minutes for my breath practice, I, I, I can't do it. Whereas like, actually I could do it in 30 seconds. If I didn't set this bar too high, you know, it's like, I think I, yeah, that's another practice I, I wanna pull in [00:51:30] this year is like, a little bit is better than no bit, right?

Chandler Stroud: Yeah. But that's the muscle, right? Is like in the middle of a busy day when you've got a call in five minutes and there's so many things you want to do in those five minutes, it's like, what's really gonna help me right now? Totally. Okay, yes. I wanna fold that laundry or whatever it might be. Or like, get that email out the door if you're in an office.

But like closing my eyes for two minutes. Like that's gonna reset everything and make everything from here on out more enjoyable [00:52:00] and more peaceful. And I would never have listened to myself before. 'cause like you, I'm like, that's not enough time. Like I need to have blocks of time to get these things done.

And I think I've just learned that getting those 2, 5, 10, 15 minute blurbs, whenever you can squeeze them in throughout your day. And some days you may get that only five, and then other days you'll have an hour and a half. Who knows? Right? But you just do what you can and like. Be grateful that you have the awareness to know you need it in the first place.

Right. 

Meghan Rabbitt: That's [00:52:30] so powerful. Yeah. I love 

Chandler Stroud: that. That's your intuition speaking and when you listen to it. In small ways. Oof. You learn to listen to it in the big ways too, and that's when the real magic unlocks. That's you step into your purpose. And I know there's like a lot around that, but you know, whatever.

That is what brings you joy. Like you'll find that if you learn to tune inward, but it's not these big light switch moments. It's these little things we're talking about. It's taking the two minutes out of your day when [00:53:00] it's the hardest to find, but doing it because you know you need to and just. Giving that to yourself, that kind of commitment grows over time and becomes a much bigger practice.

Meghan Rabbitt: Hmm. 

Chandler Stroud: So that would be similar to what you're saying, it's baby steps. It's the small things that over time, you know, in isolation don't look like much, but then a month later you look back and you've meditated for 200 minutes that month. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. 

Chandler Stroud: And you're like, wow. Go me. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. Oh, I love it. And you can trust yourself more then, right?

It's like I've decided, I, I, [00:53:30] I set a goal to do this, and I actually did it even though it might have been less time, but it, because it was regular. It's like, yeah, I think that's the kind of thing that just makes you trust yourself, right? Yeah. And like, oh, I do, I do what I say, I, I want to do. Right. That's, I love that.

Yeah. There's, yeah, like I said, I wanna, I wanna pull out that blanket. It's like my my healing blanket. 

Chandler Stroud: I love it. Yeah. I mean, for me it's a gravity blanket, but now I'm wishing I had a gravity blanket that heated up. 

Meghan Rabbitt: There is something so soothing isn't there about [00:54:00] that? The, the warmth, especially in the wintertime.

Yeah. You know, 

Chandler Stroud: giant plug, 

Meghan Rabbitt: it's, it's 

Chandler Stroud: giant hug. 

Meghan Rabbitt: I know. 

Chandler Stroud: But what you're saying is so important too about the self-trust, and we've done full conversations around that because once you trust yourself, you do trust your intuition and you can do the things that you are able to do along the way. You can meet with multiple practitioners.

You can ask the tough questions, you can challenge the status quo, right? Yeah. But that happens when it comes from a place of trusting yourself. And you know, I think it just, it all [00:54:30] works together. So 

Meghan Rabbitt: a hundred 

Chandler Stroud: percent love that. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Yeah. 

Chandler Stroud: What's one belief about women's health that you'd love to see shift?

Meghan Rabbitt: We're kind of the same. Same as men, just with a few different parts. Mm. I think we are finally starting to talk about this. Women are not small men is a phrase. I think all of us have heard now, 

Chandler Stroud: Dr. Stacey Sims 

Meghan Rabbitt: a big bingo, and I don't know that we really know all the intricacies of what that means. You know, we're hearing a little bit more about how our exercise needs are different than a man's and how even [00:55:00] if we go into a sauna or a cold plunge, that should look different than how our, our, our, the men in our life.

You know, what they need. But I think it spans further than that. You know it is, our brains are different. Our hormones, the way they change at different parts of our life are so vastly different than our male counterparts, and we need to know that and be able to talk to our healthcare providers about that fact.

Chandler Stroud: If a woman listening feels dismissed, confused, or [00:55:30] overwhelmed, maybe by the medical system and whatever she's going through at the moment, what would you want her to hear most today? 

Meghan Rabbitt: I am so sorry. I'm so sorry you feel that way. You know, and it's not right, and you deserve great care. You know, keep, keep track, keep on listening to your intuition.

Keep track of your symptoms, write them down, and however you can, however it looks for you, keep [00:56:00] looking until you find the people who are your. Your posse, your tribe, you know, and maybe that just starts with one person and then leads to that person telling you about another person who can help you. But you, your symptoms are worthy of airtime.

You are, you deserve to feel cared for. 

Chandler Stroud: I am very moved by that answer and I'm grateful for you and for your time today. And just thank you for your [00:56:30] honesty and your vulnerability. I think it takes so much courage to first off, live these stories, but then also tell them to the world, which is exactly what you're doing, and I am.

So glad that Maria gave you this assignment and that you accepted it with open arms and put so much love and personal passion into it. I really am just so looking forward to reading this book. So thank you for [00:57:00] today and for everything, all of your work. 

Meghan Rabbitt: Well, thank you. And I feel like, you know, thank you for what you're putting out into the world because by giving women like myself a platform to talk about, you know, topics that used to be pretty taboo and that still hold a lot of shame you know, that's how we start to break through that.

Another really common thing I heard from so many of the wonderful experts that I interviewed for this book is that one of their biggest hopes is that we can drop the shame [00:57:30] we as women can drop. So the shame we feel about our bodies, like, you know, from the breast oncologist who told me that she sits at the bedside of dying women, women dying of breast cancer, and they apologized to her for not shaving their armpits or wearing deodorant, the female urologist.

Who hands women a hand mirror when she does exams so that her patients can see their vulva. And these women are cringing saying, I don't wanna look. I, how could I possibly [00:58:00] look? That shame, that shame outright. And the more we can talk about this, the more we can just drop the shame and talk about all the things and yeah, and feel seen, you know, feel seen and feel heard.

I think this is how we change things. So thank you. 

Chandler Stroud: Well, thank you for saying that. And it's just you're, it's really what you're doing is so important. So thank you again for being here. And to those listening, [00:58:30] thank you for joining us today. If you like what you heard, please follow the show and share it with a woman in your life.

You can visit Healing Heroes podcast.com to meet the heroes and for more information or to request guests and new topics for us to cover in future shows. Thanks for listening, everyone, and remember, be curious, be courageous, and be kind to yourself. You've got [00:59:00] this.