Best Alison Trainor Podcasts (2026)

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55. Solo episode - going through chemotherapy 47:25

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2M ago47:25

47:25

Keywords cancer treatment, chemotherapy, motherhood, emotional support, personal journey, health challenges, parenting, medical experiences, resilience, community support Summary In this solo episode, Dr. Alison Trainor shares her personal journey through cancer treatment while balancing motherhood. She discusses the emotional and physical challeng…

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54. Catching up with Dr. Polly van den Berg 41:13

3M ago41:13

41:13

Summary In this conversation, Ali and Polly reflect on the past year since their last chat, discussing personal growth, work-life balance, and the challenges of parenting. Polly shares her experiences with returning to work, navigating childcare, and the impact of illness on their family. They delve into the pressures of the medical profession, the…

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53. Dr. Jenn Gates Nassar on doing pediatrics residency with young children, how being a mom impacts her work, what it's like being a pediatrician with the current misinformation, and her future career ... 45:40

3M ago45:40

45:40

Summary In this conversation, Dr. Jenn Gates-Nassar shares her journey as a pediatric resident, balancing the demands of her medical training with motherhood. She discusses her motivations for pursuing medicine, the challenges of being a resident with young children, and the emotional toll of caring for sick kids. Dr. Gates-Nassar also highlights t…

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52. Catching up with Dr. Lauren Puretz 44:06

4M ago44:06

44:06

In this episode we catch up with Dr. Lauren Puretz from episode 33. If you haven't listened to that episode yet, I would suggest listening to that episode first. In this episode we talk about: - How Lauren's practice has been doing since opening 8/2024. We last spoke when she was 2 months in and there have been some bumps in the road - How her runn…

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51. Dr. Janelle Nassim on life after her spontaneous coronary artery dissection and how it affects her views on motherhood and her career 53:47

4M ago53:47

53:47

Summary In this conversation, Dr. Janelle Nassim shares her journey as a dermatologist and a mother, detailing her experience with a life-altering heart attack caused by a coronary artery dissection (SCAD) shortly after the birth of her second child. She discusses the symptoms leading up to the event, her hospital experience, and the emotional and …

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50. Dr. Tali Lando - pediatric ENT surgeon, mom of 3 and author of 2 books 1:37:52

5M ago1:37:52

1:37:52

summary In this conversation, Dr. Tali Lando shares her journey as a pediatric ENT and a mother of three daughters. She discusses the challenges of balancing a demanding medical career with motherhood, the importance of support systems, and the evolution of parenting dynamics as children grow. Dr. Lando reflects on her experiences with burnout, the…

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49. Solo episode - everything leading up to starting cancer treatment 1:01:23

5M ago1:01:23

1:01:23

Picking up where we left off from the last solo episode. This one goes into everything from initial diagnosis leading up to starting treatment. Thanks for listening Support the showBy Alison Trainor

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48. Catching up with Dr. Kashi Goyal from episode 9 37:50

6M ago37:50

37:50

keywords career transitions, parenting, work-life balance, family dynamics, health journey, personal experiences, professional choices, future planning, medical education, lung transplantation summary In this conversation, Ali and Kashi reconnect after two years to discuss Kashi's recent transition to faculty in lung transplantation, her family's d…

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47. Dr. Joyce Park (aka TeaWithMD) on her career in dermatology with a social media platform, brand partnerships, and telehealth private practice all while being a mom to 2 little kids 39:09

6M ago39:09

39:09

Summary In this episode, Dr. Joyce Park shares her journey as a board-certified dermatologist and social media influencer, discussing her unique path into teledermatology and the challenges of balancing motherhood with her career. She reflects on the evolution of her practice, the importance of social media in driving patient engagement, and the re…

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46. Postpartum Depression, taking time off from residency, type I diabetes, and health care education and advocacy with Dr. Padget Skogman 51:59

7M ago51:59

51:59

"Because then I had to go back to residency, and I could have quit but I didn't want to. I was feeling better, but going back as a brand new first time mom - breastfeeding, not sleeping, all the things - was so much easier than going through residency with depression." This episode is with Dr. Padget Skogman who is a board certified pediatrician. I…

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45. Solo episode - big secret and how I got diagnosed with cancer 46:59

7M ago46:59

46:59

Solo episode today sharing a big secret I've been keeping (I promise this isn't click bait) and everything leading up to my cancer diagnosis. Thank you for listening xoxo Support the showBy Alison Trainor

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44. Dr. Suzanne Koven on the importance of writing in medicine, how things have changed for women since she trained and how there's still room for improvement, and so much more! 58:43

8M ago58:43

58:43

"It’s really just an extension of the general ethos in medicine which has existed for a very long time – generations, centuries - which says that in order to make other people well we have to make ourselves sick. That is only recently being questioned. " This episode is with Dr. Suzanne Koven who was a primary care physician at Massachusetts Genera…

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43. Private surgery practice with your spouse, waiting to have kids until after residency, and the challenges of female mentorship with Dr. Nicole Basa 41:48

8M ago41:48

41:48

"I think we're so geared on the next step - what do I have to do next, I need to complete this before I get to the next step, then this will make me happy. I think we're constantly doing that to ourselves and we don't even know what happy means or what we wanted. My husband and I sat down, we were at Red Robins getting french firies and burgers, an…

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42. Dr. Sheri Dewan on neurosurgery, ignoring the detractors, having children in residency, writing her memoir, and doing pro bono surgeries in India 38:07

9M ago38:07

38:07

"That was the moment where I almost quit. That was my pivotal moment. We saw so many people die as a level 1 trauma center so there was so much emotional baggage that we carry as doctors through that, but I never faltered. It was always 'this is what I want to do, this is what I was born to do,' and that moment when I was verbally attacked at this …

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41. Direct primary care, parenting a child with a rare disease, having kids in residency, social media, and so much more with Dr. Lauren Hughes 40:03

9M ago40:03

40:03

"I got in a lot of trouble and so I will never forget my attending said you will never keep the lights on if you practice like that." This episode is with Dr. Lauren Hughes who is a primary care pediatrician in Kansas City. In this episode we talk about: - Having kids in residency and how this might have been the worst time to have kids but there's…

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40. Infertility, emergency medicine, long distance relationships, quitting your job, advocating for yourself, and having a large family with Dr. Camie Sorensen 59:26

10M ago59:26

59:26

" I remember I was working a morning shift and it was 7 or 730 and I remember exactly where I am because I have a spatial memory and I was in between these two rooms. One had a STEMI and I was trying to get him to the cath lab, the other had a stroke I was trying to administer tpa and I get a phone call and the nanny is calling out." This episode i…

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39. Solo episode answering listener questions! 43:42

11M ago43:42

43:42

I answer some listener questions in this episode including: - My journey through med school, residenc, fellowship into being an attending - The specifics of my current job - What it's like training and raising a family in Boston - If I ever feel guilty about choosing medicine as a mom - Expectations vs reality - what I hold onto and what I let go -…

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38. Pregnancy outcomes for surgical trainees, leave policies, and culture change with Dr. Erika Rangel 34:14

12M ago34:14

34:14

"I had Ethan when I was a fourth year resident and then my younger son, Lane, I had as a first year attending. Both of them were NICU babies. They were both preterm delivieries, both had quite a number of complications and even more prominent a memory than the experience in the ICU was that desire to avoid being a burden to your colleagues." This e…

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37. Dr. Jessi Gold on her memoir "How Do You Feel", changing the culture of medicine, and being human 54:35

1y ago54:35

54:35

"For some reason we were taught that if we were good at our jobs we could do it and never be affected by it. I don't know who told us that but that was stupid." This episode is with Dr. Jessi Gold, who is a psychiatrist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the Chief Wellness Office for the University of Tennesse System. In this …

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36. Dr. Cornelia Griggs on her memoir "The Sky Was Falling", having kids in surgery training, balancing the demands of surgical training with the need to become competent, and how she's doing now 54:36

1y ago54:36

54:36

"I am proud of myself for everything I've overcome but I also think it's ridiculous some of the sutff I had to go through to get here and I think some of it made me a better person and I think some of it was just bad to go through." This episode is with Dr. Cornelia Griggs, who is a pediatric surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. In this episo…

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35. Dr. Karen Leitner, physician and coach, discusses all your burning questions 44:32

1y ago44:32

44:32

"Now in this day and age of electronic everything, people can message you all the time. So if you're not willing to say these are the times I'm willing to be available for work and these are the times I'm not, you could be working 24/7. There's this paradigm of inbox zero but even when you get to inbox zero you turn off your computer, theres' somet…

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34. Dr. Flora Sinha on secondary infertility, coaching, taking a leave of abscence, boundaries, and the koy of having an only child 52:57

1y ago52:57

52:57

"I've hit the point of burnout multiple times in my life. Most recently it was after I started my coaching business. So I was working full time as a primary care outaptient physician and I was coaching my clients on my admin half day and weekends. I realized that what was burning me out was medicine post-pandemic. I just couldn't do it anymore and …

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33. Dr. Lauren Puretz, OBGYN and ultra-runner, on "balance", prioritizing personal goals, negotiating, and starting your own practice 44:59

1y ago44:59

44:59

"I wanted to maintain my running and then work was catching up and I think that's when it got kind of crazy in terms of you know I'm trying to do too much. And when you have too many balls in the air waiting until they hit the ground and a lot of problems with mariage, a lot of problems with kids, and a lot of problems at work. That was when I was …

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32. Culture change, severe preeclampsia during REI fellowship, and having taboo conversations at work with Dr. Shelley Dolitsky 54:18

1y ago54:18

54:18

"My brain was not in OB mode. Like anybody who is an obgyn, when you get admitted that sick at 26 weeks, knows you're really not going to go until 34 weeks but my brain wasn't processing that. So I reached out to both my program director and the chairman of our department in like panicked text messages. I didn't have it in me to call them. I had 1%…

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31. Anesthesiologist Tiffany Moon on entrepreneurship, motherhood, empowering women, and the LeadHer summit 42:41

1y ago42:41

42:41

"I promise we will all do better if you lift up and empower other women, because guess what when the time comes and you need a favor they will then return it to you. We need to stop this you or me mentality and competition. I think women are pitted against each other more than men are and I'm like there is enough to go around, I promise." This epis…

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30. Marathon running, dual physician household, leaving academic medicine, and prioritizing all aspects of your identity with Dr. Renee Rodriguez Paro 57:31

1+ y ago57:31

57:31

"I feel like I was able to spend those years of fellowship really asking this question of how do I want this career to fit into my life. Before I never really understood what it was going to feel like to be a mom or to be a wife or what it was going to feel like to just want to be Rene and who I am and the rest of the things. For so long, understan…

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29. Default parent, job negotiation, camping with babies, and finding a part-time job that allows you to go "off grid" with Dr. Molly Brett 43:07

1+ y ago43:07

43:07

"We both knew that one of us would need to be able to still be a default parent and I actually wanted that role, which I'm sure we'll talk about it's also very hard to be a default parent and a doctor, but that was sort of the thing I didn't want to give up when I went into medicine." This episode is with Dr. Molly Brett, a primary care physician i…

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28. Dr. Kimberly Buss on having kids while in training, having a child with health challenges, serving her community as a primary care physician, and being a lifelong learner 51:30

1+ y ago51:30

51:30

This episode is with Dr. Kimberly Buss, a family medicine physician in California. We discuss: - Having a miscarriage in her second trimester - Having a young child at home while in her residency training - One of her children having health issues and how that affected her as a mom and a physician - Her work as a primary care physician, particularl…

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27. Dr. Grace Farris on "weekend mom", hospital medicine, graphic novel writing, youth soccer coaching, and so much more! 36:30

1+ y ago36:30

36:30

This episode is with Dr. Grace Farris, a hospitalist in Texas and published author. We discuss: - The inspiration between her comics, and specifically "weekend mom" - The decision to move her family from Boston, to NYC, and then to Texas - Working as a hospitalist in NYC during the COVID pandemic with two young boys - Working full time - Coaching y…

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26. Long distance parenting, maternity leave challenges, and being a hardcore surgeon and amazing mom with Dr. Nichole Shaw 59:44

1+ y ago59:44

59:44

"I felt totally stripped of everything that I had ever thought of myself because I was not going to work, so I was really kind of just tied to my house for 6 weeks. I was bored! I wanted to be working, I wanted to be doing easy cases. The baby slept so much. I'm like what do I do? And then she never really latched and so I was exclusively pumping s…

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25. Wellness Coach and Ophthalmologist Dr. Shanika Esparaz on her experience with burnout and coaching women in healthcare to live their best lives 56:17

1+ y ago56:17

56:17

"It sounds easy but it's really hard when you've worked this hard to be a physician to say 'oh I'm gonna do a little less'. What I've realized is that myself and I think maybe some listeners out there might resonate with, we often feel like our productivity and our value to society is based on how many procedures we do, patients we see, hours we pu…

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24. Rewind: Internship baby in the 1980s with Deborah Kwolek 46:55

1+ y ago46:55

46:55

"The big bottom line, ok, this is the big bottom line - young moms and women in general we are so self critical and we are so down on ourselves, and I could practically cry just thinking about this because it's so unneeeded. We're as smart as the guys, we're as committed as they are, we probably work harder in certain ways. Women do a lot of unpaid…

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23. Dr. Mona Amin of PedsDocTalk on postpartum complications, breastfeeding, starting her business, and more! 57:00

1+ y ago57:00

57:00

"I know how hard it is. I know that parenting is hard. I know that life is hard, but I do believe that we have to look for the glimmers and look for the hope and look for the joy and celebrate those things, at the same time not denying the negative but understanding that those negatives will always exist in our world." This episode is with Dr. Mona…

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22. Advocacy, COVID pregnancy, identity shift, and career choices with Dr. Alli Letica 40:45

1+ y ago40:45

40:45

"Having any sort of mental or physical health problem doing this job makes it almost impossible...it makes you realize you don't know what other people are going through and I think it reminds us to give everyone some grace." This episode is with Dr. Alli Letica, a general surgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. We discuss: - Being furl…

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21. Dermatologist and entrepreneur Dr. Fatima Fahs 52:48

1+ y ago52:48

52:48

"I came to this point where I am like 6 months post partum at this point. So I've gone back to work, you know was in the swing of things, was working at that point 3 sometimes 4 days per week and I just was not happy in either situation. I wasn't fully happy at home and I wasn't fully happy at work and I told my employer 'I love you guys and I love…

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20. Achieving the most joy out of life with Dr. Polly van den Berg 42:55

1+ y ago42:55

42:55

This episode is with Dr. Polly van den Berg, an Infectious Disease physician in Philadelphia. We talk about: - Timing of having a child in the context of her husband's brain cancer diagnosis - Post-partum anxiety - and so much more! Connect with Moms of Medicine: - Instagram @moms_of_medicine - [email protected] Support the show…

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19. Humanism and Making Time in the Margins with Dr. Laura Vater 52:19

1+ y ago52:19

52:19

This episode is with Dr. Laura Vater, a GI oncologist in Indiana who focuses her non-clinical time on humanism, writing and well-being We talk about: - Writing her first novel and working on getting it published - Having her daughter in medical school - Breastfeeding her daughter for 2.5 years while being an internal medicine resident - The inspira…

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18. Forging your own path with Dr. Marci Snodgrass 37:34

1+ y ago37:34

37:34

"I was super present with my kids when I was home. I didn't pull out phones, there weren't cell phones way back then that were so distracting. I would try not to be on the computer and making phone calls and things like that. I remember it that way of just being as present as possible. My kids still remember I was getting up at 6 in the morning and…

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17. Fibroids and heme/onc fellowship with Dr. Mwanasha Merrill 39:00

2y ago39:00

39:00

"After week 17 I think, I was worried about him. I knew that with my fibroids I would have pain. I was like it will be worse than what I had with my periods, but, well I can handle pain. I didn't factor in the emotional aspect of that. Like worrying about losing someone. So that to me was the hardest part." This episode is with Dr. Mwanasha Merril,…

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16. Twins in GI Fellowship with Dr. Gila Hoffman 37:28

2y ago37:28

37:28

"Just before I turned 34 weeks I was doing my fellows clinic from my hospital room. I had a sign on the door like 'Do Not Disturb, I'm in clinic', and they were like we have to get your vitals at some point during this. So they came and took my blood pressure and it was like 170/100. The resident was pushing IV labetalol while I was precepting with…

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15. Late pregnancy loss and long distance parenting with Dr. Liliana Camison 54:11

2y ago54:11

54:11

"Within the span of an hour and a half our lives had gone from I'll be back in 90 minutes to go in and do my surgeries and move on, to we're having a girl let's celebrate, and then we're holding hands just with our hearts in our throat" This episode is with Dr. Liliana Camison, a plastic surgeon and craniofacial surgery fellow at NYU We talk about:…

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14. Primary care physician Dr. Gila Kriegel 41:56

2y ago41:56

41:56

"Studying burnout has showed us that having control over your job, over your work life, is such an important component of being satisified, of not being burned out, that it makes me sad for women like you and women now giving birth and trying to find balance, in particular in primary care. I think there are just more and more barriers to it unfortu…

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13. Orthopedic Surgery Residency Baby with Dr. Eileen Colliton 52:03

2y ago52:03

52:03

"I think I put that pressure on myself kind of to begin with that I just wanted to prove to everyone that I could be a pregnant resident and still function like a normal non-pregnant resident... I was taking primary call every third day up until 36 weeks so that was definitely challening as time went on. Like doing reductions with a big pregnant be…

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12. Ambivalence about having children, parenting in COVID, and the perks of going part-time with Dr. Huma Farid 46:39

2+ y ago46:39

46:39

"I had a lot of ambivalence around being a mother and I think looking back on why it was all justified, and part of it is that particularly as working women we are expecetd to work as though we don't have children and parent as though we don't have jobs, and I just felt like I don't know if i want to do this. I dont know if i can be the type of mom…

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11. Adoption and Global Health with Dr. Beth Riviello 42:28

2+ y ago42:28

42:28

"I remember so distinctly we were in Rwanda, I came back from a run, and my husband was like sitting on the chair looking shell shocked, and he said 'uhh you need to read this email'. And it was an email that said 159 children have been released from The Congo and yours is one of them. Please come get him" This episode's conversation is with Dr. Be…

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10. 1st OBGYN guest! Dr. Celeste Royce 46:42

2+ y ago46:42

46:42

"Our lives are different than men in medicine in so many ways, and it has to do with being female and all of the reproductive burden that is put on us because of that." We talk about: - Having a baby as the only female physician in a private practice - Feeling ostracized - The challenges of treating pregnant women while pregnant - Her husband choos…

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9. Congenital cancer with Dr. Kashi Goyal 44:54

2+ y ago44:54

44:54

"I just felt like, in that moment, I can't move forward in being a physician. Because you know to be honest I was fixated on her mortality, and I really thought I can't exist in my old life, you know, after this." On this week's episode I talk with Dr. Kashi Goyal, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Ohio State University, about her experience …

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8. Pivoting from researcher to academic clinician with Dr. Angie Frank 28:53

2+ y ago28:53

28:53

"What do you want to do with your life, you know? I mean what are you really happy doing and is it worth doing something that you don't love every single morning." On this week's episode I talk with Dr. Angie Frank about how she decided she didn't want to do research anymore and what it looked like to make that change, discovering that it is possib…

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7. Premature babies, partner roles, and pump supplies with Dr. Ritika Parris 53:51

2+ y ago53:51

53:51

This week I'm joined by Dr. Ritika Parris who is a primary care physician and head of GME wellness at BIDMC in Boston. We cover so much in this coversation from having her two babies prematurely, navigating roles and jobs with her partner who is also a physician, the mentors she had looking out for her along the way, and what she had to do when she…

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6. Choosing your mosaic tiles with Dr. Daniele Olveczky 42:56

2+ y ago42:56

42:56

"It has been just the absolute joy and privilege of my life to see how institutions can change and how we can change the institutions that we love...that we are not just here to put the stethoscope on the chest of a patient. We are here to change the future of medicine" In this conversation with Dr. Daniele Olveczky we talk: - C-sections and compli…