"Doctor Mom" Podcast | Practical Tips to Be a Proactive Parent · Stephanie Greunke, RD and Dr. Elana Roumell, ND

What Every Woman Needs to Know About Hormones with Dr. Julie Taylor, MD

·1 hr·5 clips

Women make more testosterone than estrogen, and Taylor says it drives bones, energy, and weight distribution.

Steph Grinke and Dr. Ilana Romell begin with the show's familiar warm framing around being a proactive parent. The interview then turns straight to hormones. Testosterone gets a surprisingly central role. The guest says women make more testosterone than estrogen. She argues that testosterone is not something foreign in the female body. Instead, she says it shapes how women feel and function. She ties it to bones, muscle mass, weight distribution, and energy. The conversation keeps coming back to balance and optimal levels rather than extremes. Progesterone becomes the other major anchor. The guest calls it her favorite hormone. She says mood struggles can touch every part of a woman's life. That includes family, children, relationships, friendships, and work. The episode points to anxiety and depression as key areas where progesterone matters. It also places progesterone at its highest point in the luteal phase. That is the stretch before a period when many women feel mood swings or a strong sense that they are not themselves. The conversation describes that window as one that can last from about a week to two weeks before bleeding starts. The episode then pushes back on the habit of treating only the symptoms. It mentions antidepressants, sleep medication, and anti-anxiety pills as common responses when the underlying issue is not identified. The guest frames progesterone imbalance as the root cause until determined otherwise. The discussion also reaches into postpartum mental health. The host and guest connect the postpartum hormone drop with nursing and postpartum anxiety. The host shares that she struggled with postpartum anxiety for almost a year. She also reflects on being low in progesterone, not having a cycle for nearly two years after her first child, and then later being surprised that she was able to conceive and keep a pregnancy. The tone stays warm, maternal, and practical throughout. It keeps asking what women need to know and what they can do. It ends as a supportive, root-cause-focused conversation for moms who want to understand their bodies better.

As heard by us

A focused hormone conversation that connects testosterone, progesterone, and postpartum mood shifts in practical terms.

The episode treats testosterone as part of everyday health rather than a lab number, tying it to energy, muscle mass, weight distribution, and overall well-being.

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Why you'd press play

For a mom-to-mom look at why progesterone and mood can be linked.

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