Full informed consent — before you agree to a medical treatment, test, or medication, you’ve been given all the information you need in a way you can understand, and you’re able to make the decision freely, without pressure.

This episode uncovers how women — especially Black women — are often prescribed fertility and mental health medications without full informed consent.

… and how systemic racism, medical misogyny, and lack of personalized care create dangerous, traumatic, and entirely avoidable outcomes in reproductive and mental health care.

(Because our sex hormones and our stress hormonesare inextricably linked, reproductive and mental healthcare go hand-in-hand, but they’re not always treated as such).

Dr. Cyntia Brown, a clinical pharmacist and fertility expert, shares how her own medical trauma shaped her mission to empower others to ask the right questions, advocate for themselves, and demand better care.

THE TABOO

Even the smartest, most educated women, doctors and pharmacists included, are not safe from being gaslit, coerced, or harmed in our healthcare system.

And when it comes to reproductive and mental health care (which are often intimately intertwined), the stakes are HIGH.

It’s even more taboo to say that racism and misogyny, not race or risk factors, are why Black women are dying at higher rates in pregnancy and childbirth. It’s not race; it’s racism.

THE GUEST EXPERT

Cyntia Brown is a doctor of pharmacy and clinical pharmacologist working in the women’s health sector helping women feel empowered and capable of healing at her concierge practice, Kopela Health.

Links and resources:

* 📱 Her Instagram: dr.cyntia.obrown

* 🗂️ Her business: Kopela Health

* 🗓️ Book a consult with Dr. Brown

* 🛒 Shop her favorite products

* 💊 Her favorite prenatal vitamin

* ⏲️ Her recommended ovulation tracker: Inito Fertility Monitor

KEY TAKEAWAYS

* You deserve to know the real risks, benefits, alternatives, and long-term effects of the medications you’re prescribed—including hormonal birth control, antidepressants, and fertility drugs. If your provider isn’t giving you the full picture, that’s not informed consent.

* Misogyny and racism are baked into the institution of healthcare in the US, by which Black women are disproportionately harmed. And better care isn’t necessarily about better providers; it’s about naming and dismantling the systemic issues that lead to increased rates of maternal mortality.

TIME STAMPS

* 1:20: How your partner’s race or privilege can affect your care

* 3:40: Mental health, fertility care, rX drugs

* 6:58: Withdrawing from psych drugs

* 8:06: Effects of long-term oral birth control on fertility

* 11:00: Believe women!

* 16:21: ‘Big Pharma’

* 19:42: What does “holistic” really mean?

LISTENER ACTION ITEMS

* ✅ When you’re prescribed a medication, remember you can ask:

* When was this drug approved?

* Is it new?

* What are the actual risks and percentages of side effects?

* Would you take this drug yourself?

* ✅ Request pharmacogenomic testing, especially if you’ve experienced side effects or been on multiple medications. It can help determine how your body uniquely metabolizes drugs and whether a medication is likely to be effective or harmful for you.

* ✅ Get a second opinion. If you feel unsure about your medication or treatment plan, consult with a clinical pharmacist or specialist like Dr. Cyntia Brown who can explain your options and help you advocate for you.

WHAT’S IN HER BAG?

💋 Danessa Myricks Blurring Balm

Does this episode resonate?

Tell me in the comments; I read every single one!

Upcoming episodes of Modern Hysteria:

* S1E21 Painful Sex with Rachel Gelman, DPT

* S1E22 Menopause x Body Image with Menopause & Misogyny

* S1E23 Pleasure x Orgasm x The Clitoris with Cindy Scharkey, RN

* S1E24 Disorganized Attachment x Relationships with Grace Bithell

* S1E25 Vulvas x Vaginas x What’s Normal? with Carla Carpenter, MD

* S1E26 ADHD x Motherhood with Avery Wasmanski

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