What Women Are

Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio
  • 5.0 (30)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

What Women Are is a podcast that celebrates the hidden strength and beauty of the many "ordinary" women of the world. Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio, a bioethicist focusing in women's health, welcomes women of all ages to the table as she highlights both their stories and their passions. Whether in interview or solo form, each episode offers you reflections for your own journey as well as deep insights into hormonal health, restorative reproductive medicine, and the philosophy and ethics that shape our understanding of what it truly means to be a woman. For more information, visit whatwomenare.com drsarahdennylorio.substack.com

  1. May 14

    Pelvic Floor Health: Understanding When Struggles Are Common But Not Normal

    What a gift to have Dr. Kayla Borchers join me again as we dive into all things related to women + pelvic floor health! As we discuss the struggles that so many women face—diastasis recti, lower belly pooching, urinary leakage, and pelvic floor heaviness—Dr. Kayla reminds women that options exist to help support you in finding relief from these symptoms. And as with all good medicine, it comes back to educating and treating the whole person, each with her own unique needs! So whether you have these struggles yourself or know a woman who does, tune in for more information about how you can better understand and also find relief for various pelvic floor issues. Guest Resources: * Dr. Kayla Borchers Website * Dr. Kayla Borchers Podcast — Holistically Well Resources mentioned in this episode: * Use code DRSARAH20 for 20% off any of Dr. Kayla’s (amazing!) Online Programs: Preconception, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Options What Women Are Resources: * Website * Merchandise What Women Are is a listener-supported work. While it is free to receive, it is not free to create. If you enjoy this content and want to support the creation of more like this, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe

    59 min

  2. May 7

    Holistic Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, Wife, & Mother: Dr. Kayla Borchers

    What a joy it was to meet and learn from Dr. Kayla Borchers as she shared with me about her own story and about how she fell in love with science and the gift of the human body! In this episode, we hear from Dr. Kayla as she talks about her journey: discovering a love for medicine in high school, meeting and marrying her husband, and learning how to balance her vocation to motherhood with her love for helping women heal. If you want to be encouraged in the gift of how God opens doors and works through our own talents and desires, then this episode is for you! Guest Resources: * Dr. Kayla Borchers Website * Dr. Kayla Borchers Podcast — Holistically Well Resources mentioned in this episode: * Click here to save $10 on Branch Basics! (I recommend starting with the “Premium Starter Kit”.) * Primally Pure — Use code DRKAYLA for 10% off your order. * EWG’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen What Women Are Resources: * Website * Merchandise What Women Are is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 1m

  3. Apr 30

    Nurse Anesthetist in Labor and Delivery: Appreciating the History of Anesthesia in Women's Health

    This week, Cathy Denny (Dr. Lorio’s mom!) joins us again as she shares about her experience of working as a nurse for 50 years. Having been a nurse anesthetist in labor and delivery, Cathy shares about the various things she saw and experienced while serving women and helping them to bring their babies into the world. It is so easy to forget just how far we have come in the field of women’s health, and Cathy’s lived experience brings light to aspects we rarely consider. Sharing about the gifts and beautiful aspects of medicine while also recognizing the ways in which medicine needs to improve, this episode presents a beautiful testimony of one woman’s experience, expertise, and wisdom gained through years of accompanying women. This episode keeps it real and raw. Please know that while focusing mainly on the joys and triumphs of labor and delivery, it also gleans into a few of the harder and more sorrowful moments that women can experience during this season of life. We are grateful for the witness to women and to medicine that Cathy Denny provides for us, especially in this episode and through her lived experiences. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Online Course: * “The Gift of Her Body (Part 1): Talking With Your Daughters About Their Bodies” What Women Are is a listener-supported work. While it is free to receive, it is not free to create. If you enjoy this content and want to support the creation of more like this, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 8m

  4. Apr 23

    Cathy Denny: An Interview with Dr. Lorio's Mom (and Hero!)

    A dream of mine has been to interview the woman who raised me and who taught me so much: empathy, resilience, and selfless generosity. Today, I share with you the gift of my mother’s story. A woman of so much life experience, my mom was born in the 50’s, lived through the changes of the Second Vatican Council, saw an older brother go off to fight in the Vietnam War and how that affected him, became a nurse anesthetist in labor and delivery (before all the technology we have now!), and also got married and raised three children. The details of women’s stories are precious gold, and to have my mother share with us at my kitchen table is both a great honor and also a priceless gift for me to treasure as time passes. So pull up a chair or lace up your running shoes, and allow us to accompany you in your plans for the day. I hope her story and wisdom can bless you as much as it has blessed me. We have been given so much. May we always remember and be grateful for the battles the women before us have fought that have paved the way for us to have the opportunities we have today. What Women Are is a listener-supported work. While it is free to receive, it is not free to create. If you enjoy this content and want to support the creation of more like this, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. What Women Are Resources: * Website * Merchandise Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 20m

  5. Apr 16

    Overshadowed, Not Barren

    Today, I am overjoyed to share with you the news that my husband and I are pregnant! This miracle, however, is so hard for me to fathom because it comes after two long and heartbreaking years of infertility. One miscarriage and thousands of tears later, I was asked to give a talk at a CCRNO Women’s Retreat this past January 2026. While I felt called to speak on our call and identity as women—that we are “Overshadowed, Not Barren”—January was a very dark and difficult month for me emotionally. I started yet another period and could not shake the sadness or the pain. It was in this place of honesty and raw vulnerability that I had to offer this talk, what I now offer to you as today’s podcast episode. In it, I share the invitation we each have—myself included—to allow the LORD to come into the graveyard of our broken dreams and to breathe new life into us. I share today’s episode both as an encouragement that the Spirit desires to break through for us and also as a testimony to the power of God to move when we least expect it. Only six days after I gave this talk, my husband and I found out that we are pregnant. It is hard to put emotions into words, but we are thrilled, humbled, grateful, and in awe. It has also been an amazing opportunity to continue surrendering as so much about the miracle of life is outside of our control as women. Please pray for us as we journey through this pregnancy, and please share this talk with any woman who might need the encouragement that she, too, is a woman full of life and overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. Our Father wants to breathe life into us, in more ways than just the physical struggle with fertility. And no matter whether or not a woman is able to physically conceive, she is always called to be fruitful. And the Spirit of God is here to move. For us. In us. And through us. What Women Are is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. What Women Are Resources: Website * Go here to sign up for updates (can be found on the Home Page), etc.! Merchandise * Access exclusive What Women Are Merchandise here! Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 10m

  6. Mar 30

    Talking to Your Children About S*x

    As a bioethicist focusing in women’s health and integrated sex education, I am especially passionate about equipping parents to have hard—but necessary—conversations with their children. One of the most important topics to consider? S*x, pornography, and the ways that our children might be exposed to things that they are not yet prepared to understand. As the primary educators and greatest experts of their children, parents are the best resource in helping young men and women to understand that the human body has a great purpose and is most closely connected to the most important of values: human love. S*x does not need to be considered apart from love, unless we choose to do so. Using data on devices, accurate biological information and terms, and the sturdy foundation that Christian anthropology provides for us, I offer this presentation as a way to encourage and equip parents in how they can best show up for their children and protect their little ones’ freedom to love, both now and in the future. (“Talking to Your Children About S*x” was originally delivered and recorded on March 25, 2026 to parents at a grammar school in New Orleans, LA.) Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Online Course: * “The Gift of Her Body (Part 1): Talking With Your Daughters About Their Bodies” Helpful Recent Episodes: * “The Importance of Teaching Our Girls Abour Their Bodies” with Tara Berner, MD * “Educating Young Men on the Gift of Their Sexuality: Courage, Responsibility, and Hope” with Alex Lorio Recommended Books: * Good Pictures, Bad Pictures by Kristen Jensen, MA * The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt * The Amazing Generation by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price * This is the kid’s version of The Anxious Generation. Dr. Lorio’s Article on Restorative Reproductive Medicine: * “Restorative Reproductive Medicine” What Women Are Resources: Website * Go here to sign up for updates (can be found on the Home Page), etc.! Podcast, Podcast Interviews, etc. * You can access the podcast and other relevant podcast interviews here. Merchandise * Access exclusive What Women Are Merchandise here! Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 3m

  7. Mar 19

    St. Joseph: Foiling Phony Masculinity

    In honor of the Feast Day of one of Sarah’s favorite saints, today’s episode continues Sarah and Alex’s conversation from last week! As Alex shares about the gift of St. Joseph, we hear are about how his example and witness exist as the perfect foil to phony masculinity and the lies of the manosphere. May this week’s episode encourage you as it highlights the gift of St. Joseph, a man who exhibits courage, strength, and humility in the ordinary demands of daily life. We hope you enjoy today’s episode, and of course—HAPPY FEAST DAY!!! Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe

    31 min

  8. Mar 12

    Anatomical Differences, Jesus' Treatment of Women, and the Manosphere

    In today’s episode, Sarah answers various questions about women posed to her by her husband, Alex: women and men in sports, Jesus’ understanding of women in the world, a few of the (many!) issues found within the manosphere, women working outside the home, and the need for woman’s presence in the world. Tune in for some unfiltered, real talk with Sarah about how she sees these issues that affect everyday women. Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe

    44 min
See All (45)

5
out of 5
30 Ratings

About

What Women Are is a podcast that celebrates the hidden strength and beauty of the many "ordinary" women of the world. Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio, a bioethicist focusing in women's health, welcomes women of all ages to the table as she highlights both their stories and their passions. Whether in interview or solo form, each episode offers you reflections for your own journey as well as deep insights into hormonal health, restorative reproductive medicine, and the philosophy and ethics that shape our understanding of what it truly means to be a woman. For more information, visit whatwomenare.com drsarahdennylorio.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sarah Denny Lorio, PhD
  • Show Website
    What Women Are

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