Ovary-Acting

Dr Jennifer Ashby, DAOM
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Alternative Health

Welcome to Ovary-Acting — your ecosystem for all things women, where we take your health and wellness seriously, but ourselves? Not so much. Dr. Jennifer Ashby is a doctor of East Asian medicine, acupuncturist, researcher, and UCSF clinician with over 30 years in women's health. Each episode blends integrative medicine with real talk, hard laughs, and the kind of honest conversation your doctor's appointment never had time for. Because you deserve to feel informed, empowered — and maybe a little entertained.

  1. Oct 22

    Bridget Can Write Anything: From Pacifica's Castle to a Zombie Horror Comedy

    Jen and Bridget Oates have been friends since their early twenties, back when their crowd ran on punk, metal, and a real fondness for the dark side. So when Bridget said she'd written a zombie movie and was making it herself, it felt less like a leap and more like coming home. Bridget has made a living from words in almost every form: years writing for Guitar Player magazine, ad copy, UX writing, and Sam's Castle, the history of the 1908 castle on the hill in Pacifica, California. The research turned up a madam, a Prohibition speakeasy, rum runners, a World War II Coast Guard lookout, and a front-page story about bones in the garden. Then a snowy drive to a writing cabin in Gold Country got her wondering what the lethal gases in the old mines might have done to the miners. That became Gold Miner Mayhem, the horror comedy short she wrote, directed, and produced, now a Best Horror Comedy finalist at the Austin Short Film Festival. WHAT WE GET INTO • Why Bridget refuses to be just one kind of writer • Sam's Castle: lunch with Pete McCloskey, the speakeasy, and the bones in the garden • Writing history you have to get right vs. fiction you get to make up • Zombie gold miners and a down-on-her-luck rodeo queen • Why Shaun of the Dead set the tone • A very cold moment with Michael Douglas • The contract lesson every first-time filmmaker needs • What the festival circuit really costs • Would it have been different as a man? • Her advice for the woman who thinks it's not her lane CATCH THE FILM Fri, Oct 23, 7 PM: Gold Miner Mayhem + Shaun of the Dead, San Benito House Cantina, Half Moon Bay. Bridget introduces it. Tickets: https://bbffspecialscreenings.eventive.org/schedule/6ab2a80c02f00b8b013a297d Sat, Nov 7: Austin Short Film Festival, finalist for Best Horror Comedy. Help fund post-production: https://www.goldminermayhem.com/contribute FIND BRIDGET Film: https://www.goldminermayhem.com/ Sam's Castle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0738574864, or order it from Florey's Book Co. in Pacifica Email: bridgetoates@gmail.com FEATURED The Energy Prescription: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science for Thriving Through Menopause (Wiley), Jen's book. Order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663 FIND JEN Website: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ Substack: https://jenniferashby.substack.com/ Instagram & YouTube: @drjenashby · Email: drjenashby@gmail.com DISCLAIMER The information shared on Ovary Acting is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are those of Dr. Jennifer Ashby and her guests and do not represent the positions of UCSF or any affiliated institution. East Asian Medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine, is a licensed healthcare profession and is not a substitute for care from your physician or other qualified medical provider. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, contact emergency services immediately. Always consult your healthcare provider before beginning any new health practice, supplement, or herbal protocol. Individual results vary. Nothing discussed on this podcast creates a patient-practitioner relationship.

  2. Oct 9

    What Breastfeeding Actually Costs the Body: An East Asian Medicine View

    A patient told Dr. Jen Ashby, a few months into nursing her second baby, that nobody warned her breastfeeding would feel like a second labor, except this one lasts a year. She was talking about more than pain. She was talking about the sheer draw on her body. In this solo episode, Jen asks what breastfeeding costs the body, and answers through East Asian medicine, which has a precise language for it. Breast milk is understood as transformed qi and blood. Birth and pregnancy already draw heavily on blood, which is why postpartum traditions insist on rest and nourishment. The spleen and stomach generate qi and blood, so low supply is often read as a tired spleen without enough raw material. The liver channel runs through the breast, so blocked ducts are read as stagnation, sometimes with heat. The through-line: a depleted mother and a blocked mother can look alike, but they need opposite help. One needs rebuilding. The other needs movement. One checklist for everyone misses that. A NOTE BEFORE YOU LISTEN This is an educational look at how East Asian medicine interprets lactation. It is not medical advice. Breast pain, a hard or red area, flu-like aches, or a fever while nursing can be signs of mastitis, which can become an infection. Contact your doctor, midwife, or an IBCLC promptly. Check with your healthcare provider before starting any herb, tea, or supplement while nursing. WHAT WE GET INTO Why breastfeeding can feel like a second laborMilk as transformed qi and bloodPostpartum depletion and the tradition of sitting the monthThe spleen and stomach, and what low supply can meanThe liver and stomach channels, blocked ducts, and mastitisA clinical pearl about the left and right breastDepleted versus blocked: why the same checklist missesFEATURED The Energy Prescription (Wiley), Jen's book. Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663 The newsletter: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/newsletter-sign-up GO DEEPER Sandy Adler Lactation Consulting: https://sandyadlerlactationconsulting.com/ FIND JEN Website: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ Substack: https://jenniferashby.substack.com/ Instagram & YouTube: @drjenashby · Email: drjenashby@gmail.com DISCLAIMER The information shared on Ovary Acting is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are those of Dr. Jennifer Ashby and her guests and do not represent the positions of UCSF or any affiliated institution. East Asian Medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine, is a licensed healthcare profession and is not a substitute for care from your physician or other qualified medical provider. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, contact emergency services immediately. Always consult your healthcare provider before beginning any new health practice, supplement, or herbal protocol. Individual results vary. Nothing discussed on this podcast creates a patient-practitioner relationship.

  3. Sep 25

    Breastfeeding in Gaza: A Nurse on Keeping Newborns Alive When Formula Can't Get In

    Jen's guest is Sandra Adler Killen, RN, IBCLC, a friend of 25 years. They raised their daughters together. Sandra is an emergency room and pediatric nurse and an internationally board-certified lactation consultant, and since 2024 she has made repeated humanitarian medical missions to Gaza. She first went in as a trauma nurse. Local clinicians saw her lactation background in action and asked her to come back and teach. She has returned roughly every six months since, training doctors, midwives, and nurses with the GINA Infant Nutrition Alliance, with the goal of making herself unnecessary. Sandra explains why breastfeeding carries so much weight when formula and clean water can't be relied on, what chronic stress and malnutrition do to milk supply, and what care looks like with almost no supplies. She shares the mothers who stayed with her, and how she carries it home. A NOTE BEFORE YOU LISTEN This conversation includes firsthand accounts of war, traumatic injury, and the deaths of infants and family members. Please take care of yourself while you listen. The views about the conflict are Sandra's own. Lactation information here is educational and describes care in a humanitarian crisis, not personal medical advice. For feeding challenges with your own baby, reach out to an IBCLC or your pediatric provider. If this stirs up something heavy, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24/7). WHAT WE GET INTO How Sandra first ended up in Gaza, and why she keeps going backWhy formula isn't a simple fallback in a crisisWhat war and chronic stress do to a mother's milk supplyProlactin, oxytocin, letdown, and malnutritionCapacity building: training a core team of cliniciansImprovised care, including the seashell storyThe mothers Sandra can't forgetHow she prepares, and how she comes homeHow listeners can help right nowHOW TO HELP GINA Infant Nutrition Alliance: https://www.gina.org.uk/donate Lactation consultants who want to volunteer remotely: volunteer@gina.org.uk Glia: https://glia.org/pages/glia4gaza Sandra's GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/nourishing-hope-for-mothers-and-newborns And Sandra's ask: keep talking about it, and keep contacting your representatives. FIND SANDRA https://sandyadlerlactationconsulting.com/ FEATURED The Energy Prescription: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science for Thriving Through Menopause (Wiley), Jen's book. Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663 FIND JEN Website: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ Substack: https://jenniferashby.substack.com/ Instagram & YouTube: @drjenashby · Email: drjenashby@gmail.com DISCLAIMER The information shared on Ovary Acting is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are those of Dr. Jennifer Ashby and her guests and do not represent the positions of UCSF or any affiliated institution. East Asian Medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine, is a licensed healthcare profession and is not a substitute for care from your physician or other qualified medical provider. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, contact emergency services immediately. Always consult your healthcare provider before beginning any new health practice, supplement, or herbal protocol. Individual results vary. Nothing discussed on this podcast creates a patient-practitioner relationship.

  4. Sep 10

    Read My Face: What Your Skin Is Actually Telling You?

    Dr. Jen Ashby brings on Dr. Thalia Kazakos Omar, L.Ac. — acupuncturist, doctor of Chinese medicine, founder of Muse Medicine in New York — for the conversation the beauty industry would rather you not have: your skin is not a surface problem. They start with the East Asian medicine face map and immediately complicate it. Under-eyes are kidney, the forehead is liver, the jawline is hormonal — except the chin is also reproductive, the nasolabial folds are colon, and by minute nine Thalia has cheerfully shown that no single map is diagnostic on its own. What she offers instead is how a clinician actually reads a face: quality over region, patterns over pins. WHAT WE GET INTO • The face map, region by region — and why regions are clues, not conclusions • Reading quality before region: oil as dampness, redness as heat, thinning as deficiency • Upright qi, sagging, and why skin that loses tone is where lines set • Teen acne, androgens, and the "wood era" of life • The luteal phase: fiber, blood sugar, lighter products, damp-and-hot foods • Fascia, lymph, and the upper-body training nobody connects to their face • Over-exfoliating, "acne-safe" claims, and the over-drying trap • Pregnancy glow and melasma: one hormone flood, two constitutions • Postpartum blood deficiency, hair loss, and real replenishment • What needling does to scars, including surgical ones • Gut permeability, and the gut–skin axis both directions • Jen's late-onset eczema and the year of guacamole that caused it FEATURED The Energy Prescription: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science for Thriving Through Menopause (Wiley) — Jen's book. Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663 Oliva Flora — botanical skincare powered by olive oil: https://www.olivaflora.com/ FIND THALIA https://www.themusestudionyc.com/ · Booking: https://musemedicine.janeapp.com/ · Instagram: @muse_medicine Telehealth for herbs and lifestyle coaching is available subject to state licensing — start with her contact form. FIND JEN https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ · https://jenniferashby.substack.com/ Instagram & YouTube: @drjenashby · drjenashby@gmail.com DISCLAIMER The information shared on Ovary Acting is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views expressed are those of Dr. Jennifer Ashby and her guests and do not represent the positions of UCSF or any affiliated institution. East Asian Medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine, is a licensed healthcare profession and is not a substitute for care from your physician or other qualified provider. In a medical emergency, contact emergency services immediately. Always consult your provider before beginning any new health practice, supplement, or herbal protocol. Individual results vary. Nothing discussed here creates a patient-practitioner relationship.

  5. Sep 3

    Psychedelics and Your Mental Health: Are they enough?

    Dr. Jen Ashby sits down in her living room with Oli Mittermaier — co-founder and director of patient care at CIT Clinics, and, in full disclosure, her husband. Jen asks the questions most people are too polite to ask: if it's a horse tranquilizer, how are people dancing on it? What actually happens in a session? And why does Oli, who makes his living giving people ketamine, open his TEDx talk by saying the ketamine isn't the answer? What follows is a plain-language tour of how ketamine is used clinically — dosing, screening, environment, and the integration work Oli argues is at least half of it — plus why the hormonal transitions of perimenopause and menopause put so many women in the population these clinics see. WHAT WE GET INTO Why dose is the whole story on "horse tranquilizer" — sub-anesthetic dosing, titrated to the personSet and setting as the intervention, not the decoration: why a rave and a clinic are oppositesOli's argument that the session is half the work, and what integration actually means"I know what you don't want — but what do you want?" The question he asks every new patientSelf-directed positive neuroplasticity, and turning temporary states into lasting traitsNMDA, glutamate, and the window afterward when the brain is primed to rewireRoutes of administration, what's off-label, and what insurance coversWhy hormonal transitions put so many women in these clinics — and what this does not treatChronic pain: where it may help, and where it plainly won'tWhat treating veterans taught him about everybody elseNo Shortcuts, the labyrinth on the cover, and ten non-negotiables FEATURED The Energy Prescription: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science for Thriving Through Menopause (Wiley) — Jen's book. Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663 Oliva Flora — botanical skincare powered by olive oil, made to European standards: https://www.olivaflora.com/ Women's Lib — non-hormonal daily tincture formulated with botanicals traditionally used to support desire, vitality, and energy: https://womens-lib.com/ FIND OLI CIT Clinics: https://citclinics.com/ · (415) 675-1335 15 Minutes of Positivity — free, Monday–Friday, 12:00–12:15 PM Pacific, open to anyone: https://citclinics.com/practice/ His TEDx talk: https://citclinics.com/tedx/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/olimittermaier · Instagram: @olimittermaier FIND JEN Website: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ Newsletter: drjenniferashby.com/newsletter-sign-up Substack: https://jenniferashby.substack.com/ Instagram & YouTube: @drjenashby · Email: drjenashby@gmail.com

  6. Aug 22

    My Brain Surgery: Chiari Malformation, Recovery, and the Part No One Warned Me About

    \\ Five weeks after brain surgery, Dr. Jen Ashby takes both chairs — interviewer and interviewee. Her Chiari malformation type I, the decompression surgery, and the recovery she hadn't planned for: a long medication list, an ER detour, and coming off narcotics. Plus the gratitude that cracked her open, and the question she's still sitting with. FEATURED The Energy Prescription: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science for Thriving Through Menopause 👉 Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663 5 KEY TAKEAWAYS Chiari malformation type I is structural, and it can be progressive — exertion headache, one-sided fullness, dizziness, no more impact sports.Fear and excitement sit at the same intensity. She used hypnotherapy to point that intensity toward possibility.Say the scary thing out loud to your care team. Telling her anesthesiologist what she feared changed her whole surgery day.The incision wasn't the hard part. The medications — and coming off them — were what she hadn't planned for.Gratitude and reckoning arrived together, with the Stoic virtues as a working roadmap. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 START 01:10 – What Chiari malformation type I is, and her symptoms 01:50 – The surgery: suboccipital decompression, duraplasty, C1 laminectomy 03:10 – Prep, and hypnotherapy to turn fear into excitement 04:50 – "The morning of, I was a mess" 05:55 – The anesthesiologist who actually listened 07:10 – Waking up to "Mama, you're done" 09:15 – Five days in the hospital, and a long medication list 11:30 – How her community and her kids showed up 12:35 – The part nobody warned her about: the ER 14:35 – Recognizing narcotic withdrawal, and owning it 18:20 – What she planned for vs. what actually got her 21:40 – The Stoics, and "who do I want to be when I grow up?" 🔗 CONNECT Newsletter: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/newsletter-sign-up Substack: https://jenniferashby.substack.com/ Website: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjenashby/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjenashby Email: drjenashby@gmail.com RESOURCES The Energy Prescription: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663Chiari malformation type I: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/chiari-malformation-type-iRyan Holiday: https://ryanholiday.net/books-courses/The Hoffman Institute: https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/

  7. Aug 13

    Dr. Ashby on the Simply Walk The Talk Podcast— The Epic 8, Prenatal Qi & Why Self-Care Isn't Selfish

    Something different this week. Jen is taking a short beat to rest and recover before the next new episode — she's doing beautifully, and a proper update is coming in the next few weeks. In the meantime, a conversation many of you haven't heard: Dr. Jennifer Ashby as a guest on Simply Walk The Talk, hosted by Joshua J. Holland — trainer, holistic health coach, and author of The Awareness Shift. It's one of the most complete explanations of the Epic Eight she's ever given. 5 KEY TAKEAWAYSThe Epic Eight are the foundation. Six essentials — diet, hydration, sleep, breath work, constitutionally appropriate movement, gut health — plus two practices: daily joy and awe, and tools for not embodying stress.Prenatal qi is finite; postnatal qi is replenishable. Prenatal qi (kidney jing) governs growth and aging and is appropriately drawn on for emergencies, surgery, childbirth — but can't be paid back.Self-care is a responsibility, not selfish behavior. Selfish is when the benefit stops at the tip of your own nose. All effort counts. Good health shouldn't be bougie. Two myths worth retiring. Acupuncture doesn't have to hurt — Jen practices Japanese-style needling, and you can ask any practitioner their technique. Plus: what feet reveal about self-care, toe yoga and balance, and Jen's fourth exercise category — yin exercise, movement that gives back more than you put out. TIMESTAMPS00:00 Why this week is a featured archive share 00:37 Josh welcomes Dr. Jen Ashby — from a client's home 04:00 Where the Epic Eight came from 06:30 Translating qi and yin/yang into plain English 12:00 The Epic Eight, listed — foundations before fads 20:30 Josh's five pillars, The Awareness Shift 23:30 Self-care vs. selfish behavior 27:00 Scholarships, free resources, all effort counts 37:00 Josh on his late father 45:00 Four types of exercise — and yin exercise 47:30 Foot health, toe yoga, balance 51:00 Prenatal vs. postnatal qi 59:00 Acupuncture doesn't have to hurt 61:00 Orthopedic vs. constitutional acupuncture 67:00 Everything affects everything 🔗 THE HOST — JOSHUA J. HOLLANDPodcast: https://www.simplywalkthetalk.com/ Website: https://www.joshuajholland.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuajholland/ Book, The Awareness Shift: https://www.amazon.com/Awareness-Shift-Unearth-Pillars-Wellness/dp/1953153690 🔗 CONNECT WITH DR. JEN ASHBYWebsite: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ Newsletter: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/newsletter-sign-up Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjenashby/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjenashby Book — The Energy Prescription: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663

  8. Aug 6

    The Manual Nobody Hands You: Grief, Exhaustion & Delight in Neurodivergent Parenting

    A short, direct solo follow-up to Dr. Jennifer Ashby's conversation with Calista Wilson about parenting a neurodivergent child. Nobody hands you a manual when you become a parent — but most of us pick up a phantom pamphlet anyway: milestones, a rough script for how this is supposed to go. Then you have a kid who didn't read it. Jen speaks straight to the parent in that gap, with the sentence she says nobody said clearly enough when she needed it. 5 KEY TAKEAWAYS"There's nothing wrong with you or your child. There is something different about your child." Those aren't the same sentence — and the gap between them is where most of the suffering lives.You're allowed to grieve, and what you're grieving is an imagined future, not your child. Your child is right there, whole. Grieve the picture quietly, privately, without guilt — it doesn't mean you love the actual kid any less.The exhaustion is real, and it isn't a sign you're doing it wrong. It's the cost of constant translation: reading a different emotional language, anticipating sensory landmines nobody else sees, advocating in rooms full of professionals. Real labor deserves real rest, not a pep talk about gratitude.You become fluent in a system that wasn't built for your kid — IEPs, 504 plans, waitlists, acronyms you never wanted. The professionals know the research. You know your kid. Trust that.Averages are not verdicts. Developmental timelines describe a population, not your particular, unrepeatable child. Sideways progress still counts. Find your people — even one parent who gets it — and let your child see you delight in them, not just manage them.TIMESTAMPS (approximate; short episode, re-map against the final edit; also YouTube chapters)00:00 Welcome + why this week is a follow-up to the Calista Wilson episode 00:35 The phantom pamphlet: the manual nobody hands you 01:20 When your kid doesn't read it — and the cereal-aisle meltdown that isn't about discipline 01:55 Nothing is wrong; something is different 02:12 The grief nobody prepares you for 03:00 Take the picture down and rebuild it 03:30 The exhaustion is real: constant translation 04:33 IEPs, 504s, waitlists & becoming the advocate 05:05 The professionals know the research — you know your kid 05:30 Averages are not verdicts; sideways still counts 06:00 Find your people 06:30 Delight in them, don't just manage them 07:01 You are not failing 07:30 Wrap-up + go watch the Calista Wilson episode 🔗 CONNECT WITH DR. JEN ASHBYNewsletter: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/newsletter-sign-up Website: https://www.drjenniferashby.com/ Substack: https://jenniferashby.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjenashby/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@drjenashby RESOURCESThe companion episode — Calista Wilson on parenting a neurodivergent child.The Energy Prescription (book) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394389663

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Welcome to Ovary-Acting — your ecosystem for all things women, where we take your health and wellness seriously, but ourselves? Not so much. Dr. Jennifer Ashby is a doctor of East Asian medicine, acupuncturist, researcher, and UCSF clinician with over 30 years in women's health. Each episode blends integrative medicine with real talk, hard laughs, and the kind of honest conversation your doctor's appointment never had time for. Because you deserve to feel informed, empowered — and maybe a little entertained.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Jennifer Ashby, DAOM
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dr Jennifer Ashby, DAOM

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