Your Women’s Health Questions with Dr. Elizabeth Poynor

We’re in a big moment for women’s health. And yet, even with so much attention, it can be difficult for women to find reliable, modern health information about the questions that matter to them most. In this Modern Medicine Series conversation, Atria’s Chief Content Officer Siobhan O’Connor sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Poynor, a gynecologic oncologist and advanced pelvic surgeon who is also an expert on midlife women’s health, to answer questions submitted by our audience: about birth control and coming off it, pregnancy and postpartum, perimenopause and menopause, hormones and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT), advances in breast imaging, how to find a provider who truly listens, and beyond. Dr. Poynor’s throughline is hopeful: She reframes health as not the management of symptoms but rather an opportunity where proactive, personalized choices can truly change how you feel now and for years to come. In this conversation: Midlife is an inflection point, not an inevitability. Estrogen can begin fluctuating as early as your mid-30s to early 40s, shifting the brain, heart, metabolism, bones, and muscle—and Dr. Poynor reframes that window as a chance to actively shape how you age. Long-term birth control use is safe, and can even be protective. If you feel well on the pill, there’s no inherent long-term harm, and 5 or more years of use is associated with lower ovarian cancer risk. When you stop, give your body about 3 months to find its hormonal baseline. PCOS is now PMOS. The shift to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome reflects a bigger idea: that this common condition, affecting at least 8 to 10% of women, is metabolic and multi-system, not just reproductive. The “fourth trimester” lasts far longer than 12 weeks. Postpartum recovery—pelvic floor, mood, hair shedding—can unfold over a year or more, well past the standard checkup. The foundations still win: sleep, stress, and connection. Beyond nutrition and strength training, Dr. Poynor’s top priorities for women over 40 are treating sleep as a necessity rather than a reward, shedding unhelpful stress, and protecting community and purpose. Creatine can be very useful for women. Dr. Poynor supports it for muscle, brain health, mood, and focus. She notes you should look for third-party-verified supplements. Newer breast imaging is coming, but mammography still leads screening. CT and abbreviated MRI are promising supplemental tools, and AI may reshape the field—though the mammogram remains the screening standard for now. A good provider pulls up a chair. The green flags to look for: a clinician who makes eye contact, lets you finish, engages with the research you bring in, and can explain the risks and benefits for you specifically. The question she’s chasing: why wait for symptoms? Physiology often shifts before classic symptoms appear, raising the possibility of supporting hormones earlier—an active area of her research, with evidence that estrogen started early may help protect the heart and brain. About this series: Atria’s Modern Medicine Series is a free, ongoing collection of lectures and conversations where leading clinicians and experts translate cutting-edge science into practical guidance. Each episode tackles the health topics that matter most, from women’s health and GLP-1s to brain health, parenting, and beyond. Empowering people with modern medical knowledge is core to Atria’s mission, and this series brings the best of leading-edge science into focus. 🔔 Subscribe for more evidence-based insights at the frontier of health and longevity. Learn more: https://www.atria.org/ The information contained in this podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute or serve as a substitute for professional medical advice, treatment, or diagnosis. Always consult the advice of your personal health care provider when seeking medical advice for any condition you may have, and never delay treatment or disregard advice from a professional health care provider based on something you have seen or heard in this content. No part of this podcast can be reproduced, redistributed, published, copied or duplicated in any form without the prior written permission of Atria.