Hey Doc! What happens when the OB/GYN becomes a new mom and realizes everything she thought she knew about postpartum was incomplete? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Candice Wood, an OB-GYN, perinatal mental health specialist, and mom of five, for a conversation that is tender, hilarious, and quietly radical. Yes, she built a 2-day-a-week career while raising five kids under five. But what we really talk about is what happened after the babies came. When she found herself: silently compe...
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Hey Doc! What happens when the OB/GYN becomes a new mom and realizes everything she thought she knew about postpartum was incomplete? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Candice Wood, an OB-GYN, perinatal mental health specialist, and mom of five, for a conversation that is tender, hilarious, and quietly radical. Yes, she built a 2-day-a-week career while raising five kids under five. But what we really talk about is what happened after the babies came. When she found herself: silently compe...
Hey Doc! What happens when the OB/GYN becomes a new mom and realizes everything she thought she knew about postpartum was incomplete? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Candice Wood, an OB-GYN, perinatal mental health specialist, and mom of five, for a conversation that is tender, hilarious, and quietly radical. Yes, she built a 2-day-a-week career while raising five kids under five. But what we really talk about is what happened after the babies came. When she found herself: silently compe...
Hey Doc, When you become a mom, everything changes— your body, your schedule, your sense of who you are. And when you’re a physician mom, that collides with a career that isn’t built for flexibility or rest. In this conversation, Dr. Sonia Singh and I go straight into that tension — the messy middle between professional identity and motherhood. We talk about what it really looks like to become a mom in medicine, to return to work postpartum, and to rebuild your career in a way that actually f...
Hey Doc— This week’s episode is one of my favorites yet because it’s a full-circle moment. I’m sitting down with my friend Dr. Sarah Stombaugh—family medicine physician, obesity medicine specialist, private practice owner, coach, podcast host, and mom of three. And fun fact: she’s the reason I started Dr. Toya Coaching. Yep. You’ve heard me mention her before. The woman who looked me in the eye and said, “That’s not a medical practice. That’s coaching.” And here we are. Two years later. Full ...
Hey Doc, What happens when you stop following the script and start building a life that actually fits you? This week on Stethoscopes and Strollers, I’m joined by Dr. Saumya Dave — psychiatrist, author, private practice owner, and mom of two — for a conversation that’s equal parts real, reflective, and full of permission. We talk about the seasons of life and how every one of them demands something different from us. From navigating 200+ rejections on her path to becoming a published author, t...
Hey Doc, I just came out of 30 days without formal childcare — and let me tell you, it was brutal. Even with my mom’s help, the constant interruptions, scattered energy, and exhaustion left me running on fumes. I was counting down to bedtime, doom scrolling late at night, and struggling to stay in flow. Trying to hold everything together without reliable childcare doesn’t prove anything — it only shows how unsustainable it really is. For our family, childcare has always been non-negotiable. B...
Hey Doc, Are you the problem? Not you alone, but us. Women physicians. Without realizing it, we uphold the very systems — patriarchy, sexism, racism — that keep us playing small. It shows up in the way we react when another woman asks for more, when we hesitate to negotiate, or when we discourage salary transparency, and when we are passing down outdated advice to younger women physicians. The truth is: the system of medicine was built in a different era, for a different demographic — and tho...
Hey Doc, We need to talk about something that I believe is absolutely essential for every woman physician — especially those of us juggling medicine, motherhood, and marriage. Money. Specifically, your knowledge of it. Your relationship to it. And the way you might be giving away your power around it, even if your income looks good on paper. In this episode, I’m sharing how I fired my financial advisor (thanks to my husband, actually), learned to manage my money confidently, and why that deci...
Hey Doc, If you’ve ever looked into the au pair program and wondered, “Okay but… how much does it actually cost?” — this is for you. This episode was inspired by a client who asked me directly what she’d really be signing up for financially. And when I say there’s nuance? Whew. There’s nuance. The au pair program can be more cost-effective than a nanny, but only if you understand what you’re actually paying for and how to make it work for your family. Yes, it can be more affordable. The flexi...
Hey Doc, This episode is about the reason I created ✨The Connected Motherhood Experience✨ — a space specifically for Black physician moms. It came out of years of being in rooms, reading books, and trying to apply lessons that were never written for me. Most of the popular resources in the personal and professional development world weren’t created with women like us in mind. The frameworks often reflect lives with different levels of privilege, support, and responsibility. And too often, the...
Hey Doc, This one’s different. In format and in focus. In this episode, I’m sharing excerpts from a book that reshaped the way I think about boundaries. It’s called Boundaries After a Pathological Relationship by Adelyn Birch. Yes, it’s about toxic romantic relationships... but when I read it, it felt like it captured everything I’ve experienced while in medicine. The way we’ve been trained to tolerate mistreatment, to deny our needs, to believe we can’t leave... It’s the very definition of a...
Hey Doc, You’ve made the decision to leave. Now what? In Part 2 of this powerful two-part series on how to leave your job with an empowered exit, I walk you through what happens after the decision is made: Giving notice. Navigating conversations. Protecting your reputation. Gathering what’s yours. We cover: ✔️ How to actually submit your resignation (without drama or delay) ✔️ What to say and what not to say to leadership and colleagues ✔️ What to collect before you lose access (case logs, re...
Hey Doc, Let’s talk about how to actually leave your job. If you’re burnt out, disrespected, or just ready for more alignment, you’ve probably heard the fear-driven advice: “Don’t burn bridges.” But let’s be honest, that advice often keeps us stuck in situations that chip away at our confidence and well-being. In Part 1 of this two-part series, I break down the real reasons why so many physician moms hesitate to leave toxic work environments, and what we’re actually afraid of. I share my own ...
Hey Doc, We were taught to equate strength with staying, enduring, proving ourselves. But sometimes the most courageous, grounded, resilient thing you can do… is leave. Leave the job. Leave the school. Leave the situation that is breaking you down in the name of proving your strength. This episode was inspired by a homeschool thread, but it’s not about curriculum or education. It’s about the lie we’ve been sold, as physician moms and high achievers, that resilience must be earned through trau...
Hey Doc, What would you do if life gave you a second chance? In this episode, I sit with Dr. Verniese Moore, a board-certified family medicine physician, a wife, a mom of two, and the CEO of the luxury handbag brand Vie Lorie, who shares her life in the most raw and beautiful way. She takes us back to Gate B3 in LaGuardia Airport, where she fell to the floor as she learned she was cancer-free, surrounded by strangers who celebrated for her. That moment shaped everything she’s built since. Dr....
Hey Doc, This episode was sparked by a late-night convo with my husband about our current au pair (who’s on her way out) and turned into a full reflection on introversion, identity, and what it means to actually honor who we are, even when the world tells us we’re too much, or not enough. I’m sharing something personal about how my personality has always been “a lot” for people, especially in medicine, especially in residency, and especially as a Black woman. I talk about what that has looked...
Hey Doc, If you're bringing an au pair into your home, congratulations on building your paid village! But now what? The first 72 hours are a critical window. Not for work (they can’t technically start yet), but for setting the tone of your entire year together. This episode walks you through exactly what to do and what not to do, to help your au pair feel welcomed, prepared, and clear on your expectations. Whether it’s your first au pair or your fifth, this is how we’ve set things up in...
Hey Doc, Hiring a nanny can feel like a lot. Even after you’ve made the decision, there are still so many questions: Where do I look? What do I ask? How do I know if someone’s the right fit? In this episode, I walk you through exactly how to find and hire a nanny in five clear steps. Nothing vague, nothing fluffy, just what you need to move forward with more confidence and less stress. I’ll help you: Get crystal clear on what you actually need (not just what feels "reasonable")Create a ...
We’re back with Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Alexandra Stockwell, and this half of her story is just as rich and revealing as the first. If Part 1 was about identity and navigating early motherhood in medicine, Part 2 is all about intention in childcare, career, and designing a life that actually supports who you are. In this episode, we dive into: The “internal invisibility” of returning to medicine after baby and why no one seemed to notice she had changedWhy she chose not to be an in...
Hey Doc, In this bonus episode of Stethoscopes and Strollers, Dr. Alexandra Stockwell returns to talk about one of the most vulnerable and underdiscussed parts of motherhood for physicians: inviting someone else into your home to care for your child. She shares: What it was like to welcome a 17-year-old “au pair before its time” into their small apartmentHow she mentored both of her early nannies with warmth, patience, and real expectationsWhy daily appreciation not just correction is a non-n...
This one’s for the woman navigating the messy middle of ambition and alignment. In this deeply personal conversation, I sat down with Dr. Alexandra Stockwell, physician, intimacy coach, mother of four, and one of my own mentors, to talk about what happens when your identity evolves in ways you didn’t plan for… but needed. She shares what it meant to trade hospital hallways for nesting at home, how being visibly pregnant in med school almost made her fear expulsion, and why a vasectomy reversa...
Hey Doc! What happens when the OB/GYN becomes a new mom and realizes everything she thought she knew about postpartum was incomplete? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Candice Wood, an OB-GYN, perinatal mental health specialist, and mom of five, for a conversation that is tender, hilarious, and quietly radical. Yes, she built a 2-day-a-week career while raising five kids under five. But what we really talk about is what happened after the babies came. When she found herself: silently compe...
