192: Whole-Person Healing: Dr. Mary Ella Wood on Integrative Medicine and New Motherhood
- Author
- Dr. Gertrude Lyons
- Published
- Mon 01 Sep 2025
- Episode Link
- https://www.drgertrudelyons.com
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Mary Ella Wood, physician, medical director, and new mother, to explore her path from general surgery to integrative medicine, and how her personal journey of motherhood has deepened her approach to healing.
As the Medical Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern, Dr. Wood blends evidence-based functional and holistic practices - nutrition, herbal medicine, yoga, Ayurveda, and mind-body medicine - into patient care. She shares how her experiences during COVID, residency, and high-risk obstetrics shaped her passion for whole-person healing.
We also dive into her transformative journey through pregnancy and birth, navigating unexpected complications, and the raw realities of postpartum life. Dr. Wood opens up about breastfeeding struggles, resilience, and the miracle of welcoming her son, all while continuing her groundbreaking work in integrative medicine.
This conversation is both deeply practical and profoundly human, offering insights into how we can honor the science of medicine while holding space for the feminine, relational, and soulful dimensions of care.
You’ll also hear about:
- (04:34) Dr. Wood’s transition from surgery to integrative medicine
- (07:42) What integrative and functional medicine really mean
- (12:00) The importance of whole-person, individualized care
- (20:50) Reflections on delivering babies as a physician and as a mother
- (25:30) Her personal birth story and navigating unexpected complications
- (35:25) Postpartum challenges, breastfeeding struggles, and rediscovering herself as a new mom
- (37:50) The balance of motherhood, medicine, and the joy of family life
- (42:10) The role of midwives, medicalization of birth, and advocating for informed choice
- (50:15) How environment, beauty, and stress impact healing and birth outcomes
- (57:40) Rewriting narratives around women’s bodies and medical studies
Don’t miss Dr. Wood’s powerful reflections on blending professional expertise with lived experience as a mother, and how integrative care can transform both medicine and motherhood.
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