The DTA Podcast
Women's health has been whispered about for too long. On Down There Aware, host Amy Milne gets loud about everything below the belt—endometriosis, PCOS, menopause, pain, medical gaslighting, and the healthcare system's failure to listen. Amy interviews doctors, researchers, advocates, and real women sharing raw stories of misdiagnosis, survival, and resistance.
Don't expect polite conversation that makes light of women's health issues or brushes them off as "just how it is." The conversations are bold, honest, unapologetic, and real.
Whether you're in your own fight with the medical system, battling chronic pain, supporting someone who is, or ready to join a movement demanding better care, this is your space.
We're done with whispers. It's time to get loud.
Episodes
21 episodes
Ep. 01: Amy's story & the birth of The Down There Affair
Welcome to The Down There Aware Podcast with Amy Milne. In our first episode, Amy opens up about her deeply personal journey through three decades of undiagnosed endometriosis. From speaking up as a rebellious teenager to battling medical gasli...
Ep. 02: Natalie's story & a decade of "that's just how it is."
In this episode of Down There Aware, Natalie Jeanson joins Amy to share her devastating 10-year journey of being dismissed by doctors despite meticulous self-documentation and persistent advocacy. Natalie opens up about dismissive allergic reac...
Ep. 03: Seanna's story & a no-nonsense talk about nutrition for women
Seanna Thomas, a holistic nutritionist and TV personality on Meal Prep Mondays (CP24), joins Amy to break down the nonsense about women's nutrition in perimenopause. Instead of promising perfection, Seanna teaches practical, moderation-based nu...
Ep. 04: Yolanda's story & infertility, blood clots, and the cost of wanting a baby.
In this episode of Down There Aware, Amy is joined by Yolanda, who shares her nine-year infertility battle—3 IVFs and 2 IUI's, and not a single pregnancy. No doctor ever told her that egg quality crashes at 35, so she delayed family planning fo...
Ep. 05: Laura's story & three decades to one decision
In this episode, Amy is joined by Laura, a marketing executive in Toronto, who spent three decades managing a secret that controlled every decision she made. Starting with pre-cervical cancer surgery in her 20s, she had five surgeries in her 30...
Ep. 06: Wendy's story & permission to talk about sex, money, shame, and dry vaginas
Wendy Petties is a native New Yorker, psychologist, and founder of Sexy Money—built on one radical belief: pleasure can save your life. In this episode with Amy, Wendy holds nothing back. After 11 years fighting for fertility, a hysterectomy at...
Ep. 07: Noa's story & living with PCOS while being told to "just exercise and eat better"
In this episode, Amy is joined by Noa, a 23-year-old college student from Chicago living with PCOS. At 13, she and her identical twin sister gained 50 pounds overnight with no change to diet or exercise. After a year and a half of being dismiss...
Ep. 08: Rashidah's story & how to build your village for postpartum
Rashidah is a registered nurse, certified nurse midwife, lactation consultant, and doula from Chicago with 30 years in women's health. She spent decades in labor and delivery, taught nursing students for 20 years, and recently retired to do wha...
Ep. 09: Marie's story and how walking with a weighted vest grew into a community of 600+ women
In this episode, Amy is joined by Marie Berry, the founder of YVO — a women's wellness brand focused on bone health. It all started with an osteopenia diagnosis; Marie was active, athletic, do...
Ep. 10: Jill's story & the nervous system piece of endometriosis nobody talks about
Jill Mueller is a pelvic floor physiotherapist from Hamilton, Ontario, and she has endometriosis. She had surgery to treat it... and it didn't work. Instead of accepting that, she went looking for answers and discovered something that changed e...
Ep. 11: Alicia's story & the "productive rage" that's raised over $120,000 for ovarian cancer
Alicia Tone is a PhD in ovarian cancer biology, the Director of Research at Ovarian Cancer Canada, and the founder of Run for Her—a trail running event that's raised over $120,000 since 2020. What started as ...
Ep. 12: Melanie's story & the pelvic health conversation we need to be having
Amy is joined today by Melanie Sutherland — the CEO and founder of Body Co, a multidisciplinary clinic in Toronto. She is also a recognized pelvic health & perinatal physiotherapist. Melanie started her clinic 12 years ago because she got t...
Ep. 13: Lily's story and eating disorders, menstruation, and how to get help
Lily Thrope is a licensed clinical social worker and certified intuitive eating counselor with a private practice in Manhattan. She specializes in eating disorders, body image, and women's health—and she came to this work because she lived it. ...
Ep. 14: Shayne's story & what C-sections, massage, and money have in common
Shayne Henderson is a Registered Massage Therapist from Collingwood, Ontario, who spent 25 years helping women recover from trauma—especially postpartum and C-section trauma. She's also a licensed finance broker in the insurance sector. What co...
Ep. 15: Melissa's story & how your brain remembers pain
In today's episode, Amy is joined by Melissa Melia Dunn—a registered psychotherapist in Hamilton, Ontario, with a private practice supporting teens, adults, and couples. She has a specific niche: women and couples experiencing chronic pelvic pa...
Ep 16: Simon's story & how men can support women through menopause
In today's episode, Amy is joined by Simon Salt. Simon is a speaker, writer, certified menopause coach, and creator of The Quiet Transition—a Substack dedicated to helping men understand and support the women in their lives through perimenopaus...
Ep. 17: Katherine's story & The Surgical Menopause Club
Katherine Glyde is a 36-year-old from just outside London who had a total abdominal hysterectomy after a cervical cancer diagnosis. What started as a routine smear test led to discovering fibroids that had degenerated into cancer, requiring an ...
Ep. 18: Aimee's story & being strong, healthy, and vibrant through the menopause transition.
Aimee Debow is the founder of Menovate, a corporate menopause education company, and a former telecom executive who spent 25 years climbing the corporate ladder. For 10 years, she suffered silently through per...
Ep. 19: Michelle's story & how to advocate for yourself when nobody is listening.
Michelle Withers is a peer health navigator, a patient advisor with Ontario Health, and dedicated advocate for pelvic health from Mississauga. Michelle spent 28 years bouncing between doctors, being dismissed, misdiagnosed, and left without ans...
Ep. 20: Dr. Olga Bougie on the research behind endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain.
Dr. Olga Bougie is the Head of Research in Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Toronto, and a