Vanessa and "The Shaft" sit down with Becca, a Certified Nurse Midwife, to discuss all things STIs —a long-awaited episode. As a topic long covered in shame, we want to encourage more conversations about STIs. If this is something you aren't currently concerned about, listen for a friend or your future self.

Before Becca became a midwife, she worked as a birth doula, a medical assistant, and a case manager for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She is passionate about providing compassionate, accessible, and non-judgmental support, and it is incredibly evident in our conversation with Becca.

As always, we have our weekly check-in, we talk about how "The Shaft" and Vanessa each tread through difficult seasons.

We hope you enjoy today's conversation — share with someone who may find this helpful.

In this episode we talk about:

Learn more about Becca's approach to care here: https://wa-clinician.kaiserpermanente.org/womens-health-care/70282/

Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) and Certified Midwives (CMs): https://www.msnedu.org/certified-nurse-midwife/

Why Sexually Transmitted Infections Can’t Shake Their Stigma: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/style/sti-stigma-sexual-transmitted-infections.html

New CDC analysis shows steep and sustained increases in STDs in recent years: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0828-increases-in-stds.html

HPV Vaccines Are Reducing Infections, Warts — and Probably Cancer: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/health/hpv-vaccine-warts-cancer.html

How Stigma Surrounding the Use of HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Undermines Prevention and Pleasure: A Call to Destigmatize “Truvada Whores”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566537/

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP): https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/prep/index.html

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Just a reminder, the purpose of this podcast is to educate and empower, it is no substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. Guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter, you should consult your doctor or another professional healthcare provider.