Family Fertility, Courage, Curiosity, Balance and More from a Woman Wiser than Me: My Mother

Written By Lora Shahine, MD

If you’ve ever wondered where Dr. Shahine gets her ferocity from, well, meet Charlene. 

Inspired by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Wiser Than Me podcast, Dr. Shahine interviews a woman she truly admires: her mother, Charlene Kelly Ewing. 

Despite being “all of 5 feet,” according to daughter Lora, Charlene meets every challenge head-on and, at age 79, still pushes herself to do what she’s afraid of.

The diminutive Southern belle may have a soft voice, but Dr Shahine knows to listen: her mom has been a guiding force as well as her daughter’s biggest cheerleader. 

Whether she’s impressed by her daughter’s ability to watch gnarly medical procedures and still eat pizza, or her drive to help others through not only health care but also health education, Charlene Ewing is as inspired by her daughter as her daughter is by her mom.

Have a listen, then give yourself the gift of talking with a woman you admire. 

Happy holidays from Baby or Bust!

In this episode you’ll hear:

[00:00] Intro and Why Dr. Shahine admires her Mom

[05:02]2 Mom shares Dr. Shahine’s inspiration to be a physician and why she didn’t think it would really happen

[10:23] Family Fertility Stories – What we share and don’t share and what it means – Mom’s fertility, endometriosis and period struggles 

[16:02] Secondary infertility and the fear of having kids born far apart in age

[19:42] On balancing work and motherhood – Why Mom worked and how she modeled independence

[25:00] Leading with curiosity 

[25:34] Outro

Resources mentioned: 

Wiser Than Me podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wiser-than-me-with-julia-louis-dreyfus/id1678559416

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Lora Shahine, MD

Dr. Lora Shahine, reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, completed her residency in OBGYN at the University of California in San Francisco and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Stanford University. She is dedicated to educating and advocating for increased awareness of infertility, miscarriage, and the impact on environmental toxins on health through an active social media presence, teaching, clinical research, and authoring multiple blogs and books including best selling, ‘Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.’

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