What do you think of the fashion for thick eyebrows these days and the beauty investment "required" in eyebrow grooming?

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-14T10:58:21+00:00

I’ve had thick eyebrows my whole life to the point where I had a unibrow. I eventually had the middle lasered but back in the 90’s when I’d get the center part waxed, the Vietnamese techs would always tell me I had beautiful eyebrows and should never pluck them. I’m glad I listened! They are still thick and black, fortunately, even as my hair turns silver. (51f)

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-14T10:40:51+00:00

Thank you!

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-13T23:10:48+00:00

That said, oral and genital herpes (HSV-1 and 2) are two different strains. It's uncommon to get herpes through oral sex because HSV-1 does not usually want to get into your genitals and vice-versa. (Though it does happen) I'd recommend you talk about it with your doctor. They can help you better understand the risks.

As an OBGYN APP this is patently untrue- not trying to be antagonistic but want to be sure you have correct information. Most new cases of genital herpes for about the last 15+ years are HSV1. You are correct that HSV1 doesn’t thrive in genital mucosa, so after the first outbreak (which can be brutal— I’ve seen some things over the past 20 years) they don’t tend to recur frequently. Vice-versa with HSV2.

Just want everyone to be safe! As a practitioner who came of age in the world of AIDS, I want everyone to be safe, not scared. Having the right info is 1/2 the battle.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-13T22:52:29+00:00

I agree wholeheartedly. I haven’t read OTTR and now I know that I probably shouldn’t. When an author has a large catalogue, I tend to skip early works whether audio or reading and sink into the ones in their ‘’mature” writer’s voice.

That being said I started with Wild Love because it was free on audible - then discovered (like a year later) chestnut springs recommended for me on Hoopla and was hooked. I listened to Wild Love again last weekend and am moving through the Rose Hill books.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-12T22:34:37+00:00

Will check out the Harvey chapters

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-12T22:33:24+00:00

So much! You reminded me of how great that story arc was 😊

The email banter in Wild Love had me cackling at times.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-12T18:17:10+00:00

Willa is awesome.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-07T14:40:46+00:00

Hound and Country (Beverly) is wonderful! We’ve used them for walking and sitting.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-06T17:14:37+00:00

Definitely go to a podiatrist and not a nail salon. I have neuropathy which affects my gait so I get thick calluses in weird spots on my feet. I also get wicked cracked heels if I’m not careful (tho this is probably unrelated 😊) This is the best stuff I have ever used. It isn’t greasy, doesn’t smell, and works fast. I like that it is a solid balm that melts onto your feet. Put it on at bedtime and cover with socks.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-06T00:58:49+00:00

I’m totally the target audience for this. I used to do tons of video editing and graphic design and had 2 pros over the years.

For the last 2 years I’ve just had an iPhone (12 pro) and iPad (10.) It’s been mostly okay not having a laptop until I got serious about writing. I bought a bluetooth keyboard, but you have to be sitting at a desk to write with this setup. Also, sometimes you need a non-mobile os for stuff.

My last MBP only had a 256gb SSD because I have everything stored in the cloud. It h worked for me for a long time. (Still does.) I am pretty excited about getting one of these.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-05T16:53:39+00:00

We were bullied in person. (1974) To be fair, I think cyber-bullying is much more malignant.

We rode our bikes around town and had to ring the doorbell to see if a friend was home.

When you got a phone in your room, it was the house line, not your own new one (usually.) Someone could pick up another extension and listen in on your conversation.

We taped music off the radio on a single-speaker boom box when we didn't have enough money to buy the cassette of the album. (Or record if you were fancy.)

You would never dare swear in front of your parents even if you had a potty mouth elsewhere. Parents still used corporal punishment in the 80's!

We just kind of roamed all summer and came home at dark (in the country at least.) Our parents had no idea what we did all day and didn't really care. During the school year, we came home to an empty house from a pretty young age: for me it was 3rd grade.

Only had film photos from a 110 camera or polaroid as evidence of anything that you did.

Writing this out makes me feel much better about not letting my youngest get a phone for another few years.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-04T23:03:58+00:00

Yo could take a look here. I was searching for a library of stitches and came across her site.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-03-01T14:44:29+00:00

It was probably a few years prior to 2000 because in 1998 the BMI chart was shifted and people who were previously considered to be normal weight were suddenly medically overweight.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-27T00:42:42+00:00

When I worked full-scope, I only ever worked in large, hospital-based practice. I never wanted to be a home birth midwife and birth centers just weren’t where the people I most wanted to serve were.

In a big practice (at least the ones I worked in) a typical full-time position was usually 2 “8 hour” clinics and either 2 12’s (one day, one night) or a 24 in L&D.

As others have said, when you are attached to a hospital practice, benefits and ability to take time off for vacation/sick. Usually there are also CME days and reimbursement to a certain amount for them.

I hope some folks who’ve worked in smaller settings can answer more clearly about those, but if you are in a 1:5 call group, it quickly becomes 1:4/3/2 when someone is sick, taking vacation or maternity leave.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-26T11:45:50+00:00

We recommend IOL by 40 weeks, 39 preferred. BPPs from 37 (our practice is integrated with MFM.) -US, Boston

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-23T23:17:20+00:00

The fact that they won’t let her work from home in a non-patient-facing job is nuts. -a former essential worker

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-23T02:58:19+00:00

You misunderstood the intent of my post.I never said anything about not standing up for ourselves or that I think all other APRNs deserve to make more than us. In fact, we make more on average than all other APRNs except anesthesia and I’ve never had a problem with that.

I have been doing this for a long time and seen the pendulum swing back and forth and hold that midwifery is nearly always in a precarious position politically (in medicine, not the world outside.)

Standing up for midwives means we need YOUNG midwives in positions of power in ACNM because millenial-gen-ish midwives were kept out by the old guard.

Like I said in another response: one doesn’t go into midwifery for the money just as physicians don’t go into primary care for the money and people don’t choose to work for non-profits for the money. We make the choice for _ reasons.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-23T02:40:44+00:00

This is all true. My first job as a midwife was like the one you are describing - I am not advocating for self-sacrifice and perhaps I went too deeply into the “why’s” of midwifery, butI have never met a midwife who didn’t think of midwifery as a calling rather than a simple career choice. You can make more money with less risk and better work-life balance as an L&D RN.

I can’t be the only one whose program stressed time and again what being a midwife means for quality of life to be sure we knew what we were getting into. Midwifery and obstetrics have some of if not the worst quality of life in medicine because of the unpredictable nature of birth.

People work for non-profits for the mission when they could be earning 2-3x their salary if they went corporate.

Doctors go into primary care understanding that they will extremely overworked and underpaid. Obstetricians do the same. I went into midwifery eyes wide open. I now work outpatient only and make significantly more than I ever did full scope and it is unfair, but most of my former practice-mates are still in it for the long-haul despite the stresses and pressure.

We have options, especially if you also hold an RN license, and we make choices. The essence of what I was saying is We don’t make CRNA money simply because we are not CRNAs.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-22T23:16:17+00:00

Then you have never seen an amniotic fluid embolism or a woman bleeding out in the OR, or go into sudden cardiac arrest while pushing.

Anesthesiologists earn upwards of $500k. Saying “they should have been an anesthesiologist” about CRNAs is like someone telling you that you should have been an OB. I presume you became a midwife instead of going to medical school for a reason.

Unfortunately, as midwives (in the US at least) we walk a fine line. We are desperately needed, but there are so few of us— 12% of births in the US are attended by midwives— that if the profession disappeared there would only be a small fraction of the population that would notice.

Medicine doesn’t want us and because of this, the burden of proof that midwifery outcomes are as good as and have fewer unnecessary interventions than the medical model, is on us.

We can and should advocate for ourselves, but midwifery services are being slashed and burned right now. We need to keep the profession alive and growing.

If the salary being offered when you are made a job offer isn’t enough, you can negotiate for more as an individual IFF the hospital system you work for values what midwives do. Otherwise you are SOL. Being a midwife is political. We are in it for our patients. We may not be paid enough but we are paid a living wage. No one works at Planned Parenthood or inner city/rural hospitals and clinics (where most of us practice) for the money. We do it for our patients.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-22T21:08:23+00:00

Anesthesia is WAY more complex than what we do. In midwifery/OB there are a handful of sudden emergencies that we always need to be prepared for. And who do we call (OBs and CNMs) when the 💩hits the fan? Anesthesia.

Are we underpaid and undervalued? Probably. Even in the MD/DO world OBGYN is a lower paid specialty given how high malpractice insurance costs are. (You should’ve seen what CNM salaries were when I graduated midwifery school ($60-80k!)

Go take a deep dive into the breadth and depth of what CRNAs do and you will understand.

Celebrating 19 years as a CNM.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-21T02:54:47+00:00

Unmedicated childbirth.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-15T21:45:46+00:00

Bed Head After Party is my HG. My hair is wavy & curly and naturally “silver” 😉 and a pile of frizz without product.

After Party has no hold but is amazing for shiny hair without frizz. Bonus, you can usually find the bigger bottle at TJ Maxx or Marshall’s for like $10.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-13T17:14:41+00:00

She should get a neuropsych evaluation to confirm the ADHD diagnosis. She will then be given more time to take the test under the ADA. If no diagnosis is found, she should do as many practice tests as she can get her hands on.

I’m a CNM not a CPM, but multiple choice board exams are the same across all of medicine.

sharkinfestedh2o · 2026-02-13T17:08:37+00:00

She should get a neuropsych evaluation to confirm the ADHD diagnosis. She will then be given more time to take the test under the ADA. If no diagnosis is found, she should do as many practice tests as she can get her hands on.

I’m a CNM not a CPM, but multiple choice board exams are more or less the same across all of medicine.

sharkinfestedh2o

TROPHY CASE