Startup Parent How Childhood Stress Affects Adult Health (Dr. Michelle Stephens)
#206 – Dr. Michelle Stephens Michelle (she/her/hers) is clinician, scientist, and entrepreneur who is passionate about mitigating ACEs. She has a PhD in early childhood stress physiology from the University of California, San Francisco. She is the co-founder of Oath Care, a company that provides community-based healthcare to support new parents and reduce childhood stress.
"When kids experience stress and it's not buffered by a caring adult, the adult and themselves put themselves on a worse health trajectory,” says Dr. Michelle Stephens. “...They're even multiple times more likely to die earlier, like, ten to 20 years earlier."
What if the experiences we have as children shape our health outcomes later in life? Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been linked to a range of negative health outcomes, from chronic diseases to mental health issues.
In this episode of the Startup Parent podcast, host Sarah K Peck talks to Dr. Michelle Stephens, co-founder of Oath Care, a community-based healthcare platform that aims to support parents during the critical time of early childhood. Michelle discusses how her experience as a clinician led her to create Oath Care, and how her team is working to address the impact of ACEs on the health of parents and children.
Through a combination of virtual support and in-person care, Michelle believes that Oath Care can help families build resilience and improve health outcomes. Whether you're a parent, a clinician, or someone interested in the intersection of health and technology, this episode offers a fascinating look at the potential of community-based healthcare to transform the way we approach health and wellness.
Dr. Michelle Stephens is a clinician, scientist, and entrepreneur who is passionate about mitigating ACEs. She is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner and earned her PhD in early childhood stress physiology from the University of California, San Francisco. Michelle co-founded Oathcare, a company that provides community-based healthcare to support new parents and reduce childhood stress. Her research has shown that intimate relationships with caregivers are the single most well-understood antidote to childhood stress. Through her work, Michelle is on a mission to change the healthcare system to better support maternal and child health.
Where to find Michelle:
Oath Care | LinkedIn | TwitterResources:
Oath Care on Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook
Startup Parent | Substack | Sponsor
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This episode is sponsored by WWC