Ellyn Wyman-Grothem, MS

About

  • Pronouns: She/Her/They

  • Credentials: M.S. in Special Education; DONA trained; Birth Revolution trained; Lamaze trained

  • Occupation and Specialty: Birthworker, Fertility Doula

  • Location (Clinic/hospital): I will support clients at all metro systems, all metro birth centers, and in home birth

  • Location (City): 7 county metro in-person, everywhere virtual

  • Offers Telehealth: Yes

  • Contact information: www.nissebodyandbirth.com

  • Bio: Ellyn Wyman-Grothem (she/her) is a birth doula, fertility doula, and childbirth educator. She also holds a Master's degree in Early Childhood Special Education and has been working with families in pregnancy and early parenting for over a decade. Services provided include birth support, fertility support, consultations, and independent childbirth education classes. She is Birth Revolution, DONA, and Lamaze trained.

    When not working, she enjoys listening to podcasts, writing, and playing games with family. She lives in St Paul with her wife, in an old house with a big garden.

Approach to care

  • What does it look like for you to provide care to patients in larger bodies? How is, or isn’t, your approach different from how you care for patients in smaller bodies? If you work with children, how is or isn’t your approach different when working with children?

    When caring for fat clients, I am always aware of the way the world treats us, especially in a medical setting. It's my desire to counteract that treatment with unconditional support-- I know that fat bodies are capable of incredible things! I spend time with clients helping them pick the provider that is best able to support their wishes, and put effort into having materials and options that are well-researched, so you can focus on yourself and not worry as much about finding fat positive providers and spaces.
    As a fat person, I also have a deep understanding of the trauma that can happen in medical spaces. I work hard to support folks in a way that is respectful of that trauma. I view advocacy and research as a way to help folks prevent further trauma.

  • What is your perspective on how weight is or is not related to health?

    There is no significant relation between weight and health. People of all sizes are healthy, or unhealthy. Additionally, health status is heavily influenced by privilege and luck.

  • Finish this sentence: "Fat people are..."

    my favorite!

  • How do you, your clinic, and the healthcare system you work in use BMI (i.e BMI cutoffs for accessing certain services, BMI on charts and printouts, etc)? Is this flexible?

    I do not support the use of BMI in medical systems. I am aware of the places who use this metric, and can guide people away from those spaces as much as possible.

  • If a patient declines to be weighed, how do you proceed?

    I never weigh my clients for any reason. If they declined to be weighed at an appointment where I was supporting them, I would support and advocate for their wishes to be met.

  • If a patient declines to discuss weight loss, nutrition, and/or exercise, how do you proceed?

    I speak about nutrition and exercise only in the context of meeting needs for pregnancy. I don't discuss weight gain or loss. If a client did not want to talk about nutrition or exercise, I'd simply move on from the topic-- I trust people to understand their own needs.

  • What does the physical accessibility of your office space look like? What kinds of accommodations are present for people in larger bodies? Are there things you wish were in place that are currently not?

    Our office is accessible by elevator and by stairs-- we provide seating both with and without arms, in a variety of sizes.

  • What do you do to allow fat people to feel comfortable and welcome in your office?

    Accessible spaces, and lots of representation of fat bodies in our artwork!

  • If you’d like to use this space to talk about any identities (gender, race, size, sexuality, etc.) you hold and how this relates to your care, please do so.

    I identify as Queer, Neuro-divergent, Disabled, and Fat! All of these things inform my practice.