A New Mom’s Perspective is Helping New Moms
by Lonni Leavitt-Barker, photos by Mark Dyrud
Don’t ask Jennifer Hudson to sing. She may share her name with the famous singer and actress and have her own growing fan base, but you won’t catch her belting out tunes while working with her patients.
Dr. Jennifer Hudson is the newest doctor at Women’s Health Associates in downtown Boise. She joins a troop of OB/GYN’s,but she sticks out because she is the only doctor in her group to have the designation of D.O. instead of M.D. after her name.
Her training is as an Osteopathic doctor, one who tends to focus on the whole body approach. “I look at the body as a well-oiled machine. When something goes wrong, I try to see what is out of balance and why,” said Dr. Hudson. “For example, if a patient has heartburn, instead of handing her a prescription, I’m going to try to find out the root cause for that heartburn and treat that by eliminating certain types of food or activities.”
She describes herself as a “minimalist” when it comes to medicine. “I try to use pharmaceuticals, procedures, and surgery as a last resort,” said Dr. Hudson. Her patients, on the other hand, might describe her as a “maximist” when it comes to them. “She takes her time to get to know you”, said one of her patients, Erin. “My first appointment with her was for about 45 minutes. That is unheard of for a doctor!”
Dr. Hudson will tell you a big part of her practice focuses on the nutrition of her patients—an area she doesn’t think traditional medicine focuses on enough. She is not a fan of the food pyramid. She thinks it is grossly outdated and based on poor studies. Instead, she pushes her patients toward a more nutrient dense, whole plant based diet—complete with meats and fats.
Yes, fats. She says too many stories in the media have scared people away from eating fats and that is why, she contends, we have so many hormonal imbalances.
“The more people stay away from things in the grocery stores that are boxed, packaged, and prepared, the more they will stay away from pesticides and chemicals,” said Dr. Hudson. And in turn, stay away from many of the health issues she sees plaguing our society.
She is a doctor who practices what she preaches; a new mom who specializes in helping other new moms. Sixteen months ago, she and her husband welcomed a baby boy into their family—a baby boy with whom they have been very careful about what he has been exposed to when it comes to food and products.
“We have tried to go very natural with him. No processed foods, minimal grains, we’ve pushed fruits and vegetables and we’ve been careful about the types of lotions and chemicals,” said Dr. Hudson.
Not once in those sixteen months of his life has her baby been sick. She said she knows there are a lot of factors that play into that, but there have to be some correlations to the healthy environment they have created.
She admits she is not your typical doctor and that is exactly the kind of doctor she wants to be.
For more information or to contact Jennifer, visit: womenshealthboise.com.
