Medicine, Marriage and Motherhood: Trusting the Pivot with Dr. Alexandra Stockwell
July 2, 2025
The Plans We Make, The Paths We Take
I used to think I had my timeline figured out. You probably did too. The degrees, the milestones, the family plan that was supposed to unfold like a well-executed algorithm. But as Dr. Alexandra Stockwell and I explored in this episode, life rarely follows the timeline we imagined.
Dr. Stockwell’s story begins in medical school but it’s far from typical. She became a mom during third year, feared she'd be expelled for it, took a year off to nest at home, and then returned with a new rhythm and deeper self-awareness. Oh, and she’s now a mom of four with children spanning her 20s, 30s, and 40s—and married for nearly three decades to the classmate she met the first week of med school.
What unfolded in our conversation was more than a look at one woman’s life. It was a gentle excavation of the stories we carry about what motherhood should look like, what makes a “good” doctor, and how identity shifts when we finally slow down.
The Identity Shift No One Warns You About
One of the most powerful moments in our conversation came when Dr. Stockwell described those final months of pregnancy, after stepping away from her med school rotations, but before her daughter arrived.
She said, “I was fully functional, just had a larger belly… and I felt empty. Even though I had chosen this.”
That hit me. Because it’s a feeling so many of us have but never name. The whiplash of going from constant validation and urgency to a slower, quieter season where your to-do list disappears and your sense of self has no structure to cling to.
A Marriage Built in Real Time
We also dove into what it looked like to build a marriage while building a career—and how practical choices, like sleeping in separate rooms during newborn months, were acts of love, not separation. Dr. Stockwell spoke candidly about how logistics became the language of their partnership in med school, and how that season laid the foundation for deep emotional safety in the years that followed.
It was a reminder that intimacy isn’t always about date nights or grand gestures—it’s about staying in communication, adjusting together, and learning to name the things that feel off before they erupt.
Human-Centered Childcare and Rejecting Perfection
Another part of her story that resonated deeply was her approach to childcare. From a 17-year-old sleeping behind a sheet in their living room to a trusted friend stepping in as a nanny—her decisions were never about perfection. They were about humanity. Warmth. Trust.
She reminded me, and hopefully you too, that the goal isn’t to create a flawless structure. It’s to find alignment in the people who surround your children. And that starts with how we lead in our own homes—with empathy, clarity, and daily gratitude.
If Your Timeline Feels Off…
You’re not doing it wrong.
This episode is a love letter to the physician mom who’s building a life that looks nothing like the checklist she started with. The one who’s learning to trust slower seasons. The one who’s pivoting—whether that means taking a leave, returning to work on your terms, or redefining what success actually means.
Dr. Alexandra Stockwell’s story is full of insight, tenderness, and the kind of wisdom that only comes from walking through it.
✨ Listen to the full episode of Stethoscopes and Strollers here
