ABOUT
The Women’s Health Nutrition Academy is dedicated to providing cutting edge continuing education in women’s health.
Why We Started WHNA
Women’s Health Nutrition Academy all started with a conversation. Lily and Ayla were venting about their frustrations surrounding the lack of quality—and engaging—continuing education opportunities in women’s health. Those that were available were in-person conferences that required expensive travel and time away from business and life. Essentially, we wanted to create learning opportunities that would be a) evidence-based b) affordable and c) easy-to-access, especially for working mamas and business owners (meaning, fully online).
Women’s Health Nutrition Academy would address all these issues—and give us a platform to respond to the endless stream of questions we get from fellow practitioners who take a functional medicine and real food approach to practice.
Who our courses are for: Our in-depth and evidence-based courses are targeted to healthcare professionals — dietitians/nutritionists, midwives, doulas, and any other healthcare practitioners that offer services for women’s health (such as fertility and preconception planning, prenatal care, postpartum support, and beyond). Reference lists for presentations, if applicable, are provided.
That said, ALL are welcome to attend our courses—whether or not you’re a healthcare provider.
Meet the Creators
About Lily
Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based nutrition. Drawing from the current scientific literature and the wisdom of traditional cultures, her work is known for being research-focused, thorough, and sensible. Lily’s clinical expertise and extensive background in prenatal nutrition have made her a highly sought after consultant and speaker in the field.
Her work in the field of gestational diabetes, which presents a revolutionary nutrient-dense, lower carb approach, has not only helped tens of thousands of women manage their gestational diabetes (most without the need for blood sugar-lowering medication), but has also influenced nutrition policies internationally. You can learn more about her approach in her bestselling book, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes (and online course of the same name).
Lily is also the author of Real Food for Pregnancy, which provides an evidence-based look at the gap between conventional prenatal nutrition guidelines and what’s optimal for mother and baby. With over 930 citations, this is the most comprehensive text on prenatal nutrition to date. Since its publication, it remains the #1 bestselling book on prenatal nutrition.
Lily’s third book, Real Food for Fertility (co-authored with Lisa Hendrickson-Jack), is a comprehensive resource on optimizing preconception nutrition — for both partners — to improve outcomes in fertility, pregnancy, and beyond.
In addition to her books, Lily is founder of the Institute for Prenatal Nutrition®, where she mentors other practitioners on perinatal nutrition, and is the co-founder of Women’s Health Nutrition Academy, which offers individual webinars on a variety of women’s health topics. You can learn from Lily’s extensive library of articles on LilyNicholsRDN.com and her research briefs on Instagram.
About Ayla
Ayla Barmmer is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, functional medicine practitioner, and the owner and operator of Boston Functional Nutrition, an integrative and functional nutrition practice. Ayla’s primary specialty is women’s health with a special emphasis on hormone balance, infertility, and digestive wellness.
Ayla obtained her undergraduate degree in dietetics and completed her dietetic internship at the University of Connecticut, and earned a Master of Science in Health Communications from Boston University. She has received additional training through Aviva Romm, MD, Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy (IFNA), Deanna Minich, Ph.D., and more.
Ayla is also a highly sought-after speaker, educator and mentor on topics such as nutrition for fertility, pregnancy, immune health, and gastrointestinal issues. Her expertise has been recognized by Boston Magazine, Tufts Medical Center, Shape, Women’s Health Magazine, and EatingWell. She is also the co-host of Real Food Radio, a podcast about supporting your health naturally and living a life you love.
Professional Disclosure: Ayla Barmmer is the owner/creator of FullWell, a multivitamin prenatal supplement on which she makes a profit from its sales.