What’s Changing
A Letter from Dr. Yamicia Connor
When we started the Labora Collective on Substack, it was an experiment. We had a hypothesis: that people wanted high-quality, evidence-based women’s health information delivered with the rigor of a research institution and the honesty of someone who actually does the work. We wanted to test whether that was true before we built the infrastructure.
It was true. You showed up. You subscribed. You paid. You shared our work with your friends, your sisters, your midwives, your doulas.
Some of you printed our intelligence reports and brought them to your OB appointments.
That is the highest compliment a clinical organization can receive.
But the way we’ve been doing it is not sustainable, and I owe you honesty about that.
THE CONSOLIDATION
We currently have four Substacks. The Labora Collective, plus three others that we launched as separate experiments — each testing a different voice, a different audience, a different approach.
We always intended to unify everything under the Labora Collective umbrella. The separate publications were never meant to be permanent. But moving people between Substacks is messy, and we didn’t want to disrupt anything while we were still figuring out what worked.
We’ve figured it out. And what works is simpler than what we’ve been doing.
We are sunsetting the three other Substacks.
Everything — every essay, every report, every series — is consolidating under one roof: the Labora Collective.
You are not losing anything. You are gaining clarity.
WHAT YOU’LL GET
If you’re a free subscriber:
You will hear from us three times a week.
Twice through our Signal newsletters — concise, critical updates on what’s happening in women’s health right now.
Once through a free article — a deep, reported piece on a topic that matters. One per week, no paywall.
If you’re a paid subscriber:
Everything above, plus:
Viva Voce — my clinical intelligence column. This is me, every week, taking a hard look at an issue and giving you the insight that comes from actually being inside these hospitals. Written by me personally. Not generated. Not delegated.
Packs & Playbooks — structured clinical knowledge products organized by topic. Each Pack contains articles, evidence summaries, patient-facing guides, and soon — queryable AI tools trained on our own vetted clinical intelligence.
WHY THIS IS BETTER
I know what you’re thinking: “She’s cutting things and calling it an upgrade.”
No. I’m cutting the logistics that were killing us and redirecting that energy into depth.
When you have four separate publications, you spend an enormous amount of time on administration — cross-posting, subscriber management, platform maintenance, branding consistency. Every hour I spend on that is an hour I am not spending on the intelligence, the research, the clinical writing that is the actual reason you’re here.
One publication. One place. Everything organized. Everything findable.
That’s not a downgrade. That’s what you deserved from the beginning.
THE TIMELINE
⚡ This is happening now. Not in six months. Now.
Phase 1 (this week): Consolidation begins. We announce the change. The other Substacks stop publishing new content. Existing content stays accessible.
Phase 2 (next week): The new publication cadence starts. Signal newsletters launch. The weekly article schedule locks in. Paid subscribers get their first Viva Voce under the new format.
We are moving fast because we have been thinking about this for months. The plan is ready. The content is ready. We just needed to pull the trigger.
Consider it pulled.
Dr. Yamicia Connor, MD, PhD, MPH
Founder & CEO, Diosa Ara | Creator & Editor-in-Chief, The Labora Collective
The Labora Collective publishes at the intersection of clinical care, policy, and innovation — because only 10% of your health outcomes come from the exam room. The other 90% is what we cover.
Explore the Labora Collective → Member Home: Start Here
Become a Member → Subscribe to The Labora Collective by Diosa Ara: Member Edition
Message from our founder → Read Viva Voce: Come Inside the Build
This is a refreshing idea that I certainly hope works out as it is described. Any chance you can have a subscription option for retired but engaged health professional? Just a thought....Thank you for your vision on what you are proposing.