Los Altos nurse offers advice for TV-online program

Town Crier Staff Report

Women's health expert and Los Altos resident Barbara Dehn is scheduled to join the on-air hosts of iVillage Live, a new television show that incorporates interactive elements accessed through the iVillage Web site.

On Thursday, during the show's inaugural week, the nurse practitioner will offer advice on issues ranging from ultrasound to pregnancy, on-air and online. After the broadcast, Dehn will participate in a live Webcast on iVillage. After her first appearance, she will return to the program periodically to discuss women's health issues.

iVillage Live began airing Monday. Shows are taped noon to 1 p.m., with a live broadcast on the East Coast and a tape-delayed version on the West Coast. It can be seen on NBC affiliate stations (Channel 11), on Bravo and on the iVillage Web site, www.ivillage.com.

"I'm excited about it," said Dehn, 48, who is married and has a fifth-grade son. "This is a great opportunity for me to connect with more women."

Dehn has been connecting well already - she sold 3 million copies of her Blue Orchid Guides, originally released as "Road Maps for Women" in 2003, which provide concise and helpful information on issues ranging from pregnancy to menopause.

Dehn's success with the guides also spurred a series of speaking engagements nationwide, where she furthered her reputation as an expert offering a friendly, straightforward approach. This, in turn, led to the television and online gig.

"I think that a friendly approach can help people (better) gather information to make the right choices," she said.

According to an iVillage Live release, Dehn was recruited for the new program because of "her reputation for making complicated health topics accessible to the general public as well as to professional groups."

On the first show, Dehn will help a woman, 20 weeks pregnant, who has an ultrasound on camera.

"I'll be talking about what they're seeing and taking questions online," she said.

At some point in the program, the sex of the baby will be revealed.

"The nice thing about this show is that it's giving a voice to a different type of health-care provider," said the veteran nurse practitioner, referencing the "Dr. Phil"-type shows that dominate the airwaves.

Dehn began her nursing career at Stanford University Hospital working in pediatrics and pediatric intensive care. She earned a master's degree at UC San Francisco as a women's health nurse practitioner, after which she worked at the Drew Clinic in East Palo Alto, a free community clinic serving a low-income, high-risk population. She has been a nurse practitioner for 15 years at Women's Physicians OB/GYN Medical Group in Mountain View, where she sees women of all ages. In addition to seeing patients in her private OB/GYN practice, she regularly lectures at San Jose State and Stanford universities.

For more information on Dehn's Blue Orchid Guides, visit www.blueorchidguides.com.

Information on this website is for educational and reference purposes only and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice.

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