The Fertility Warriors

I still remember vividly the day when one of my friend asked me 'Have you finished grieving your miscarriage yet?' and I felt both disappointed and outraged at her question.

As someone who had experienced loss before, I felt she should know better, but if there's one key lesson to take away from this, it's that everyone grieves differently and that there is no right or wrong.

On the podcast this week, I share my experience with miscarriage, and the answer, years later, to that question.

If you have experienced a pregnancy or child loss, I want you to know that it is not your fault, and that I am so so sorry for your loss.

However your heart wishes to grieve is appropriate for YOU so please don't let anyone else impose their timelines or what they believe to be an appropriate response on you. You need to do you.

Grief comes in waves.

Grief doesn't always leave us.

And it's completely valid, understandable and appropriate to feel loss deeply.

https://robynbirkin.com/have-i-finished-grieving-my-miscarriage

When you don't get the answers you're searching for, and have experienced repeat loss, it's really important to have the strength to get second opinions, change specialists and seek further answers.

Seriously, if you've had multiple failed results or multiple losses, I urge you to dive deeper into your immune system and seek further testing to rule out whether anything is going on in your body.

This week on the podcast I was joined by Ariel Spiegel of Cofertility, a site that aims to provide fertility warriors with qualified and quick answers to all of their TTC questions, as well as a huge IVF grant database.

There is so much to be learnt from Ariel's journey and I truly hope you're inspired by her determination to maximise her chances of success, and her confidence in seeking answers.

Today on the podcast, I talked to Blair Nelson from Fab Fertility and there were so many valuable pieces of wisdom in this podcast that I struggled with a title, but this week I'm thrilled to welcome Blair Nelson from Fab Fertility, one of the dear friends I've met through the Instagram Infertility community to The Fertility Warriors Podcast.

I've had the pleasure of appearing on Blair's podcast and now it's my turn to host her and her truly inspiring story. I encourage anyone on the fertility rollercoaster to tune into Blair's powerful story of:

•Not settling for the same old

•Getting a second opinion

•Knowing your body

•What you need to know about AMH test results

•PGS Testing and translocations

•How to emotionally cope with infertility

•The biggest game changers on Blair's journey

Today we're going deep on the topic of being fat and getting pregnant and I've brought on fat positive expert, Nicole Salmon of Fat Positive Fertility and the author of Fat and Fertile to dive into this issue with us.

You may have been told previously that you need to lose weight in order to fall pregnant, and the truth of the matter is that I've never truly given it that much thought (even though, as all women are, I'm a little headfucked about weight and dieting!). Nicole and I are friends and we committed to talking about all of the questions or thoughts that people have have with weight and fertility ( and infertility and trying to conceive) and you can literally hear the wheels spinning in my head as I was asking questions and answering them in my head whilst we talked about whether or not you can get pregnant if you're fat.

Nicole talked to us about IVF weight restrictions (and what we should do instead), why dieting and focusing just on losing weight is not a sustainable or healthy solution, and why healthcare professionals and society need to check how and what we're measuring as markers of health and fertility.

This is a must listen episode and I hope you get as much out of it as I did. There were so many Ah-ha moments, and hopefully reassurance for bigger bodied women.

You can find Nicola Salmon on Instagram at @fatpositivefertility or on her website at nicolasalmon.co.uk.

Today I'm sharing with you my seven favourite books for anyone trying to conceive. This is going to be a bit different, because only three of these books are specifically infertility related. So the rest of these could be books that you don't even know about yet! Head to the show notes to see all the book links: https://robynbirkin.com/my-7-favourite-books-for-anyone-trying-to-conceive

So today's episode is dedicated to Teresa, who is a member of The Fertility Warrior Intensive, and although we've chatted many times over our monthly Q+A calls and on email, I was shocked when we discovered that there were a number of tests that Teresa's fertility clinic didn't run for her.

Today we're talking about tests you might be missing.

I think this is SO wrong. Maybe your clinic wouldn't run a particular test first time around, but absolutely after a failed cycle, I'd expect more. And more.

Some of the tests I'll be mentioning also aren't readily provided by fertility specialists but if you're at the end of your tether, I'd probably recommend looking into and in the podcast I share some tips on where to look for those.

I have no doubt that this episode will be super helpful for so many of you, because there is obviously something going on, so I want you to feel empowered and powerful in seeking second opinions and asking for a variety of tests.

Let me just say it a little louder for the people at the back: if you are at a fertility clinic: you are a paying customer. You can ask whatever questions you like and you have every right to request tests and seek a second opinion before forking out tens of thousands of dollars.

Here is the list of tests.

DNA Fragmentation

ANA + NKC

Thyroid full cell count

MTFHR

HSG

Food intolerances

Parasites

To find out more about how to get these tests, hit the play button above to listen to the episode, or subscribe to The Fertility Warriors on iTunes, Spotify or your favourite podcast player.

And to learn more generally about fertility and infertility, make sure you sign up to my free library at robynbirkin.com/library - we have an awesome ebook there that explains everything in detail, as well as cheat sheets, more ebooks, meditations and affirmations - it's totally free. My gift to you :-)

Happiness during Infertility?! I bet some of the people reading and listening today would question whether it is possible to find happiness during infertility at all.

I remember what it was like in the early days of my infertility quite vividly. Months of crying on the bathroom floor, having meltdowns to my husband, wondering whether I would ever become a mother and always feeling like so much was being asked of me.

So you might be wondering not only how to find happiness during infertility, but moreso WHETHER it is possible, whilst you're trying to conceive, to find happiness.

And here is what I want to tell you:

You can be going through something really hard and shitty, at the SAME time as having an incredibly happy life.

So in today's podcast, we dive into 5 tips to find happiness during infertility and whilst you're trying to conceive, as well as how you might be sabotaging your happiness subconsciously.

To find out more about how to get these tests, hit the play button above to listen to the episode, or subscribe to The Fertility Warriors on iTunes, Spotify or your favourite podcast player.

If you've listened to The Fertility Warriors Podcast for a while, or even read my book on Amazon, Screw Infertility, you'll know that affirmations and mantras not just for fertility, but for general self confidence and handling life's things, were a big part of my journey and just one of the tools I used in my arsenal to help invite my baby into my life, generally cope with the stress of trying to conceive, and help activate my parasympathetic nervous system to take myself out of fight or flight mode.

I didn't just use this when I was trying to conceive with my first baby. I also used this when I was pregnant, and even now in every day life. In short, affirmations and mantras are a BIG part of my life, and a big part of my quest to fall pregnant.

In today's Podcast I'm diving in a little deeper into how you can use affirmations, as well as some specific times that I used affirmations.

Today on the podcast I'm sharing something that I think is super fun. 7 minor changes or tweaks you can make to your routine that can add up to major improvements in your fertility and overall health... and help you get pregnant faster.

Visit the full show notes here

Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive

Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group

Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers

Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here.

Visit my website

Like my Facebook page ​

Follow me on Instagram

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Google Podcasts

If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today I'm sharing with you 5 super effective tips to help you overcome PCOS and get pregnant naturally.

Visit the full show notes here

Visit www.miracare.com and use FERTILITYWARRIOR for $50 off your Mira Starter Kit

Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive

Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group

Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers

Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here.

Visit my website

Like my Facebook page ​

Follow me on Instagram

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Google Podcasts

If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!