The Fertility Warriors

Russell and I have only just got to know each other this year when I discovered him and was thrilled when he joined us as part of the expert panel at the Feel Better Weekend and for anyone out there who wants to know more about infertility and a male's perspective and how this journey can (and does) affect our partners, THIS is an episode for you.

Russell shared very openly and honestly what it felt like for him before he and his wife were trying to conceive (believing that they may never conceive), to discovering that there was hope, only to then feel crushed once again when they discovered that they had male factor infertility - and what that felt like for him, as well as how he then started healing his mental health and changing his entire outlook/priority from project baby to project Russell.

There are powerful lessons in this podcast for anyone who is trying to conceive, regardless of what your journey is looking like right now but particularly if you've found yourself navigating male factor infertility.

Enjoy!

About Russell:

Russell Davis, Fertility Coach and Cognitive Hypnotherapist, author and speaker, believes too many couples go through fertility treatment unnecessarily and that the success rate of treatment is unnecessarily low because the mind and emotions are not factored in. This is born out of his and his wife's personal 10-year fertility journey and which led to his work helping hundreds of couples all over the world create their family.

Here's where you can find Russell:

Website: https://thefertilemind.net/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/fertilemind

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt440RCZC6P0NeKT7z6VztA

Podcast: https://thefertilemind.podbean.com/

I remember thinking constantly whether it was time to quit trying to conceive for me...

Whether it just wasn't meant to be...

Whether the universe was sending me signs that this was not my path

If you're tuning into this episode I wonder whether you too have often wondered whether it's time to quit TTC too.

And on today's podcast (grab a journal and a pen) we explore how to get to the root of what's going on to help you come to an answer about what your next steps might look like, and full disclosure - there may be a few hard truths in there, a few aha moments and a few big reframes to get your head around to help you come to a place of feeling at peace with your decision on whether it's time to quit trying to conceive.

I hope you love this episode.

It was my absolute pleasure to welcome Kath Baquie from Fitnest Mama to the Podcast today to talk about prenatal pelvic floor health and all of the things we should have been told (but weren't at school) that can provide us with insight into our health and wellbeing before or whilst we're trying to conceive.

As I share in the podcast I have my own journey with pelvic health - which actually started with Bec, one of my clients who picked it right away when I felt like doctors weren't listening to what was going on with me.

And prior to that I never even knew much about pelvic health or even what a women's specialist pelvic health physio was (hint: very different from the people who strap up sweaty football players).

Kath is both a women's health physio and a pilates teacher and she supports women through prenatal health, pregnancy and post-partum with holistic fitness and wellness.

She chatted with us about:

What a women's health physio really is

What pelvic floor health looks like

Some signs and symptoms that something may be going on for us before we get pregnant

How we can prioritise our pelvic health prior to becoming pregnant

It was a pleasure welcoming Kath to the Podcast. You can find her here:

Katherine Baquie, is a proud mama of 3, perinatal physiotherapist and podcast host. She has over 16 years of professional experience guiding mamas through their pregnancy fitness journeys and postnatal rehab, and she specialises in pelvic floor rehabilitation. With these credentials, it's not hard to see why mamas are flocking to Kath for pre and postnatal fitness help!

Website: https://www.fitnestmama.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitnestmama/

Podcast: https://www.fitnestmama.com/podcasts/

So you all said you wanted to know more about the BTS of Fertility Warriors HQ and what is going on with me and were also desperate to hear more about my fitness journey with my friend, Dr Sasha Hakman.

My question back to you is... what do you want to know specifically? Ask me on Instagram!

On today's podcast, I'm bringing you up to speed on what's been going on for me and the season of life I'm in currently.

I share my theme for the decade and this year

What my 30s were for me

Some of the big mindset lessons I've learnt over the last 10 years

Why I decided to work with Sasha

What my fitness goals are

I have NO idea whether this is interesting or not, but would love to hear from you if you'd like to know more!

Which is better and which should you focus on first? Diet or stress?

On today's podcast, I talk about my own journey and my learnings as I have navigated infertility, loss and trying to conceive, and then go on train as a Life Coach and Mind Body Practitioner. I've worked with hundreds of clients to support them and learn from them as they navigate their own journeys.

On this podcast I talk about:

What I used to think was the most important thing you could focus on.

How my clients changed what I thought.

Why focusing on the right area first can give you false results.

How to get everything working together in the right way to make it feel like it's all flowing (instead of feeling like you're rolling sh*t uphill).

The questions to ask yourself when embarking on making dietary changes (and other physical changes) whilst trying to conceive.

Infertility trauma is absolutely real and something we don't talk about enough. In today's episode, I spoke with the incredible Naomi Woolfson of Embrace Fertility all about this exact topic.

Naomi and I have been friends for quite some time but one of the reasons I was so keen to get her onto the podcast was because as a trauma-trained infertility therapist, she is trained in a technique called EDMR - which we chatted about in depth.

Some of the things we spoke about were:

•What is trauma?

•How can we recognise it?

•What are the repercussions of trauma?

•How can we heal from trauma?

•The work we can do ourselves

•The work we can do with a trauma-informed therapist.

•What are the next steps you can take to investigate this area further?

To access the free guided fertility visualisation to uncover and dissolve any emotional blocks to conception mentioned in this episode go to www.embracefertility.co.uk/future.

Naomi Woolfson, of Embrace Fertility, is a therapist specialising in supporting women through trying to conceive, fertility treatments and then pregnancy and birth following infertility. She and her partner went through almost 4 years of infertility, IUI's, IVF, anxiety, surgery and a miscarriage before they went on to conceive both of their ginger children naturally!

On her podcast, she offers emotional support and shares mind-body techniques to help you feel calm and confident and ultimately find yourself again while waiting for your baby. Search for Embrace Fertility on your favourite podcast player to listen.

Visit www.embracefertility.co.uk for more details about Naomi's products and services and email Naomi to set up a free video call to answer any questions you have about working with her [email protected].

Follow Naomi on Instagram @embracefertility (www.instagram.com/embracefertility) and Facebook. (www.facebook.com/embracefertility)

I think I mentioned it on the podcast about 12 times, but there's something about Vanessa Gillis-Phelps' energy that just gets me.

Vanessa and I worked closely together last year as colleagues and she is particularly well-known for her work in supporting LTBGQ+ couples navigating the fertility world, but her secret superpower actually lies in manifestation and communicating with your spirit baby.

Full disclosure - I've been in the 'fertility world' for nearly 10 years now (we started trying to conceive exactly 10 years ago!) but up until this interview, I didn't really know what the term Spirit Baby meant (turns out... I had been communicating with my Spirit Baby during my journey too - I just used different terminology).

On today's podcast, Vanessa shares some of the big myths about manifestation, a more realistic view of how we can include it as part of our fertility toolkit and how it can help us to feel better.

I loved chatting with Vanessa and I know you'll love it too.

You can find her on Instagram here (https://instagram.com/queerfertility.co) or visit her website here (queerfertility.co) and she also has a thriving Facebook Group for LGBTQ+ couples which you can find here (https://www.facebook.com/groups/282800326446182)

So..... I don't do 1:1 fertility coaching... but why? Because I do something that I believe is 100 times better: my membership (the Mind Body Fertility Reset). In today's podcast, I'm breaking down why a program like this can be EVEN MORE of a game-changer for women trying to conceive and navigating infertility and loss, and why 1:1 coaching is no longer in my client's interests.

In addition to having two degrees, I am a certified Holistic Life Coach and Certified Mind Body Practitioner, although I wouldn't necessarily call myself a Fertility Coach - but that's really going to depend on your definition of a fertility coach - as it's a REALLY broad term and industry.

If you're interested in why I take a different approach, today's episode is for you.

If you've ever had multiple failed cycles and reached a point where you need to figure out what to do next.... And one of those options is 'should I just quit' then this podcast is for you.

I remember well how I felt following our miscarriage. It was following our very first IVF cycle, but it was about our 5th fertility treatment all up and wondering whether I needed to just quit. At the time, I truly didn't know whether I had the emotional energy to continue and didn't know if I had the capacity to cope with another failed cycle.

And so I was stuck in this limbo of writing to work out what the next right step for us was.

The next right step turned out to be taking a break (although part of it was because my body needed to heal following our miscarriage too) but in today's podcast, I talk about LOTS of questions you might want to ask yourself as you move forward and how you might unravel some of the emotions and thoughts you may be having about what to do next.

•Some of the things I talked about in this podcast are:

•Why you can never make future decisions based on sunk costs

•Why it's ok to pivot (and why sometimes you should)

•The two things you need to ask yourself and break down in order to troubleshoot and work out your next steps

•What some of the options are if, like me, the reason why you're feeling stuck on what to do next is because of emotional exhaustion

I hope you find this episode helpful and please do reach out and let me know if it (or the podcast generally) has helped you in any way.

Ok... today's podcast is about 5 signs it's time for a second opinion on your infertility and IVF journey... after the many people I've recently told deserve a second opinion.

In reality, I've actually shared 7 signs.... With the first one being that if you're considering whether you should get a second opinion.... This podcast may be the sign you've been waiting for to give you permission to do so, and the second one being that your Specialist or Doctor should NOT mind if you seeking a second opinion... and if they do - that's possibly even more of a sign that you SHOULD get one because it means that they may not be open to being wrong and they may be fixed in their ways.

The stakes are high here - emotionally, physically, financially - so you deserve to be able to have the peace of mind (as a customer) that you're on the right track and that everything is being done to help you get pregnant.

Tune into today's episode to hear the other 5 signs it's time for a second opinion on your infertility and IVF journey.