The FertilityHour

What if weight loss was effortless and could be approached in a feminine and intuitive way? Nagina Abdullah struggled with weight her whole life. She successfully lost weight dieting only to plateau and gain it back time and time again. Sound familiar?

She knew there had to be a sane, intuitive and feminine approach to this struggle. She started using the spices from her youth to add life, vibrancy, and satiation to her meals. No longer was she deprived. On the contrary, she felt filled up and the pounds started melting off.

Despite being a mama of two wee ones and working a high-stress corporate job in NYC she for the first time gained mastery of her body. She went on to incorporate low inflammatory foods and strength training to build her dream body. She promises no more processed meal plans, no more calorie counting, no more deprivation. If you are trying to conceive you will benefit greatly from Nagina’s wisdom and sensibility as she teaches you an easy way to reconnect with your best self and maintain your ideal weight.

Menstrual health is the key to your fertility health. Lisa of the popular podcast Fertility Friday feel strongly  that it is the (bodies) Fifth Vital Sign. She has spent the last 20 years teaching women to track their cycles and how to interpret the wealth of information tracking can provide. This was something a majority of us were never taught and only learned when trying to get pregnant. She discusses the importance of charting when trying to conceive and how we can identify imbalances and correct them on our path to motherhood. Also, we discuss the detrimental effects of the birth control pill on our fertility and what steps we must take to restore our cycles after the pill.

Have you been diagnosed with Low AMH and worry about your ability to conceive? Dr. Scott was seeing many clients in the same situation and started looking at ancient Chinese herbology as a possible remedy. Scott created a Chinese Herb formula that has shown to increase AMH levels in his fertility clients.

We discuss what AMH tells us and why IVF clinics put so much importance on your AMH numbers and why AMH won’t stop you from conceiving naturally. We also discuss the other important factors that need to be addressed when trying to conceive. Also, Scott talks about what he observes as the commonality all women with low AMH have. And his secret to a glowing, happy and fulfilled life.

In this thought-provoking and highly educational interview, we discuss one of the most intriguing and revealing indicators of a women’s physical and emotional health-the menstrual cycle. The menses was once part of a ritualistic passage in a young woman’s life. We discuss how the menses should still be celebrated and nurtured as it gives us a monthly report card on our health including our fertility health. Lara discusses how the birth control pill has disconnected the delicate rhythm of our hormonal endocrine system and falsely led many of us to believe that we are infertile. Without an understanding of “how to repair our periods”, we are falsely lead to believe that fertility drugs are the only option to restore fertility. If you took the birth control pill or have struggled with irregular periods you will definitely want to listen to this interview. Lara also gives practical and simple tips on getting your menses back on track without PMS or discomfort.

In this episode, you are going to gain an understanding of Maca and how it can help your fertility as well as how and why it could possibly make it more difficult to conceive.

Every woman who is looking for natural ways to boost their fertility will inevitably come across information on Maca. Maca indigenous to the Andes Mountains of Peru has shown to improve litter size of livestock and increase uterine weight in women and sperm quality in males. Once Maca hit the market it seemed to be touted as a miracle panacea helping with everything from weight loss, libido, breast growth and of course fertility. The thing that concerned me was that though many sang it’s praises I also saw that Maca was problematic for many women but I didn’t understand why. Is there a lot to Maca we don’t know? The answer is yes. I reached out to one of the leading authorities on Maca and got a lot of important questions answered. Joining him is the lovely nutritionist and pre-conception expert, Jan Roberts. You are going to love this warm, engaging and lively interview and will come out of it well informed about this ancient root.

Andrea harnesses the power of Reiki and The Law of Attraction to help her clients overcome fertility issues. It all started when her sister in law was having trouble conceiving.  Andrea identified work pressures and stress as the main culprit. Using her powers as a healer she was able to remove the blocked energy and helped her sister in law manifest a new reality. Her sister in law soon became pregnant with a boy. Thrilled with the results with her sister in law, Andrea had an epiphany that the subconscious mind was the main obstacle for many women who had tried everything to get pregnant.

She discusses how energy work and manifestation has changed the life of her fertility clients globally. Even those who have been diagnosed with conditions like Endometriosis and PCOS. Is there an emotional component underlying disease? Andrea says yes and we explore that in this thought provoking interview.

Dr. Shames became very invested in learning about the thyroid after his wife Karilee developed thyroid disease. Karilee, a nurse practitioner, went to some of the top endocrinologists and yet felt her care was very inadequate. Dr Shames along with his wife and daughter (an acupuncturist) dedicate their lives to help thyroid sufferers around the globe. It is a bigger epidemic then diabetes and yet many health care systems largely sweep it under the rug. “It can’t kill you though you may wish you were dead.” Thyroid disease can rob you of a quality of life and has a large laundry list of symptoms. For fertility, thyroid health is paramount and must be treated in orchestra with the hormones and adrenal system. In this interview we discuss testing, treatment, proper rangers  and the causative factor.

I am a big fan of Dr. Shames and have recommended his book, Feeling Fat, Fuzzy and Frazzled to many of my patients who have all raved about it. Dr. Shames understands the complexity of thyroid disease but also acknowledges that because it is a complex condition everyone must be treated as an individual.

Leading fertility expert Iva Keene discusses 4 case studies from real life fertility clients. Iva has worked with hundreds of couples from around the world and has seen it all. In her assessment of couples she analyzes over 150 health and data points which helps her uncover underlying imbalances that are contributing to fertility struggles. She discusses both female and male factor issues and talks about the lifestyle changes and health issues and how she treated them. All couples had multiple issues and went on to have healthy babies. You will feel inspired by listening to this interview. Iva drives home the point that with proper care and guidance you can restore your reproductive health.

Ways to cope when trying to get pregnant overwhelms you. In this interview Master herbalist, Elizabeth Willett offers wonderful tools to stay mindful, grounded and calm during your fertility journey. When you are struggling to conceive many find themselves surrounded by emotional triggers. From another social media pregnancy announcement to a negative pregnancy test to a well meaning relatives annoying advice. How do we navigate through it all while maintaining a sense of self? Elizabeth pulls out her tool box that she has developed over the years and gives real life practical advice on staying mindful and managing stress.

In her practice (though people seek out herbal advice) Elizabeth digs deeper into the psyche of the client to find out what the true need is. Often times one needs to be gently reminded that we are emotional creatures having a spiritual experience. Elizabeth emphasises mindfulness and fully experiencing our emotions as a way to heal the body and bring it into balance. Study after study show that stress wreaks havoc on our health and fertility. And that emotions such as  grief and anger store in our organs. Learn the tools to release all the icky emotions and feelings to reconnect with your joy.

Tiffany Jo Baker has been a surrogate 3 times and has been part of the infertility community for many years. With her background as a couples counselor, she goes deep and helps couples discuss the hard questions when navigating the stressful, emotional and challenging world of infertility.

There is no question that fertility challenges can be hard on a relationship but could it also act to strengthen the bond in a couple? Tiffany Baker says yes and in fact that is her goal. No matter what the outcome. She outlines 5 critical questions that a couple must discuss to strengthen that bond. Breakdown in communication and different expectations are the poison of any relationship. Let Tiffany be your gentle guide so that you and your partner remain unified as teammates and lifemates. By listening to this episode with your partner you will learn a tremendous amount about each other and be able to make important decisions with clarity and understanding.