Your Fertility Hub

In this great interview with natural fertility expert, Lisa Hendrickson-Jack we talk about how our menstrual cycles are a window into our overall health. Lisa calls our cycles the ‘5th vital sign’ and has recently released a new book talking all about this.

Lisa is known for her expert knowledge of cycles and fertility tracking using the fertility awareness method. She shares her expertise and how charting can illuminate any issues that could be affecting your natural fertility.

We discuss stress and the real and tangible effect it can have on your menstrual cycles and infertility.  

We also have the ‘sperm conversation’ about the dramatic decline in sperm quality over the last few decades, just how serious the problem is and what you can do to improve sperm morphology and motility.

Listen in to hear more great information on how our reproductive systems are affected by the environment, diet and lifestyle factors and how to use charting and spot symptoms in your cycles which can support you to understand this direct link and make the necessary changes.

Finally, we talk about how a natural approach to tackling infertility is just as, if not more important than pursuing a medical approach like IVF.

• Meet Lisa Hendrickson-Jack from Fertility Friday
• Learn about the importance of understanding your menstrual cycles
• Hear how charting can help you spot any issues with your cycle
• The impact of stress on infertility
• Declining sperm rates and quality
• The impact of age on our cycles
• How to improve sperm and egg health
• How your menstrual cycle is a window into your general health

• EP31 - Factors affecting your fertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/factors-affecting-fertility/
• EP2 - Stress & Fertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/podcast-episode-2-stress-fertility/
• Natural Fertility and Preconception Care - https://yourfertilityhub.com/natural-fertility-preconception-care/

• Lisa’s Website - Fertility Friday - http://fertilityfriday.com/
• Lisa’s new book - The 5th Vital Sign - http://thefifthvitalsignbook.com/ Download the first chapter for free!
• EP22 - A holistic approach to miscarriage and baby loss - https://yourfertilityhub.com/holistic-approach-recurrent-miscarriage-and-pregnancy-loss/
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/join-toolbox/
• IVF Thrive online support course - https://yourfertilityhub.com/ivf-thrive/

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourfertilityhub
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yourfertilityhub/
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourfertilityhub/
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjEG761nvI3WNT9J3j0IYw

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

It’s hard to stay positive during infertility. In this great interview, we learn how to keep a balanced perspective and become more solution focused.

Hear Mel’s personal story of ‘post-traumatic growth’ and how focusing on her wellbeing has transformed her life. For a long time, she suppressed her trauma and negativity but when she finally tackled the negative emotions and learned more about positive psychology - she found her true self.

In this interview, we talk about how you can’t fake positivity - it has to be real, but you also can’t ignore the negative emotions - it’s about finding a balance and recognising those negative emotions whilst including more positivity boosters in your day.

We discuss simple ideas for positivity boosters like listening to happy music, walking in nature, meditation or being creative and how to use triggers to remind you about these throughout the day or when you’re feeling low.

• Met Mel Deague, Positive Psychology Coach
• Learn about balancing positive and negative emotions
• The importance of not ignoring negative feelings
• Learn some great positivity boosters
• How positivity accumulates
• How to build positivity boosters into your day
• The power of meditation and mindfulness

• EP5 - 3 quick techniques for calming - https://yourfertilityhub.com/podcast-5-3-quick-relaxation-techniques-for-fertility-calm/
• EP15 - Changing your negative thought patterns to boost your natural fertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/podcast-15-changing-negative-thoughts-to-improve-your-natural-fertility/
• Free motivational quotes for Infertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/motivational-quotes-fertility/

• Mel Deague’s Website - https://www.meldeague.com/
• Join Mel’s Thriving Women Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thrivingwoman.co/
• Mel’s online course - 7 days to a happier you - https://www.meldeague.com/7-days-to-a-happier-you/
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/join-toolbox/
• IVF Thrive online support course - https://yourfertilityhub.com/ivf-thrive/

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourfertilityhub
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yourfertilityhub/
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourfertilityhub/
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjEG761nvI3WNT9J3j0IYw

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

One of our favourite podcast interviews yet! We’re lucky enough to interview a beautiful couple from the United States who open up and share about their secondary infertility story, their miscarriages and how they have grown together as a couple as a result.

Shannon initially felt hesitant about speaking out about her secondary infertility for fear of being judged as she already has children, however now they are both taking on the role of speaking out about the pain and added complexity of secondary infertility and share the stories of compassion and support they have received in return.

Jon also opens up about his role as ‘the man’ and how at times he has questioned his identity and become angry with God as a result of their losses and infertility. He candidly speaks about how he has learned the value of listening to Shannon and not trying to ‘fix’ their infertility.

Finally, the couple shares their advice for other couples going through the ups and downs of secondary infertility and reiterate the important part that true listening has played in getting them through.

• A quick chat about Christmas and link to download the free ‘Thriving through the holidays’ workbook
• Introduction to Jon & Shannon’s infertility journey
• Their shock at their two miscarriages
• How they are moving on from them and staying hopeful
• Jon discusses his role during infertility
• Anger and infertility
• Relationship skills - the importance of listening
• The couple’s advice for others going through infertility right now

• EP19 - Poppy’s emotional journey through infertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/poppys-fertility-story/
• The conflicting side of secondary infertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/conflicting-sides-secondary-infertility/
• Rachael’s journey to completing her family - https://yourfertilityhub.com/inspiring-stories-rachael/

• Shannon’s infertility blog ‘This infertility journey’ - https://thisinfertilityjourney.wordpress.com/
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/join-toolbox/
• IVF Thrive online support course - https://yourfertilityhub.com/ivf-thrive/

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourfertilityhub
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yourfertilityhub/
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourfertilityhub/
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjEG761nvI3WNT9J3j0IYw

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

There are often multiple factors that could be affecting your fertility. Learn more about these in our interview with natural fertility specialist Gabriela Rosa.

When you’re on a fertility journey, you feel like you’re on a quest to discover the answer to why you’re not getting pregnant. Often it can be multiple factors that can be leading to infertility. In this interview with naturopath and fertility specialist, Gabriela Rosa from Natural Fertility Breakthrough in Sydney, we talk about these factors and her 11 pillars of fertility.

We delve into what she means by ‘minor factors’ and hear how some clients have between 30 - 80 minor factors affecting their fertility.

We chat about the important role of emotions and reducing stress when you’re trying to conceive and how men need just as much support in this area too.

Finally, we close on a beautiful discussion about the importance of having faith on your journey and that ‘you will be ok, no matter what’. She talks about how this change in belief can instantly set you off in a new direction.

• What factors affect fertility
• Natural ways to improve your chances of conceiving
• How a holistic approach to infertility gets results
• Looking into minor factors that could be stopping you from getting pregnant
• The FERTILE method and the 11 pillars of fertility
• The role of emotions in infertility
• How to change your belief around your fertility journey to transform how you feel

• EP29 - Integrated fertility care - https://yourfertilityhub.com/integrative-fertility-care/
• EP20 - Faith and Fertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/podcast-20-faith-fertility/
• 10 tips for a healthy mindset during infertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/10-tips-for-a-healthy-mindset-during-infertility/

• Natural Fertility Breakthrough - https://naturalfertilitybreakthrough.com/fertile-method/
• About Gabriela Rosa - https://naturalfertilitybreakthrough.com/natural-fertility-specialists/
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility - https://yourfertilityhub.com/join-toolbox/
• IVF Thrive online support course - https://yourfertilityhub.com/ivf-thrive/

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourfertilityhub
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yourfertilityhub/
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourfertilityhub/
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjEG761nvI3WNT9J3j0IYw

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

How do you keep going when it feels like you're never going to get pregnant?! Hear our expert tips for keeping motivated on your fertility journey

In this episode, we celebrate the first birthday of the Your Fertility Hub Podcast and thank our amazing listeners as we hit 10,000 downloads. We ask you to like, subscribe and go a step further - to share the podcast with someone in the infertility community - whether that be in your medical team or at your clinic, personally or in an online group. Help us share the message of how to support yourself emotionally during infertility!

Now onto today’s topic - keeping motivated on your fertility journey!

• How do you keep going in the face of so much adversity?
• How do you pick yourself up after a failed cycle or another monthly disappointment?
• How do you maintain hope when everything is telling you it’s not going to happen?

There are so many questions along your fertility journey but the toughest ones are when you’re challenging yourself, battling your mindset and facing adversity head-on.

We talk about how it’s your underlying faith or believe in becoming a mum that is the foundation of your motivation and that it’s ok to nurture that hope. Many of us try to protect ourselves with negative thoughts in case of a negative outcome, but often it doesn’t soften the blow if the outcome is negative and means you are living amongst negativity! So, we talk about being positive and keeping that hope alive.

Next, we turn to some specific strategies to help your mindset and help you stay strong on your journey.

• Celebrating one year and 10,000 downloads of the Your Fertility Hub Podcast
• What is your underlying belief about the outcome of your fertility journey?
• How you can nurture the hope that one day you will become a mum or get pregnant
• How reading other people’s fertility stories can really help you feel less isolated and motivate you to keep going
• Focusing on the small steps in your journey
• Taking a break
• Life outside infertility - remembering your passions, hobbies and helping others
• Supporting yourself and your support team
• Finding ways to relax

• EP16 - Goal Setting during infertility
• EP15 - Changing negative thoughts to boost your natural fertility
• 10 tips for a healthy mindset during infertility 

• Your Fertility Stories 
• EP20 - Keeping the faith during fertility 
• EP19 - Poppy’s fertility journey
• EP18 - Top tips for relationships during infertility
• EP28 - Your Fertility Mindset 
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility 
• IVF Thrive online support course

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourfertilityhub
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yourfertilityhub/
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourfertilityhub/
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjEG761nvI3WNT9J3j0IYw

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to fertility. Often an integrative and individualised approach to fertility care can help women get pregnant. Learn more from leading expert, Dr Victoria Maizes.

When you're TTC (trying to conceive), it feels like you have to tick all these boxes and you're always searching for the one thing that might break the infertility enigma code.

An integrated and individualised approach to infertility care can often yield the best results. In this interview, we chat to leading world-expert Dr Victoria Maizes (Executive Director of the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine) about how you can best achieve this approach and all the elements you can 'take into your own hands'.

• What is integrated medicine?
• What is an integrative approach to fertility care?
• What questions will an integrated fertility doctor ask?
• What fertility tests should your doctor be ordering
• Common themes within infertility when you look at the person as a whole - low iodine, thyroid function and celiac disease (4% of Unexplained Infertility is related to undiagnosed celiac disease)
• What you can do WITHOUT seeing a doctor
• How important it is to reduce stress whilst trying to get pregnant
• What to do when you’ve tried everything and still not pregnant
• The importance of support when you’re TTC (trying to conceive)

• EP27 - What’s your fertility formula?
• EP14 - You’re more than just a number at your fertility clinic 
• Coping with an unexplained infertility diagnosis 

• ‘Be Fruitful: The Essential Guide to Maximizing Fertility and Giving Birth to a Healthy Child’ by Dr Victoria Maizes
• More information on Dr Victoria Maizes 
• Dr Maizes’s TEDx talk on eating organic and reducing environmental toxins
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility
• IVF Thrive online support course

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook
• Instagram 
• Pinterest 
• YouTube 

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

In this episode, we talk to mindset and anxiety coach Sam Hearne from ‘A Happy Mind’ about her own personal infertility journey and her top tips to keeping on top of your mindset.

Mindset is one of the toughest parts of a fertility journey and it’s hard to journey the rollercoaster in a positive way, however, there are some techniques that can really support you to journey in a healthy way.

Sam talks us through her feelings and how she has kept on top of her fertility mindset. She shares her top tips and how to pick yourself up on a bad day!

• What is mindset?
• How you can choose positively for your mind health
• A step-by-step approach to picking yourself up after a bad day
• How mindfulness works
• Where to start with mindfulness and meditation
• How the Spice Girls can help!

• EP15 - Changing negative thought patterns to boost your natural fertility 
• EP21 - Mindfulness, the secret weapon for your fertility
• EP23 - Managing emotions during IVF

• Sam’s Website - ‘A Happy Mind’ 
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility
• IVF Thrive online support course

Connect with us on social media:

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook 
• Instagram 
• Pinterest 
• YouTube 

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

Learn from fertility expert, Kirsten Karchmer about how to find your fertility formula, what your cycle is telling you and what areas you can work on to improve your natural fertility.

In this episode, we interview Kirsten Karchmer (Founder & CEO of Conceivable and Viv Wellness) about her unique approach to infertility, built after 20 years treating over 10,000 infertile couples.

We learn how to combine both a western and eastern approach to fertility and about all the factors that could be affecting your fertility.

Kirsten talks about the importance of taking fertility tracking or charting to the next level (an interactive level) and how to investigate your menstrual cycle for indicators of ways to boost your natural fertility.

We talk about how it’s not necessarily one element that needs changing, but many small levers that need identifying and tweaking to improve fertility.

Going in-depth into these ‘levers’, we talk about diet, exercise, reading your cycle, stress, menstrual symptoms, cervical discharge and what changes you can make in each of these areas that can add up to a huge difference in your overall and fertility health.

Finally, Kirsten tells us how she uses fertility herbs to boost effectiveness by up to 500%. She says that there are ‘no herbs that are good for fertility’ in a general sense, but that they need to be tailored to the individual and part of the menstrual cycle.

You can learn more about the unique Conceivable personalised fertility formula here.

• What’s the difference between the over 600 fertility tracking apps out there and Conceivable’s unique fertility formula
• The myth that ovulation day is the best day for conception and that some ovulation kits miss the important window just prior to ovulation
• The correlation between stress and fertility and how reducing stress needs to be part of your fertility formula
• The link between the stress hormone ‘cortisol’ and low progesterone
• The symptoms of low progesterone
• How a cycle length of fewer than 26 days and more than 32 days can decrease the likelihood of conception by 50%
• How cramping, PMS and is correlated with infertility
• The importance of drinking enough water for producing cervical discharge, which is an important measure of your fertility
• How diet, especially high sugar and high carbohydrates, is damaging to our natural fertility
• Which fertility herbs can help your fertility and how they need to be tailored to the individual and part of the menstrual cycle
• How a customised intervention or personalised fertility formula can be the most effective way to boost your fertility formula

• Podcast EP2 - Stress & Fertility
• Podcast EP24 - Quick guide to your fertility diet
• 41 ways to improve your natural fertility
• Why cervical mucous is the number one thing you need to be aware of when tracking ovulation and trying to get pregnant 

• Learn about the Conceivable fertility formula
• Contact Kirsten directly here 
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility
• IVF Thrive online support course

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook
• Instagram 
• Pinterest
• YouTube 

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

In this open episode, we talk about the thorny topic of feeling jealous during infertility. It’s incredibly common and can be really difficult to cope with at times.

Learn 3 top strategies to help you reduce or mitigate jealous feelings and instead feel more empowered on your fertility journey.

Firstly we talk about how normal it is to feel this way. When we open up about it, every person feels this way at some point and it’s important to normalise that. These feelings are valid and it’s ok to experience these emotions.

In the podcast, international fertility coach, Karenna Wood, talks about how we can’t allow these thoughts to take up residence within us - that we need to feel them and let them go as they don’t serve our emotional wellbeing. It’s also important to know that these feelings don’t affect your identity- it doesn’t mean you have changed into a ‘nasty, jealous person’; it just means you are going through a really tough part of your life and jealousy is one way of coping with that.

Listen in for 3 strategies to reduce any jealous feelings you might be having and in particular try out the ‘controversial’ third suggestion of having compassion for that other person. It’s a tricky one and we can’t always do it, but when we can start practicing thinking in this way - it can be really transformational.

Finally, we talk about how jealousy is often an indication or reflection of grief, sadness and anger within you and give you some practical ways that you can start to process these emotions and be working on the root cause of the jealousy.

• Jealousy during infertility - it’s normal!
• Jealous feelings are valid but don’t need to be all consuming
• Learn 3 top tips to reduce jealousy during infertility
• Where jealousy often comes from
• Practical strategies to help process emotions and improve wellbeing

• EP15 - Changing your negative thought patterns to boost your natural fertility 
• EP9 - Saying No! Whilst TTC 
• EP23 - Managing emotions during IVF 

• Your Fertility Workbooks - Helping you process your emotions from world-renowned fertility coach Karenna Wood
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility
• IVF Thrive online support course 

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourfertilityhub
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yourfertilityhub/
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourfertilityhub/
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjEG761nvI3WNT9J3j0IYw

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.

There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there about if you can exercise during infertility and particularly during fertility treatments like IVF and IUI.

In this interview, we chat with Tedi Palmer - an infertility blogger who loves running and endured a 7-year fertility journey, about her journey to motherhood and her opinions on exercise and infertility.

Tedi talks us through her incredible fertility journey and how she went through multiple failed IUIs and IVF cycles, suffered from conflicting advice and multiple tests.

She talks us through her low ovarian reserve and her husband Chase’s low sperm count and motility and how they were offered a place on a clinical trial where Chase was given Zinc and Folic Acid which transformed his sperm count from below normal to over 39 million (normal is over 15 million).

Tedi opens up about her depression and how this was exacerbated by her rounds of depo-lupron and how she received lots of conflicting advice and an insensitive diagnosis from her doctors

“Your egg quality is so bad. I don’t think you’ll ever become a biological mother”

We talk about how she continued running through her fertility journey, even running marathons in and around her IUI treatments and how at times she was told to stop running and tried another exercise like walking, hiking and barre.

She talks about how hard it is to give up exercise when it’s a huge part of your life and how some doctors strictly say no and others say it’s ok. She mentions that studies show mixed results so there isn’t a conclusive evidence base to back up the advice given by doctors.

* Please note this podcast is expressing personal opinions and knowledge around exercise and infertility and is not expressed as medical advice. *

Tedi talks about what helped her cope with her miscarriage, how she educated herself more on her cycles, changed clinics and eventually decided as a couple to take a break and switch gears.

Tedi & Chase switched their mental focus over to getting out of debt, she increased her weight slightly and then ran a half marathon and then did a huge hike. It was at this point that she got a positive home pregnancy test (HPT).

She threw the test in the trash believing it to be a false positive but the next day got another positive. So the bleeding she experienced around the time of her big running events was actually implantation from a natural pregnancy.

Finally, Tedi talks about her blogs and how she now supports women going through infertility on her blog and social media channels.

“If I can run a marathon, I can have a baby!”

And she did both!

For more information on how you can support yourself emotionally through IVF, check out our revolutionary online guide ‘IVF Thrive’. which provides specific support tools and information for each stage of IVF. Packed with video guides, meditations and a huge IVF Toolkit, these unique materials support you through IVF positively and empower you to take charge of your IVF journey.

• Meet Tedi Palmer from Running with Infertility
• Hear about Ted’s 7-year infertility journey
• Learn about their experience of low ovarian reserve and low sperm count and mobility
• Hear how she continued running marathons in and around her fertility treatments
• How she received a lot of conflicting advice about exercise and fertility
• The potential risks of exercise during infertility
• Alternatives exercises to try
• Her personal opinion on the debate about exercise and IVF / IUI
• Her advice to other women feeling torn by wanting to exercise and the general advice to stop all exercise
• Her natural conception when she was running a marathon
• How infertility has left its mark on her “Infertility PTSD’ she calls it

• EP24 - Quick guide to your fertility diet 
• 5 tips to prepare you emotionally for IVF
• 50 tips for IVF 

• Running with infertility blog 
• Running with infertility on Instagram 
• Tedi’s blog on exercise and infertility
• FAZST study at the University of Utah into the benefits of Zinc and Folic Acid for sperm count and mobility
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility 
• IVF Thrive online support course 

Join us on social media for our Monday motivational posts and Friday funnies and so much more!

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourfertilityhub
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yourfertilityhub/
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourfertilityhub/
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjEG761nvI3WNT9J3j0IYw

For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.