Your Fertility Hub

Some fertility doctors and clinics are fantastic - so caring, you feel listened to and you couldn’t fault their treatment.

Unfortunately, not all of them are. This time for the umpteenth time, I listened to a client telling me she feels like she’s just a number at her clinic and I decided to podcast some ideas of what you can do about it and importantly to give yourself the permission to do something about it.

It’s such an emotional experience every time you visit your RE / FS/doctor or fertility clinic. Often you’ve been building up to appointments and treatments for weeks or even months. When you feel like the doctor is not really listening, like you’re just one of many couples on their treadmill and importantly you don’t feel ‘connected’ - it’s time for a change!

It’s hard to change, it’s scary but so important. This is too important an issue to stay and stay silent.

So what can you do about it? In episode 14, we talk through how to approach it and what to do if you want to change doctors or clinics.

The main takeaway is that you deserve the best! Your goal of becoming parents is too important to be getting second best and hopefully, if you’re in this situation, this podcast gives you the motivation to make a change.

• What I mean by being treated by just a number
• The business of running a fertility clinic
• How to approach your doctor or clinic if you’re not happy
• Why it’s so important to speak up and feedback
• What to do if you want to change fertility doctor or clinic
• How to review, recommend and feedback to help others make an informed decision about the doctor or clinic
• How together we can raise the bar in the fertility industry and make the emotional part of your treatment just as important last the medical side

• EP1 - Why the emotional side of fertility is so important
• EP9 - Saying ‘NO’ whilst TTC
• How to relax more during infertility - Your Fertility Toolbox members only
• Is stress affecting your fertility - Your Fertility Toolbox members only

• EP4 - Interview with Priya where she talks about getting a second opinion and how that transformed her TTC journey - 
• EP7 - Interview with Shiree where she talks about feeling just like a number at the clinic and how it’s taken her years to release she needs to seek support outside the clinic - 
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility - 

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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 about how breathing can transform your health, reduce your stress levels and become a simple way you can boost your natural fertility

This week, we are joined by the fabulous Emma Ferris from The Butterfly Effect.com. to talk all about breathing and some simple tools you can use to reduce your stress and help you feel more positive.

In this great interview, Emma teaches us about the fundamental effects breathing has on our physiology, how many chronic issues can be traced back to ‘bad breathing’ and how we can literally and instantly start to transform our health just through good breathing.

We talk about how breathing affects the chemical make-up of your body, how it interacts with your muscles and specifically about how stress can damage your body and affect your fertility.

Don’t worry, we also go in-depth into some simple techniques you can use straight away to improve your breathing and well-being.

Emma is kindly offering all Your Fertility Hub podcast listeners a great discount on her online breathing course ‘The Big Exhale’. See the specific coupon code below and all the links below.

• How Emma became a ‘breathing geek’
• Her hand break moment which changed her life
• How breathing can affect your hormones
• All about fear and stress breathing and how detrimental that can be for your health
• How it’s possible your neck and back pain and other elements are caused by ‘bad breathing’
• How this ‘bad breathing’ changes your blood chemistry, constricts your arteries and affects your body is so many ways
• Simple techniques which can transform your everyday fertility experience
• How a little gadget called ‘Spire’ can help you keep track of your stress triggers and bad breathing habits
• The importance of social connection for women to de-stress

Remember - ‘Without Fail - Exhale’

If you would like to join Emma for her online breathing course ‘The Big Exhale’ at our special discounted rate of $97, click here and put ‘FERTILITYHUB’ into the coupon code box.

Join Your Fertility Toolbox for specific support, videos and downloads to help you heal and cope with your loss.

• EP2 - Stress and Fertility - How stress affects your fertility - 
• EP3 - How relaxation affects your fertility and FREE guided meditation podcast
• All the free tools and resources in the Your Fertility Toolbox to help you with stress and coping with the emotional side of your fertility journey

• The Big Exhale - Online Breathing Course by Emma Ferris
• Spire
• The Big Exhale on Instagram
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility

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

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

In episode 12, we chat about how tough the holiday season can be during infertility. When you're trying to get pregnant, the holidays can seem to magnify everything and it's easy to feel stressed out. 

The holidays can just add to the feeling that your life is on hold waiting for Santa to deliver your baby dust!

We talk about how being prepared can be the best way to not just survive, but THRIVE through the holidays, even whilst TTC!

So, how can you prepared? In the podcast, we talk through 3 ways to be prepared and reduce the stress of the holiday season:

1. Own your story! Have stock answers prepared for all the nosy, awkward questions

2. Choose to do what YOU want to do this holiday - Perhaps this is the year you tick off something from your bucket list. Xmas in Hawaii? Thanksgiving in Paris? Yes, please! It could be as simple as having a holiday at home with your husband, it doesn't have to be big. If your usual holiday plans are really stressful, duck out this year and put yourself first

3. Give to others - When you're feeling overwhelmed by infertility, it's hard to see how you can give to others. but we talk about the amazing effect giving can have on both the recipient and your wellbeing. It can give you a real boost when you make someone else's day. Tune in to hear some ideas for how you can give this holiday season

• The stress of holidays
• Being prepared for the holidays can reduce stress
• 3 ways to thrive through infertility
• Some ideas for self-care and nurturing yourself
• How to keep hope alive during this tough time of year

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.

As it’s Remembrance Day this week, Your Fertility Hub is talking all about ways you can remember your lost little ones, whether that be from early, mid or late-term miscarriage or stillbirth.

We talk about why it is important to remember or mark the loss in the same way and how it can bring some of the pain to the surface to enable you to process it. All too often, miscarriage and baby loss is a purely private suffering and it sits and stays within you. In this episode, we talk about outlets for your grief and how this can actually bring forward healing.

“Grief is just love with no place to go”

This beautiful quote sums up that grief and loss are actually really about love and the love that we had for the baby or babies we lost. For some, it wasn’t yet a ‘baby’ but there is still huge loss around your hopes and dreams, however you conceptualise it. We talk about how it’s a very individual thing and that you just need to follow your heart and your instincts to what is right for you.

The podcast features case studies of fertility coaching clients who Karenna has assisted to find their own, individual ways through miscarriage and baby loss and how this has shifted the experience and helped these women to achieve their dreams of building their families.

In this episode, we chat through 5 different ways you can mark or remember your lost little one/s:

1. Writing a letter
2. Holding a ceremony
3. Creating a place to go
4. Collecting memories
5. Creating something

In this episode:

• How grief from miscarriage and baby loss affects everyone differently
• How miscarriage and baby loss are common, yet not often spoken about
• Why it’s important to find ways to process your loss in a way that’s right for you
• Case studies of women who have undergone personalised fertility coaching and healing work with Karenna and the results they’ve had
• 5 ways you can mark or remember your lost little ones
• Where to reach out for support after a miscarriage or baby loss
• Considerations for those around you also suffering loss in their own way

Join Your Fertility Toolbox for specific support, videos and downloads to help you heal and cope with your loss.

• Why is miscarriage a dirty little secret by Helen Plass
• Many of our inspiring stories feature women who have suffered miscarriages and baby loss - 
• Your Fertility Toolbox - a free, members-only area of Your Fertility Hub where you can get specific support, materials and downloads to help you with the emotional side of your fertility

• Sands Australia
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free online support for the emotional side of fertility

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.

Come and meet Sue Johnston, a fabulous lady from San Diego, who battled infertility for 10-years and is now a fertility advocate and campaigner in Washington.

In this episode, we hear all about her rollercoaster journey, the effects of being a ‘military wife’ and how she has now taken her experience and is using it to help others.

Sue talks about her initial treatments, how she was plucked out of her ‘life’ and moved to the Philippines for 2.5 years, putting their TTC journey on hold and how she and her husband managed with his military orders and their ongoing treatments.

We chat about how Sue finally reached out and joined a local Resolve fertility support group and how that completely changed her experience of infertility. 20 years later she is still good friends with some of her #ttcsisters from Resolve and they have now written a book (Detours: Unexpected journeys of hope conceived from infertility) about their collective stories and advice for people going through infertility now.

Sue touches on her important work running a fertility support group in Michigan, how the group works and the kind of things you can expect from joining a face-to-face support group.

Tune in to hear about Sue’s journey and her work now as a fertility advocate and support volunteer.

• Interview with Sue Johnston - Author, Fertility Advocate and Campaigner
• Sue’s 10-year fertility journey - her treatments, moving countries whilst TTC, how she coped and the final outcome
• We chat about how fertility treatments have and haven’t changed over the years since her journey
• The Resolve sisterhood and how joining a face-to-face support group was a real ‘change-point’
• How Sue’s book ‘Detours’ talks about the different ways you can find a resolution to your fertility journey and how joy can be found in these different routes and outcomes
• Her infertility support group in Michigan (more details here)
• How face-to-face support is SO important as well as accessing online support

• Sue’s inspiring story, part of our collection of inspiring fertility stories
• Podcast EP4 - Interview with Priya
• Podcast EP7 - Interview with Shiree
• Our summary of Detours - 10 women, 10 detours through infertility 
• Your Fertility Hub quick video about where to get fertility support

• Detours Book
• Our blog summarising the book
• Sue’s support group and advocacy work
• Your Fertility Toolbox - Free online support for the emotional side of fertility

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, you get your guilt-free pass to saying no to things!

• That baby shower - No!
• A family party with the inevitable questions? No!
• A work thing that could be good for you but is going to cause so much stress? No!

We talk about the importance of putting yourself first and feeling able to say no to things that won’t support your wellbeing right now. Infertility has such an impact on your whole life and some things need to give - and we don’t want that to be you!

We touch on different ways you can say no, from being honest to even telling a little white lie (yes I did say that!)

We also discuss how sometimes saying no can become a habit and in those cases where you’re hiding at home on a continual basis that you may need to push yourself out of your ‘fertility comfort zone’ and head out. Only you know what things bring you joy and boost your wellbeing, even if you may not feel like it initially, so choose one or two of those things and say ‘YES’ to those and ‘NO’ to anything that will cause you any additional stress and distress.

In this episode:

• Why you should be saying no to some things right now
• What sort of things to say no to
• Different ways you can say no
• Things you should say YES to
• Your guilt-free pass for all baby showers and the holiday season!

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.

More information, support and our free toolbox membership, visit www.yourfertilityhub.com

Infertility is just so hard and all-consuming. It’s hard to see outside of it and the negativity is hard to overcome.

In episode 8 of the podcast, we talk all about gratitude and how establishing a daily gratitude practice can transform your everyday experience on your fertility journey.

“It is not joy that makes us grateful.

It is gratitude that makes us joyful”

We chat about how finding the little things that you can feel grateful for you in your life starts to build happiness and lifts your mood.

Join Your Fertility Toolbox to learn more about gratitude and your fertility and for your free gratitude diary template.

In this episode:

• A little podcast about the little things in life you can be grateful for right now
• Understanding what you can be grateful about during infertility
• Learning how to implement a daily gratitude practice
• What you can expect when you do
• About a free gratitude diary template available soon in Your Fertility Toolbox

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.

Episode 7 is the second in our series of inspiring stories - interviews with women focusing on the emotional side of their journeys. In these interviews, we delve in deep into each fertility story and the emotions, thoughts and fears that go alongside infertility. You can read more inspiring stories from women from all over the world here

In this special interview, we chat to Shiree who has been trying to conceive for over 8 years. Her fertility journey has included many twists and turns, multiple failed transfers and IVF cycles, egg donors and investigations into surrogacy, fostering and adoption.

Shiree talks about her severe stage 4 endometriosis and the difficulty of the right treatment and right drugs. She also discusses the difference in approaches from various doctors, hospitals and clinics and what she wishes she’d known at the start.

Later on in her journey, we hear about Shiree’s heartbreaking experiences using egg donors and how surrogacy, fostering and adoption are all options on the table right now. Tune into to hear the steps she has taken recently to improve her health and well-being, the new ideas she is looking into to maximise her chances of having a child and the difficult decisions over their last embryo on ice.

• The second in our series of Inspiring Stories
• Hear Shiree’s story of how here severe endometriosis has affected her
• How she has coped over her 8-year journey
• What fertility treatments she has undergone
• How she has approached using egg donors and the agony and benefits of the long mandatory counselling processes
• The kindness of friends and family throughout
• Their investigations into surrogacy, fostering and adoption
• How she is now looking overseas, seeing a holistic GP and taking charge of her overall health and wellbeing to boost her chances of conceiving
• The tough decision she faces about their last embryo currently on ice

• EP4 - Interview with Priya

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 Episode 6, we talk all about the massive topic of worrying during your fertility journey. It is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges you face - keeping on top of all your worries and thoughts and not talked about often enough. We discuss some of the types of worries you might have and 3 fantastic strategies to stop the overwhelm and re-frame some of your worries.

Podcast listeners can also access a special discount code given out during the episode to receive 50% off the Your Fertility Worries online course available at Your Fertility Hub.com.

In this episode:

• Why worrying is one of the biggest challenges during infertility
• What are the common worries you might have?
• What type of worrier are you?
• 3 Top strategies to stop the overwhelm and reduce worrying
• Special discount code exclusively for podcast listeners

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.

Episode 5 (14:09 minutes) teaches you 3 quick relaxation techniques you can use at any time to help you de-stress and to assist you in changing those real peak anxiety times into moments of calm and feeling in control.

These three different techniques are a great addition to anyone’s emotional toolbox, so you can whip them out right when you need them. So the next time you’re waiting in the doctor’s office or someone springs a pregnancy announcement on you - take a moment to implement one of these short, simple techniques to help you get through and not feel overwhelmed by it all.

1. 7:11 Breathing - this simple breathing technique asks you to breathe in to the count of 7 and out to the count of 11. The long exhalation stimulates the relaxation response in your body and the act of counting is a great distraction, allowing you to focus just on your breathing whilst your body’s natural relaxation system gets to work. Make sure you are breathing in fully and deeply into your abdomen and take as many of these breaths as you need
2. Quick Body Scan - this technique is a visualisation of moving through your body scanning for any areas of tension. If you identify any tension (commonly in the jaw, shoulders or abdomen), focus on relaxing that area and breathing into it. You can repeat this exercise as many times as you like until you can feel fully relaxed throughout your body. This is a great technique to use before bed, helping both your mind and body to be relaxed and peaceful before sleep
3. Mindfulness - sometimes a tricky technique to master, but a great way to take your focus away from being ‘in your own head’ into what is going on around you in the present moment. Typically, this is best achieved whilst out and about e.g. walking as this gives you lots of opportunities to be aware of all the messages coming in to your senses. Practiced regularly, this technique can really start to set in place a carry-over relaxation effect and also more gratitude and awareness of what’s positive in your life right now.

Join the FREE Your Fertility Toolbox from yourfertilityhub.com to learn many more relaxation tools, access guest expert guides and resources and weekly articles plus our exclusive community of women supporting each other.

For more in-depth knowledge and help in de-stressing and to learn how relaxation might be the missing link in your fertility journey, check out our unique online course ‘Your Fertility Stress’.

• An overview of 3 quick self-help tools for relaxation
• 7:11 Breathing (02:37)
• Quick Body Scan (05:35)
• Mindfulness (08:33)
• How mindfulness in conversations can be transformational
• Introducing next week’s topic and a special offer just for podcast listeners

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.