Welcome back to the Her Fertility podcast. I am. So jazzed to be back on the podcast after taking some time away to soak in the summer with my little guy. He turned six this summer and I just took some time away from the podcast and I'm really glad that I did.
I, of course, love the podcast, and this is a space where I can bring you fertility information and support, but taking a step away and enjoying the summer with my son was such a gift to myself.
And if there's anybody listening that needs permission to step away from something or take your time with something, or just let a decision settle for a little bit before acting, let this be your sign that. That is right for you. I am back more energized than ever because I took some time away.
So we are gonna mark this as season two of the Her Fertility podcast, and there's so much great information coming down the pipeline for you.
Welcome to Her Fertility, the podcast revolutionizing the way women are supported on their fertility journey. I'm your host, Jess Tims, with years of supporting women as a fertility doula, I've seen the emotional pain caused by infertility, including my own struggle with unexplained infertility, and I always knew there had to be a better way to support women with their fertility, health, and healing.
This is the first podcast to combine the principles of spirituality and energy healing with the research-based fertility data to support you in a way you've never seen before. If you are ready to find a new.
Perspective for your fertility journey, then press play. We are here to reclaim control, find clarity, and transform the fertility conversation.
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Welcome back to the Her Fertility podcast. I am Jess Tims certified fertility doula and founder of Her Fertility Support. It is September, 2025, and we have a lot to talk about. There is a new term that as of a few months ago, because everything in 2025 feels like it's moving at lightning speed this is a term that I had never heard of before now, and now it's like taking over the fertility conversation.
And that's restorative reproductive medicine. Restorative reproductive medicine is also thrown around as RRM, and this is a new ideology. For approaching fertility, and unfortunately, it is wrought with problems. And in this episode, I am going to break down the main problems with restorative reproductive medicine, and why you as a woman of reproductive age, should be alert to and aware of the language around. Restorative reproductive medicine because at the end of the day, I would hate for you to be one of those people that gets wrapped up in this bubble and it takes longer for you to get pregnant. You might experience a lack of care.
It might be more expensive for you in the long run, all because you're following things that just aren't guided in science and rooted in research. So let's dive into it.
The most fascinating thing for me about restorative. We're just gonna say RRM. It's like a mouthful, but the most interesting thing for me is. Like a thousand years ago when I got my master's degree. So really it was, it was just about 10 years ago I got my master's degree. So 10 years ago I wrote my master's thesis on a Supreme Court case having to do with women's reproductive rights I have a master's in communication and I was working through and arguing in this beautiful paper that I'm so proud of and I love to this day. And in that paper I wrote about the importance of language, the importance of communication, and the importance of words, because on a high level, words carry a lot of meaning. And when you use certain words specifically around women's reproduction, it can completely misconstrue. The facts or the data or whatever.
And I talked about that years ago, decade, a decade ago, and here I am today talking about the same thing. So the challenge at a very high level with restorative reproductive medicine is the ideology behind this method. Is not rooted in science. It excludes males from the conversation it's very focused on women and women's fertility, which we know, especially with infertility, men are 40 to 50% of the equation. It takes two to make a baby. You cannot leave men out of the conversation, but they do.
They're not rooted in research and they lean into this term called ethical. IVF. And at its core, we're gonna break this down more, but at its core, RRM is essentially anti IVF, which we'll break down. So the first glaring problem with RRM is they're focusing on women and it largely focuses on things like endometriosis and getting pregnant. And the pivot that they take is that.
Current doctors and the current, like established medical system isn't integrating holistic care or natural ways to boost fertility or address things like infertility. There's, you know, the language out there, like, why aren't your doctors offering natural ways to achieve pregnancy? That cooperates with my reproductive system and even the term restorative reproduction, it is all leaning into the natural, holistic way of viewing. Fertility, but it's only using that way.
And so this is a very dangerous boat to be in, and it's also a very misguided communication pattern that they're using. So let's back up a little bit. So if we'll use the example of my doctor's not telling me natural holistic methods to help improve my fertility. Now, first of all, not true in most cases, but also if we look at what the role of a doctor is.
So if you are going to your OB or even an endocrinologist, like an REI for your fertility journey, they have a job to do. Their job is in medicine. Their job is to test your hormones, use their amazing tools to look at your uterus, to see the health of your body. With the tools that they have. And those tools are rooted in Western medicine and they're evidence-based, and they are the best possible tools we have today to measure fertility health.
Now the bucket of. Holistic practice, natural methods, lifestyle diet, eliminating plastic from your life. All of that is important and. If you've at all listened to the Her Fertility podcast, if you've worked with me in any capacity, you know that I'm a big believer in those things, but those things are the things that you have control of in your life that is not your doctor's role, and it is also not fair to say that your doctor doesn't know those things.
I would be willing to bet, I mean, I would bet anybody a lot of money that your doctor does know those things and your doctor is aware because there is research to support that. Eliminating toxins is going to support your fertility, that eating a healthy diet is going to support your fertility. That reducing stress is gonna support your fertility. Yes, they know that. And when you're in their office for your appointment, they are not going to waste your time talking to you about that. They are going to use their time to get you the information that they can give you, that only they can give you, and yes, in a perfect world, would they also then give you. All of the information, would they be able to be like, here is a complete package of all of the things you need to know? Yeah, like ideally we could do that as practitioners, but that would take. Months to years, like it would take so long, you would be like so bored listening to all of the information and it's just not realistic and it's also just not what the doctor is there to do.
The doctor is there to. Help you get information data about your body. They might be there to help you do a procedure with your body. And I would strongly argue that all of this holistic stuff is on us. It's on us as a society to be more aware of the things that we're doing to our body and to the earth are actually having a lasting impact.
We've gone so long with, oh, we're just gonna buy, buy, buy, consume, consume. We're gonna eat this package thing that's in plastic and tossed the plastic. That plastic is impacting our bodies. It's impacting the earth. And for so long we have just moved through for the sake of convenience, for the sake of whatever, and it is on us to clean that up and there is research to support that holistic lifestyle. And there is research there that we use in the Her Fertility framework all the time to support fertility health. But the lack of knowledge, I will argue is not because your doctor didn't tell you, but it's because our society as a whole has done a terrible job at coming to terms with the fact that these things are ruining our fertility health.
And now you might be asking yourself why, and this is not to say this is any individual's fault. This is a larger conversation about the systems and the corporations and all of the things that are in it for the money only. And as consumers, we have continued to purchase and buy and use the things that are impacting our fertility health.
And so the companies are going to continue to make them and sell them to us because they wanna make money, right? They're not interested in your fertility health. They're also not interested in caring for the earth. And this is a much larger, broader conversation, but my goal is to show how it's all connected is there an opportunity for all of us to be more aware of these holistic methods and these holistic things are gonna help support our fertility?
Absolutely. But using this problem as the dialogue for. Restore reproductive medicine is problematic because it is a problem and they are capitalizing on that problem, but they're putting the target on the wrong place. The target is not doctors. The target is corporations and companies who are producing the plastics, who are selling us this stuff, right?
But the target is going the wrong way. The language that they're. Choosing to use intentionally. Like there's very intentionality here with RRM, of course it makes sense, but the target's on the wrong place so conversationally when you start to make doctors, the bad guys.
Right, and RRM does that. They make doctors the bad guys. Science is the bad guy. Science has failed you. And when you start to alienate that, it only creates room for disaster. RRM is not rooted in research or science. And yes, there are research and science things to support holistic methods. However, the ideology behind RRM has deep roots in. Deeply religious views. Now, if you go on the International Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine, their copy in their language on their website is. Leaning into even the graphics like really leans into science and like a scientific approach.
But when you cut out specific science in the name of other science, to me that's a big red flag. If you are going to be using science and data to support your thing, no matter what your thing is, if you're using science and data to support your thing, then you need to be considering all of the science and data for that thing.
But restorative reproductive medicine largely cuts out. The science and the data around topics, and again, alienating doctors and making them the bad guy. Right? So one of the ways that this happens, there's multiple ways, but one of the ways this happens is specifically with IVF.
Now, RM has a term called ethical IVF, and. One in labeling it ethical IVF, it automatically triggers in the brain that IVF is unethical. So this is what I mean when words matter. By saying that there is a such thing as ethical IVF, which to RM means not doing things like genetic testing, which is.
Absolutely essential for some fertility journeys for people who have genetic disorders. For people who have recurrent pregnancy losses. Genetic testing is such an amazing tool and technology that we have to test embryos that is available and. It can be lifesaving, data to have.
However, within this new terminology of ethical IVF that is not allowed, it's not viewed as ethical. And so as you can start to see. Just in using the word ethical, it makes the assumption that IVF is unethical and it ties in something that is a belief based thing into the science and is cutting out parts of the data and parts of the research around IVF.
And only cherry picking the things that work for them under their ideology and umbrella they're calling it holistic care, but this is largely a religious view. Now, I must take a moment and acknowledge that this is not an attack on religious views at all. There are many different religions around the world. There are many different ways of believing something, and just because one person believes it doesn't mean it's for everyone. And the language in RRM is that, that this is our belief and this is for everyone.
And so if you are coming into contact with RRM Language, my hope would be that you can see all of the data. Not just the cherry picked data that they are choosing to use,
So I did a little research on their website, and it's just, it's so interesting the way that language is used. So while RM is not specifically a religious organization or religious based in its copy or its language on its website, it makes it very clear that they don't use artificial insemination, that they don't. Use IVF. Um, and that is also in line with religious approaches to fertility.
Now, one of the other big red flags I came across when I was digging around on their website is in order to get any information from them, you have to give your information first. So things like. Finding an aligned clinic or, um, you know, really getting any information from them. They ask for your contact information and I always feel like that's a red flag when working with any type of corporation because data about your body should be available.
And if you're trying to filter that in any way, it just feels non-transparent to me. Um, so. It feels a little bit like a twoedged sword, and, and yet we've been seeing this play out on social media for a while. So accounts on social media largely classify themselves as like holistic or in the wellness space, and that often comes to a battle with Western medicine. And at its core, what that type of language is doing is it's intriguing the consumer, so in communication. There's a large study around, storytelling. We are storytelling creatures, and we understand things in story and in a story. There has to be a villain or there has to be something that goes wrong in order for us to be engaged with that story.
Like if there was just a story about like rainbows, there wouldn't be a story there. It would just be like rainbows, right? But if suddenly there's a cloud and the rainbow, you can't see it, right? Like then the cloud would be the enemy or the bad thing or the villain. And this is the pattern. Now, when you watch any, any movie or any story, you will always notice there's a villain.
It makes me think of like a commercial about like, um, like a Swiffer, and it's like the dust bunnies behind the door are the villains, right? Like it's everywhere and you'll start to see it Now that you know this. So on social media. Or even on a website, the communication that's there is designed to make a villain, right?
So that you are engaged and you are buying into what they're selling. Right? And so largely in the holistic space, Western medicine and doctors has become the villain. Now again, what that does is it completely cuts out a large body of research and tools and support that we can use that has helped so many babies come into this world in a really healthy way that to me, it doesn't make sense to make that the villain, the villains are the, the toxins, the company's producing the toxins, like all of that, right? And so here at Her Fertility, my goal is to always provide you with all of the data to give you.
Both sides to let you know what your options are we live in 2025. We live in a time where we have more information than we will ever need and we have advancements in technology that can help serve us. So here, what you will continue to get through this podcast is. All of the information, the research that is proven, you'll get that soul guided stuff because your inner voice is the most true thing for you.
And we will talk about your inner soul and guidance as well, because when you combine. Those things together, that's where the magic happens. And so if you enjoyed this episode, consider sharing it with somebody. I would so love to hear your feedback, whether you find me on Instagram, @herfertility.support, or you can leave a review of the podcast.
And I am so excited for this season two to begin. And get kicked off because we have a lot to talk about. So cheers to your fertility and I will talk to you again soon. Okay.
If you are struggling with infertility, you've probably tried to find support from family and friends, but they just don't get the depth of your problems. That's why I created the fertility support circle. The circle meets monthly for free, where you'll connect virtually with women who are also navigating their fertility journey.
If you are ready for support, please send me a DM on Instagram and I'll send you the information.
