Welcome back to the Her Fertility podcast. I am so excited to be bringing you a new series here on the Her Fertility podcast. We are going to walk through the fertility journey step by step from the moment you decide to have a baby and you want to get pregnant. All the way through the different paths that this journey may bring you.
I realized after talking with so many people about fertility, that a lot of people don't understand all of the different nuances that are involved with the fertility journey. And if you are somebody who. Is on their own fertility journey. There can be a lot of anxiety around the unknown of what's next.
So in this series, I'm going to walk you through step by step what to expect. I'm gonna bring you real stories from women and couples who have experienced these different stages of the fertility journey, and I'm going to bring you resources to support you so that no matter what stage you're at on the fertility journey, you have exactly what you need.
When you need it.
Welcome to the Her Fertility podcast. If you've been told to just trust the medical system, or on the flip side to only focus on holistic healing and neither feels like the full picture, this space is for you. I'm your host, Jess Tims. After navigating my own infertility journey, I left my corporate career to create Her Fertility support.
Because women deserve more than rushed appointments and one dimensional answers. Here we bridge the gap between clinical care and holistic healing, combining science and research with nervous system mindset and deep human connection. Because you don't have to choose one path. You get to use all of it, and when you do, everything changes.
Let's begin.
Naturally we are going to begin this series at the start when you decide that, yes, I want to get pregnant, I want to step into parenthood and if you are at this stage in your journey, then this episode is absolutely for you so that you have all of the things you need. And if you are here listening to this episode, then that tells me you are somebody who is resourceful and super smart because you wanna get ahead of the game as you embark on your fertility journey.
And as always, I'm going to include a whole self view of the fertility journey. So of course we're gonna talk about the body and what's going on, but we're also gonna talk about the energy and the soul behind this, because here at the Her Fertility podcast, we combine both science and soul around your fertility.
So in that moment, when you decide. Yes, I wanna get pregnant. There is a shift that happens. You are opening up and welcoming the idea and the possibility for a new life to be created. And let's first break down. And I'm first going to break down what the female and the male partner absolutely need to know in this stage.
For the female partner, your body needs to be off of any type of birth control or anything that is. Controlling your cycle. It's really important at this stage to talk to your medical professional about any medications you're on that might be interacting with your reproductive system, and I'm a big proponent for talking to your healthcare provider and letting them know that you are ready to get pregnant and ask for their feedback. You can ask something like, Hey, based on my chart on my records, is there anything that I should know before I get pregnant? So that you can get feedback.
And once you are off of birth control, you're gonna want to get very familiar with your reproductive cycle. The female cycle is in four parts and I break down how to track your cycle in a video series over on YouTube. So if you are new to cycle tracking, if you don't know how to track your cycle, or maybe you want to know more about basal body temperature, maybe you wanna know more about ovulation and cervical fluid, then go check out.
YouTube video series. It's linked in the show notes below, and it will give you the detailed instructions on exactly how to do that for free, because I believe that every woman should know how to track their cycle and what's going on with the cycle so that you know for yourself whether your cycle is healthy or not, or if you need to look into some things.
So. Go check that out. And for the male partner, it's important to understand that sperm is generated about 70 days ago. So the sperm you're working with today was actually created a little more than two months in the past. So it's important to think back to what was I doing about two months ago and how could that be impacting my sperm that I'm using today?
Impact. Sperm is negatively impacted by things like environmental, toxins, stress, and direct heat. And we have done multiple deep dives on male fertility on the Her Fertility podcast and while. Male fertility tends to be overlooked. It is equally as important to female fertility because it takes two to make a baby.
And that brings me to my next really important point. If you are trying to get pregnant, you need three things in order to get pregnant. And most people know you need egg and sperm, but you also need a conduit. For the sperm to reach the egg. And what that looks like in the body is cervical fluid. And as you start to get to know the female cycle, you'll learn that cervical fluid actually changes around ovulation to allow sperm to come up through the cervix to get to the egg that's released
now, as you start to track your cycle, because you've gone and watched the YouTube video and you know all about how to do that. Then you'll start to notice your changes in cervical fluid. And if you're not seeing any cervical fluid, that's a key indicator that you need to be aware of and pay attention to because on its own sperm has a really tricky time getting past the cervix.
Sperm have no sense of direction. It's one of my favorite facts about sperm. They need a lot of help getting past the cervix and up into the uterus. And cervical fluid is nature's way of doing that. And so if you're not seeing. That healthy cervical fluid, the, some people say cervical mucus and yes, round ovulation, it looks like egg white.
That is a high water content fluid that's gonna help sperm come up past the cervix. And if you are not seeing that in your cycle, then we gotta start figuring out what's going on. Sometimes it's as simple as you are. Not hydrated enough, or you might be a regular user of something like Claritin or something that's drying up mucus in the body elsewhere.
So if it's drying up mucus in your nose, it's gonna be drying up mucus down there as well. And you might've heard the myth that taking Mucinex D will help. Create more mucus in the body. You don't need that, and there's no scientific proof that supports that, and so avoid the Mucinex D. Don't go putting some other medication in your body and just get to know your body's production of cervical fluid.
And you might stumble across ovulation predictor kits or your healthcare provider might recommend using ovulation predictor kits. And we've done some deep dives on ovulation predictor kits here on the Her Fertility podcast because the reality is you don't need them.
You can track your cycle all on your own. And some people find them helpful. But they can also create a lot of energy and attention around ovulation that may not be needed. And once you understand ovulation, you can use that information to really optimize trying to get pregnant because the female body is only fertile during the ovulation window each month. So it's essential that you understand when that's happening now we know that reproduction doesn't just live on an island by itself.
This is a system that's interacting with. All of your systems, namely your nervous system, and if you've been around my social media or the Her Fertility podcast for any length of time, then you know that the nervous system is queen. And she is governing your reproductive system as well. On a high level, reproduction is a secondary system.
It is not a vital system. We don't need to reproduce in order to survive, unlike the other systems in our body, like our digestive system, and if you're, you know, having to run away from danger, like running from the lion, then you need your cardiovascular system to pump blood to the legs and run away from the lion, right?
What you don't need is to create. A baby in order to survive. It is a system that we have because our species needs to reproduce to continue, but in the individual body, it's not something that is prioritized. And because of that, when the nervous system is in chronic fight or flight, in other words, in a chronic sympathetic state, then the reproductive system starts to be impacted in a negative.
Way. So at this point in the fertility journey, you've decided, yes, I want to get pregnant. I'm going to try naturally, which means I'm gonna learn about my cycle and optimize my chances around ovulation. It's also essential to start thinking about how your nervous system is operating on a daily basis.
Because we've largely normalized things that are impacting our nervous system in a negative way. Things like caffeine, not getting enough sleep and having chronic stressors are all impacting our nervous system, and we operate with this every day. And we know that stress negatively impacts our fertility. And so it's not about removing the stress, it's also not about going and sitting on top of a mountain in silence because that's not realistic. We are living in a busy world with a lot of technology and a lot of information.
What it does become about for somebody who's trying to get pregnant is intentionally bringing their nervous system out of fight and flight and into rest and digest regularly. And this is something that I really encourage you to normalize as part of your lifestyle because it's going to have lasting impacts, not only for trying to get pregnant, but also into your pregnancy and then into motherhood.
So if you can lay the foundation now of helping your body come out of fight and flight and into rest and digest, it is something that is going to serve you forever more. And the tricky thing is the nervous system doesn't have an indicator light.
So we don't know when we are in fight and flight or when we're in rest and digest, but there are some indicators that your nervous system is dysregulated. Things like waking up, tired, migraines or anxiety in the body, muscle tension, even cold hands and feet are symptoms of a dysregulated nervous system.
And those are just a few. There are many others, and what those indicators are doing are asking you to bring your system back into rest and digest. And this looks different for everybody. What works for you is gonna be different than what works for me. Um, but there are some really simple ways to trigger safety in the body so that the nervous system can come back into the rest and digest or the parasympathetic state.
And I've created a free fertility audio that is perfect for just this. So if you go to the link in the show notes or you find me on social media and go to the link in my bio, there is a free fertility audio that will not only reset your nervous system, but it's also going to support you no matter what phase of your fertility journey you are on.
So definitely check that out. and after you listen to that audio, then you have the information about your cycle. You have a way to bring your nervous system into its rest and digest. Welcome baby mode. Then you might be asking yourself, what else do I need to know in order to get pregnant?
It is always advised to start a prenatal supplement, and there are many prenatal supplements available on the market, and truly the best one is the one that you will. Take, there are so many out there.
Um, I have some links to ones that I love and trust. But it's truly about the supplement that you will remember to take. And also you wanna make sure that the supplement isn't interacting negatively with anything else that you're taking. And this is for both males and females.
You wanna make sure you're giving your body the nutrients it needs to optimize sperm and egg quality. And that brings me to nutrition. Both sperm and egg production require nutrition in the body and the only research backed fertility.
Diet is the Mediterranean diet. So if you're looking for inspiration on what to eat, you wanna lean into foods that are inspired by the Mediterranean diet, and we do have research to support that. Eliminating processed foods, excess sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. All improve fertility health in both males and females.
And really what this is doing is communicating to your body that you are giving it the nutrients it needs to create a new life. And hormones are the building block of your reproductive system and your hormones need nutrients in proteins and quality fats and carbohydrates in order to work optimally.
And so this becomes much less about weight loss or restriction and much more about nutrients, which is another key thing I asked on TikTok. What was the thing that got you pregnant? And the most recurring comment I got back was losing weight. And weight is directly correlated with your fertility health.
And so if you are someone who does need to lose weight before getting pregnant, then work with your medical provider to determine the best, most safest way to do that in the fertility space, we hear a lot of the ways that it doesn't happen quickly. But if you're listening to this, I want you to know that it can happen quickly when you have the information you need
and you know when to try and you are open to that baby coming through, then it is absolutely possible that it can happen very quickly. And so if you wanna stay in that energy, in that energy of optimism and that this can happen quickly for me, then please check out my free fertility audio.
This audio is going to support you and keep you in that fertility frequency so that you can remain optimistic on your fertility journey. and if you have specific questions about your fertility, then please connect with me on social media at Her Fertility support, and in this fertility journey series, we are going to go down the different paths that the fertility journey can bring.
So if this episode was not where you are at on your fertility journey, then stay tuned for the next in the series. Because we are going to go through all of the possibilities that might come up as you travel down the path to motherhood.
Thank you for joining me on this week's episode of the Her Fertility podcast. I am so grateful you're here. If you found this episode valuable, then I'd love for you to join me on the next one, share it with a friend, and rate the episode with a five star review so that the podcast can reach the women who need it most.
If you have any questions about what you just heard, please connect with me on social media. At Her Fertility support, find the right type of support for your fertility journey in the show notes below.
