Is it a sign from the universe or something else? I know that when I was on my fertility journey, at the start there, there were MANY times when I questioned whether the universe was sending me a sign that I wasn’t meant to be a mother. Years later, as my entire emotional wellbeing has changed, I know better. And just the other day I caught myself saying to a friend that I was receiving all of these signs from the universe… before then ‘resetting’ in my mind and asking myself the truer, deeper questions that I needed to ask. Tune into today’s episode and see (especially right at the end) how to truly know what to do when you think you’re seeing signs all around and also how our brain influences what we see. And… if you’ve seen, we’re about to close the doors on The Reset program. If you’d like to know more, click here

This is for anyone who has tried meditating, but still feels heavy under the weight of trying to conceive, and why meditations might not be working for you. Over the years I’ve worked with hundreds of women in my programs, previously The Fertility Warrior Intensive but now my program is called The Reset and… it’s been really interesting because so many of the women I’ve worked with are… just like me. Type A personalities. I was the type who really and truly struggled with: Not being able to hard work myself into getting pregnant Feeling out of control in my life and not knowing what my future would look like And so many of the women we’ve worked with are exactly the same. My programs haven’t supported them with education on getting pregnant because honestly, the majority of women, haven’t needed it - being educated hasn’t been the problem - everyone is already (by and large) taking the supplements, eating a healthy diet, knows when they’re ovulating. And almost everyone has also already tried meditating to feel better. For some it helps a little, for some it has made them feel more anxious (which has then often led to them feeling like they’re doing it wrong or they’re broken). So spoiler alert - you’re not broken… but meditating might not be right for you, or might not be enough. Tune into today’s podcast to learn more about: The 5 reasons guided meditations might not be working for you What might be a better strategy for women who’ve experienced trauma The 3 pillars we focus on in my program, The Reset And don’t forget, if you haven’t already - make sure you jump in to catch my free masterclass on how to cope with negative pregnancy tests here.

We’d love to invite you to our free Masterclass How to cope with negative pregnancy tests (and other setbacks), regardless of whether you’ve been trying to conceive for 6 months or 6 years. Tickets are free, but limited. Register and get yours at robynbirkin.com/masterclass

This podcast is jam-packed with practical advice and tips on what to reply when they ask when you’ll get pregnant…. And are actually secretly trying to conceive, but it might be taking longer than you anticipated. You know… those family functions, milestone birthdays with friends, or even work functions and things shift when they ask you this. In this podcast I talk about: What it felt like for me when I was asked this question Some actual phrases you can use  (and the direction to think about in advance) What you can say to work to let them know you need some flexibility One thing you might not have considered that could be super helpful in letting people know gently Don’t forget to get your free ticket to my upcoming masterclass here, or put your name down on the waitlist for The Reset so you get first dibs (and best rewards) here.

One of the moments etched into my mind from my season of trying to conceive was a friend’s birthday party and it was one of many times that I felt sad.. And just deflated by a friend’s pregnancy. I was still recovering from hyperstimlation and a medical miscarriage and the last thing on earth that I felt like doing was celebrating… and so while everyone else did, I dragged myself along with a big water bottle…. And while they all dressed up… I just wore a black summer dress. This was my rock bottom season, and yet there she was, absolutely gorgeous and glowing with her four month pregnant belly. In this podcast, I talk more about this story and what it felt like for me My take on jealousy The reframe that helped me feel better.

One of the biggest misconceptions that I work through with clients is that as soon as you get pregnant, the anxiety melts away - and I feel really passionate about not promoting that myth…. Because I’ve seen too many times that it keeps us stuck in not seeking help. Instead… what it does… is stop us from developing true emotional coping skills that will support us through pregnancy, birth and beyond. On today’s podcast I talk about: What getting pregnant looks like and what to expect How getting help might change once you’re pregnant and what that looks like How to take charge of your pregnancy now.

What is the best way to help your partner through infertility and loss… particularly if you’re also struggling with it all yourself? Listening to this podcast could be a combination of many different folks! It could be husbands, wives, same sex couples - and within that, differing dynamics of energy. It hurts, truly to see your partner really struggling with navigating next steps… and just life… while they’re trying to conceive and working through infertility, pregnancy loss and generally disappointment month after month, while often being expected to continue on with their life (with potentially other people not knowing about what they’re going through) as if they aren’t going through the biggest upheaval of their lives. So what is the number 1 way to support your partner through infertility, pregnancy loss and other factors in TTC that make it incredibly emotionally hard. On today’s podcast, I talk about: The differences between men and women The research on the emotional toll and how it affects men and women differently (but also in some circumstances similarly) The different coping strategies (and which ones have been proven more successful for men vs women) Lastly, the number 1 thing you can do to support your partner through infertility.

On today’s podcast I talk about 7 really compelling reasons why you might decide to shift your focus to, and invest in cultivating a strong mindset, and some of these are things you may not have thought of before. When I talk about investment, I’m not just talking about money (although obviously sometimes things cost money! ha!) but I’m also talking about…. Shifting your mental load and focus, prioritising your time and investing in being open to change. Truly… the way you’re feeling and dealing through infertility, loss and trying to conceive, can have a positive ripple effect throughout your entire life… not just for what is going on for you now.. But in terms of the future you and any future setbacks or challenges you experience in the future. Tune into today’s podcast and let me know what you think. I’m so humbled that so many of you listen to me every Wednesday. A BIG thank you. Here’s 7 reasons to develop a strong mindset through infertility.

We had a support call in our Fully Supported community (we have them weekly FYI - and Fully Supported is my membership program for folks who've completed The Reset and want more resources, support and community. You can learn more about The Reset here). But on the call I always open up with a quote or something to ponder. Last week, I shared this quote: Healing doesn't have to look magical or pretty. Real healing is hard, exhausting and draining. Let yourself go through it. Don't try to paint it as anything other than what it is. Be there for yourself without judgement. And this really stood out to me because so many people expect that you can start the process of healing, and it's this instant process of feeling like you're walking through a candyland

Over the years I've had certain beliefs that have shifted.... That have been game changers for my mental health and moving forward. In today's podcast, I talk about right of these game changers and how these have benefitted my life (and how they can benefit yours too!). It's a pretty broad spectrum... but once you can start making shifts in your mindset, it starts to filter down through to the decisions you make... and then the experiences that you have of life, how you weather the storms of life and generally the lens through which you view your life. Which flows through to your mental health. Tune into the podcast and let me know what you think! On the podcast I also mentioned my Instagram - and yep! I share lots of additional trainings and resources over on Instagram, as well as a big Q+A sticker on Wednesday's and on Friday's (to lighten the mood) I share some funny memes I've come across (and almost always - they've got nothing to do with fertility or trying to conceive!). Come and follow me @robynbirkin

On this podcast I talk about what my journey to healing looked like and the secret to feeling better.... But it's not always what we think looking from the outside in.... On this podcast I talk about: •The moment I started healing •Why sometimes adding things to the to do list is not always helpful in feeling better •Why exhaustion is one of the hallmarks of not coping •The easier way to feel better and what the secret to that really is. •3 pillars I teach. Links in this podcast: Join The Reset - my signature program Watch my free masterclass

Today's podcast is all about being a powerful advocate for yourself at the fertility clinic. And... if things aren't going swimmingly, this is my plea, to please be the squeaky wheel.

Hope = believing it's possible + having energy When you are in your lowest moments, it can feel like you've lost hope and the question I'm always asked is 'how can I find hope" Perhaps you've noticed that hope and optimism is more abundant at certain times in your cycle - so around ovulation, but then it feels in the leadup to your period like it's gone. Or... obviously right after you get your period and you feel like you're crashing down. On today's podcast I'm talking about: •Some of the thoughts you may experience when it feels like you're drowning under the weight of it all •What hope really is (and why you do, always have hope - it's not gone - it's just hiding) •What you should be looking for instead of hope, and what struggling to find hope really is a symptom of •What this could be telling you (or not telling you) about what you should do next

This podcast is inspired by the MANY MANY people reach out to me on my Instagram Stories each week who are in this exact position. So every Monday/Tuesday I release a Q+A sticker on my Instagram asking for what you need help with, and I have this question multiple times each week, phrased in many ways. The question is basically: it is looking like I'll need donor [insert thing here - egg, sperm, embryo] and I just need to get my head around the concept that this is my reality to help me move forward. So today on the podcast I'm talking about how to come to terms with needing a donor on your fertility journey - and primarily the mindset shifts that you might need to get you to a place of feeling like you can even just consider whether donor conception is the right next step for your family. Tune in and let me know what you think... and do make sure you're following me on Instagram if you'd like to hear more from others who have questions (and what my answers are) or if you too have a question you'd like to submit. You can find me on Instagram at @robynbirkin

Sometimes life just feels like one shitstorm to another and it can feel hard to come up for air - I get that! So on today's podcast, I'm chatting through some first steps to help you feel like you can come up for air after it just feels like you're at rock bottom. It's a combination of some practical steps (especially the last bit), some mindset shifts and some education/guidance around what you can be aware of in your mind and body when you're feeling like that. If I can share with you one thing though before you listen: it's that... I get it and I've been there, and there's no shame (at all) in getting help or being where you're at. Sending you so so much love.

Have you ever felt paralysed by what your next steps are and terrified that you'll make the wrong choice? And... just wanted to know what someone else (who gets it and who understands) would do in your situation? Well, I have! And one of the things I absolutely love is knowing what others would do. If you've had multiple cycles it can feel derailing... and it can feel like not wanting (at all) to repeat Groundhog day. As someone who has now had nearly 1,000 clients navigating infertility, loss and trying to conceive, this is what I'd do if I'd had multiple cycles. In this podcast episode, I share with you: •The red flags to look out for (both for yourself and your fertility specialist) •What to look for in your test results •What I'd do to take stock and check in with myself on where I'm at (the easy activity) I hope this episode helps. While my superpower is in helping you navigate the complex emotions of infertility, loss and trying to conceive, you may also be interested to know that I do have a bundle of resources to help those who are looking for some practical 'get pregnant' next steps - based on the work I've done with so many clients, and the beautiful relationships I also have with other fertility practitioners. It's called the Get Pregnant Pronto Pack and it's currently only $27. Click here to find out more and whether it might be able to help you.

Today on the podcast we're talking about whether you should out yourself as trying to conceive and navigating infertility and some of the big mindset work that can go into making that emotional shift. Because I know that... when we first start trying to conceive, there's often a picture and scene in our heads of nobody knowing and then having that magical secrecy and a surprise announcement. But... part of the acceptance of infertility.... Is accepting that our journey to conceive won't necessarily look like everyone else's, and then peace comes from finding magic and beauty in our unique and special path. In this episode I talk about: Some of the benefits of telling people about your journey The way I feel is the most helpful way (for all parties) to announce that you're going through infertility and possibly fertility treatments What my story of telling people looked like right through to announcing my pregnancy Hope you find this episode incredibly helpful, and as mentioned in the library, if you'd like my free resource - head to robynbirkin.com/library

In this deeply personal and relatable story, I welcome Jennifer Robertson to the podcast this week - who gets open and honest with us about her journey of navigating surrogacy and feeling like she constantly needed to pivot on her journey to conceive - and what the emotional hurdles were to getting there. Jennifer is a Fertility Coach and now... mum of two who was a Type A 'get shit done' personality whose life was consumed for seven years by trying to conceive. Her journey included IVF, surrogacy, heartbreaking miscarriages and a surprise natural pregnancy. She lives on the Gold Coast in Australia (a fellow Aussie!) with her two little miracles, Luca and Sophie. Tune in to hear more about Jen's story, and you can learn more here: Website: https://www.jenniferrobertson.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msjenniferrobertson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClikGpEjoBP-_OOIiktaZDA?view_as=subscriber

Today on the podcast it's my pleasure to welcome the lovely Kate Nguy who shares her story of having 3 ectopic pregnancies to go on to have 3 children (and all of the aha moments, shifts and changes she had in between). Kate is the founder of Shee Revival and she is a fertility coach and womb educator - she helps support women to tune into their bodies more authentically and weave education about their cycle into their everyday living, as well as helping them support and promote their fertility, overcome blocks and increase their energy. She is a qualified yoga teacher with many years of experience as well as a reiki energy healer, womb healer and more. Kate has been a friend for many years and has beautiful energy and outlook as well as lots of qualifications. Kate was also part of the Feel Better Weekend and provided us with both a yoga class and a workshop on how to rewrite your fertility story - and these were two of our most popular sessions. You can find Kate here: Website: https://www.sheerevival.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fertilitycoachkate Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sacredspacesyoga

So if you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that every Monday I do a Q+A sticker on my Instagram Stories (and I've started saving lots of the replies on my Instagram highlights too so you can come and find me, and make sure you tune in because there may be some answers that I share that will help you too) - but a great question came through a few weeks ago from an audience member who was feeling scared about an upcoming HSG. We also asked the audience who shared GREAT feedback about what their experience was like as well as tips for others, but then at the end, I shared 8 things that can help if you're feeling nervous about fertility treatments - whether that's an HSG, a retrieval, injecting yourself - whatever it may be. And many of these are concepts and strategies that have personally helped me too as I've navigated medical procedures since my fertility journey too. Press play on this episode to learn more. And you can follow me on Instagram here.

Russell and I have only just got to know each other this year when I discovered him and was thrilled when he joined us as part of the expert panel at the Feel Better Weekend and for anyone out there who wants to know more about infertility and a male's perspective and how this journey can (and does) affect our partners, THIS is an episode for you. Russell shared very openly and honestly what it felt like for him before he and his wife were trying to conceive (believing that they may never conceive), to discovering that there was hope, only to then feel crushed once again when they discovered that they had male factor infertility - and what that felt like for him, as well as how he then started healing his mental health and changing his entire outlook/priority from project baby to project Russell. There are powerful lessons in this podcast for anyone who is trying to conceive, regardless of what your journey is looking like right now but particularly if you've found yourself navigating male factor infertility. Enjoy! About Russell: Russell Davis, Fertility Coach and Cognitive Hypnotherapist, author and speaker, believes too many couples go through fertility treatment unnecessarily and that the success rate of treatment is unnecessarily low because the mind and emotions are not factored in. This is born out of his and his wife's personal 10-year fertility journey and which led to his work helping hundreds of couples all over the world create their family. Here's where you can find Russell: Website: https://thefertilemind.net/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/fertilemind Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt440RCZC6P0NeKT7z6VztA Podcast: https://thefertilemind.podbean.com/

I remember thinking constantly whether it was time to quit trying to conceive for me... Whether it just wasn't meant to be... Whether the universe was sending me signs that this was not my path If you're tuning into this episode I wonder whether you too have often wondered whether it's time to quit TTC too. And on today's podcast (grab a journal and a pen) we explore how to get to the root of what's going on to help you come to an answer about what your next steps might look like, and full disclosure - there may be a few hard truths in there, a few aha moments and a few big reframes to get your head around to help you come to a place of feeling at peace with your decision on whether it's time to quit trying to conceive. I hope you love this episode.

It was my absolute pleasure to welcome Kath Baquie from Fitnest Mama to the Podcast today to talk about prenatal pelvic floor health and all of the things we should have been told (but weren't at school) that can provide us with insight into our health and wellbeing before or whilst we're trying to conceive. As I share in the podcast I have my own journey with pelvic health - which actually started with Bec, one of my clients who picked it right away when I felt like doctors weren't listening to what was going on with me. And prior to that I never even knew much about pelvic health or even what a women's specialist pelvic health physio was (hint: very different from the people who strap up sweaty football players). Kath is both a women's health physio and a pilates teacher and she supports women through prenatal health, pregnancy and post-partum with holistic fitness and wellness. She chatted with us about: What a women's health physio really is What pelvic floor health looks like Some signs and symptoms that something may be going on for us before we get pregnant How we can prioritise our pelvic health prior to becoming pregnant It was a pleasure welcoming Kath to the Podcast. You can find her here: Katherine Baquie, is a proud mama of 3, perinatal physiotherapist and podcast host. She has over 16 years of professional experience guiding mamas through their pregnancy fitness journeys and postnatal rehab, and she specialises in pelvic floor rehabilitation. With these credentials, it's not hard to see why mamas are flocking to Kath for pre and postnatal fitness help! Website: https://www.fitnestmama.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitnestmama/ Podcast: https://www.fitnestmama.com/podcasts/

So you all said you wanted to know more about the BTS of Fertility Warriors HQ and what is going on with me and were also desperate to hear more about my fitness journey with my friend, Dr Sasha Hakman. My question back to you is... what do you want to know specifically? Ask me on Instagram! On today's podcast, I'm bringing you up to speed on what's been going on for me and the season of life I'm in currently. I share my theme for the decade and this year What my 30s were for me Some of the big mindset lessons I've learnt over the last 10 years Why I decided to work with Sasha What my fitness goals are I have NO idea whether this is interesting or not, but would love to hear from you if you'd like to know more!

Which is better and which should you focus on first? Diet or stress? On today's podcast, I talk about my own journey and my learnings as I have navigated infertility, loss and trying to conceive, and then go on train as a Life Coach and Mind Body Practitioner. I've worked with hundreds of clients to support them and learn from them as they navigate their own journeys. On this podcast I talk about: What I used to think was the most important thing you could focus on. How my clients changed what I thought. Why focusing on the right area first can give you false results. How to get everything working together in the right way to make it feel like it's all flowing (instead of feeling like you're rolling sh*t uphill). The questions to ask yourself when embarking on making dietary changes (and other physical changes) whilst trying to conceive.

Infertility trauma is absolutely real and something we don't talk about enough. In today's episode, I spoke with the incredible Naomi Woolfson of Embrace Fertility all about this exact topic. Naomi and I have been friends for quite some time but one of the reasons I was so keen to get her onto the podcast was because as a trauma-trained infertility therapist, she is trained in a technique called EDMR - which we chatted about in depth. Some of the things we spoke about were: •What is trauma? •How can we recognise it? •What are the repercussions of trauma? •How can we heal from trauma? •The work we can do ourselves •The work we can do with a trauma-informed therapist. •What are the next steps you can take to investigate this area further? To access the free guided fertility visualisation to uncover and dissolve any emotional blocks to conception mentioned in this episode go to www.embracefertility.co.uk/future. Naomi Woolfson, of Embrace Fertility, is a therapist specialising in supporting women through trying to conceive, fertility treatments and then pregnancy and birth following infertility. She and her partner went through almost 4 years of infertility, IUI's, IVF, anxiety, surgery and a miscarriage before they went on to conceive both of their ginger children naturally! On her podcast, she offers emotional support and shares mind-body techniques to help you feel calm and confident and ultimately find yourself again while waiting for your baby. Search for Embrace Fertility on your favourite podcast player to listen. Visit www.embracefertility.co.uk for more details about Naomi's products and services and email Naomi to set up a free video call to answer any questions you have about working with her naomi@embracefertility.co.uk. Follow Naomi on Instagram @embracefertility (www.instagram.com/embracefertility) and Facebook. (www.facebook.com/embracefertility)

I think I mentioned it on the podcast about 12 times, but there's something about Vanessa Gillis-Phelps' energy that just gets me. Vanessa and I worked closely together last year as colleagues and she is particularly well-known for her work in supporting LTBGQ+ couples navigating the fertility world, but her secret superpower actually lies in manifestation and communicating with your spirit baby. Full disclosure - I've been in the 'fertility world' for nearly 10 years now (we started trying to conceive exactly 10 years ago!) but up until this interview, I didn't really know what the term Spirit Baby meant (turns out... I had been communicating with my Spirit Baby during my journey too - I just used different terminology). On today's podcast, Vanessa shares some of the big myths about manifestation, a more realistic view of how we can include it as part of our fertility toolkit and how it can help us to feel better. I loved chatting with Vanessa and I know you'll love it too. You can find her on Instagram here (https://instagram.com/queerfertility.co) or visit her website here (queerfertility.co) and she also has a thriving Facebook Group for LGBTQ+ couples which you can find here (https://www.facebook.com/groups/282800326446182)

So..... I don't do 1:1 fertility coaching... but why? Because I do something that I believe is 100 times better: my membership (the Mind Body Fertility Reset). In today's podcast, I'm breaking down why a program like this can be EVEN MORE of a game-changer for women trying to conceive and navigating infertility and loss, and why 1:1 coaching is no longer in my client's interests. In addition to having two degrees, I am a certified Holistic Life Coach and Certified Mind Body Practitioner, although I wouldn't necessarily call myself a Fertility Coach - but that's really going to depend on your definition of a fertility coach - as it's a REALLY broad term and industry. If you're interested in why I take a different approach, today's episode is for you.

If you've ever had multiple failed cycles and reached a point where you need to figure out what to do next.... And one of those options is 'should I just quit' then this podcast is for you. I remember well how I felt following our miscarriage. It was following our very first IVF cycle, but it was about our 5th fertility treatment all up and wondering whether I needed to just quit. At the time, I truly didn't know whether I had the emotional energy to continue and didn't know if I had the capacity to cope with another failed cycle. And so I was stuck in this limbo of writing to work out what the next right step for us was. The next right step turned out to be taking a break (although part of it was because my body needed to heal following our miscarriage too) but in today's podcast, I talk about LOTS of questions you might want to ask yourself as you move forward and how you might unravel some of the emotions and thoughts you may be having about what to do next. •Some of the things I talked about in this podcast are: •Why you can never make future decisions based on sunk costs •Why it's ok to pivot (and why sometimes you should) •The two things you need to ask yourself and break down in order to troubleshoot and work out your next steps •What some of the options are if, like me, the reason why you're feeling stuck on what to do next is because of emotional exhaustion I hope you find this episode helpful and please do reach out and let me know if it (or the podcast generally) has helped you in any way.

Ok... today's podcast is about 5 signs it's time for a second opinion on your infertility and IVF journey... after the many people I've recently told deserve a second opinion. In reality, I've actually shared 7 signs.... With the first one being that if you're considering whether you should get a second opinion.... This podcast may be the sign you've been waiting for to give you permission to do so, and the second one being that your Specialist or Doctor should NOT mind if you seeking a second opinion... and if they do - that's possibly even more of a sign that you SHOULD get one because it means that they may not be open to being wrong and they may be fixed in their ways. The stakes are high here - emotionally, physically, financially - so you deserve to be able to have the peace of mind (as a customer) that you're on the right track and that everything is being done to help you get pregnant. Tune into today's episode to hear the other 5 signs it's time for a second opinion on your infertility and IVF journey.

Today on the podcast we're talking about the first three things that helped me feel better. It was 10 years ago exactly that Ross and I started trying to conceive, which feels like a long time ago, but also feels like just yesterday - I still remember all of the real and raw emotions of trying to conceive. And two years into our journey, after our first IVF cycle, I had a miscarriage. I thought I knew rock bottom prior but after our loss, it was like I now knew the molten lava in the centre of the earth. I didn't want to share how we were feeling with anyone (I actually didn't feel like I could) and it wasn't so much a feeling of anger (even though I was angry) it was more a feeling of being broken and lost. I don't know if you can relate? So, what changed, what helped after that moment for me... that's what we're talking about on today's podcast. So often I have people ask me how to feel better and the answer is... unfortunately, not as simple as one, 5-minute exercise that people can do each day. In all honesty, there were a number of things that I did (but mostly mindset shifts) that helped me to radically shift the way I was feeling and coping on my journey. But if you had to start somewhere, what would you do? Here are the first 3 things I did that helped me feel better: •Had a circuit breakerWe needed to get out and break our routine. I never quite understand the logistics of 'taking a break' because I was so acutely aware of when I was ovulating etc BUT, we got away on a last-minute trip to Lombok... and not a trip where we went out sightseeing or anything. A trip where there was pretty much nothing I could do but sit with my feelings and rest. I was... although I'd have never acknowledged it at the time... so so needed. And it got us away from work (where let's be honest I couldn't concentrate anyway) and everyone's constant questions. It gave me space to feel what I was feeling, and regain some energy. •GratitudeThis one practice has been the thing that I've done that has had one of the biggest impacts on my life and that of my clients. Each night I began writing in a little journal, 3 things I was grateful for. Not just the big things - but mostly the little things. As I understand more about our brains now that I'm qualified I know the mechanics of how this works in our brains and for a practice that takes literally less than five minutes per day - the rests can be profound. •I made the decision to put myself first I didn't 'do' anything in this regard but it was a massive shift and one that I don't think many women have made - even if they tell themselves that they put themselves first. It was a moment of saying that I was worthy of spending money on myself (especially if it was going to help me FEEL better), I was worthy of my time, and I was worthy of saying no to things that didn't serve me. So so many women will say that they put themselves first, but I'd argue, don't. I used to feel guilty saying no to people. I used to feel guilty spending money on myself (things like buying clothes, yes, but on my mindset and things that were more abstract - massively!) I used to feel guilty taking sick days... when I was actually sick! And so.... Things shifted for me when I decided that I was worthy. I'd spend time and money investing in abstract things like my mindset and programs that would help my emotional health (knowing that my husband would think nothing of a night out with the boys, a carton of beer or even a new surfboard - my goodness - I could absolutely spend $297 on a course about creatin...

Since launching the Mind Body Fertility Reset, I've had a real and massive shift in the way I think about what I do. When we launched the platform, it was a very holistic program that incorporated food, sleep, low tox living - and not in a 'this is your to-do list kind of way - more from a 'here are some ideas and inspiration and resources that will help' and all of those resources at this stage still exist in the Reset, and it's also my dream to expand on them BUT... the reason the majority of women TTC have joined the Reset, and the number 1 thing we now offer in the reset... is courses, programs, classes, live coaching, support and community.... For emotional wellness and mental health. And over the past few months, I've become ever so conscious of the messaging both I've been using but increasingly conscious of the messaging that is within the wider community - the advertising, the events and more. And... tell me if I'm wrong but.... There's so so much around - get more fertile, solve your infertility, *this* thing is the missing link, do XYZ, add this thing to your to-do list. Like.... There's always this subline of 'do this thing and it will help you get pregnant' Disclosure: there is nothing wrong with people and products that help you get pregnant. I have one too, and I think that it's important for us to know that some of the same things that can help us with our mental state of being (e.g. letting go of perfection) are the SAME things that can help us get pregnant. But... I also feel that on some level, that messaging may also be contributing to this feeling of always needing to be doing more, and perhaps not doing enough. And the number 1 thing I see women trying to conceive neglect... is themselves. And there are a few types of people who join the Mind Body Fertility Reset (and all of these reasons are valid and worthy - you can literally join for any reason you like): The ones who join because they want to leave no stone unturned and if this is going to help their fertility, they want to at least have given it a crack The ones who are like 'i don't know what I need, but I know that I need something' And the ones who are like 'you know what? I matter. I think nothing of spending $150 on supplements, or an acupuncture appointment, or a fertility specialist appointment so if I can afford to spend that on all of this physical stuff. If I can afford (or scrape together) $20,000 for an IVF cycle - I can ABSOLUTELY afford to spend $150 for three months or $600 for an entire year's worth of support, live coaching, lessons etc..... For me. Just for me. Regardless of whether or not this will improve my fertility. Because I matter. My mental health matters. My joy matters. My life matters and I'm worthy of being my own best friend. So as we begin the year, I want to ask you some questions to journal over to help you set a path, and maybe draw a line in the sand about how you want to move forward on your journey. •Have you put your life and joy on pause in the pursuit of trying to conceive? •Do you ever feel guilty for prioritizing or investing time, energy, money in yourself? •Do you feel like your mental health and wellbeing filter into other areas of your life - such as your relationships, your career, your health goals and even your TTC journey? •What would life look like if.... From today... from right now... you decided that YOU were your most important asset and that feeling better and looking after yourself was now your No 1 priority? And so... over the last few weeks, I have been BUSY. I've been busy chatting with all of the best of the best in the fertility wo...

Have you ever had an appointment at a Fertility Clinic (especially your first!) and felt like you wanted to ask questions but have NO idea what to ask? And like... this is REALLY important... but you don't know what you don't know! Well, I've got you covered in this podcast, where I dive into 16 questions to ask your Fertility Specialist, as well as 6 things I want you to know about your Doctor and your experience at the clinic, that will hopefully help you feel calmer throughout. When we feel really nervous, our brain starts to lose its executive functioning ability - that is... the ability to make rational decisions, problem solve etc - a place you don't want to be in, when you are in an office with a Specialist trying to make really impactful decisions about your life. I hope you absolutely LOVE this podcast episode. Here's a summary of the questions below for you to print out with you - but highly encourage you to listen to the episode where I explain everything in detail. They're human beings too Just because they wear a white coat, doesn't mean they have all the answers They likely have a time limit for your appointment They don't know everything (and all read different research) Their personal beliefs may impact their recommendations You can get a second opinion •Do you offer grants or any financial support packages? •Where do you sit on complementary therapies (acupuncture, naturopathy) •Do you have or can you recommend any mental health services? •Do you have any BMI limits? •What supplements do you recommend? •Are you able to please break down the general timeline/path for me? •What lifestyle interventions do you recommend? •What do we need to be doing at our end to improve our chances of conception? •What are your views on diet and exercise? •What's the game plan? •Can you please write those names down for me? •Can you give me a rough % success rate? •Can you give me a printout of those results? •How often do you repeat blood tests? •Where can I find your success rates? (and check their accreditations too) •Does your clinic work specifically with infertility patients? If not, what %?

I pondered what I should talk to you about in our first episode back after the break (I have SO much to share) but I landed on sharing with you a behind the scenes Facebook Live I did for the members of my the Reset (my membership program) because I know that the advice in there will be so helpful to everyone. In the audio of this video, I share 8 tips for coping emotionally with the pandemic and what you can do in this time to support yourself. In it, I mention resources that are only available for members - and we'd love to invite you to become a member with us too. You can join the Reset here: robynbirkin.com/mindbodyfertilityreset

In today's podcast, I wanted to share with you what we have planned for 2022 here at The Fertility Warriors, where you can find me over the Christmas Break and how I can support you on your journey. Here are some links and places where you can catch me and receive further support; [FREE] The Two Week Wait Challenge Receive a daily email over the two weeks of your cycle with a love note filled with inspiration, support and guidance on how to cope as well as other gifts. Sign up to the challenge here The Mind Body Fertility Reset Join us in the membership for women who are ready to support their mental and emotional wellbeing through trying to conceive and infertility. This is a place to nourish your mind, body and spirit - with a 90 day reset framework, community and a wealth of tools and resources, this is a lifeline through infertility for so many. Join us at robynbirkin.com/mindbodyfertilityreset You can also follow me at @robynbirkin on Instagram here. I can't wait to catch you in the New Year!

For more support, mindset help and community - join the Mind Body Fertility Reset here A few years ago I recorded a podcast called how to cope through Christmas when you're trying to conceive. I'm older and wiser (and more compassionate now! But I do remember it had some funny moments, and although there may be some recurrent themes and I'm now producing today an updated version, I thought you may still like to circle back and listen to it. So click here to read/listen to my episode about how to how to survive Christmas when you're trying to conceive. You may also want to circle back to how to create a special Christmas (despite infertility). Christmas, Christmas Parties and Thanksgiving can feel like an especially trying time for anyone who is trying to conceive, right? Together with drinking, family dynamics and the concept of Santa and presents for children, it can understandably be a really tough time when you're navigating infertility. So first up, if that's you, please give yourself some grace. Understand that it's ok for it to feel hard, and it's ok for it to feel messy and that you're allowed to feel hurt and upset by the people you love and in your family when and if they say the wrong thing. In today's episode, I'll share with you some advice, reflection and guidance on how you can navigate the Holiday Season when you're navigating infertility. Hope you enjoy it.

Abby and Kristyn from Fertility.Rescripted joined me on the podcast this week. Many of you will know Kristyn (who's been on the podcast before and who is a great friend) but we're joined on the podcast this week by Abby. Together these ladies have formed the company Fertility.Rescripted and they joined me this week for an honest conversation about so many things including Abby's story - a story of medications and miscarriage, what her experience looked like, how that pain led to her purpose and the start of her company - and an interesting take on how Kristyn and I did a similar thing - but that the things that impacted us each were so different. We also talked about privilege and affordability, some stats on medications (including the giant amount of leftover meds), the things that made a big difference when we were each trying to conceive, what this new partnership has meant and how they are now supporting the community (with a sneak peek of what's to come). Hope you like it! Check out my previous episode with Kristyn here.

Part of the journey to falling apart through infertility for me began with a baby shower.... And it was when we'd only just started trying to conceive. I'll never forget arriving at a baby shower (and sorry if you've heard this story before) and seeing that I was one of only three women who either weren't pregnant or had kids already. One was Veronica, an acquaintance who declared that her life was too full for kids - between their travels and their foodie life and her role as a teacher, she just didn't have the capacity for kids. Then there was my other dear friend who I knew wanted kids but just hadn't met the right person yet. And me... who was trying to conceive but nobody knew about it. And at that time we just didn't know that the journey would be so much longer. But that was the start of feeling like an outsider and the start of feeling like I was no longer having much to contribute or receive from the conversation. Just over a year later, I walked into the supermarket and felt completely ambushed when I saw her.... And then saw her turn around only to discover she was about 8 months pregnant. I felt like the last person standing and that out of everyone at that baby shower, I was the last man standing. I attended many more baby showers and first birthday parties (including organising at least one baby shower) while I was working through infertility, and together with my life coach hat - here are 9 things you can do to support yourself at baby showers through infertility. (And I want to let you know that my advice might be a little different from others in this space!). You'll also learn things that can help you before the baby shower and during the baby shower and I'll also discuss some things you might want to permit yourself for.

Every Monday I do a Q+A on my Instagram, and without a doubt, the biggest question I'm asked right now is what to expect and whether I have any tips for those who are about to go into their first IVF cycle. Here are some previous posts with tips for those who are about to do IVF: 5 Tips for your next Egg Retrieval 5 tips for IVF Newbies My OHSS Experience Is IUI a waste of time? (In this post we dive also into IVF) 100 Affirmations and Mantras for Fertility (including some IVF specific ones) But what should you expect on your first IVF cycle? In this podcast I talk about: •How your first IVF cycle might be different to any IUI's you've done before •What you should be doing/focusing on at this point? •What you can do to support your success •What the timeline might look like (although this can be fairly variable) •Where you might have some hiccups along the way (and how to overcome them) Hope you enjoy!

I was scrolling through Instagram the other day and looking at some of the accounts in my feed.... And the overwhelming thought was 'wow this all feels very heavy' - and I started to think.... About my own account, about infertility and about our feelings in general. Validation is SO important. It's important that we share with people the difficult emotions of infertility. The trauma, the divorce and PTSD - it's so important that we meet people where they're at. But I also think it's SO important... that we show the other side. Because then it just stays heavy. Almost like... I know what it feels like to be stuck in a well.... It's hard. But also.... Let me help you get out of the well. Let me help you cope whilst you're in the well Let me help you find hope and positivity while you're in the well I think those messages are also important. And perhaps somewhere along the way, with cancel culture and the rise of the concept of toxic positivity... I wonder whether the message that it's ok to want to feel positive and uplifted.... Has had the volume turned down. Staying positive all the time is exhausting and not necessarily a healthy strategy, however it's my true belief that it IS possible to feel better through infertility, and more positive and more hopeful - and I've seen it with the hundreds of clients who've engaged in my programs and left testimonials and reviews. So, if you're feeling like it's all a little heavy and you'd like some strategies - some easy to implement and practical tips on how to feel a little more positive through infertility, this episode is for you.

The silent fear of almost all fertility warriors: Are you too old to get pregnant? On today's podcast, I talk about •Whether or not you might be too old to have a baby with your own eggs •How we can be more fertile now than we were in our 20's •Some of the alternatives and options you have out there •How to go about making the decision to take the next steps (and what the next steps might be) •The number 1 thing eggs need (and what is responsible for 80% of its depletion) Tune in and let me know what you think.

One day I stopped in my tracks and had this moment of clarity as I realised that I had this frantic energy in - this anxiety-riddled energy flowing through my mindset - when I hit the pause button as I was listening to podcasts at 1.5 speed. It was like I'd been rushing and pushing everywhere and creating this sense of dis-ease within my body and mindset. And this podcast speed was a sort of metaphor for my wider life. S L O W D O W N Was the message that had been coming through loud and clear. Personal development is never once and done. It's an ongoing process of consistently bringing ourselves back on track and practicing daily rituals to help ourselves thrive and every now and again, since that moment, I have needed to bring myself back out of the frantic energy and back into a calmer, and slower frame of being. In this podcast, I talk about my recent experience and some of the mindset shifts I've had, but also the most important step in welcoming calmer energy - which is first having the awareness of when you're letting your mind race and consciously choosing another path. Can't wait to hear what you think x

Today on the podcast I'm talking about how to exit decision torture, and the answer is that sometimes we need to practice leaning into trust. It takes SO much energy to consistently check the checkers and sit in distrust and indecision that I want to share with you my experience of Olivia's birth and how trusting that things would pan out. This was the right decision based on the experience and knowledge at the time and ultimately (I feel) led me to a more positive outcome, alongside the other work that I've done over the years to cultivate a calmer mind. Leaning into trust and surrender can be a powerful shift on our journeys as we let go of always having to be the expert, and put our faith in our team and humanity - it can help us release the burden of what's happening as we try to conceive too. I hope you enjoy this short episode.

I'm sneaking this one into the end of September which is PCOS Awareness Month. I'm joined by Nutritionist Solaine Douglas and we break down the PCOS myths and misconceptions. PCOS is an increasingly common condition and one that we see frequently affecting women trying to conceive. On the podcast we talk about: •The two different types of PCOS and what causes them •How our body breaks down insulin •How our body responds to stress •Common roadblocks in the medical profession •Busting common diet myths regarding PCOS It was my absolute pleasure to welcome Solaine to the podcast. Solaine is a nutritionist for women who want to create healthy hormones, guts and metabolisms. Her world revolves around her business baby, fur baby, great food and my home. Solaine is passionate about helping women to feel empowered about their health, to understand how to eat and create a lifestyle that makes them feel good. We all deserve that. She studied a Bachelor of Human Nutrition at Griffith University, Australia and is a member of the Complementary Medicine Association (CMA). Her journey with nutrition began many moons ago, back in 2012 and a passion for spreading the real food message ensued. You can find Solaine on Instagram here, or look further on her website here.

I have been inundated from all angles on how the COVID Vaccine might impact fertility rates, miscarriage rates and generally all the things from fertility warriors who are about to embark on IVF cycles or trying to conceive and wanting to do their due diligence in understanding how the COVID vaccine might impact them and their future baby. I applaud you for asking questions and wanting to find out the answers. So, I asked my good friend, Dr Sasha Hakman, Board Certified Fertility Specialist and incredible explainer and science nerd - to the podcast to answer all of your questions and explain everything COVID Vaccine with us in detail. We talked about: What is the general consensus around the COVID Vaccine and fertility/TTC? Is one vaccine better than another? How does each of the different vaccines work? Is there any incentive for Doctors to be able to promote these vaccines? Where have we gone wrong in disseminating information about this vaccine? How long should you wait between getting the vaccine and embarking on a new cycle? Does this affect cycles? Natural immunity vs vaccine immunity? Is there enough research and data to make these calls? Why has the process been so quick in approving these vaccines for use? ... and so many more questions This is actually the third podcast I've done with Sasha and the other two rank up there in my top 10 all-time podcasts! Is IUI a waste of time? Your infertility questions answered You can also find Sasha below: Sasha Hakman MD on Instagram Sasha Hakman's Website (where she has a bunch of Nutrition, Lifestyle AND COVID resources for you to check out)

At the time of recording this podcast, it was R U Ok day, and each year I watch everyone flock to social media to post little messages about R U Ok... and it irks me for a number of reasons. •Because I know, that the majority of people with infertility are NOT ok (and half the world is in lockdown.... Chances are, we're not ok) •It puts the onus on the US to always be reaching out for help (how about everyone around us looks for signs and symptoms that we're not ok, and learns what to do when they notice that?!) •When we are existing in a state of heightened stress and anxiety - certain areas of our brain shut down, and one of those is the Brocas Area - the area responsible for speech. That's why sometimes talk therapy doesn't work for everyone, and that's why sometimes it is SO hard for us to put into words the emotional toll of infertility and everything we are going through In today's podcast, I also talk about the way in which men and women cope with infertility (and which of those are, and which aren't actually helpful in decreasing the stress related to infertility). Listen to the episode below and let me know what you think. I mentioned the Mind-Body Fertility Reset in this podcast and we'd love to invite you to join us - it's a supportive, healthy and holistic membership program for women navigating infertility and IVF - with support groups, workshops and more than $3,000 of tools, resources and live events. Click here to learn more.

Today's podcast talks about things to avoid when trying to conceive - it's a mix of physical things that you can quit and some emotional wellbeing tips (simple but profound ones) that can help you on this journey. It's really easy to get caught up in the internet and the to-do lists and the 'shoulds' without fully knowing or buying into the benefits of why you're doing something so that is what we're diving into today on the podcast. 7 things you quit to get pregnant - hopefully there are a few warriors out there who need this permission slip.

Today I want to let you know you're doing a great job of a really hard thing. Focus on these infertility quotes If you're feeling Sad, Angry, Tired, Left out, Disappointed. Your feelings are completely valid and real. You are not doing anything wrong and you are enough, right now, as you are. Enough of a woman Enough of a contributor to society Enough of a friend, daughter, partner, colleague You are beautiful You are human You are navigating this journey in the best damn way you know possible. Yes, you'll have hard days. Yes, you'll have setbacks. Yes, the journey will probably take longer than you thought it would. But that doesn't make you less human. Having feelings and emotions... make you human. Having bad days.... Make you human. Not being perfect... that makes you human. For some of us, the path to parenthood looks different and that's ok. For some of us, we discover that having children is no longer part of our story and that's ok too. You don't need to know what your story will look like just yet, but you do need to be committed to continuing to turn the page. To continue to put one foot in front of the other. To believe that you are enough, right now, as you are. And you were born worthy, you are worthy now, and no matter what the future holds, you'll continue to be worthy. You are valued and loved by so many people and have so much to give. And you are worthy of happiness, love and joy. Not when you reach the next step, whatever that is. Right now. And me, this podcast and this community - we get it, and we're here to support you and walk alongside you every step of the way. We are here for you. I hope that you'll listen to this podcast anytime you feel that you need a pickup, some love or a moment to tune into your feelings. Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram @robynbirkin and let me know if this spoke to you today. And play it again anytime you need.

Urrggghhhh... weight and fertility is such a tricky and complex topic. It was my pleasure this week to welcome Sophia Pavia to the podcast. You may know her as ttc.nutritionist on Instagram and we connected recently over an Instagram story that touched on a topic I'm pretty passionate about: the sensitivity we need to show to women in bigger bodies around how we talk about weight loss - and particularly around not making assumptions based on size, and being conscious of making unhelpful statements (without providing support and guidance) like 'come back when you've lost weight' to women who may well have eating disorders or a history thereof. Sophia is a Registered Dietician Nutritionist whose focus is on women who are trying to conceive and navigating infertility and joined us on the podcast to talk about her take on both sides of the argument. I'd love to know what your experience has been like? You can find Sophia at ttc.nutritionist or on her website here. You may also wish to check out an interview I did with Nicola Salmon called Can you get pregnant if you're fat- where we talk about a lot of the stigma and misconceptions surrounding weight and fertility. Click here to listen (or watch). Want more? Join our monthly membership, the Mind Body Fertility Reset here (P.S. There is also another guest interview with Nicola there). Make sure you're following me on Instagram here Join our Free Facebook Support and Chat Group here. Check out my programs and services here.

Today's episode on The Fertility Warriors really highlights the difference in treatments between conventional medicine in experts like your Fertility Specialist, and those who take a more holistic and natural approach such as a Nutritionist or Naturopath for fertility. It was a pleasure today to welcome fellow West Australian, Naturopath, Jacqui Lamplugh to talk about some of the tests your Specialist might be missing, and how you might go about doing more investigation yourself to get more answers on your journey if you're feeling left in the dark. I'm a firm supporter of conventional medicine, however I do also believe that at times, there are tests and treatments that are outside their scope and hence why it can be beneficial to also work with someone such as Jacqui. What do you think? Reach out to me on Instagram - I'd love to know your thoughts at @robynbirkin Jacqui Lamplugh is a qualified Naturopath, women's health and fertility expert, mum to two boys and super passionate about educating and empowering women about their hormones. With over a decade's experience in the industry, Jacqui's worked with Australia's leading fertility experts and Perth's longest-standing natural medicine clinic. She's lectured about herbal and nutritional medicine at a prestigious Perth college, founded her own self-titled business and soon to release her online fertility course, Conceive Naturally. Holding an Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy, a Bachelor of Health Science (Complementary Medicine) and a Masters Degree in Reproductive Medicine, Jacqui helps couples trying to conceive balance their hormones, boost their diet and lifestyle and improve their chances of conceiving - Naturally You can find Jacqui at: Instagram: @jacquilamplugh Website: www.jacquilamplugh.com Want more? Join our monthly membership, the Mind Body Fertility Reset here Make sure you're following me on Instagram here Join our Free Facebook Support and Chat Group here. Check out my programs and services here.

A Harvard study once showed that women who undertook a Mind Body Program had a 52% chance of conceiving over a 20% chance in the control group - the women who undertook a mind body program had more than DOUBLE the chance of conceiving and took their chances of conceiving from a 1 in 5 rate to a 1 in 2 rate. Here's a little excerpt of the study and it's reference: Domar et al (2011) Impact of a group mind/body intervention on pregnancy rates in IVF patients, Fertility and Sterility The negative effect of stress in reproductive health is generally accepted as occurring through increased hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. The distress-conception relationship is complicated. Numerous studies have shown that distress is associated with lower IVF success rates. In this study, women who were about to begin their first IVF cycle underwent a 10 week mind body program or a control group and were monitored over two IVF cycles. Pregnancy rates for cycle two were 52% for the mind body group and only 20% for the control group. How exactly does a Mind Body Program help improve chances of conception - that's what we're breaking down in today's episode:into 7 ways a Mind Body Program can help you conceive your baby BUT... there's one thing I want to share with you first and that's the added benefit of a Mind Body Program: it isn't just a tool to help you conceive - it's a tool to help you FEEL BETTER - to manage your stress levels and reclaim your happiness - (something that I can't say is true for fertility clinics). But.... when combined with help from your Fertility Specialist can be the game changer and secret weapon to optimizing IUI and IVF success rates. What is a Mind Body Program? A mind body practice focuses on the interactions between the brain, body, mind and behaviour. They're there to help you understand the inter-connectedness of your body and manage your response to stressors, particularly emotional stressors in your life so that you can then influence how your body is responding physiologically. This may involve using physical movement and actions or mind techniques to bring bodies back into a relaxed or parasympathetic state. So how exactly does a Mind Body Program improve your fertility? •It balances your hormones more optimally.The majority of our hormones are created or flow down from our Hypothalamus (and then often from our pituitary gland) in response to our nervous system and whether our sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system is activated. Think of this like the control centre of your brain that is sending various signals around your body. The trouble is that when our sympathetic nervous system is activated, it isn't prioritizing or sending hormones to our reproductive organs and when our bodies are prioritising cortisol production - it does this at the expense of our other hormones. If our bodies have a choice between cortisol or something else - they always choose cortisol. So... when we can improve that process - we can more optimally balance our hormone production. •They help you make better decisionsWhen our bodies are existing too much in our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) they get stuck in our limbic system - the emotional centre of our brain, and our Pre-Frontal Cortex shuts down - our Pre-frontal cortex is the part of our body that is responsible for decision making, problem solving, rational thinking and impulse control.... When we can bring ourselves back into that area, we are more readily able to assess and make decisions based on our best interests. •They reduce self sabotaging behavioursWhen you are existing in an overly stressed state - it can impact your self confi...

Have you ever felt like you don't know whether you can physically, emotionally and spiritually continue trying to get pregnant anymore because you're just so exhausted and burnt out on all levels? That was how I felt on my first IVF cycle. I'd spent the last two years trying to do all the things (cut out all the food groups, run from the Specialist to the Naturopath to the Acupuncturist), try to distract myself with my work.... And then when I had my first IVF cycle.... And later discovering we were pregnant... followed by a medical miscarriage - I was broken and empty. So.... feeling like a shadow of my former self, we took a last-minute trip to Lombok and there I was forced to take stock of my journey and ask myself some really hard questions which led to a big aha moment and complete 180 of everything I was doing and how I approached getting pregnant. Tune in to learn more about that moment and exactly what shifted for me. Want more? This is part of a (currently) free training we're running called 5 Secrets to Thrive through Infertility - you can jump in here Make sure you're following me on Instagram here Join our Free Facebook Support and Chat Group here. Check out my programs and services here.

Keto, Autoimmune Protocol, Vegan, even the Carnivore diet are all diets that in some capacity have been said to be magical fertility diets... but are they? Today on the podcast, it is my pleasure to welcome Stefanie Valakas from The Dietologist to talk about what happens when we restrict large food groups (especially vegetables) from our diets and what that might mean for our fertility, gut health and also our dietary requirements. We also talk about the role fibre plays in our diets, WHY sometimes we don't feel great on gluten and dairy (and why sometimes it feels crappy when we reintroduce those foods) and why sometimes we get worse before we get better, as well as the top supplement mistakes Stefanie sees in her practice. Join us for this jam packed podcast! About Stefanie Stefanie Valakas is an expert fertility dietitian & nutritionist and founder of The Dietologist. Stefanie and her virtual practice are dedicated to excellence in nutrition for reproductive health concerns, fertility & pregnancy. Her passion for nutrition in this space has truly grown from her experience helping her clients online from around the world and also through her own personal experiences of navigating a diagnosis of endometriosis. You can learn about how you can work with Stefanie and The Dietologist team below: Links: •Website: thedietologist.com.au •Instagram @the_dietologist and @endo.dietitian •Facebook Pages: The Dietologist and The Endometriosis Dietitian •Facebook Group: Fertility Friendly Food •Podcast: Fertility Friendly Food •Find Out More about Stefanie's Programs- The Waiting Game and Get Pregnant with Endo at: courses.thedietologist.com.au Want more? •Follow me @robynbirkin on Instagram for fertility tips, real talk and big time mindset help when it comes to trying to conceive •Get your copy of the Get Pregnant Pronto Pack •Discover the 3 biggest game changers I had on my journey to get pregnant If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

It's the biggest fear when we're trying to conceive, right? The fear of being childless not by choice. In fact, there are just so many fears. The fear we'll lose our identity The fear we'll be hopeless and sad forever The fear we'll never recover from the trauma And I love the way this article from Melissa from Live Childfree penned that talks about whether you can ever get over infertility and all of those fears. The answer though is: you can. And Melissa joined me today on the podcast to share their story of a really traumatic experience through infertility, what the decision process looked like when her and her husband, Erik made the call to stop fertility treatments and live a childfree life, and what the other side actually looks like. Even if you're still committed to continuing your fertility journey, I think it's so important that we don't glamorize fertility treatments as having a 100% success rate. The truth is that not everyone will walk away from treatments with a baby.... And the more we can help break down that stigma (listen to the end of the podcast) and 'societal norms' that a woman's life purpose = get married and have babies, the more we can help support families through different life paths. About Melissa Melissa Jones, co-host of the podcast "Live Childfree with Erik and Melissa," suffered through six years of infertility before she and her husband, Erik, made the decision to stop pursuing parenthood. Through their podcast, they've given a voice to the experience of transitioning from infertility to childfree living. Melissa and Erik believe passionately that it is possible to have a fulfilling life without children and hope that by sharing their story, others like them will feel heard, understood, and empowered to live unapologetically. •Blog: livechildfree.com •Podcast: livechildfree.com/the-podcast/ •Instagram: @livechildfree •Email: hello@livechildfree.com Want more? •Follow me @robynbirkin on Instagram for fertility tips, real talk and big time mindset help when it comes to trying to conceive •Get your copy of the Get Pregnant Pronto Pack •Discover the 3 biggest game changers I had on my journey to get pregnant If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

This is part of a two-part series on age gaps between kids. I was asked on Instagram recently about the age gap between my two children and there was a big response from people who felt that they were grieving having a short age gap between kids (ours is nearly two years), and then wanted to share what I felt were the pro's as they were just unable to see it..... And then after that, I had some people reach out to me asking about the pros of a short age gap between kids (twins, got pregnant naturally after not using protection after the first kid because #infertility and same-sex partners who wished to be pregnant at the same time). In each of these episodes, I share 10 pros to having a short or long age gap between kids - and I separated it just in case anyone didn't want to hear the other side at all (totally get it!). But here's the thing - there's always going to be some grieving when life doesn't go the way we planned - and for many of us, we've been planning our parenthood and what that would look like all of our lives. So if you're feeling like you can't be grateful or hopeful right now in those feelings I want to let you know that you're allowed to grieve the way you thought things would pan out. There's also always going to be people who try to tell you that one way is better than another or want to sway you to their way of thinking - but you need to do you. I saw a saying on Instagram that reminded me somewhat of this scenario and it said 'get the tattoo. Your parents are already disappointed' - you have to live for you! Often we also don't have a lot of choice in these scenarios - one of my old bosses always used to talk about fixed vs flexible mindset - and when something is fixed and we can't change it (which is sometimes the case with age gaps) then it doesn't always make sense to put all of our energy into it. We're better to make a conscious choice to try and shift our attention to things that we do have some control or choice over. And I feel like that also applies often to the age gap we have between children. So, to help you start to process and embrace your direction - I've put together 10 pros to a small age gap/large age gap. Sending you love x Want more? •Follow me @robynbirkin on Instagram for fertility tips, real talk and big-time mindset help when it comes to trying to conceive •Get your copy of the Get Pregnant Pronto Pack •Discover the 3 biggest game changers I had on my journey to get pregnant If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

This is part of a two-part series on age gaps between kids. I was asked on Instagram recently about the age gap between my two children and there was a big response from people who felt that they were grieving having a short age gap between kids (ours is nearly two years), and then wanted to share what I felt were the pro's as they were just unable to see it..... And then after that, I had some people reach out to me asking about the pros of a short age gap between kids (twins, got pregnant naturally after not using protection after the first kid because #infertility and same-sex partners who wished to be pregnant at the same time). In each of these episodes, I share 10 pros to having a short or long age gap between kids - and I separated it just in case anyone didn't want to hear the other side at all (totally get it!). But here's the thing - there's always going to be some grieving when life doesn't go the way we planned - and for many of us, we've been planning our parenthood and what that would look like all of our lives. So if you're feeling like you can't be grateful or hopeful right now in those feelings I want to let you know that you're allowed to grieve the way you thought things would pan out. There's also always going to be people who try to tell you that one way is better than another or want to sway you to their way of thinking - but you need to do you. I saw a saying on Instagram that reminded me somewhat of this scenario and it said 'get the tattoo. Your parents are already disappointed' - you have to live for you! Often we also don't have a lot of choice in these scenarios - one of my old bosses always used to talk about fixed vs flexible mindset - and when something is fixed and we can't change it (which is sometimes the case with age gaps) then it doesn't always make sense to put all of our energy into it. We're better to make a conscious choice to try and shift our attention to things that we do have some control or choice over. And I feel like that also applies often to the age gap we have between children. So, to help you start to process and embrace your direction - I've put together 10 pros to a small age gap/large age gap. Sending you love x Want more? •Follow me @robynbirkin on Instagram for fertility tips, real talk and big-time mindset help when it comes to trying to conceive •Get your copy of the Get Pregnant Pronto Pack •Discover the 3 biggest game changers I had on my journey to get pregnant If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Today's podcast episode is brought to you by my Get Pregnant Pronto Pack - a really cool collection of resources including a workshop on how to Get Pregnant Pronto - how to educate, troubleshoot and optimize your fertility if you are trying to get pregnant - you can learn more at robynbirkin.com/getpregnantpronto I first started trying to conceive in 2012 - since that time I've had nearly 300 fertility warriors in my Intensive program, I have a group on Facebook with 580 fertility practitioners from across the globe and had thousands of women join our Facebook Group the Fertility Warriors Support and Chat Group - and there's a few things that I've seen over and over again, whether people are trying to conceive naturally or at a fertility clinic, and even IVF veterans. On the podcast today I share the top 5 mistakes I see fertility warriors making when they're trying to get pregnant and why those things might not be the best for you in the long run. Let me know what you think! Want more? •Follow me @robynbirkin on Instagram for fertility tips, real talk and big-time mindset help when it comes to trying to conceive •Get your copy of the Get Pregnant Pronto Pack •Discover the 3 biggest game changers I had on my journey to get pregnant If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Today's podcast episode isn't just a better way to get pregnant... it's a better way to live. All the things in life. It follows generally the biggest lesson I learnt on my fertility journey and then subsequently through pregnancy and parenting and it's a complete shift. In today's episode, I talk about how the traditional approach - i.e. constantly looking for the next supplement or modality - might not be serving YOU or your fertility, and how a simple shift in mindset and priority can have you making better decisions and optimize your fertility at the same time as helping improve all other areas of your life (instead of the traditional 'must do more' approach which starts to then seep into the rest of your life). Want more? •39 Lessons in 39 Years •The Life Lessons I learnt Following my stressful year •6 life lessons from my six-year fertility journey •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Why does it feel like infertility treatments are so expensive? I KNOW. I've been there, through our six-year journey to conceive our babies and always trying to evaluate whether what I wanted to invest with was worth it, or whether I was throwing money down the toilet. In today's podcast episode, I share my 6-part framework for evaluating for yourself (nothing is actually throwing money down the toilet if it doesn't feel that way to you) whether you feel that a treatment, modality or add-on is worth it for you. I call it my overwhelm to an organised framework - as it can help take your mind from chaos and feeling unsure about investments, to feeling like you've been able to make an educated decision on the value and potential something has to help you move forward. So.... the big question is what kind of framework can you use to decide for yourself whether something is a big fat waste of time or whether it will be a good investment of your money because the reality is that there are many things out there that have no scientific of evidence base (including fertility clinic add-ons). Tune into today's episode to hear my 6-part overwhelm to an organised framework for deciding whether you should leap or ignore. P.S. I also talk about a study that was recently released on fertility clinic add-on's - I've listed it below, along with the Instagram for Devon Baeza - pretty much the queen of fertility treatments + finance. Grab a pen and paper, as you'll want to take notes on this episode, and come and find me on Instagram at @robynbirkin and let me know if you think this was helpful. Links and Resources •Devon Baeza - Instagram •Most Australian women using IVF pay for add-on treatments with 'weak' evidence behind them, research finds Want more? •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram Want more? •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram •Most Australian women using IVF pay for add-on treatments with 'weak' evidence behind them, research finds •Research on Mind Body Programs for fertility If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Have you ever felt terrified through your fertility journey that somewhere along the lines, maybe you're making the wrong decision? Gaahhhhh I know the feeling. Or even just in life in general - you're worried about the investment of time, emotions and finances and that the decision you make might be the wrong one? Well.... Stop. Because in today's podcast I want to help empower you to shift your mindset around the decisions that you make that you feel are the best at any given time and to help, if I can, relieve the mental load of always feeling panicked that you're wasting money. You are NEVER wasting money if it's a decision that you make with the knowledge and resources you have. I hope you find this episode refreshing and empowering and I hope it takes you away from the torture of indecision or feeling like you need to outsource your decision making (and therefore diminishing trust in yourself) and helps you move forward with what feels good to YOU. Reach out to me on Instagram to let me know what you think! Want more? •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

So often when I'm talking with fertility warriors, I often hear it in their voice that they're feeling guilty or unaccepting of themselves and apologizing for things they really shouldn't.... So, I'm sharing with you today 9 things you should never apologize for and I hope that you come away from this episode feeling much less judgement toward yourself, much more acceptance and the ability to see exactly how you're feeling in the moment, as ok. I want to let you know that your life can completely change when you do this and when you can accept your feelings, how much easier it is to cope with life and life's challenges and also just how much we realize that at times, we create our own misery by being our own worst enemy rather than our biggest cheerleader. In today's episode, I share 9 things you should never apologize or feel guilty for. You'll learn: •Why radical acceptance and expression of your emotions is healthy •Why boundaries with others might be something you really need •What true empowerment looks like •How we can lean into and then let go of emotions quickly Links and Resources •39 Lessons in 39 Years •The Life Lessons I learnt Following my stressful year •6 life lessons from my six-year fertility journey Want more? •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Have you ever heard the term, crabs in a bucket? Well, it's not the most pleasant term but... it serves a purpose. You see, when you put crabs in a bucket and one tries to get out - all of the other crabs pull them back in. And I feel that sometimes this can be applied to us on our journey with infertility. We aren't coping. Our partner isn't coping. And together, we become crabs in a bucket. And sometimes, we (or they) martyr ourselves in pursuit of trying to help lift the other one out. But it's a dud strategy - there's a better way to help your partner through infertility, and it starts with you. The philosophy I use in this podcast episode is one that has served me so well over the years and has been a driving force behind big and scary decisions - this philosophy has been empowering, and a huge driver in helping me strive towards living my best and healthiest life. Check it out and let me know what you think. Links and Resources •How infertility might be affecting your husband •When you don't see eye to eye with your husband •How to support your husband through infertility Want more? •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Look, I try to live my life with no regrets and with the utmost confidence in my decisions. I have the firm belief that we always make the right decision at any given time based on the knowledge that we have in the moment (so therefore there are no wrong decisions ever - it's such an important mindset reframe). BUT.... obviously now, I have new knowledge. My beliefs have shifted and I know different things.... So if I travelled back in time, but armed with what I know now, what are 5 things I'd have done differently on my journey? That's what I'm diving into in this week's podcast. Tune in and let me know what you think, and come and reach out to me on Instagram and let me know your thoughts - if you had your time again or could rewind time, what would YOU change? Links and Resources •The honest truth about miscarriage and loss with Jackie Figueras •39 lessons in 39 years Want more? •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

I'm sure you can tell that this is one of my favourite people on the podcast today, Emma Bowen chatting about how she blended holistic and conventional treatment, in a really confident and empowered way. When we're on our fertility (and cancer journey's), it can feel like it has to be one way or another. You're either going the conventional route or continuing with 'natural' treatments.... And that doesn't always have to be the case. There are HUGE benefits in blending the two together. I especially loved how Emma talked about: •How she was 'human' and allowed herself grace to navigate towards what felt good •How a gratitude journal was a big game-changer •How she navigates the inevitable insensitive and unhelpful comments she received Connect with Emma Follow Emma @empoweredwith_em on Instagram here Visit Emma's website here Grab Emma's Chemo Checklist here Emma's Book Recommendations Stress Less Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher Dying to Be Me by Anita Moorjani Radical Remission by Dr Kelly Turner Mind over Medicine by Lissa Rankin The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen Cookbook by Rebecca Katz Want More? •Beating Infertility and Cancer with Kiarra Hand •10 year unexplained infertility journey with Bella Hilton •Watch my free video workshop, Conquer Stress, Fuel Fertility here. •Check out my 5 day Mini Mindset Program, Warrior Rising •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Bella Hilton from Studio Fertility joined me for today's podcast and shared with us all about her 10 year fertility journey, which is actually so much more than just a fertility journey. Bella has navigated relationship challenges, grieving the possibility of never having children, breast cancer and 4 heartbreaking miscarriages. This episode was SO long and I think you'll get so much from Bella's incredible story and strength of character, and how different her first fertility journey was from her second #relationshipgoals In this episode you'll hear about: The BIG difference in the way Bella navigated her first and second fertility journeys How Bella knew, despite going through such a hard time, that ultimately she would be ok Her 4 part 'worthy' plan (right at the end) Connect with Bella? Visit Bella's website here Follow Bella at @studiofertility on Instagram here Want more? •Watch my free video workshop, Conquer Stress, Fuel Fertility here. •Check out my 5 day Mini Mindset Program, Warrior Rising (it's just $27!) •Learn more about The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Today's podcast is inspired by our monthly Q+A in the Fertility Warrior Family (our Facebook Group for members of the Fertility Warrior Intensive - my 12 week mind body fertility program). We were talking about getting a second opinion and advocating for yourself. It came up that some peeps were worried that their specialist would be offended if they said they wanted to seek a second opinion. Y'all, the stakes are high and you're spending a lot of money! If there's even an inkling that you're not super confident with the direction you're taking on your journey to get pregnant, then I highly suggest asking more questions or taking steps to get a second opinion. So, that's inspired our conversation today with 10 things you're allowed to say to your medical team. (spoiler alert: one of them is "I'd like to get a second opinion") Dive into my Instagram profile here, if you'd like to save or share these 10 things as I'll be sharing a post with them listed out. You can find me on Instagram here. You might also want to check out: •5 tips for IVF Newbies •Infertility and IVF: What I would have done differently •IVF Tips: what I wish I knew before starting invitro •How to choose a Fertility Clinic (and Specialist) •Is IUI a Waste of Time? (With Sasha Hakman MD) •What to expect at your first fertility clinic appointment •Is your fertility clinic making these 5 mistakes? •[Printable] 11 Questions to Ask your Fertility Specialist Want more? •Watch my free video workshop, Conquer Stress, Fuel Fertility here. •Check out my 5 day Mini Mindset Program, Warrior Rising (it's just $27!) •Learn more about The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Have you ever thought that because you've been through infertility, you can handle anything? Ya, me too. And many of my clients and followers. And the honest truth is that I can, and I did. And so did they. But infertility can still hit you like a slap in the face, and infertility doesn't guarantee that you'll coast through motherhood. In fact, motherhood hit me like a slap in the face and was really, truly, hard in many moments. I consistently think thank goodness I worked on strategies and rituals to calm my nervous system and generally help me cope with hard sh*t... instead of trying to muddle and power through TTC waiting and willing myself to get pregnant, because I don't think I'd have coped half as well with some of the pregnancy, birth and motherhood hiccups and hard times I've dealt with. This episode is a MUST listen for anyone who is on the TTC rollercoaster, but also especially for my fertility warriors who have now found themselves expecting or on the other side with a baby that has come earthside. Jump onto my website too if you'd like more episodes on life after infertility - my pregnancy with Chloe, parenting snippets, baby sleep and generally all the things post TTC here: robynbirkin.com/pregnancy Want more? •Check out my 5 day Mini Mindset Program, Warrior Rising (it's just $27!) •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Today's episode is about preparing for pregnancy and was inspired by a former client whose baby I had the chance of cuddling. We caught up over coffee and chatted about the things we *wished* we had known BEFORE we got pregnant. So, whether you're listening to this now and you're still on the TTC rollercoaster, or whether you've just found out that you're expecting, I feel like there's going to be some useful information here for you to dive into. Dive into this episode as I share: •Pregnancy expectation vs reality •The honest truth about what pregnancy after infertility is like •Why sometimes we need to be flexible during our pregnancy •The number ONE thing I think we need to do BEFORE falling pregnant Jump onto my website too if you'd like more episodes on life after infertility - my pregnancy with Chloe, parenting snippets, baby sleep and generally all the things post TTC here: robynbirkin.com/pregnancy Want more? •Check out my 5 day Mini Mindset Program, Warrior Rising (it's just $27!) •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Today on the podcast I'm sharing 5 tips for IVF Newbies (but is also helpful for folks going through IUI too). Gosh I wish I had some of these tips when we were going through IVF, particularly some of the advice I share in this podcast regarding IVF transfers. There is so much more information out there than there was when I was first starting to conceive, so I'm thrilled to be able to share with you my 5 tips for IVF newbies. If you're new around here, I have LOTS of content that is really helpful if you're doing IVF including: •Should I do IVF? •Infertility and IVF, what I would have done differently •Is IUI a waste of time? •11 Questions for your first appointment at a fertility specialist •Do you need bed rest after an IVF transfer? •Starting IVF and feeling extremely tired? Here's why •Best diet for IVF: what the science says with Dr Elizabeth Cherevaty •How to negotiate fertility benefits and IVF money hacks with Jennifer Palumbo •IVF Tips: What I wish I knew before starting invitro fertiliization •How to choose a fertility clinic (and specialist) Want more? •Check out my 5 day Mini Mindset Program, Warrior Rising (it's just $27!) •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

I'm baffled that I've not discussed Fertility Supplements on the podcast before and specifically, what to look for in a fertility supplement (and some of the common mistakes I see people make with supplements that could be doing more harm than good), what is the best fertility supplement to get pregnant, and the supplements I personally used to take. In this episode all about fertility supplements, we talk about •What to look for in a supplement •Why the type of folate matters •What I used to take •How you could be doing more harm than good with your fertility supplements and why a less is more approach is better •What is the best fertility supplement to get pregnant? Links and Resources It Starts with the Egg by Rebecca Fett 8 great reasons to see a naturopath for fertility Infertility and IVF: What I would have done differently Want more? •Check out my 5 day Mini Mindset Program, Warrior Rising (it's just $27!) •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind-body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

You'll know that a few episodes past I shared about a conversation I had with my dear friend, Jackie Figueras, both a registered Nurse (with an impressive resume) and a miscarriage and loss coach that there are so many things we just don't talk about enough when it comes to miscarriage and loss. Trigger warning: we get really honest and share the gritty and detailed experiences of our losses in this episode. It was one of the FIRST episodes ever that has truly brought me to tears (I'm usually so great at setting my feelings aside for interviews, but Jackie's story just got me). As we dish down the HONEST truth about miscarriage and loss, we shared: The differing emotional and physical experiences of our loss What a medical miscarriage really feels like (with tips for anyone who needs to go through it) Where healthcare providers are just getting it wrong And Jackie shares some really wonderful tips and insights. Links: •Learn more about Jackie and her program, Roadmap to Recovery •5 things you need to know about miscarriage •Have I finished grieving my miscarriage •How to recover from a miscarriage •How to help a friend who has had a miscarriage •The story of my infertility, IVF and the miscarriage that brought me to my knees •How to honor your miscarried baby Want more? •Check out my 5 day Mini Mindset Program, Warrior Rising (it's just $27!) •Jump on the waitlist for The Fertility Warrior Intensive (My 12 week holistic mind body program) •Follow me on Instagram If you liked this episode, please take a few moments to pop into Apple iTunes and leave a podcast review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it means that more people will be able to find and enjoy the podcast.

Well, I don't know if you got the time to see the Meghan Markle interview (I rarely watch stuff like this on TV) - more of a cooking show kind of girl, but I did take the time to tune into this interview, and wanted to share with you 5 lessons or insights that I had from the Meghan Markle and Oprah Interview, from the perspective of someone who does what I do, in helping women with infertility conquer the stress of infertility so they can thrive through the journey. Notes from this episode: •You often don't know what someone else is going through •You are allowed to struggle, despite your circumstances •What really happens when people are hurting

On today's podcast I'm talking about 5 things you need to know about miscarriage. Know that if you have experienced a miscarriage - whatever the terminology or type or gestation, I am, really and truly, so so sorry. We all process miscarriage in different ways and as I always say - please don't let anyone hurry you with their timelines. It's so important for you to process and grieve your miscarriage in a way that works for you. I've covered miscarriage and loss on a number of podcasts here, from ways to honor your miscarried baby, how to recover from a miscarriage, the story of my own miscarriage recovery, how to cope with recurrent miscarriage and loss, to an episode with Dr Malinda Lee where we discussed the medical aspects of recurrent loss. And on today's podcast I touch on some of the things you may not be aware of with miscarriage, or that nobody talks about. Tune into the episode to learn more. I also mentioned my friend, Jackie Figueras - you can find her website here.

I get asked A LOT either by email or via the DMs on Instagram with warriors who are coping with Infertility Sadness for some guidance on what they can do to feel better. I love responding to you all, but I struggle with this one because unfortunately, there's not a quick or simple answer. Up until now, I've always recommended The Fertility Warrior Intensive. I'm so freaking passionate about this program - it's a 12 week in-depth look at your perspective, self confidence, inner voice, ability to let go and address toxic guilt. SO many life changing things. But.... late last year I sat down and asked myself, what if I could help warriors who were struggling for a quick win? What would it take for the quickest and easiest way to get you back in the saddle and feeling like you've got the energy to get back out there and get back on the saddle? As I kept pushing myself for these things, I eventually landed at 5 days. 5 lessons and 3 quick daily actions to help you feel better on your journey, and I've shared them in my new program, Warrior Rising. Gosh, I am so proud and excited about this program, and especially because it's delivered via a SECRET podcast (how cool is that?!) and a gorgeous 68 page workbook. Each day contains your lesson, as well as a simple breathwork exercise and some journal prompts. The workbook is infused with zen stories and other important lessons. Visit robynbirkin.com/rise to learn more about this small but mighty new program. The feedback has already been incredible, especially about the very first module - I can't wait to hear your feedback.

So... you've landed in donor conception land. Maybe you've just been slammed with the news from your Fertility Specialist, or you're starting to suspect that you're just not going to get pregnant with your own eggs/sperm/embryos. Maybe you're a hard no. Maybe you're a maybe. Maybe you're a yes but absolutely and completely terrified. Well... if you're EITHER of those things, you need to tune into this episode with Meta Getman, one of my good friends and a Donor Conception Coach who chatted with me today about 5 myths surrounding donor conception (which let's be real... everyone has thought about at some point or another) as well as her own journey of using donor eggs and going from feeling hit by a brick wall to being a hard no to considering using donor eggs to becoming a donor egg mom of twins. About Meta Meta Getman is a donor conception coach who helps family-focused, responsible, and thoughtful women and couples who have found themselves facing a journey to parenthood they had never imagined: using donor eggs, donor sperm or donor embryo. Through her e-course, The Donor Downlow, Meta helps her clients go from isolation, loneliness, and fear of the donor process to hope, confidence and excitement for building their families. Meta and her husband Michael went through their own infertility challenges and after four IUIs and three rounds of fresh IVF, they achieved their dream of a family through using donor eggs. Meta has been featured in multiple podcasts, has spoken multiple times at the RESOLVE Midwest Family Building Summit and co-founded a local community where she lives for families who used a donor to have their children. She is passionate about sharing her story and helping others who are exploring or headed down the path to using a donor. Grab a copy of Meta's free Essential Donor Checklist. This free resource gives you all the essential questions you need to consider when using a donor to build your family. Connect with Meta on Instagram @metagetman or at her website: www.metagetman.com

Today on the podcast it's my absolute pleasure to welcome fellow Aussie, Lucy Lines of Two Lines Fertility in Melbourne Australia (although ALL of the stuff we chatted about is totally relevant across the globe. Here are a few highlights from our chat together Choosing your clinic and Specialist - your fertility clinic is going to play a really important part in how your family grows over the coming months/years, so choosing where to go is a super important step - different people respond differently to different people - not everyone is for everyone (in fact, very Rarely is any one person for everyone!) - it's important to choose someone you like and someone you TRUST - think about the clinic FIRST and the individual specialist SECOND. The clinic is where the nurses, counsellors and importantly the LAB are. The nurses and counsellors are really important for your cycle management, but the lab has the greatest influence over your outcome. How the lab deal with the eggs and sperm and grow the embryos has the greatest impact on your outcome and small changes within the lab can make a big difference. The fertility specialist, nurses and counsellors are responsible for managing your treatment, interacting with you and ensuring that the raw materials that are delivered to the lab (the eggs and sperm) are the best they can be.. but the lab does the rest. - There are lots of things to think about when choosing a clinic: - location - reputation and results - clinic policies - choosing a specialist - gender - sub-speciality - other specialities - do they offer add-ons? - is this YOUR person? fertility specialists are human - they have good days and bad days, they have particular areas of specialisation, and they have personalities - find one that matches YOU

I remember when we were trying to conceive... but before anyone knew anything about our journey, and my father looking at me square in the eyes and telling me that if we couldn't have children, we should just adopt. We'd been together for YEARS before we got married and several years after that before we had tried to have children. I don't know if it was just an off the cuff remark or whether deep down my father suspected that we were having trouble conceiving. But nonetheless, I felt this deep pressure to deliver grandchildren, over and above the desires and the wishes that I also had. Can you relate? Do you feel like a big portion of your life is lived spent trying to please your parents? Do you feel like sometimes there's things that you want in your life, that are maybe a bit risky or different to what you think they'd approve of, and that you're possibly playing life safely as a result? Learn about my process of unlearning and separating myself and my wants and desires from that of what I believed my parents wanted in this week's podcast.

I turned 39 in January! Truth be told I'm actually REALLY excited about entering this chapter in my life. I can honestly say I've learnt SO much more in my 30s than at many other times in my life - my infertility journey triggered this uncomfortable growth in me, that I can now also look back on with gratitude for the lessons it provided to me. Tune into this week's podcast where I share my biggest lessons over the last 39 years although below are the cliff notes. Enjoy! And reach out to me on Instagram to let me know what you think. •How you speak to yourself, is one of the important things you can control •Stop looking at what you want to achieve or do, and start thinking about how you want to feel •Most of the time, in the present moment, things are fine, safe and boring •You only live once •There is never a wrong decision •Stop caring so much about what your parents want and start thinking about what YOU want •Deep down inside, YOU know the answer •Money is a renewable resource, time is not •Never discount the lessons in the journey •The worst-case rarely ever happens. Neither does the best case. It's usually somewhere in the middle •Everyone deserves respect •Often, what triggers you (or what triggers someone else) is more about you and less about them •Perfection is a unicorn •Balance is BS •Do the scary things •Most things are change-your-mindable •Most things are figureoutable if you commit to navigating solutions •>> But you get to choose whether you want to take the shortcut •The 5 minute rule >> ask yourself - what do I need right now •Get a cleaner •You can control more things than you think •Everyone suffers •Expect obstacles •Being hopeful feels better than trying not to get your hopes up •Crying feels good •A hot (or cold) shower or a walk outside fixes most things •Get your mind right FIRST •Women do not exist on a 24-hour cycle •Sometimes the rest is the work •Sometimes it's not giving up, it's changing priorities •Life has seasons •Guilt is a motherf*cker •Sometimes things take time - it's not about quitting or giving up or that it's not working, it's that you're still on the path to getting it there •Sometimes friendships hibernate •Your mood is a mirror •You should always make your bed •You don't need to believe everything your brain tells you •Meaningful human connection is a life force •Your future could look NOTHING like you had ever planned and be a THOUSAND times better than you could have ever imagined

Hellooooo and welcome to my Behind the Scenes Series for January. Today's topic is about choosing (or not choosing) a word for the year. These podcasts are taken from inside the private Fertility Warrior Family Facebook Group that accompanies my signature 12 week program. The Fertility Warrior Intensive. These are NOT the training videos or modules from within the course, but within our private Facebook Group, I jump in with regular group coaching and support for warriors - I'm super active in there and drop in every few days with videos, images, thoughts - support, advice, real talk - you name it, and then once a month we do a big group coaching session. There is SO much to this program, and I'd love to share more with you - to learn more, jump on the waitlist here: robynbirkin.com/warrior - we'll be opening the doors to the program in February and we'd love to welcome you as our latest warrior.

Hellooooo and welcome to my Behind the Scenes Series for January. Today's topic is about what to do if you feel triggered by something. These podcasts are taken from inside the private Fertility Warrior Family Facebook Group that accompanies my signature 12 week program. The Fertility Warrior Intensive. These are NOT the training videos or modules from within the course, but within our private Facebook Group, I jump in with regular group coaching and support for warriors - I'm super active in there and drop in every few days with videos, images, thoughts - support, advice, real talk - you name it, and then once a month we do a big group coaching session. There is SO much to this program, and I'd love to share more with you - to learn more, jump on the waitlist here: robynbirkin.com/warrior - we'll be opening the doors to the program in February and we'd love to welcome you as our latest warrior.

Hellooooo and welcome to my Behind the Scenes Series for January. Today's topic is about being solutions-focused, and I share two experiences that I had that encouraged me to look for the solutions, rather than focus on the problem at hand. These podcasts are taken from inside the private Fertility Warrior Family Facebook Group that accompanies my signature 12 week program. The Fertility Warrior Intensive. These are NOT the training videos or modules from within the course, but within our private Facebook Group, I jump in with regular group coaching and support for warriors - I'm super active in there and drop in every few days with videos, images, thoughts - support, advice, real talk - you name it, and then once a month we do a big group coaching session. There is SO much to this program, and I'd love to share more with you - to learn more, jump on the waitlist here: robynbirkin.com/warrior - we'll be opening the doors to the program in February and we'd love to welcome you as our latest warrior.

Hellooooo and welcome to my Behind the Scenes Series for January. Today's topic is about letting go of the pressure to juggle all the balls. These podcasts are taken from inside the private Fertility Warrior Family Facebook Group that accompanies my signature 12 week program. The Fertility Warrior Intensive. These are NOT the training videos or modules from within the course, but within our private Facebook Group, I jump in with regular group coaching and support for warriors - I'm super active in there and drop in every few days with videos, images, thoughts - support, advice, real talk - you name it, and then once a month we do a big group coaching session. There is SO much to this program, and I'd love to share more with you - to learn more, jump on the waitlist here: robynbirkin.com/warrior - we'll be opening the doors to the program in February and we'd love to welcome you as our latest warrior.

Struggling? Start Small with these three things to notice every day. Every day I work with women who feel infertility is taking over our lives, and I often reflect upon two things: •There was definitely not enough taught in schools about how we can foster resilience, cope emotionally in healthy ways and how important our mental health is. •Infertility is HARD. It will most likely be one of the hardest things you will experience, and there are going to be really sh*tty days along the way, but there is (even if it doesn't feel like it) some really easy things you can do to start to shift your thoughts and anxiety (although, because #1, I often find there is a LOT to get through, which is why I also have my 12 week course as a more comprehensive next step.) One really simple thing that start shifting your emotions is these three things - it's quick, and it's doable. And then, every day, spend 5 minutes in the shower working through these and come back to me in 1 month and tell me if you have experienced a shift. You can reach out to me @robynbirkin on Instagram. 3 things to notice every day if you're feeling depressed about infertility 🍍 3 THINGS YOU ARE GRATEFUL FOR Our brains are not wired towards the positive, but, this simple act can start to have a huge shift in your mental state. In finding 3 different things to be grateful for each day, your brain starts to consistently LOOK for awesome stuff, and research shows wide ranging emotional AND physical health benefits from a gratitude practice. Studies have been conducted in several groups of people (Harvard is most well known for studying the effects of positive psychology) including Vietnam Vets and 911 Survivors and have found that in both groups, those who can appreciate the good alongside the bad have lower rates of PTSD. Gratitude has also been shown to improve sleep, improve immunity, lower rates of depression and increase rates of happiness.... and it's really easy to do. 🍍ENERGY DRAINS AND GAINS We can sit far too long with things that do not serve us (social media, toxic friends - and some of these actually feel quite productive in the moment, but that instant gratification is... well... instant - so it's like you need to continue pouring into a cup that never fills) and when infertility is already draining so much of our energy (we only have a limited amount of physical and emotional energy) we need to be filling our cup with more things that fill our cup: our energy gains. Think about the things that give you a buzz (dinner with awesome friends, hiking, reading books - whatever that may be for you) and make sure you are doing them, not sacrificing them in a time of need (i.e. infertility!) 🍍 HOW YOU SPEAK TO YOURSELF Hands down, one of the most important steps in self love and self confidence is checking ourselves (before we wreck ourselves). And I work with many fertility warriors who just consistently beat themselves up. You would be outraged if anyone told you that you weren't doing enough or that you were ruining everything because you are that toasted cheese sandwich or couldn't fall asleep... Yet so many warriors talk like that to themselves constantly. Stahp! How would your best friend talk to you? I bet she would be understanding and comforting and completely lovely. Speak to yourself like that. You are working SO hard and you are enough and you do deserve to be a mother. It's about catching yourself and calling BS when your brain starts to tell you that you aren't good enough, and then reframing the conversation with compassion and grace. So there you have it, my three really easy and doable things to try every day - I'd love you to spend one month doing these and then come back t...

On today's podcast, I'm sharing one of the questions I was recently asked within my program, the Fertility Warrior Intensive - and that was about feeling scared to get your hopes up, and also struggling with the concept of being positive all the time. Here was what I wrote in our private group for my 12 week Mind Body Fertility course: Question: I'm trying to be positive. I've noticed for me, being positive just feels like I'm getting my hopes up. I can't differentiate between the two. I struggle with being positive and not getting my hopes up at the same time! My Reply: I think that we should absolutely balance our lives by recognising what we are grateful for and all of our blessings in life alongside the struggles we are currently experiencing. And one of our last modules, Highlighters, talks about how to feel more positive without needing to try so hard. But.... Trying to be positive all the time, is HARD WORK, and not always appropriate. Sometimes deep down we really do feel angry, or sad, or hopeless. And it's important that, as unwanted and uncomfortable as they are, we feel, allow and process those emotions. Why? Because if we don't, they literally just grow under the surface - they last longer, they're more intense... and we can only sweep them under the rug for so long until literally, we explode. So, do you need to be positive all the time? Nope. Are sad days ok? Heck yes. How do we get through the sad days? by giving ourselves grace, putting ourselves first (and yes, sometimes that means chucking a sickie, sometimes that means unfollowing pregnant friends online, sometimes that means treating yourself to a massage, sometimes that looks like having honest and frank conversations with people). But mostly, just allowing the emotions and waiting for them to pass. You can sit and explore those emotions through journalling or our worksheets (particularly Module 2), but also, if you allow them, for the most part, they'll pass without doing anything. Within the intensive, you are literally learning about your brain and gaining perspective and self-awareness that you know not to take everything as fact. Trust that everything you need, you already have. So now that just feels like I'm getting my hopes up all the time? Please do. I implore you to always get your hopes up. "But then I'll crash and burn if things don't pan out" Yes, you will. You're 100% right. But you'll crash and burn if things don't pan out anyway. You'll have just started from a lower place. The difference is that you'll have spent the entire month or two weeks convincing yourself it wouldn't work. Sitting in overwhelm, sadness, panic and hopelessness, without having the facts. You've counted your chickens before they hatched. •So when your brain tells you > this won't work •Just gently ask yourself > but what if it does? •When your brain asks you > Who are you to have a baby and defy these odds? •Reply back > but who am I not to? I know you've been burnt before. I know that your heart hurts so badly when things aren't happening. But it will hurt (appropriately) when the time comes. Don't panic until it's time to panic. Don't feel sad until it's time to feel sad. And the difference is that until that time comes, you'll feel great. You'll have more spa...

Today on the podcast I'm talking about a topic that is a little bit woo woo - for best effect definitely listen to this episode. I want to talk about some tips and tricks to help you manifest your baby in 2021 and bring that little person earthside, and in the process talk more about manifestation in general and also what it takes to generally bring success into the world... in ways that we have not been brought up thinking creates success. So if you're tuning into this episode, I'm guessing that 2020 has been a rather shitty year and you've been through.... A lot. You might be feeling a little jaded, a little hopeless and down and as we're about to come into Christmas... dreading the next few days. If that's how you're feeling, I truly feel you and I want to let you know that you're super normal. So let's see if we can shift some of that energy and get things moving for you in the next 7 steps. •Get clear on exactly what it is that you wantI want to become a mother with my own eggs, naturally. Dive in a little deeper into what it is that you want and the feelings and emotions that you're trying to inspire. You want to be a mother. You want to nurture a little person. You want to feel needed. You want a deep connection. If you're fixated on the top level, you aren't fully able to engage with what it is that you're ACTUALLY looking for, and it's important for us to be super clear to the universe about what it is that we want, at all levels. And plot twist: sometimes the universe gives you what you need, rather than what you want, and sometimes there's a bunch of lessons and necessary growth and discomfort on the way. •Release your grip on controlIt's super shitty at times, but unfortunately, whether or not your baby comes into the world, exactly how it comes into the world, and when it comes into the world is out of your control. And one of the biggest ways in which we screw ourselves over is in placing our self-worth and judging our success or failure on whether these things happen. It's one of the core reasons we feel so crappy on our fertility journey. You need to release your grip on controlling those things because maybe your path is slightly different - but if you're completely fixed on minute details and the HOW, rather than just believing it will happen and things will pan out one way or another, you will stay stuck. The things you can control on your journey •Believe itI can hear a bunch of you now thinking to yourself that it's impossible as you've been so hurt in the past, but taking aligned action means that you have to believe it is possible for you. And the statistics ARE in your favour, if you continue and if you get help, and are prepared for things to possibly look a little different. How can you help yourself believe that it's possible for you? There are a few ways to do this - one is to look at infertility success stories, not as signs that everyone around you is falling pregnant and you're not, but signs that it is possible for you too. If we can work through the initial discomfort of actively going out of our way to be around and see other pregnant women and success stories and double lines - but rather the spreading of baby dust our way, and normalising that it IS possible, it makes it so much easier. •Remind yourself of what you're working towardsWhether that's vision boards (or check out my Instagram Reels to see an easy way to create a digital vision board), or a letter to yourself, or regularly conducting a ritual during the new moon - what can you do to remind yourself that you're m...

Today on the podcast I wanted to talk to you about what we've got up our sleeve for 2021 and what you can expect. It's been a CRAZY year for so many of us, and I've been working quite hard behind the scenes on a number of things within The Fertility Warriors Intensive program - including an additional little module area for partners and husbands, and for warriors who fall pregnant during or after the program. If you didn't know, the Fertility Warrior Intensive is my 12 week Mind Body Fertility Program. Its aim is to support you in developing emotional resilience and fostering happiness and calm amidst your fertility journey, as well as helping you change your brain like your dominant neural pathways, to in turn help you balance your body and your hormones to optimise your chances of falling pregnant. At the core of the program is 12 weeks of lessons with worksheets from me, but we also have so much else as part of the program, including a bespoke yoga series and pilates series, guest expert interviews, affirmations - sooo beautiful, and meditations - so many things. This year, we added some bonus areas into the program, including some modules for Husbands and some pregnancy resources and these are currently free for folks who sign up to the program, and I look forward to being able to add more into it in the new year. I'm also busy working on providing something else - another more mini product. If you'd like to be first in line to hear the details, then you can hop to robynbirkin.com/gamechangers and jump onto my email list. At this link, you'll also receive a free PDF download of the 3 biggest game changers on my journey. In terms of the podcast, I'm looking forward to doing more solo episodes where I can deliver to you more roadmaps and more specific advice on how to cope with the emotional aspect of infertility. I absolutely love having guests on the podcast, but I really want to be able to take you on a journey, and sometimes I find that a little hard when I'm just interviewing guests. I'd love to get your feedback on that so please let me know - jump onto Instagram and send me a DM :-l) So that's a little summary of what we've got on the cards for 2021. Make sure you're subscribed to my email list for MANY more little announcements and happenings. You can jump in here.

Ahhhh, for some of us the holidays kind of suck. There were times when they especially sucked for me whilst I was trying to conceive - one year, right as we were about to start IVF (we'd already done lots of IUI's etc), our family from the United States came to visit and it was just family stuff galore. Ross and I married quite late, so everyone was asking us constantly when we were going to have babies and at that stage, nobody knew our struggle. Meanwhile, my cousin had the most adorable 4 week old baby, and it was a constant reminder of the struggle we were in. But... despite that, we still managed to have a (mostly) ok Christmas. If you'd like to know some of the strategies and tips I have for navigating Christmas whilst Trying To Conceive, check out this post. But today, I'll be talking more about how to make Christmas Special. How to have a good time (more thriving, less surviving if you know what I mean), and most of that comes from doing things that are fun, spontaneous and whimsical. This time of year, is not the time to be serious. It's the time when you can break the rules a little.

Today on the Podcast, I'm reviewing the Mira Fertility Tracker. I've been DESPERATE to know and understand when I'm ovulating, but I've been really picky about who I've partnered with. One of the questions I had on Instagram was "Whaaa? You're ovulating even though you have had a hysterectomy?" and the answer is Yup! I do. If you head to my resource library, I've put together a great eBook that talks about what happens during our cycles - it's SO important for us to understand this and I still can't believe that we aren't taught more of this in school. But essentially there are four hormones - LH and FSH - which come from our brain, and Estrogen and Progesterone which primarily come from our ovaries. I still have my ovaries and fallopian tubes, although I don't have a uterus anymore nor most of my cervix.... And I still have a brain (ha!). So I still have my monthly cycle, even though there is no lining to shed at the end of each cycle. When I was trying to conceive, I used two methods to track my ovulation: Tracking my Basal Body Temperature I tracked my BBT for about 7 months, and it was really time consuming. In order to do it properly, you're supposed to do it while you're lying in bed, as still as you can be, for about 10 minutes when you first wake up (without getting up), and even though I did that, I still never got the temperature spike that showed I was ovulating. If you're trying to conceive, it's also important to note that your basal body temperature spike is only telling you AFTER you've ovulated, so you can't use this as the signal to do the deed, you can only use it as confirmation that ovulation has occurred. The problem for me though was that I never got that lovely graph that you're supposed to have when tracking your BBT, and so aside from the time commitment, I wasn't super keen to try that again. Using Cheap LH Ovulation Strips The other thing I used when we were trying to conceive (before we hit the fertility clinic) was some cheap ovulation strips that I got from EBay. What. A. Waste. Because of the short window of ovulation, I was using multiple strips per day (and probably not correctly) and never once. Not once. Had a positive confirmation of ovulation (even though I ovulated quite regularly). So I'll be completely honest with you - I've been looking into ovulation trackers for some time now and the bottom line was that I just wanted something that was convenient and accurate. Also, I wanted something that gave me a little bit more than a really short window to ovulation so I wanted something that went beyond just a 'yes' or 'no' in terms of whether I've ovulated or not. Enter the Mira Tracker. To date, the only other partnership I've done has been with the Mira tracker to be honest, even though I'm approached multiple times per week from other organizations. Since walking the path of infertility, I feel like I've become much more in tune with my body and the natural rhythms of my mood and energy across the month, so I had an idea of when I might be ovulating, but I truly wanted some confirmation. How to use the Mira So the first thing you need to do when your Mira tracker arrives is to charge it up, and then install the Mira app on your phone so that it can sync all the data. It's pretty cool because it uses bluetooth to sync everything and then you can see and compare your results, and it also has a graph you can see (and download if you want to send to your Naturopath or anything). Once it's charged and you've got the app, you just connect your tracker and then you're good to go. When you want to test, you use your first morning wee...

Today on the podcast we're talking about how to honor your miscarried baby. If you haven't checked out my episode on loss and recurrent loss yet with Molly, please make sure you do that as it was awesome. But also, please check out my podcast on surviving miscarriage. I've had such positive feedback about it. I remember my miscarriage like it was yesterday. It was truly the moment that broke me (but also the moment that made me - sometimes you need the breakdown to have the breakthrough). And it can be so hard when we're so emotionally invested in this and our baby is SO wanted, and especially serve as a kick in the teeth if we've had fertility struggles. Before we start, the first thing I want to let you know is that you do you, boo. There is no set way to grieve, or feel following a loss. There is no magic 'time along' that you should be in order to feel a particular way. There is no set timeline for grieving. So despite how people tell you to feel. Despite all the comments people may make dismissing your feelings Despite how your friend who experienced a loss felt However you are feeling is valid and ok, but know that many people won't say the right thing. 6 Ways to honor your miscarried baby Name them Sometimes when we name our baby, it gives meaning and significance to their lives. It helps us recognise who they were and honors them as one of our own. Regardless of whether they experienced life Earthside or not, they were yours and they were loved. Plant a tree in their honor There's a funny thing about grief - and that's that it comes in waves. For such a long time you might be ok, but then you might reach a place when your walls come crumbling down, and you might want a moment to get some fresh air, to see something growing (and honor that timeline) and to just be with them. Get a crystal This was a particularly powerful thing that I did when I had my loss. I got a crystal (rose quartz) and I use this technique for lots of situations in my life, but a crystal can sit in my bra or my pocket - it's discrete, but it also sits with me for as long as I need it and when I feel like I want to remember or send love their way, I can clutch onto it. Set an anniversary and do something special each year Whether it's leaving a light on in the porch, lighting a candle for the day, or going out for a nice dinner, there can be something lovely about a yearly ritual. You don't have to make it known either, you can keep it to yourself, but I firmly believe that our love is endless. And this can be a lovely way to honor your baby and show them that you love and care for them. Conduct a full moon ritual So full moon rituals are typically for letting go. You can see my podcast on how to do a full moon ritual, and you can vary this in any way you want (seriously - there is no 100% right or wrong way if you ask me), but you might be thinking right now that you don't want to let go of your baby. I hear you! But your baby would want you to let go of: Holding onto them so tightly that you can't experience happiness ever again Any guilt you have around their loss - it was not your fault. Wondering what you could have done differently And you can during the full moon (or wait until the new moon) to invite in grace, abundant love, their beautiful spirit and strength and happiness. I also want to let you know right now that you can have different parts to you that exist at the same time. You can have different emotions at the same time. So it is possible to exper...

Today on the podcast I'm chatting with Dr Malinda Lee and grilling her on all the questions you need to know about recurrent loss. Dr Malinda Lee works for Spring Fertility and this area is one of her specialties. Spring Fertility has quite a patient-focused approach and one of their specialities by the way is also LGBTQ+ family building. They're across California, but they also have a clinic in Vancouver, Canada. So the reason I was so keen to talk about this with Dr Malinda Lee was because it's something I'm seeing more and more within my program, the Fertility Warrior Intensive. I inevitably get a related question on this once a month, and there are a number of tests and approaches I advocate for, and so we chat about that with Dr Lee, and related to that, I feel like this is an area many clinics also get wrong, or don't do enough testing for from the get go, which in turn, for me, raises questions because it's such a significant cost to clients, that I feel like the extra effort is worth it to avoid the additional time, heartache and general sh8ttiness of now knowing what is happening. So tune into the The Fertility Warriors Podcast today and see what Dr Malinda has to say. You can also check out my podcast with Molly Nicholls, where we talk about the emotions of recurrent loss and how to survive that.

I'm so pleased to welcome my fellow fertility podcast friend, Michelle Oravitz to the podcast to talk about a concept I love: effortless effort or Wu Wei. Michelle joins me on the podcast to talk about all things Traditional Chinese Medicine and we talk about how she came to be in this field, what her past life looked like and how we can make our fertility journey easier on ourselves. The more I learn about both Western New Age concepts and Chinese Concepts, the more I learn that there are synergies between them, but sometimes different ways of expressing them. For example, yin and yan is so aligned with the concept of feminine and masculine energy. I also often use the analogy of a leaf in a stream and the leaf at the bottom of the waterfall that is bobbing up and down and generally struggling but staying ultimately still in the water, not moving forward. In contrast, a leaf floating down the stream and going more with the flow of the water, but just how easy and effortless it looks. This is the same type of concepts we discussed on the podcast with Michelle - tune in and listen to the episode and let me know what you think! Michelle Oravitz L.Ac, FABORM is an acupuncturist, ayurvedic practitioner, and certified hypnotherapist specializing in fertility health. Michelle was inspired to change her career from architecture to acupuncture after having her own reproductive imbalances resolved by her acupuncturist. Her method of treatment encompasses not only herbs and acupuncture, but also incorporates diet, supplements, essential oils, and most importantly the mind and how it influences conception. She helps women and couples both online and in person, and is the host of The Wholesome Fertility podcast. www.thewholesomelotus.com www.michelleoravitz.com Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thewholesomelotus/

OMG, this episode of the podcast was SO MUCH FUN. Y'all know that Dr Sasha Hakman (formerly Sasha Mikhael) and I have a mutual love for one another and we wanted to do a super fun quick-fire interview with all of your burning infertility questions answered. Tune in to find out her answers to all of your infertility questions including: Why do specialists prescribe the pill? Are there any circumstances when you'd recommend a woman goes off the pill? Is there ever a circumstance when a woman would take progesterone during her follicular phase? Are fertility specialists anti-anyone who isn't a fellow physician/fertility specialist? Thoughts on having a number of people in your team (acupuncturist etc) and how we can work together as a team? If you have stage 4 or significant endometriosis, should you go straight to IVF? How accurate is an AMH test? Soy: good or bad for fertility? Red meat: Good or bad for fertility? Dairy: good or bad for fertility? Exercise: how much is too much? Uterine lining: what is too thin? what is ideal? what is too thick? How old is too old or what are some signs that we need to look outside the box? Does the research suggest (to you) that there is benefit in women going through IVF treatments also undertaking things like regular meditation or yoga, mind body programs or seeing a psychotherapist? I also want to sign off though and just say that Dr Hakman is a Doctor, but for the vast majority of our listeners, she is not YOUR Doctor. These are quick-fire questions based on research findings that don't take into account your personal circumstances or medical history and that you should consult with your own physician for more thorough and tailored advice before implementing or taking to heart any of the points discussed in today's podcast.

I haven't had a period in more than four years now. When I was in my 20s that would have been the dream, and in fact, when I was in my 20s I used to use The Pill to skip 6 - 12 months of bleeds at a time, thinking it was great. And then.... Trying to conceive hit. I was the crazy type A person who started tracking my ovulation a few months BEFORE I started TTC and used primarily my Basal Body Temperature thermometer. For anyone out there who is using their BBT for tracking, here's a few things you might want to know: •I have a free chart within my library that you can print and download •You're supposed to do it as soon as you wake up, without moving and getting up at all, and leave it there for about 10 minutes •I almost NEVER got that lovely rise and fall - it never looked beautiful like that, even though once I started at a fertility clinic I had confirmation that I basically have a dead-on 27-day cycle with ovulation at day 13 (as I had suspected) •BBT rise happens AFTER ovulation, so don't use this to check WHEN you should have sex - this can only be of assistance for future cycles and only also if you have a regular cycle •Checking your cervical mucus (provided you drink enough water regularly) can actually be an incredible mechanism (which can tell you when you're ovulating), especially when combined with BBT tracking It's also really important to have an understanding of exactly what you're monitoring and why, and what your hormones are doing throughout the month - I also have a free infertility101 book within my library (along with a bunch of other stuff) so make sure you check that out too. And my thoughts on my period really morphed once I started trying to conceive. Firstly, I realised the power of our cycle (which isn't just our period - it's that whole period of ups and downs, feeling extroverted and introverted - the natural flow of being a woman), but also longing to have that period, because each month it was a chance to create our family. And then.... Plot twist. During childbirth to have our second ICSI miracle bubba, my uterus completely lost the plot. Its a long story but I had a hysterectomy. And while it's great that I can now wear white pants 365 days of the year (wink wink), I no longer get a period. But... I do ovulate because I still have my ovaries (seriously - see my free ebook in the library if you want to understand it all). And so you may think I don't care about when I ovulate. But as I grow more in tune with my body, I have begun to notice distinct 'seasons'. Over the month there are times when I feel so energised and confident. I'm on fire at work and everything is great. And then, there are times when I feel so introverted. I don't want to go out. I feel less confident and slightly more anxious. And I feel this is my cycle. But I don't know. I was also speaking with my friend, Devon (who has also had a hysterectomy) and she said the same thing. When you don't get a period, it can be quite disempowering because you don't have that intimate knowledge of what is happening in your body. And so, I've wanted to track my ovulation again. And since I don't get a period, it hasn't been as easy as just tracking on a calendar. I need something more concrete than that, and in my life these days, I've just become a convenience freak. I am just not available for things that a...

Molly Nichols joins me on the podcast today as she shares some of the most powerful advice for how to cope with recurrent loss and the fear of history repeating itself. This has to be one of my most favourite podcasts and I could have spoken with Molly all day long. Molly and I are so similar in our approaches except that I'm less on the spiritual side to her and swear a lot more ha! But she shares so much wisdom here, not just for women who have experienced loss, and not even just fertility warriors but for all of us on our journeys. Tune in and listen to this episode and then send us a DM on Instagram to let us know what you thought of the episode. I just know you'll love it! Molly Nichols is a mama of four, business mentor for soulful entrepreneurs, renowned fertility coach, healer, and the queen of guided visualizations. Her unique approach to using guided visualizations, positive psychology, energy healing and spiritual practices paired with proven sacred fertility and soulful business strategies support her clients worldwide in calling in and receiving all that they desire in life, family and business. You can sign up for Molly's Fertility Affirmations here. You can find Molly on Instagram here.

In the Fertility Warrior Intensive we talk about our thoughts and our brain A LOT, and we have a monthly Q+A and one of the questions that always comes up with warriors who have just started the program is will thinking negative thoughts make them true? I feel like the movie The Secret kind of popularised the concept of visualisation and manifesting - this is me delving into the slightly woo woo side of things. But many fertility warriors come into the program absolutely terrified because they have thoughts like I'm scared that I'll never become a mother What if I never fall pregnant? What if I have a miscarriage? What if there is something wrong with me that hasn't been discovered yet? And what makes them terrified, is that by having these thoughts and fears they'll manifest it into reality. We literally have an entire module dedicated to healthy ways to manage these fears and the program is centered around understanding why our brains have these thoughts, how to master and overcome them, and essentially how to call BS on our brains sometimes, but what I really want to do right now, is reassure you that, I do not believe you can just 'think' something into reality. Your mind thinks. Just the same way as your heart beats. You literally cannot help your brain stop thinking. Even when you're meditating (which is a big myth about meditating - you are not a monk, and at every single second of the day your brain is processing millions of messages and determining which teeny number of those make it into your conscious mind vs your sub conscious mind. So even if you think you aren't thinking, you are) It's also super natural for your brain to recognise fears and think about possible outcomes of future scenarios. If our brains were totally switched off to that, we'd have a huge problem. If you were in the wild and your brain never told you that Hold up - there could be snakes or bears up ahead Or It may not be the wisest move to climb up a steep rock face without a harness Or Yeah sure, keep going to the rocks with the huge waves If we totally switched off to risks and possible future scenarios - we'd have a huge problem. So we can't begrudge our brains for thinking that. The problem is that sometimes they're life or death situations and the problem is that we can end up with these dominant neural pathways that keep us stuck in fight or flight mode and stuck in either the future or the past (i.e. again, what we work through specifically in the Intensive). But here is what they missed in The Secret, or the part of manifesting that you might have heard. Things come true because of aligned action. Not just thoughts. And taking non-fear-based action. It's the action that you take as a result of the thoughts that you have that determines what is manifested or not. So please rest assured today that it's normal to have fears and negative thoughts around your fertility journey and that nope sister, you are not 'thinking things true'.

Wowsers - I posted about walking away from fertility treatments on my Instagram stories just the other day and IT BLEW UP. I woke up in the morning and switched my phone off airplane mode and it just pinged with all the direct messages I received from fertility warriors who felt heard, who felt like I was reading their inner thoughts and who were so relieved that somebody had FINALLY talked about this. Do you feel like everyone out there is just constantly spruiking that you need to keep going on your journey until you have a baby, Hell or High water? Heck. No. But how do you know when it's time to walk away from fertility treatments? On today's podcast I talk about what the other side might look like for you, and how to determine when it might be time to walk away, and when it might just be time to seek some more help on your journey or try another path. The answer always lies in fear. Walking away from fertility treatments is like the ultimate FOMO. And it can fill you up with regret if you allow it to, or if you are full of a lack of self confidence. But, you can actually choose to feel really empowered by this choice, confident that you gave it a good shot, and confident that you have now (confidently) chosen to walk another path because your priorities have changed. Your life Your decisions Your feelings Your finances Your prerogative Your happiness Your energy Your power And the big point I want to make, is that it's ok to change your mind. It's not giving up. It's just changing and shifting our priorities. And that's ok. You aren't a failure because you decide that you wish to change paths and the only person committing you to a particular path is you. AND... by that same token, you can decide to change your mind AGAIN if you wish too. Tune into today's episode and then if it resonated with you, please reach out to me in the DM's to let me know. Your messages on Instagram give me life and I love hearing your feedback on the show.

Today on the podcast it's my absolute pleasure to welcome Eli Weinstein as we talk all about how infertility might be affecting your husband and infertility from a male perspective. It's so hard on our journey to look at our husbands and their perspective, but so valuable when we can take a minute and get an insider view of what the blokes go through. Eli experienced his own journey with infertility and he dives deep with us on how we can better communicate and navigate this journey with our significant others, how we can support them better, how we can bring up tricky topics and make sure we're a ride or die team, rather than these two separate icebergs out at sea. You are going to LOVE this podcast where we talk all about husbands and infertility. Eli is one of our Resident Experts in our companion course for the guys as part of the Fertility Warrior Intensive. We dive even further into the topic of men and infertility with real life practical tips for your husband as he navigates his journey too. About Eli Hi, my name is Eli Weinstein, LMSW. I am a Social Work therapist who has worked in a psych hospital, intense outpatient clinic and currently work in a community clinic in queens. I used to work in NY and West Coast NCSY (Youth Organization) for over 7 years. I created ELIvation to fill a need to help those in struggling and add extra inspiration and motivation into everyday life. I have gone through my own struggles with anxiety, ADHD, infertility and men's issues (being a new dad, body image issues, relationships, and general self-esteem/confidence) My main goal is to help people on their journey to add support, care, empathy, expertise, and insight. I run events, seminars and individual coaching on topics from mental health awareness, public speaking coaching, relationship coaching and confidence boosting.

Today on the podcast it's my absolute pleasure to welcome one of my favourite people on Instagram, Dr Loree Johnson. Loree shares so much wisdom on Instagram as a Psychotherapist whose speciality is in women's mental and reproductive health. I think that having had her own fertility journey too makes her such an asset to the infertility community and she has such a calm and warm energy about her. Seriously she is one of my most favourite people. She is also a person of colour. 2020 has been a huge wake up call to me if I'm honest. One of my best friends is a person of colour, I experienced racism first hand when I lived in Japan, both my Fertility Specialist and OBGYN were people of colour and I have had the pleasure of getting to work with some of the most incredible young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I live in Australia. I don't post about US holidays, or insurance or any of those things because I live halfway across the country, and when George Floyd passed away and the world actually stopped to pay attention to what was happening, I couldn't help but be forced to re-examine myself, as messy and uncomfortable as it is. The truth is that I have not been doing enough, especially with the platform I have. And there have been five major lessons for me •The SAME issues are experienced here in Australia. Indigenous Australians are 7 times more likely to die in custody than Caucasians. •Just because you aren't actively racist, doesn't mean you're helping. I had never even considered how vanilla my podcast was - and not because I had actively tried to make it that way, but just because it is what I know. That needs to change. And I need to visibly ensure that people with different stories to mine are also heard. Because I know that many of my listeners are also people of colour, same sex couples and solo fertility warriors too. •Reproductive medicine has quite an awful history, and together with modern day discrimination and poverty, there is a great disparity in the statistics and care provided to women of colour •Trauma is complex. And so many women of colour experience multiple layers - infertility trauma with racial trauma •This is not over because the riots stop. It requires Some of the facts: •Women of colour have higher rates of infertility, yet some of the lowest treatment rates •Even in mandated states in the United States, they make up significantly lower proportions of IVF cycles •Women of colour have lower live birth rates (even after IVF), higher miscarriage rates, higher rates of preterm birth, maternal death and fetal death Click here to read more about these facts. It is SO hard when you visit a Doctor and don't feel like you are in a safe place, or that you are receiving the care you are so entitled to. It is heartbreaking when financial circumstances dictate whether or not you have the ability to create a family And of course, this touches many fertility warriors, regardless of race, but the fact of the matter is, it affects women of colour in the United States (and likely across the world) more frequently. And we need to talk about it. Loree sees this intersection of infertility trauma and racial trauma regularly and is also a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and serves on its Mental Health Professional's Anti-Racism Task Force. I'm so grateful that I was able to welcome Loree onto my podcast for a really honest discussion (even when I was sup...

Today on the podcast I'm talking about 10 of the physical and emotional signs that you might not actually be ok. Tell me I'm wrong, but I feel like in the world of infertility there's two camps, and I sit somewhere in the middle. There's the camp who will tell you that stress and infertility are completely unrelated and people need to stop talking about stress and infertility. The thing that I think doesn't work in that scenario is that it normalises feeling really crappy and makes it feel like there is nothing you can do when you're experiencing the emotional rollercoaster of infertility. I also think that the research that exists for us now DOES suggest that there can be a link between infertility and stress and most certainly between improved outcomes for women who undertake programs that can help them manage the stress of infertility. Then there's the other camp though who make it seem like you shouldn't be stressed and that you should be a positive Polly dancing around a field of daisies like everything is fine... when clearly, you're going through something that can be quite difficult, and I am a firm believer that infertility is multi-factorial - although sometimes there might be one red Herring, I feel like often there are additional factors at play, and handling your stress is not going to magically cure something like endometriosis. Many also feel like this is victim blaming, and I could talk about this until the cows come home, although I will say this: infertility IS stressful, and there will continue to be stressful moments. I'd be super wary of anyone who said it wasn't a thing. I sit in the middle. I feel like it's like running a marathon. It's not going to be easy. But training can help you get there much quicker and easier. Yes, there will be days when you don't feel like training. Yes, there will be days when your running game is not on point. But the training is where it's at. And Mind Body Fertility is the type of training I provide to help you run the marathon of infertility. REGARDLESS, I don't think it's healthy to normalise intense stress associated with infertility because whilst I believe EVERYONE would benefit from help, there are some warriors who are not coping at all and who I strongly believe should seek some help, whether that's through something like my program, or by seeing a therapist. So, how do you know if you should see someone? I've shared 10 signs you're not ok in this episode. Reach out on Instagram and let me know what you think

Here are your 6 tips on how to support implantation during the 2 week wait (TWW). •Stay calm •Be gentle with yourself •Focus on nourishing foods •Legs up the wall •No spa's •Keep feet warm Bonus tip: To be honest it's the 90 days leading up to it.

When does implantation bleeding occur? How often does implantation bleeding occur? What are the reasons that implantation doesn't work? How does implantation occur? These are just some of the questions I'm answering in today's podcast, and if you check out next week's episode I'm diving into implantation again to talk about how to support implantation during the TWW The process of how implantation occurs is actually really complex and although I'm not a fertility specialist or medical professional, I hope that I've been able to explain the important parts of how implantation occurs with you on the podcast in an easy to understand way. And then understand how the process of implantation occurs, you'll see just how complex it can be and how many processes are going on in the body to enable this to occur, and exactly what can cause implantation to go wrong. Of the many things that could cause implantation to fail, probably the most significant is that the endometrium essentially either falls asleep at the wheel and fails to allow the blastocyst to implant, or that it actively starts to secret a stress response hormone to stop it from doing so, usually because it perceives the blastocyst to be of poor genetic quality. It could also be other issues with your uterine lining, or another common reason is that there are immune system issues that mean that the blastocyst is essentially rejected by the woman's body as being a parasite or other foreign object. In today's podcast I also talk about implantation symptoms and some of the indications you might have that implantation has occurred. Of those is one of the most popular amongst infertility communities: implantation bleeding. If you're wondering when implantation bleeding occurs or how often it occurs, as well as some of the other symptoms, then tune in. Lastly though I've talked about my general reluctance to talk more about these topics, because truly warriors, I see my role as one that helps you cope emotionally with infertility and fall pregnant sooner and I don't believe that anxiety, endless Googling and the generally obsessive behavior during the TWW assists you in doing that. Rather, I feel that it can fuel that anxiety, so please approach this episode with curiosity and wonder at how incredible the human body is rather than obsessing over the things that you cannot control during this process.

Today I'm welcomed on the podcast by Kristyn Hodgdon of The Fertility Tribe and we have chatted all about overcoming the loneliness of infertility by building and becoming part of a fertility community. Let's be real. Infertility is SO lonely. It's hard when you don't want to go out like you did because of the costs and lifestyle changes you're making to fall pregnant, but then also when you do, you feel like you're either giving a science lesson or answering the Spanish inquisition... or enduring hours-long conversation because your friends are all pregnant or expecting and it feels like you no longer have anything in common with them. But it also seems absolutely crazy to me that we go into fertility clinics and keep our heads buried into our phones, but are surrounded by other people in the exact same boat as us... but then later feel lonelier than we ever have before. I do get it though. Sometimes we can feel utterly terrified that we'll run into someone who will 'out' us. Whilst we're in the clinics we're often running late for work. Aaannnddd It's also embarrassing. Research has shown though that it's incredibly important for us to find community when we are going through hard times, and in fact, research has also shown that those who have support and are part of a community on their journey have better outcomes too. So how do we overcome the loneliness of infertility? That's what we talk about in today's podcast with Kristyn, who shares her journey, including: How she came to try to conceive (at a time when none of her friends were) What some of the pro's and con's of therapy were What led her on the path she is now on Tune into the episode to find out more. The Fertility Tribe also has an app that you can go to to support you on your journey and find that community. You can follow The Fertility Tribe on Instagram @thefertilitytribe and visit the website here.

Hands up if you feel like you've tried everything to fall pregnant... and yet here you are feeling completely burnt out... and not pregnant. If you've tried all the things to fall pregnant and still don't feel like you're getting anywhere, today on the podcast I'm sharing two quite different angles you might want to take in order to continue making progress, In truth - I see this a lot. Many of the clients I work with in my 12 week program come to me with huge checklists and to-do lists. Sometimes they're feeling a mix of anger and frantic energy, and at other times they're feeling completely dejected and jaded and just plain exhausted. And then it's a vicious cycle because they can't maintain the perfection or strict regime that they feel they 'should' be undertaking (or the advice they're receiving contradicts itself) and this results in more stress, poor sleep, poor digestion etc, making things worse. That's a really common and normal reaction to trauma. Yep, trauma. Infertility can take a significant toll on not just our emotions, but also our physiology and that can sometimes result in feelings like this. But I do also chat later in the podcast about some other medical avenues you can take to continue making progress in other areas. Tune in and then come and find me on Instagram and let me know what you thought!

In today's podcast, I'm sharing with you my experience of sharing our journey with our loved ones and how to tell your friends and family you have infertility. Is there an easy way to do it? Well... yes and no. There's no foolproof way to ensure that everyone will say and do the right thing - they never will, but in today's episode, I'm talking about my recommended approach to announcing your infertility journey, based on the way one of my wonderful friends once announced that her husband had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. You'll have to tune in to the full episode for details, however, I strongly recommend sending an email to your friends and family. It's a great way to ensure that everything you want to say comes out and comes out right. I have a number of resources in my fertility library that can help you with this (including a PDF you can just straight up send), but it also gives you time to process, gives them time to process and generally allows for an easier journey. I remember telling my friends and family well, but today you're also getting to see the insight (and hindsight) of how that worked and perhaps what I'd have done differently if I had my time again. Tune in for details.

Let's be honest, it's SO hard when your husband wants to quit trying to have a baby but you still want to keep trying to fall pregnant, or when you and your husband generally don't see eye to eye on particular situations. Today, I'm breaking down how you can both work together to come to (hopefully) a resolution. Spoiler alert: it will always involve some compromise on someone's part but in today's episode, you'll learn how you might be able to uncover what is really going on, how to get your husband on board, and also even whether certain decisions in your life are actually decisions that he might want (or aren't appropriate for him) to be involved in. You may also be interested in these articles and podcast episodes Is the universe telling you to quit trying to conceive: https://robynbirkin.com/is-the-universe-telling-you-to-quit-ttc/ How do you know when to quit trying to conceive: https://robynbirkin.com/give-up-trying-for-baby/ How to support your husband through infertility: https://robynbirkin.com/how-to-support-your-husband-through-infertility/

Today on the podcast we're talking about infertility warning signs and signs and symptoms that you may have trouble conceiving or help you brainstorm what could be going on with your body. I know that sometimes it feels like our bodies are failing us, but as my journey has progressed, I have come to feel that our bodies are like finely tuned machines, and that sometimes our body likes to send us warning signs that something might be wrong. As much as it totally sucks too - our fertility is often one of the first things to suffer when our health is out of balance and that's because our fertility is non-essential for life. So if something goes pear-shaped with your hormones, that's one thing, but if your heart just stopped beating... well, then you'd have a much bigger issue. So when our body is out of balance, there will often be changes that affect our fertility first, and it's up to us to listen to these warning signs that could be indicating that something is not right, and rectify them, not just in order to conceive and fall pregnant, but in trying to be the healthiest version of yourself and prevent further health issues down the line. First and foremost, if you have been trying to conceive for over six months (especially if you are over 35 years of age!) it's a given that something is probably wrong. If you are under 35 , then something is absolutely wrong. You first need to know exactly when you're ovulating. Check out my upcoming post on how to track your ovulation properly, as well as this podcast on ovulation to ensure you're getting it right. Research estimates that as many as 57% of women are incorrectly timing ovulation. But let's say that neither of those things are happening, here's some ways you can diagnose that something might be going on (and then even do some of your own research as to what that might be) So what are the 4 warning signs that something is wrong: •Your cycle length and timing Not many women at all have perfect 28 day cycles, however when we are in optimal health our cycles should be pretty close to that. Some big indicators that something might not be right is in a too short follicular (before ovulation) or luteal phase (after ovulation). Likewise, if either of these are too long, it could also signal a problem. Your cycle should also be regular and consistent - if it is neither of those things it could indicate a problem. And if it is more than 40 days, that may also signal a problem. One tip is that I often find that when there is a short luteal phase, Traditional Chinese Medicine is better at working through this, whereas Western Medicine sometimes dismisses it as nothing. If you are in this category, this may be something to consider. 2 Pain Pain is not normal y'all. Sometimes when we are growing up, it's almost like we are expected to have painful cycles, and sometimes that is the case as our bodies adjust to puberty, but certainly by your early 20s, if you are experiencing really painful periods that require days off work, it could be an indication of endometriosis. 3. If he drinks/smokes/rides bike I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that sperm basically creates itself from scratch and is really easy to change. The bad news is, men are often overlooked when it comes to infertility and that sperm can be a bit fickle. If your husband smokes, drinks a LOT, has a poor diet, is a cyclist - chances are sperm could be below par. If you think about an individual sperm, it has to cram an entire strand of DNA into a teeny tiny head - so it's quiet complex, and hence why it's important to try and get that right...

UUgghhhhhhhh, baby showers. When you're infertile and invited to a baby shower, all of a sudden it feels like a different ball game. A different, awful, longest couple of hours of your life, ball game. And it can be really tempting to try and avoid it altogether. On today's podcast, I'm sharing my very best baby shower tips, both at a practical level and at an emotional level. If you are infertile and invited to a baby shower, you'll receive some next level baby shower tips. First up, I think you should go. You'll need to assess your emotional capacity but where you can, I recommend you do. In the podcast I talk about what to do if you feel you cannot possibly attend, but also WHY your brain is being a bit sneaky on you and why I think you should attend. And then we dive into my tips. Here they are at a glance, but make sure you hit play on this episode and get the full run down on these baby shower tips: •I think you should go •Arrive late and leave early •Have some responses ready •Have a wingman •Go easy on yourself and your diet •Be gracious •Bring along something that will help you feel strong •Soak up that energy as good juju So, what's your best baby shower tip? DM me on Instagram and let me know x

We have more than 100 episodes of The Fertility Warriors now (crazy, I know?!) and if you scroll riigggghhhhttt back to episode 1, you'll hear some of my story, and if you listen to my story of having Olivia (my second) you'll know even more, but I thought it was time to revisit my story a little bit and how exactly I came to this place of having this podcast. I wanted to share with you WHY I feel so motivated each and every day to help other warriors and what I discovered that I feel is so important to share. If any of you have ever received a calling, you'll know that it's just something you can't get away from. It keeps calling you back time and time again, and it just doesn't leave you alone. My experience with infertility and the lessons I've learned have been much like that. And I still remain so passionate about filling the gap in care that I believe can make the difference not only emotionally to women suffering with infertility, but can have a dramatic positive impact on pregnancy rates too. And until that becomes a standard part of care... I guess you're all just stuck with me! Tune into today's episode of The Fertility Warriors Podcast to learn my full story as well as how I can help you on your journey, through my program, The Fertility Warrior Intensive. My 12 week program is a comprehensive mind-body program that is designed to help warriors conquer the stress of infertility and in return, tackle their conception journey with improved fertility, self confidence, happiness and calm. Together, we will completely change your journey and help you develop grace, grit and gratitude.

There was a very brief moment in time when I joined the app TikTok and published some videos (which I thought were hilarious but you might not have haha), mostly around the topic of what people do and don't say that can be harmful for folks like us with infertility. I published a video that talked about some of the things that people say and asked people for some more BS comments they've heard in the comments. To my surprise, one person wrote when people say it is still possible to live a happy and fulfilled life whilst you're trying to conceive and when you have infertility. At first I was taken aback. YOU GUYS - that's literally EVERYTHING I teach. But then.... I remembered what it was like in those early days of trying to conceive unsuccessfully, and if someone had told me happiness was possible, I'd have damn near throat punched them. Infertility felt like the worst thing anyone could possibly ever go through. It felt like month after month my heart was being ripped from my chest and the words failure were printed across my forehead. It felt like everyone around me was falling pregnant that that it was just IMPOSSIBLE to ever feel happiness for them, without also feeling extreme guilt, jealousy and sadness for myself. It felt like month after month I was a terrible specimen of a wife and of a woman. Happiness felt SO far away for me. And to be honest, it also felt like suffering was part and parcel of infertility. So if some life coach or therapist or mind body practitioner told me that I could have a great life whilst I was going through infertility, it would have sounded like BS to me too. But here's the thing. It only got worse for me. Like rock bottom, complete hot mess, unable to concentrate at work, cried all the time at home mess. But it took that for me to realise that in fact, actually, NOBODY deserved to suffer like this and that maybe, just maybe it might be possible to feel otherwise. The months after that were all about learning and connecting and changing my perspective, and looking after my emotional health and resilience. The person who emerged was completely different. If I magically fell pregnant the next month but told you that it WAS possible you'd never believe me (and neither would I!) BUT, the thing is, I had yet another failed IVF cycle! But for the first time, I DID feel both happy AND content (obviously not happy that my cycle had failed, but generally happy with life). Tune into this episode to listen to the full story and the moment I knew everything was different, but if you're struggling right now and just hear all of these people telling you that it is possible to feel different, I want to let you know that I completely understand how you feel... but that I've been on the other side and I know it's possible. You just have to take the first step.

Today on the podcast we're asking the question that I've LONG wanted to ask a Reproductive Endocrinologist, and I'm thrilled to invite one of my absolute favourites onto the podcast this week, Dr Sasha Mikhael to discuss the pros and cons of IUI treatments in helping you fall pregnant. It's a very subjective matter and one that Sasha discusses with colleagues often, but we both agreed that we see SO many women who persevere with multiple failed, heartbreaking IUI cycles, when perhaps they should consider moving onto stronger interventions such as IVF, which can also be diagnostic. So, tune into this week's podcast where Sasha breaks down the various research that has been conducted on IUI, as well as IUI vs IVF, the typical success rates of IUI, the benefits of IUI and IVF and her take on how women can advocate for themselves at the fertility clinic.

I still remember vividly the day when one of my friend asked me 'Have you finished grieving your miscarriage yet?' and I felt both disappointed and outraged at her question. As someone who had experienced loss before, I felt she should know better, but if there's one key lesson to take away from this, it's that everyone grieves differently and that there is no right or wrong. On the podcast this week, I share my experience with miscarriage, and the answer, years later, to that question. If you have experienced a pregnancy or child loss, I want you to know that it is not your fault, and that I am so so sorry for your loss. However your heart wishes to grieve is appropriate for YOU so please don't let anyone else impose their timelines or what they believe to be an appropriate response on you. You need to do you. Grief comes in waves. Grief doesn't always leave us. And it's completely valid, understandable and appropriate to feel loss deeply. https://robynbirkin.com/have-i-finished-grieving-my-miscarriage

When you don't get the answers you're searching for, and have experienced repeat loss, it's really important to have the strength to get second opinions, change specialists and seek further answers. Seriously, if you've had multiple failed results or multiple losses, I urge you to dive deeper into your immune system and seek further testing to rule out whether anything is going on in your body. This week on the podcast I was joined by Ariel Spiegel of Cofertility, a site that aims to provide fertility warriors with qualified and quick answers to all of their TTC questions, as well as a huge IVF grant database. There is so much to be learnt from Ariel's journey and I truly hope you're inspired by her determination to maximise her chances of success, and her confidence in seeking answers.

Today on the podcast, I talked to Blair Nelson from Fab Fertility and there were so many valuable pieces of wisdom in this podcast that I struggled with a title, but this week I'm thrilled to welcome Blair Nelson from Fab Fertility, one of the dear friends I've met through the Instagram Infertility community to The Fertility Warriors Podcast. I've had the pleasure of appearing on Blair's podcast and now it's my turn to host her and her truly inspiring story. I encourage anyone on the fertility rollercoaster to tune into Blair's powerful story of: •Not settling for the same old •Getting a second opinion •Knowing your body •What you need to know about AMH test results •PGS Testing and translocations •How to emotionally cope with infertility •The biggest game changers on Blair's journey

Today we're going deep on the topic of being fat and getting pregnant and I've brought on fat positive expert, Nicole Salmon of Fat Positive Fertility and the author of Fat and Fertile to dive into this issue with us. You may have been told previously that you need to lose weight in order to fall pregnant, and the truth of the matter is that I've never truly given it that much thought (even though, as all women are, I'm a little headfucked about weight and dieting!). Nicole and I are friends and we committed to talking about all of the questions or thoughts that people have have with weight and fertility ( and infertility and trying to conceive) and you can literally hear the wheels spinning in my head as I was asking questions and answering them in my head whilst we talked about whether or not you can get pregnant if you're fat. Nicole talked to us about IVF weight restrictions (and what we should do instead), why dieting and focusing just on losing weight is not a sustainable or healthy solution, and why healthcare professionals and society need to check how and what we're measuring as markers of health and fertility. This is a must listen episode and I hope you get as much out of it as I did. There were so many Ah-ha moments, and hopefully reassurance for bigger bodied women. You can find Nicola Salmon on Instagram at @fatpositivefertility or on her website at nicolasalmon.co.uk.

Today I'm sharing with you my seven favourite books for anyone trying to conceive. This is going to be a bit different, because only three of these books are specifically infertility related. So the rest of these could be books that you don't even know about yet! Head to the show notes to see all the book links: https://robynbirkin.com/my-7-favourite-books-for-anyone-trying-to-conceive

So today's episode is dedicated to Teresa, who is a member of The Fertility Warrior Intensive, and although we've chatted many times over our monthly Q+A calls and on email, I was shocked when we discovered that there were a number of tests that Teresa's fertility clinic didn't run for her. Today we're talking about tests you might be missing. I think this is SO wrong. Maybe your clinic wouldn't run a particular test first time around, but absolutely after a failed cycle, I'd expect more. And more. Some of the tests I'll be mentioning also aren't readily provided by fertility specialists but if you're at the end of your tether, I'd probably recommend looking into and in the podcast I share some tips on where to look for those. I have no doubt that this episode will be super helpful for so many of you, because there is obviously something going on, so I want you to feel empowered and powerful in seeking second opinions and asking for a variety of tests. Let me just say it a little louder for the people at the back: if you are at a fertility clinic: you are a paying customer. You can ask whatever questions you like and you have every right to request tests and seek a second opinion before forking out tens of thousands of dollars. Here is the list of tests. DNA Fragmentation ANA + NKC Thyroid full cell count MTFHR HSG Food intolerances Parasites To find out more about how to get these tests, hit the play button above to listen to the episode, or subscribe to The Fertility Warriors on iTunes, Spotify or your favourite podcast player. And to learn more generally about fertility and infertility, make sure you sign up to my free library at robynbirkin.com/library - we have an awesome ebook there that explains everything in detail, as well as cheat sheets, more ebooks, meditations and affirmations - it's totally free. My gift to you :-)

Happiness during Infertility?! I bet some of the people reading and listening today would question whether it is possible to find happiness during infertility at all. I remember what it was like in the early days of my infertility quite vividly. Months of crying on the bathroom floor, having meltdowns to my husband, wondering whether I would ever become a mother and always feeling like so much was being asked of me. So you might be wondering not only how to find happiness during infertility, but moreso WHETHER it is possible, whilst you're trying to conceive, to find happiness. And here is what I want to tell you: You can be going through something really hard and shitty, at the SAME time as having an incredibly happy life. So in today's podcast, we dive into 5 tips to find happiness during infertility and whilst you're trying to conceive, as well as how you might be sabotaging your happiness subconsciously. To find out more about how to get these tests, hit the play button above to listen to the episode, or subscribe to The Fertility Warriors on iTunes, Spotify or your favourite podcast player.

If you've listened to The Fertility Warriors Podcast for a while, or even read my book on Amazon, Screw Infertility, you'll know that affirmations and mantras not just for fertility, but for general self confidence and handling life's things, were a big part of my journey and just one of the tools I used in my arsenal to help invite my baby into my life, generally cope with the stress of trying to conceive, and help activate my parasympathetic nervous system to take myself out of fight or flight mode. I didn't just use this when I was trying to conceive with my first baby. I also used this when I was pregnant, and even now in every day life. In short, affirmations and mantras are a BIG part of my life, and a big part of my quest to fall pregnant. In today's Podcast I'm diving in a little deeper into how you can use affirmations, as well as some specific times that I used affirmations.

Today on the podcast I'm sharing something that I think is super fun. 7 minor changes or tweaks you can make to your routine that can add up to major improvements in your fertility and overall health... and help you get pregnant faster. Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today I'm sharing with you 5 super effective tips to help you overcome PCOS and get pregnant naturally. Visit the full show notes here Visit www.miracare.com and use FERTILITYWARRIOR for $50 off your Mira Starter Kit Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today I'm sharing with you my secondary infertility success story and both the pros and cons of what trying for baby number two with infertility was like. Trying for baby number two was such a different experience for me. Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Anyone who says that their relationship doesn't change during fertility treatments is lying! Some of our relationships take a battering, others come out stronger, but it can take work, and when you're on fertility treatments, things can be a little bit ccrraaaazzzyyyy to say the least. Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

It occurred to me the other day that I've never really shared this? If I had my time with infertility and IVF again-what would I have done differently? Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

My pep talks have been so popular, so I'm thrilled to be bringing you one more. Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today I'm sharing with you 7 ways that you can easily increase blood flow and regulate your hormones to help increase your uterine lining and get it to about 8mm, which is the optimal thickness. Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Are you trying to conceive and worried about how Coronavirua (COVID-19) will affect your fertility journey? You have every right to be a little concerned - this is a BIG global event, and the truth is that it could have a significant impact on your fertility clinic. We put out the question last night in the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Group, and the biggest concern was for people who were mid-cycle, who may need to self-isolate mid-treatment, or people whose IVF Clinics would postpone treatment mid-cycle (i.e. after they'd already forked out $$$$ on medications etc). Today I got together with some of my friends in the fertility industry to chat about how Coronavirus might affect your fertility journey.

Even if you're still TTC, make sure you listen to my tips at the beginning of this podcast, as so many of the lessons I learnt on my journey have helped me later on (and some lessons I've learnt the hard way ha! After my journey). I've provided this series to share with you guys some support for the next steps of your journey, which I've learnt is certainly needed, but also how some of the lessons I learnt during my journey have helped me tenfold following it. I hope that these lessons can be relevant to you not only now, but as your time comes. Visit the full show notes here Join the IVF + Infertility Pregnancy + Mamas Facebook group Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

We're taking a trip down memory lane today on the podcast because we STILL see this question all the time in our Fertility Warriors Support and Chat Group. You're about to head to a fertility clinic-what should you expect? Will you be bundled straight into IVF? What kind of tests might they run? Well, the short answer is that they ask you a tonne of questions and send you for a tonne of tests. Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast, one of my favourite Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners- Adrienne Wei joins us on the podcast to talk about some of the most common conditions she sees in her practice for Type A women like me and busts a few myths. Damn, I was listening to this like, 'I think she is talking about me!' when she talked to us in depth about liver stagnation and some (she has a bunch more in her program) strategies we can use to improve our fertility based on this. Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

I thought we'd do something a little different today, I wanted to share with you a meditation from my program that you can use for free! Visit the full show notes here Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to life after infertility. I will be talking about pregnancy and my experience with pregnancy anxiety and fear. Listener discretion is advised. Today on the podcast, we're talking about pregnancy anxiety-I'm once again sharing a little bit about what life after infertility looks like, and about some of the common fears and anxieties that I see play out with our warriors AFTER they fall pregnant, especially if they have experienced a past loss. Visit the full show notes here Join the IVF + Infertility Pregnancy + Mamas Facebook group Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast I've invited my good friend, Monica from Positive Fertility and the Infertile Diagnosis to the podcast to chat all about hindsight but particularly in the context of her autoimmune disease and IVF success. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast I'm giving you a little bit of a reality check, and a loving kick up the butt to start living your life again. On our journey, it's so common for us to end up putting our lives on pause... we think we'll fall pregnant soon so we stop taking holidays. We want to save money so we stop eating out or cancel some of our hobbies... and before we know it, we've ended up sucking all of the joy that we had in our lives, and that joy has been replaced by things that royally suck. Visit the full show notes here Join my free 1 hour masterclass IVF Success Secrets: How to maximise your chances of IVF and IUI success (even if you're over 35). Visit www.robynbirkin.com/masterclass Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to infant loss and stillbirth. Themes include stillbirth, miscarriage and suicide. Listener discretion is advised. I felt so called to speak with Monica on the podcast. Monica is a dear friend of mine, and was one of the first people I spoke with when the sh*t hit the fan with Rosco's accident when I was looking at throwing in the towel with everything, and what I received was pure love and beautiful support in return. Visit the full show notes here Join my first FREE workshop for 2020 Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to life after infertility. I will be talking about my kids and my experience with breastfeeding. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome to my Life After Infertility Series. I wanted to drop in with a few episodes over the next few months that talk you through the next steps of life after infertility. Visit the full show notes here Join my first FREE workshop for 2020 Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast I'm welcoming the lovely Elizabeth Chervaty to the podcast. Liz has conducted two masterclasses within our Fertility Membership and is a total powerhouse Naturopathic Doctor who practices from her award-winning clinic, Two Rivers Health in Ontario, Canada... AND she has just published her first book, IVF Meal Plan. Visit the full show notes here Join my first FREE workshop for 2020 Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast I'm sharing with you 7 of the biggest myths around infertility that I come across all the time. Some of these are myths that you might believe and others are pretty damn obvious (and annoying) myths that others on the outside believe too. Visit the full show notes here Join my first FREE workshop for 2020 Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

This is the final lesson in the Infertility Stress Series, this episode will focus on mastery. Tune in to find out more! If you missed #4 go back and listen here: https://robynbirkin.com/infertility-stress-series-4/ Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

This is the fourth in a series of five lessons in the Infertility Stress Series, this episode will focus on an attitude of gratitude. Tune in to find out more! If you missed #3 go back and listen here: https://robynbirkin.com/infertility-stress-series-3/ Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

This is the third in a series of five lessons in the Infertility Stress Series, this episode will focus on clearing the chaos between your ears. Tune in to find out more! If you missed #2 go back and listen here: https://robynbirkin.com/infertility-stress-series-2/ Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

This is the second in a series of five lessons in the Infertility Stress Series, this episode will focus on finding your tribe. Tune in to find out more! If you missed #1 go back and listen here: https://robynbirkin.com/infertility-stress-series-1/ Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

This is the first in a series of five lessons in the Infertility Stress Series, this episode will focus on anxiety and how deep breathing is beneficial. Tune in to find out more! Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Join my Facebook group for Fertility Businesses, Clinics, Bloggers and Influencers Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

One of the most common messages I receive from warriors on Instagram, is those who tell me that they listen to my last Pep Talk on repeat when they're having a bad day. So... I wanted to jump in and provide you with another Pep Talk that you can add to your arsenal. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the waitlist for the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

My first egg retrieval was a disaster and probably one of the hardest times of my life because I had moderate OHSS and then a failed pregnancy. I didn't get OHSS the second time around! If anything got me through though the first time, it was scouring the internet to find comfort in those who had been through it too and seeing their pics, stats and tips. Visit the full show notes here Join the free Two Week Wait Challenge Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Years ago, when I was right in the thick of IVF, I wrote about my experience during my second egg retrieval. The post went viral and remains my most popular blog post to date, so I thought this needs to be shared on the podcast as well! I had two egg retrievals and both of them were such different experiences. Visit the full show notes here Join the free Two Week Wait Challenge Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to life after infertility. I will be talking about my kids and my experience with miscarriage. Listener discretion is advised. --- Today's podcast is by popular demand. It's one of the biggest questions I'm asked. People wonder what my life is like these days and what I think they're really asking (and many do) is, "Am I traumatised?" "Has my experience with infertility forever changed me?" "Am I forever scarred?" I say it often-I can remember my experience very vividly-all of the tears, all of the meltdowns, all of the drastic health and wellbeing changes I made. Visit the full show notes here Join the IVF + Infertility Pregnancy + Mamas Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast it's my pleasure to welcome Devon Baeza. Devon has the trifecta here to help us! She's a fellow Fertility Warrior herself, she has a degree in finance AND she is also a master life coach. Devon says now is the best possible time to make positive changes in your life, while you're working on your future family, because the work you do now can serve you forever. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Join the next round of the Fertility Warrior Intensive When you're trying to conceive and in the throes of infertility, it can feel like a never ending (and seemingly impossible to achieve) list of to-do's. But, I'm here to tell you today, that by focusing one overarching thing, you can get much clearer on what you need to do, rather than follow a bunch of scattered advice without knowing what to prioritise. Inflammation. Visit the full show notes here Join the next round of the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today I'm sharing the story of Rebekah. I first got to know Rebekah when she reached out to me and told me that she needed to try and make a positive out of a negative and finally try to seek out someone in Perth who was in a similar situation, because she felt she wanted some more support on her journey. Visit the full show notes here For our next round of the Fertility Warrior Intensive (doors opening soon)! Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

I LOVED my fertility clinic. I still do. After all, without them, I wouldn't have my two babies. However, lately I have been called back to the reason I do what I do. To fill a gap that the fertility clinics aren't providing. Visit the full show notes here Doors opening soon for the next round of the Fertility Warrior Intensive Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today's podcast is mostly for our US listeners and we're talking all about negotiating fertility benefits with your employer. Because I'm based in Australia, I'm sure you can guess that I've called in a big gun to help me with today's podcast-Jennifer "Jay" Palumbo, who actually helped create a fertility benefit in the US, and is on the Advocacy Day Planning Committee for Resolve, so is totally qualified to talk to you about all the things. Let's dive in and chat about how to add a fertility benefit and ways you can look into affording treatment with Jay. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast, as part of our PCOS Awareness Month Series, I've invited Brigitte Warne to the podcast. We talk all about how the dietary and lifestyle changes she made helped her cure her PCOS and fall pregnant, what PCOS looked like for her, the supplements she took and more! Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast we're welcoming Karen from Hilariously Infertile. You may recognise her from her very popular Instagram feed where she basically shares all the best memes around for infertility, but today I wanted to lift the lid on 'behind the scenes Karen'. We're talking all about how humour has helped her cope on her journey, the truth about whether she is positive all the time (and if not, what kind of things she does to lift herself up outside of making us all laugh) and what lifestyle changes she made to conceive. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (sometimes known as PCOS) is one of the most common causes of infertility. The internet is literally littered with information out there, but there's still a lot to understand about it and women searching for answers about PCOS are common in our Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Group. I wanted to put together a monster podcast on all things PCOS and what you can do to improve your cycles and fertility if you have PCOS. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Yes. My answer is yes. Over the years I've had many conversations with Fertility Warriors who have been completely scared of going through with IVF or taking the next step with fertility treatments, preferring to continue to try naturally. If you haven't fallen pregnant yet and you've been trying for more than one year naturally if you're under 35, more than six months naturally if you're over 35, then it's definitely time to take the next step in your journey. That means get yourself a referral and get yourself to a fertility clinic-pronto! Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

If you've been here for a while you know that I spent a good couple of years at my fertility clinic, and that I feel like a total pro these days! If you're new to fertility clinics, do also make sure that you check out another two of my past episodes Your first appointment at the fertility clinic: what to expect and FW 007 : 11 questions to ask your fertility specialist. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today's podcast is a topic I feel very strongly about: does keto help you get pregnant, and this post is borne from the comments and posts we receive in the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group. Literally every week I see a post where someone asks for advice on the best diet to help you try to conceive, and the comments advocating the keto diet roll in. I feel very strongly about diet. Many of you don't know, but when I first started in the online world, I was posting recipes and talking about my health. Back in 2011, I actually saw a Naturopath (who I totally did NOT vibe with) who pushed me onto a keto diet. The results were pretty freaking average. I lost a little bit of weight, but following that, despite exercising my guts out and focussing every day on my macronutrients (fat, protein and carbs), my weight plateaued. Every week, I'd feel so disheartened, and in trying to keep my body in ketosis, I'd be eating all of these Atkin's Bars and drinking all of these protein smoothies. My gut instinct told me that it was completely out of alignment with what I knew deep inside was healthy. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today on the podcast I want to share some real strategies for coping when all of your friends are falling pregnant and you feel like you no longer have anything in common with them. It's like you're being left behind in life and you're losing the people you were once close with... and kind of feeling a bit ghosted at the same time. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Welcome to today's podcast where I want to talk about a topic that I am sure many of us have wondered at some point: is the universe sending me a sign to quit trying to conceive? Do you often question whether or not you could continue or what you life would look like without children or even consider adopting? I did! And I also see comments regularly that ask how people know when it's time to give up trying to conceive. Here are my thoughts and some stories of times on my journey when I felt like it might be time to give up. Visit the full show notes here Sign up to the My Missing Piece Membership now to take advantage of the foundation member rate Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

I tried to take a selfie of myself last night hitting the final 'go live' button on my new membership... But I unexpectedly turned into a blubbering hot mess. It was a bundle of feelings and experiences all rolled into one. I remembered just how hard trying to conceive had been for me-it all came flooding back. I felt so lonely and isolated. The lifestyle changes felt overwhelming and insurmountable. There seemed to be a big giant gaping hole between what I was being provided and what I also needed at the time... And eventually went out to find (and I guess now create!) myself. I thought about how this membership has been in my heart for so long, and the thought and time that has gone into it. I thought about how still... years later... my partner, my friends, my family still don't truly get why I pour my heart into infertility when my own struggle has now passed... But that instead of wrestling with my need to still be here and provide service, I have [finally] come to peace with my path and my heart's desire to help those in my footsteps. If you need ongoing support. If you need lifestyle advice. If you need to know WTF to cook that is dairy AND gluten free for dinner. If you need a calming and inspiring focus each month. If you need a TTC BFF, this is it. I am SO proud to launch this program, and so grateful to those who have jumped in with our Founding Members special. Visit the full show notes here Join the My Missing Piece Membership Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

On today's episode we're talking about 7 Myths Holding You Back From Falling Pregnant. A lot of this comes back to mindset and the opinions and beliefs we have that are keeping us stuck or stopping us from keeping an open mind to allow ourselves to progress forward. For some of you, this might be a bit confronting, but I hope you listen with an open mind and I really hope for some of you, you experience the a-ha moment you've been searching for. Visit the full show notes here Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Kiarra Hand is both a friend of Robyn's and fellow Admin of the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group. In mid-2016, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Bowel Cancer. Today she's in full remission and has an 8-month-old baby boy and shares her story about coping with both cancer and infertility. Key takeaways and Kiarra's tips: •Talk about it with your partner and be honest, rather than think of it as, "I've got this problem," think of it as, "It's us against the problem." •Get real with your feelings and let them out! •The best thing you can you do is to start talking. •Ask for help if you need it - help is always there. •Talk about it and normalise it with people who've gone through the same experience. •Tune into what you need... get in the bath, log off social media, light a candle, go outside and get some fresh air, call a friend. •It's important to set boundaries for yourself. •Sometimes you just need some champagne and a cry! •Focus on getting yourself well, keeping yourself well and what you can do to help the result. Kiarra went to acupuncture, saw a naturopath and cut out alcohol.Join the Fertility Warriors Support + Chat Facebook group Receive access to my amazing library of free resources and join the mailing list here. Visit my website Like my Facebook page ​ Follow me on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!

Today I wanted to talk abut my top tips to improve sperm. I don't want to let these guys off the hook. My husband was a fairly reluctant participant in trying to improve his sperm, but he did, and he worked really hard so props to him. He even went to visit my naturopath and took a bunch of supplements at one point and brought his sperm right up into the normal range. So today I'm going to talk about a number of things that will improve sperm and things that can damage sperm.

We're talking today about supporting our husbands. Husbands are funny beasts, and they're like, they're so different to us quite often, and we can quite often figure that they struggle to, until sometimes they have these big blow outs of emotions or they just crumble. I want to start by saying you always need to put your own oxygen mask on first. It's the number one thing. You need to survive and you need to take care of yourself, and that's how you can then support and take care of other people.

Today I share with you some important life lessons I learnt after a really stressful year. I really feel like the last 12 months have been such a journey of self-discovery for me; you might also see quite a few common threads between my last 12 months and some of the feelings that I had and your own fertility journey.

Today we are going to talk about IVF support, nine places you can go to feel less alone and more supported through infertility. As I've gone through the years, as I've learned so much on my journey, there are so many places that you can go for support. There are so many places you can go for community and for love. So I'm wanting to share nine places that you can go to.

Today, I wanted to talk about IUI tips - here are six tips that I have for anyone who is going through an IUI. Now, the first one is for anyone who is in the near future going through an IUI or thinks that they might be in the future, and that is that the real work for an IUI is in the 90 days beforehand. I have six IUI tips here, but if you can only do two things, focus on nutrition and stress and how you're really coping on this journey. Make sure that you take some action to really optimize those things.

Are you looking for infertility warning signs? Today I've got an interview with someone who can help. I have a list of people who I'm dying to interview, but Nat Kringoudis was at the top of my mind because she recently brought out a book in Australia called Beautiful You. Nat says that the book is aimed at sort of teenage girls, but when I read it, I was really blown away at how relevant this information was for Fertility Warriors, honestly.

Today, I want to share some IVF tips with you - specifically, what kind of things would I change about my journey, and what kind of things would I keep the same, if I had it to do all over again?" And hindsight, I'll just say, hindsight's a bitch. We can always say that we would look back and do things differently, but in reality it might not always look that way or it might not have always worked out that way.

Today, I want to share with you a really beautiful bedtime routine to help you de-stress. I've heard a lot over the past year from clients in my Fertility Warrior Intensive program that they either cannot get to sleep at night because their brain is just going in overdrive with basically all of their fears, all of things that could go wrong, all of the things that could not work. Or they wake up in the middle of the night feeling just really anxious and tense, worried about this infertility trauma that they're in. I completely get it, I wanted to share with you some of the tips that I have given the ladies in the Fertility Warrior Intensive and who I used to give my one-to-one clients as well. This is a really beautiful bedtime routine for anyone who struggles with that.

This pep talk is for anyone who is struggling on this journey, and struggling with feeling like they're not enough, or feeling like they're not doing enough. I know that this journey is really tough. I know that it might feel like every time you open up your Facebook feed it's just filled with pregnancy announcements. Every time you walk into the supermarket it might feel like all of a sudden there is something in the water, and everyone around you is falling pregnant, or has children.I know that it can feel like everything, when you're at a fertility clinic, just takes so much longer than you thought it would. And that maybe you thought that you would be further along by now. I know that it can feel like the diet changes are so hard. All of these things can compound the feelings of failure and guilt that you have, and compound the feelings that you're not enough, or that you're not doing enough, or that you're not quite strong enough to cope on this journey.

Today I want to share with you my full moon ritual for manifestation. I can't say that it's a fertility manifestation anymore, because that chapter of my life has passed, but this is the exact same thing that you might like to do to call in your fertility to the universe, to call in your baby and to really set some intentions for the coming month.Now, I feel like when it comes to my personality I'm a bit 50-50. I'm sort of sassy but spiritual. I swear a lot but I still have this Zen kind of quality. This post is a bit woo-woo, but I encourage you to stick with it, because sometimes when we have nice little rituals and things that we do on a regular basis, there are some things that can become really lovely rituals and things that we do that help us feel a lot calmer and a lot more positive about our journey. I think this is one of them. It can really help give you more hope and positivity on this journey.

I wanted to talk about the antidote to overwhelm because it's something that will come up in your life again and again. It's one thing I can be certain of is that you are gonna have times in your life where you feel overwhelmed with what is going on in your life, things, obviously, have not gone the way that you had pictured them in your head - they never do. And you're going to be dealing with overwhelm, you're going to be feeling a bit stuck, maybe, on where you are in life, what are you supposed to be doing, what's going on, things like that. So here is my recipe for overwhelm. You guys will all know, I had a total wig out last year. Ross ruptured his spleen, he was off work for four and a half months, I just felt drained. I didn't have any energy, emotional or physical, to deal with anything outside of this kind of mess that we were in, I felt really overwhelmed, I felt really confused about what am I going to do with my business?

When trying to conceive, especially in the internet age, we're inundated with tips and advice. There's no shortage of TTC tips and information, and so often all the advice conflicts with each other. It's hard to know what the right thing is to do to conceive more quickly. I have five tips here, all of which might seem quite simple but combined can be quite a powerful combo. We can get very easily bogged down in the really, really little things that we could be doing when we're trying to conceive such as eating pineapple, but we're not really nailing some of the basics on our journey. Let's talk about nailing those before we move on to these little magic bullets.

Not many people know just how big of a deal sleep is when it comes to fertility. Sleep is actually a bit of a secret weapon in our fight against infertility. This is one area where my husband really annoys me. He puts his head on the pillow falls asleep right away, and he doesn't wake up easily. It's so annoying because I am the type of person who takes a long time to fall asleep. In my head I need to download every single thing that has happened over the course of the day, and then I'm a really light sleeper. It really annoys me that he's the opposite. I don't know if you can relate, but sleep is one of the most precious things in my life, and I work really hard to get a good night's sleep, because it doesn't come easily to me. And in the context of your fertility, sleep is a bit of a secret weapon. Not many people know just how big a deal sleep is when it comes to infertility, and fertility generally.

The fertility journey is a really tough one. What can make it even tougher is that sometimes you don't even realize how tough it is. People on the outside don't realize it's tough. Half the time you can't tell people about your journey either, but trying to conceive or infertility has been shown to be as stressful as an AIDS diagnosis or heart disease diagnosis or cancer diagnosis. It is a really stressful time for people and before you know it, you're depressed. That depression can really sneak up on you without you realizing it, and you're having trouble coping and it's hard to get out of that depressed place you find yourself in when TTC - I call it TTC depression. I have seven tips for dealing with TTC depression.

IVF Tips What I Wish I Knew by Robyn Birkin : Author of Screw Infertility and Fertility Warrior

On my first IVF cycle, I had a miscarriage and it was kind of a defining point for me. It is probably one of the hardest things that I've ever gone through in my life. I remember I would walk down the corridor at work just feeling like I'd been hit by a bus. Feeling like I was in this massive fog. And feeling like I was just trying to hide the tears.

I want to tell you about my story of how I became aware of fertility coaches, what I first thought of them and how I then became a fertility coach for a while. How do you find one? What should you expect? How much did it cost?

Six things that I think you could do without that might form a bit of a theme for you this year. I talked in my last post about giving yourself grace and I feel that this is one of the ways in which this manifests in letting go of things. So what are these six things that I think you can let go of in 2019?

2018. When I picture 2018, I picture some incredible highs, some wonderful achievements, and also some really crazy moments. Like my husband collapsing on me in the emergency room at the hospital, buzzers going and doctors rushing out. That's kind of what I picture in 2018. So, I wanted to drop in. It's been four months since my last podcast. A lot happened in 2018 and I wanted to drop in, let you know what happened and also, at the end, talk to you about my three, I guess, keywords for 2019 and what they might mean to me. And you might choose to have those same keywords as well. 2018 started with me deciding that I was not going to go back to my old day job, and I was going to work from home.

I feel like we (Doctors.... society.... ourselves) grossly underestimate the emotional impact of infertility, the impact that infertility can have on our marriage, and the deep scars that infertility can leave on our self esteem. Infertility has a funny way of shattering our self confidence. It tests our strengths. It throws failure in our face over and over again. It takes our marriages to depths they're often not ready for. Years after my experience with infertility, years after I first begun healing from the emotional impact that infertility had on my life, here I am, still healing. But over the years I've learnt many ways to help work on myself to give myself grace, and to go easy on myself. But I've been working with many clients recently who are at ground zero of self confidence. They're feeling rocked. For some, infertility has been the crushing blow to their self confidence, but for others, it's been a passenger in their lives for years, so today's episode we are talking about how infertility can not only shatter our self-esteem, but it can also bring to the surface how badly we're treating ourselves and how poor some of our body image and self-love can be.

Wow - that title sounds big - My biggest piece of advice (and action you can take) to improve your fertility journey.... and I guess it kind of is, guys. I've been on this journey for such a long time now, both for myself while I've been trying to have children, and now, through helping others, and truly, if there is one piece of advice I can give, and the subsequent action you can take, this is it.

On today's podcast episode I discuss how you can be a better patient at your fertility clinic, and the benefit of doing this, is that by being a better patient and working WITH your fertility clinic or OBGYN, you are giving yourself the best changes of success on your journey. Because the reality is, that we want to fall pregnant and have a baby. But by working against our fertility clinic, we aren't giving ourselves the best odds, and sometimes the actions we take can work against us and actually harm our chances of falling pregnant. Tune in to discover 8 ways you can be a better patient at your fertility clinic.

It has been my absolute pleasure to welcome Naturopath and all-round cool chick, Jules Galloway onto the podcast this month to talk about the connection between stress, adrenal fatigue and infertility. Jules lives in the incredible Byron Bay and works as a Naturopath. Her speciality is adrenal fatigue but Jules was great at explaining to me that adrenal fatigue is kind of like an end point to other things that can be going wrong in our bodies, so Jules is actually dealing with hormonal issues, thyroid issues, auto-immune conditions and all sorts of other gnarly chronic illnesses. As we were going through the podcast, my brain was constantly thinking 'ding!' - that's a cause of infertility, and also 'ding!' - it's like she is talking to me. Why? Because I'm exactly the same as you guys - I'm a type A. I've always been driven and worked really hard to achieve my goals (and Jules is the same!), which, for women like us, can lead to burnout really quickly. Jules shares her tips for how we can get better at stress, tweak our diet to help stop inflammation, and begin to heal.

Today on the podcast, I've welcomed the amazing Jo Atkinson from Whole Family Wellness where we bust some of the fertility diet myths out there. These are fertility diet myths that I hear in our Facebook group and other communities all the time, and sometimes I cringe. BUT, I also know that there are certain things (like foods) that I spruik, knowing that there is a little bit more to it than that, so I decided to bring in the big guns! Jo is a university-qualified nutritionist and really knows her stuff. We talk about : the Keto Diet (and her recommended alternative) Whether or not there is such a thing as THE fertility diet What foods we need to cut out to optimise our fertility What gut health means and how we can go about improving it What a nutritionist does exactly and how they can help people on their fertility journey What supplements we should take for fertility Some of our answers might surprise you!

My latest podcast eposide is [finally] out - part of that is because it's been a crazy month getting everything set up. I've had a little bit of a lump in my throat and stalled BIG TIME about whether I was ready to do this. The anniversary of Liv's birth is coming up, and aside from mentioning it here and there, I haven't shared her birth story yet, and now, while we are getting closer, I'm feeling a little bit teary that I won't have a baby anymore, and reliving a bit of her disaster birth. But I've pushed on, and here we are with February's podcast ep, which is kind of a behind the scenes look at my last 12 months, and a glimpse into what is to come. Drumroll please....

Today is all about dairy products and fertility, and more specifically how dairy products could be harming your fertility. If this were medieval times, I feel like you'd all be now looking at me going, "Boo! Hiss! Throw her a rotten tomato," because you're all probably thinking things like, "How could I ever give up dairy? I don't know how I could ever give up dairy." "I'm addicted to cheese. I love my cheese." "What am I going to put in my coffee every morning if I don't put milk?" Let me just tell you, I hear you. Not only do I hear you, I was you. Those are exactly the thoughts that ran through my mind when my naturopath first said to me that I should go on an elimination diet in order to start prepping my body for baby making. But, after months and months of stubborn rejection, I had learnt enough (and still wasn't pregnant) to know that I needed to give it a shot, and I learnt SO much that I'd like to share with you about going dairy free for your fertility. Listen on! I also mention my book, Fertility Warrior in the Kitchen, as a great resource for all things fertility and diet. Head here to check it out: https://moderndaymissus.com/product/kitchen/

This podcast is all about How to survive Christmas when you're trying to conceive. Let me tell you what Christmas was like for me at times.... You are receiving all of these postcards in the mail from all of your friends with their happy family photos, with the kids wearing their Santa hats You have nieces and your kids' friends to buy for, so you are painfully having to go into all of these kids' toys and clothing stores. You are at your Christmas lunch and Aunt Martha starts rubbing your belly and saying, "Ooh, I think you might have something to tell us," and you're like, "No bitch, I've just eaten too much turkey." Your dad gets too drunk and then starts telling you, "When are you going to have children? You know that if you can't have children, then you would just adopt." Your best friend or one of your best friends start saying things to you like, "You know, I've had a chat with my husband and we have decided that we would be your surrogate if you needed us to be your surrogate." And then you switch on Facebook and all of these people have done these little videos and things like that saying, "Oh, awesome Christmas present. #soblessed" because they're now announcing their pregnancy. Christmas is like "Waah!" And then to top it all off, #fertilitydiet. You're trying not to drink and eat dairy and gluten and everything, all the good food like ice cream has those ingredients in. Really you just pretty much want to get drunk and sit in your room all alone and Bah Humbug! Is that Christmas? Is that what Christmas is like? So today I want to share with you my nine tips to surviving Christmas while you're trying to conceive. Before I start, let me just say it does end. Christmas ends. Soon it will be a distant memory and you will be ready for the New Year and pumping in to the New Year. Just like anything as well, this phase of life that you are in right now, I promise you will end at some point too. But, if you're in the thick of it, tune in for 9 ways to survive Christmas when you're trying to conceive.

So many of us out there, and the reason why I created this podcast, is because there are so many people who wait years to go to see a doctor, and I just think that is the hardest thing in the world. Infertility has been shown to be as stressful as a cancer diagnosis and I couldn't understand why you would wait. Please don't do that to yourself. Have a listen to my advice for when to see a Doctor about not falling pregnant. My answer may surprise you.

I remember vividly the day when I walked into the supermarket and saw an acquaintance. An acquantaince, who, a few years back had told me that kids weren't on the agenda.... but here she was, bumping into me in the supermarket with her 8-months-pregnant belly. My heart sank. For some reason in the back of my mind, I was always going to pip her at the post to having children. All of a sudden my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest, the tension and panic in my body began to rise and I could feel the tears in my eyes. I blurted out "oh hey, ah, I've actually got to be somewhere" before I ran to the car, raced home and then ran into the walk in robe and sobbed. This wasn't fair. This journey of infertility had taken the best of me, and here I now was, day after day, a blubbering mess and a shadow of my former self. My husband didn't get it and he didn't know what to do with me. I cried ALL THE TIME, and I didn't know how I was going to get to the end of the day most of the time, let alone the end of this f*cked journey. Fast forward a few months and I'd just had my first IVF retrieval, and had copped hyperstimulation. I felt like death warmed up, with seven kilograms of fluid around my belly. I couldn't sleep properly. I couldn't breathe properly. I couldn't stand up straight. And I felt oh so nauseous. But surprise, I was pregnant! The pain was worth it. Woohoo. And then I was told the pregnancy wasn't viable and that I needed to induce a medical miscarriage. At that moment, I felt like my world had come crashing down. I felt like I was handling infertility, and I was handling OHSS, but a miscarriage? This was rock bottom. I'd officially lost every ounce of happiness and didn't feel like I could cope any longer. It was too hard. But then, I decided I needed to claw myself out from the funk. I read, and read, and read. I consulted with people who knew about mindset, and I implemented strategies to help me cope. And not only did I pull myself back, but I learnt things that have made a profound impact on my life and make me feel like I can handle anything the universe throws at me, and this is what I want to share. I've had this fire burning in me for such a long time to share this info because my overarching goal in everything I do is that I don't want anyone to feel the same way I felt. Because infertility sucks. And the day has now come, and I'm so proud to share my hard work with everyone, because I know that for so many people out there, my program, Be a Fertility Warrior, can be the difference between a sobbing mess on the floor, and handling infertility like a boss. If you'd like to find out more about Be a Fertility Warrior - head to https://moderndaymissus.com/fertilitywarrior Act quick though - the doors close on 23 October, before we begin on 30 October. If you're struggling with infertility, I'd love to see you there. Robyn xx

Today's post is how to cope when everyone around you is falling pregnant. Isn't that the way though, and it almost always happens, and it hurts. Big time. See the thing is though, you're most likely at that 'falling pregnant' age, and if you're trying to fall pregnant and it's not happening, chances are that's a lot of time. Although it hurt, I used to always joke, that, if everyone waited for us to fall pregnant, the human race could go extinct, because we didn't know if it would ever be a reality for us. Before I share my tips for how to cope when everyone around you is falling, I share an excerpt from my book.

Here I am STILL smiling.... I DID NOT see that coming! When I turned 30, I felt the biological clock ticking and thought making babies would be a walk in the park.... until it wasn't. Fast forward five years and I've had: - 1 tracking cycle - 2 ovulation inductions - 2 IUI - 2 egg retrievals - 1 fresh IVF cycle - 2 FET's - 1 moderate OHSS - A miscarriage - 1 fresh ICSI cycle ... and this year, I had a hysterectomy. Yup, what the what. And I'm genuinely happy. But it wasn't always that way, and in fact, when I had my miscarriage, I was pretty much at rock bottom, up to my ears in fertility diet advice, crashing every time a friend said the wrong thing and it seemed like EVERYONE around me was falling pregnant. I had all the overwhelm. Sadness. Hopelessness.... and pretty much running around like a headless chook with no idea how to make the days easier on myself and bring myself up from the funk. But I did. It was a slow process, and I've spent such a long time helping others with fertility struggles, consulting experts, researching, reading.... and now, more than three years after my miscarriage, I can truly say that I've got this. I can hand on heart handle anything (like a hysterectomy!) the universe throws at me. And you deserve to feel that way too. And it's not too hard! I've developed 7 Steps to Surviving Infertility - 7 interconnected little areas to focus on to help you survive infertility without feeling like you've had the life sucked out of you. It's totally free and you can register here at http://moderndaymissus.com/7steps I'm running the workshop on 16 October (there will be a replay available, but it won't be available for long!) and I truly feel that this is filled to the brim with practical yet powerful advice. If you are struggling with baby making and it all feels like too much sometimes, I would LOVE to help you on your journey. I've done the hard work and now I want to share it with you. I'd love you to join my workshop - 7 Steps to Surviving Infertility - this will only be offered for a limited time only, so you snooze, you lose. I promise you'll have some incredible AHA moments. Love, light and pineapples Robyn P.S. At the end you'll have the chance to be a part of my new program (woop woop! I'm seriously SO excited!), Be a Fertility Warrior. This is completely optional and for those out there who would like a little bit more support on their journey. During the workshop you'll learn my best tips and advice on how to survive infertility without the overwhelm and added stress - no strings attached

Today's podcast is all about overwhelm. Specifically, when all the changes you need to make to fall pregnant feel overwhelming. I totally get it. Don't eat dairy Don't eat gluten Go low tox in your make up Stop heating using plastics Meditate Do acupuncture ... and the list goes on! There are so many things you're 'supposed' to do or 'could try' to help optimise your fertility, and it can be totally overwhelming! So today, on the podcast I address this. #truthbomb I start off with a bit of a #truthbomb and that is to sit back and have some self awareness. Is it possible that what you're feeling isn't overwhelm because you're doing too much, or could it be something else, like fear, or guilt and instead of doing too much, you're actually paralysed with fear and not doing anything at all? So Step 1 to reducing your overwhelm is to do a little audit about what you're feeling, why, and how you can change. Change is ALWAYS uncomfortable. As human beings we are conditioned to dislike change, so there is always going to be a bit of push when it comes to making changes in our life, so we need to step back and assess what it is that we're actually feeling. Step 2 is to show gratitude. Sometimes it's easier said than done, but when you show gratitude, it sometimes makes the overwhelm... well... less overwhelming, and, if you don't have anything to be grateful for, check your pulse. No doubt if you're reading this, you are living in a first world country where we have access to wonderful technology, you no doubt have some great support in your life from friends/partners/family, plus many more things that you could be grateful for in life. Step 3 is the biggie - it's to take a step back Perfection doesn't exist. Meeting an adult with zero things on their to-do list doesn't exist, but we beat ourselves up when it comes to fertility because we so desperately want this! In the podcast I talk about where I 'dropped the ball' and how I refuse to feel guilty about it. You have to do what you can manage, and you also have to take things in small steps. Not only do you need to take things in small steps (and small steps by the way have been shown to be waaaay more effective at making lasting and sustainable change), but you should also acknowledge small wins that you might be having. I bet if you looked back and compared your lifestyle to what it was a few years back, you'd pat yourself on the back! There is a common saying, which is how do you eat the whale? One bite at a time.

I've called today's podcast, is your diet stopping you from falling pregnant? I've handed over the reigns again to one of my fertility warrior friends. This week, I'd like to introduce you to Sarah Clark from Fab Fertile and the reason I've called this podcast is your diet stopping you from falling pregnant, is because that is pretty much the best way to describe what happened with Sarah. She ate a NORMAL diet, but her body was screaming for her to stop eating certain foods. Infertility, donor eggs, and two kiddos later, and she finally realised what the what was going on with her body, and has now been inspired to share that knowledge with others. And I love that she isn't just about a one size fits all approach - functional testing (which she explains more in the podcast) is all part of her tailored approach. Tune in to hear Sarah give advice on the top food items you should ditch from your diet, and how to go about making dietary change in order to supercharge your fertility.

Today, I'm talking about how to survive the two week wait. We get lots of women in our Facebook community talking about how hard it is to get through those two weeks between ovulation or transfer, and the prospect of a positive pregnancy test. Oh man, I had so many two week waits on my journey. They're maddening, right! Today on the podcast I've talked about some of what I'm calling the two week wait ground rules. These include: Giving yourself permission to wonder and analyse the sensations in your body - it's totally OK and normal! WILLING yourself to be pregnant. Staying positive and hopeful that this is your month #pupo Trying to resist the urge to test - see my previous post for 10 reasons why you shouldn't test, but the number one reason is that you can often get a false positive or a false negative so you'll almost always need to test at the end of the 14 day period anyway, and whatever result you get initially, could be wrong Keeping busy to keep your mind off testing. In the podcast I talk about a trip I had to Japan where my Doctor told me that staying busy was the key to avoiding homesickness, and he was right! I also talk about my 14 day fertility warrior challenge - it's a free challenge that includes a daily love note with tips and stories from me, a colouring in mandala and a beautifully designed affirmation for each day PLUS my bumper list of 101 things to do during the two week wait. It's totally free and will add a bit of fun to your two week wait - what's to lose!

Today on the podcast I wanted to delve into the topic of whether your job is stopping you from falling pregnant, and my short answer is, no, probably not. Or at least, consider whether it's your mindset, and not the job itself. On this podcast, I'm encouraging you all to really examine your job and what it is you don't like about it, and delve into how that might look if you weren't working at all, or whether you were working in a different company but same industry or role, or whether a complete job downgrade would be a better fit for you in the season of life you're in right now. Because if your job is stopping you from falling pregnant, the time is right to make changes in your life. If you don't change, things remain the same.

Stephanie is a yoga enthusiast, wellness junkie, marathon runner, and over-40, first-time mama. Despite a diagnosis of severe Diminished Ovarian Reserve at age 42, and a prediction of a less than 2% chance that she'd conceive with her own eggs, she conceived her son, after just a year of trying and with no major medical intervention. I just love that Stephanie's story is so different yet so similar to mine in that she really honed into mindset and engaging in positive mental habits to help her get through her fertility journey, and Stephanie is now a fertility coach, helping be that cheerleader and advice-giver to other women out there trying to conceive. She also runs things like smoothie challenges over on her blog, so make sure you check it out if you'd like to get involved.

As if it wasn't enough to go through emotionally with IVF and other fertility treatments, you're slugged with a bill for thousands of dollars, so we spend half of our time saving for IVF! Where you live makes a big difference, and there are lots of differences between people in the US and people residing in Australia and Europe. In the US, some people have insurance cover provided to them through their employer, and insurance often covers a portion of IVF. In Australia, private health insurance may cover standard hospital accommodation fees, and nothing else, but our Government contributes to a portion of the bill. Either way, that sh*t's expensive! And it often doesn't work the first time. So, what's a gal to do? Save for IVF, that's what? And how? Well, that's the money question right there (see what I did there?) Rosco and I were lucky in that we had been saving to pay of our mortgage for a few years by the time we needed to undergo treatment, so we were able to dip into our savings, plus we both had quite well paying jobs. Second time around was a little bit different as I was no longer working full time, and those savings had evaporated from the first time around, but we were lucky enough to fall pregnant on our second frozen embryo transfer and therefore didn't need a retrieval. But, I do have heaps of tips for you on how to save for IVF. To me, it comes down to three things: Getting your money's worth Spending less Earning more

Trying to fall pregnant is hard! I've created this free guided meditation for fertility warriors, because I know that although I always talk about doing affirmations and how helpful that has been to my journey, in reality, there are probably some people out there who need another voice to tell them that everything is going to be ok, and to help quieten those voices inside their head that are filling them with worry and anxiety. This is my first bash at a guided meditation, so I'd love to know what you think about it! I've also made it quite generic because I know there are many circumstances when you might want to listen to this. When you're in the midst of yet another two week wait When you've just had another negative pregnancy result Before your first appointment at the fertility clinic When the clinic calls you and you're trying to absorb what they've just told you When you're about to give yourself your first injection When you're psyching yourself up for your first retrieval When you're trying to wonder how the heck you're going to afford all this When you finally fall pregnant and start to feel anxious that it all seems to good to be true So. Many. Situations.... .... That's why I've kept this free guided meditation for fertility warriors a little bit generic! If you'd like to listen and download it, without the beginning and the end of my podcast, feel free to become a member of Modern Day Missus (it's free, but it gives you access to my little library that has a bunch of free downloads), visit moderndaymissus.com to subscribe

We've had quite the number of people in our Facebook group ask what happens at your first appointment at the fertility clinic, and rightly so. What the heck DOES happen at this first appointment? Well, the short answer is that they ask you a tonne of questions and send you for a tonne of tests. The first appointment is all about starting to investigate what could be wrong. For some, who already know they have some issues, they may move straight to treatment of some sort, but they will usually test both parties, because often it can be more than one factor. Possible tests include: Tracking cycle STD check Genetic test Sperm test Physical test (for both parties) If you've listened to my podcast with Gabriela Rosa, she mentions some pretty fascinating statistics about people who can't fall pregnant, and how long it takes based on multiple factors (P.S. she is running her next free challenge in April if you're interested - you can find the link from Modern Day Missus). Check out the podcast to hear more.

I've ummed and ahh-ed about whether or not to post this, because there's a part of me that things that fertility warriors have no interest in what happens if you fall pregnant after fertility treatments. Who cares, right, because that's the finish line? But that's exactly why I've published it, because the second you hear on the other side of the telephone that you are actually pregnant you realise that the marathon still continues... or at least it does in your mind. There are a million and one different questions now swirling around in your head. Am I going to have a miscarriage? What are the complications? Is this, or that dangerous? When do I get to stop going in for all these blood tests? Are there any complications or increased risks as a result of IVF? Will I still feel this way if I have a second baby? At least, that's been my experience. I encourage you all to listen to this podcast, regardless of whether you're pregnant or not, as with any luck, this next cycle is YOUR cycle! As always, sending lots of baby dust. Robyn xx

Nearly all of us wake up on New Year's Day and think of a bunch of goals or changes we need to make to the year. Get healthier, lose weight, fall pregnant, exercise more yada yada yada. Well, it's nearly February and so I wanted to check in and see how your goals are going? If you set off the blocks hard, but are now waning, then this podcast will hopefully help. It's about how to set SMART goals for 2017. It's a formula that has been around for quite a while and they use it sometimes with alcoholics who aren't religious and therefore don't want to join Alcoholics Anonymous, and it's what I use. In the podcast, I share with you the formula for SMART goals, some general hints and tips for setting and achieving goals, and my GIANT goal for this year (hint: I'm being sarcastic). Falling pregnant is hard, and we often need to make lifestyle changes to make that happen (even though the crackhead down the road can fall pregnant at the drop of a hat...), so check out the podcast, see what you think, but above all, go easy on yourself. If I've learnt one thing about making change and moving forward, it's that it ain't easy, and failure is pretty much part of the plan, so keep at it.

Hands down, falling pregnant has been the challenge of my life. Within that space of a few years, those early months of trying alone, with absolutely no idea what was wrong (or if there was even something wrong!) ranked up there with fertility treatments (although IVF and then my miscarriage took the cake) as being incredibly stressful. I was pretty much in the mindset of 'whatever it takes' and I just wanted someone to tell me what I needed to be doing, and I'd do it, without question. This podcast is for anyone who is in that space. Anyone who is out there in the wilderness trying on their own without luck, or any warriors out there who want to make sure that they're giving IVF and fertility treatments a red hot go (because you've had enough, because IVF is bloody expensive and because you're just so damn over it). Today, I've invited Gabriela Rosa onto the show. Gabriela is not only a Naturopath who specialises in fertility, but she also has a Masters in Reproductive Medicine and Genetics (among other things). She has been helping women fall pregnant for more than 20 years. Literally, day in, day out, Gabriela is there, working with women, just like you and I, to help them finally fall pregnant. So, I figure she knows her stuff! I totally picked her brain on a range of issues from diet, to diet shakes and weight loss, how unique every single person and their requirements are, why there are junkies out there falling pregnant and here we are moving the ends of the earth and it still isn't happening (grrrr), why just taking an evening primrose supplement may not cut it, and also, how it's not JUST about diet. I actually found that last point really interesting. Here is someone who specialises in this from a health/medical-type perspective, but who is, once again telling us that (my favourite quote by Kris Carr) it's not just about what we eat and drink, it's also about how we think. For me, that was the missing link, and I think it's really like a recipe. For some of us, falling pregnant is not as easy as bunging some ingredients in a dish and baking it. It's like baking one of those (infuriating yet delicious, but not so great for fertility) macarons. Those things take effort. You need all the ingredients and you need to do it right. For some of us, that's what falling pregnant is like, and that's what we discuss in the podcast. When I listened back to this podcast in editing, I felt like I discovered so many new pieces of information from Gabriela, and I just find it incredibly enlightening. One of the reasons I also had Gabriela on the show is because she runs a FREE 14 day fertility challenge, which launches really soon on 8 January. Did I mention it's free? Each day Gabriela runs over an important element in her recipe for falling pregnant, and diet is only a small part of it. I'm going to be joining because I feel it will be so interesting, and I hope you'll join too. It's a great way to get some free advice on what you can do to improve your chances of falling pregnant (either naturally or through assisted reproductive treatments), and I'm such a huge advocate of building a team of people around you to assist with your fertility journey, and this could be a good step to incorporating some holistic care into your plan.

Wow wow wow - I'm just so excited to bring you this interview with Zahra Haji, the Yoga Goddess where we talk about all things all things mind-body, relationships and how yoga can help with fertility. As I mention in the podcast, I just love the energy that Zahra has and the way she can help us all see our infertility in a different light and manage the process better. I also love the concept that our cycles can be broken up into four different times and that things like menstruation have names like 'The Wise Women' - it makes it sound SO much more glamorous than how we so often see it Zahra Haji - the yoga goddess Can you please tell us a little bit more about yoga and your style of yoga? Yoga has its roots in India, then called Indus Valley. No one really knows how far back exactly but it is estimated to be about 5000-10,000 years ago According to the ancient science of yoga, the human body has seven energy centres or chakras. Kundalini yoga (which is the yoga I'm trained in) is a physical and spiritual practice of moving energy up from the root chakra of the body for deep healing and inner transformation. This energy flow is key for a woman's fertility because the first three chakras house all the reproductive organs of the female body. Plus the kundalini energy itself is feminine in nature, and is often referred to as Mata Shakti, which is the feminine Mother energy of creation. Personally, I have practiced yoga for over 20 years. And while I have deep respect and love for both Hatha and Kundalini, the powerful healing I have witnessed with my clients through Kundalini yoga has been like no other. When guided by a fertility yoga expert, I believe working with the kundalini energy is the fastest way to heal reproductive health challenges. In the practice I share with my fertility clients, I give them a kriya (a set of prescribed postures) to optimise the functioning of the pituitary gland. The pituitary is the master gland of the endocrine system and is responsible for healthy hormonal and reproductive function. It regulates female reproductive hormones such as FSH (which matures the eggs in the ovaries), estrogen, progesterone, and even oxytocin in labour (which regulates pain). From a yogic perspective, the pituitary gland also regulates a woman's mental and emotional health and outlook on life, which as we know through the extensive mind-body research on fertility can change a woman's pregnancy rates by over 50% after an average of three years of infertility when she follows a proven mind-body practice designed for fertility. See the show notes at moderndaymissus.com

Today on the podcast I'm talking about 8 things you need to know about ovulation. Honestly, I think this stuff is fascinating, but I also think it's really hard to understand, and really hard to get right, so I wanted to share a few things I've learnt along the way with you. Hopefully I'll blow your mind with one or two of these tidbits (especially the one about cervical mucus!) and you'll learn one or two helpful things. First up in the podcast I talk about how your ovulation works and all of the hormones at play and exactly what they do. I also talk about how to track your ovulation using different methods such as tracking your basal body temperature, using your cervical mucus, and when that all gets too much (as it did for me after a number of months!), things that can help you calculate these like saliva tests, pee tests and these nifty devices that help tell whether you're fertile or not using a calculation of your cycle, menstruation dates and basal body temp. There's so much that can go wrong and that we can get wrong when it comes to ovulation and fertility, that it's important to realise that it doesn't necessarily have to be just timing that is off, and that there are some healthy lifestyle changes we can make to help our fertility. And lastly, while many of us will do everything in our power to fall pregnant from a lifestyle/timing/complimentary therapy perspective, some of us will still need help from western medicine, and that's ok, but while some of our fertility journey is taken out of our hands, it's important that we have a knowledge of the process and the medications so that we can ensure the right testing is done, and that we're not just given a band-aid approach... because after all.... time is money.... and time is time!!! Let me know what you thought of this episode!

There are so many reasons why I recommend seeing a Naturopath for fertility and that is what this podcast focuses on. At the start of the podcast I mentioned that I'd had a bad experience with another naturopath in the past, and I think that this can certainly be the case. I felt fleeced and like I'd been given bad advice to do these 'shakes' (you know the ones!) which these days I can't bear. If you've had a similar experience though, I recommend giving it another shot. I definitely credit my naturopath with some of the success of my fertility treatments. While I wasn't able to completely overcome our fertility challenges (although I feel that some out there would), I absolutely believe that a Naturopath can help you get pregnant sooner, and teach you so much about your health and wellbeing in general. There are so many reasons I think seeing a naturopath is a wonderful idea for fertility, and can be helpful for both those just starting to try for a baby, right up to and especially those who are having fertility challenges.

Arrgghhh, don't you just hate it when people tell you that the key to getting pregnant is to just stop stressing! Research has shown infertility to be as stressful as a cancer diagnosis. But, it is true that there are benefits to managing the stress we're under when trying to conceive, if not for success rates (although research has also shown that people who effectively manage their stress through mind body techniques can improve their success rates by up to 50%), then just for our general wellbeing. Managing our stress can be the difference between this journey being utterly soul crushing, and becoming a hot mess, and handling it like a boss and a brave fertility warrior. Here are my tips for managing the stress of infertility and baby making.

If you're anything like me, you spend the days before your fertility specialist appointment, thinking of questions to ask, but then walk into your appointment, and are so entrenched in the conversation, that you walk out and think 'doh!' because you didn't ask any of the questions you thought you were going to ask. Or, you have your first appointment coming up and this whole fertility gig is so new to you that you want to ask questions, but you have absolutely no idea where to begin! Well, I've had my fair share of fertility appointments and treatments, as many of you know! I think it's really important to trust your specialist, but I think it's moreso important to find a specialist you can trust. And, once you find that person, they are the main person responsible for helping you get pregnant, and you'll be paying them a small fortune, so make sure you're educated and ask questions! Don't be shy! In this podcast I share my 11 questions to ask your fertility specialist. If you'd like a copy of these questions, then click below to access a printable of them to take along to your appointment.

If you'd asked me about how cancer affects fertility before I'd started my own fertility journey, I'd have looked at you with a blank face. I had no idea, until I became a beacon for infertility and people started opening up to me, of the profound impact cancer can have, not just on a person's life in general, but on their fertility. This show is for anyone who has recently been diagnosed and in the fog of their recent news has no idea what they've just been put forward to in order to preserve their eggs or sperm, for family members who wish to know more, and for the general public. Hopefully I've answered a few questions about the process of retrieving eggs and my take on the impact of cancer on fertility. You can find more articles and info about me at moderndaymissus.com. We also have a support group for fertility warriors - Fertility Warriors Support and Chat Group - anyone going through a rough or unconventional path to baby making is welcome.

Today I share an amazing interview with fertility warrior Bianca, who talks about her experience of multiple miscarriages, surgeries and a heart-shaped uterus. Bianca also shares with us her wisdom on the toxins contained in our every day beauty regime.

Relationships can take a battering during fertility treatments. It's hard! You're dosed up on hormones, in a situation you'd rather not be in, while your savings account dwindles. Here are 11 ways to keep the spark alive in your relationship during fertility treatments.

Not getting pregnant is the worst! Each month you discover that yet again, you're not pregnant. But what if the reason you're not falling pregnant is something simple, like a nutrient deficiency or your timing is off? Here are 5 things to tick off the box

Surviving infertility is hard, and there is so much to consider when deciding whether or not to tell people about your journey. How will work react? How will your friends react? Will you be better or worse off?

Welcome to my first podcast episode, where I share my fertility journey... or should I say fertility rollercoaster! From a tonne of fertility treatments, to complications from the medications, to the miscarriage that brought me to my knees. This is my story.