1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,360 Speaker 1: Hey y'all, big announcement here. I am so excited to share. 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Shine Away is back this October eleventh and twelfth in 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: Los Angeles. If you've been before, you know it's Hello 4 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: Sunshine's incredible weekend of connection, joy and community. And if 5 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 1: you haven't, well, this is the year to come. Throughout 6 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,959 Speaker 1: the day, you'll experience thoughtful panels, fireside chats, workshops, and 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: immersive activations surrounded by voices that are shaping culture and 8 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: shifting conversations. Whether you're a longtime listener or just joining us, 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: this is your chance to be part of a truly 10 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: special and memorable weekend. Tickets are selling fast, so head 11 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 1: to hellasunshine dot com slash shine Away to grab yours. 12 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: Fertility is complicated, It's loaded with emotion, and it can 13 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: be scary to talk about. But what if it doesn't 14 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: have to. 15 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 2: Be that way. 16 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: Our guest today is here to cut through the noise 17 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: and panic and show us how to take charge of 18 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: our fertility on our own terms. Doctor Natalie Crawford is 19 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: a former OBGYN, reproductive endocrinologist, and fierce advocate for women 20 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: owning their reproductive health. 21 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 3: You actually can make such a bigger difference faster when 22 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 3: it comes to male fertility than female fertility based on 23 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,400 Speaker 3: lifestyle choices, and that because the life span of a 24 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 3: sperm is about three months, meaning they could make a 25 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 3: change today and have completely new sperm created three months 26 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 3: from now that have not been exposed to whatever they 27 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 3: did previously. 28 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: Get ready to have your mind blowan. I'm simone voice, 29 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: and this is the bright side from Hello Sunshine, y'all. 30 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,760 Speaker 1: There is no shortage of fertility content out there. You 31 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: can spend hours online trying to piece together what to eat, 32 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 1: when to freeze your eggs, how to track your cycle, 33 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: or whether that one influencers supplement stack is actually doing 34 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: anything to help them. Even with all the conversation that's 35 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: happening around fertility right now, it can still leave you 36 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: feeling really confused, broken in some way, or behind. Today's 37 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: guest is someone I have been following for a while, 38 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: and I'm so excited to bring her here on the 39 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: bright side, because when it comes to understanding our bodies, 40 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: our hormones, and fertility, doctor Natalie Crawford is one of 41 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,959 Speaker 1: the most trusted and truly empowering voices out there. As 42 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: a board certified reproductive endocrinologist in Obgin. She has helped 43 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: thousands of women on their journeys to motherhood. And what 44 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: I love most about Doctor Natalie's approach is that she 45 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:36,799 Speaker 1: offers science back tips that can empower women to make 46 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: the best choices for themselves, to advocate for themselves at 47 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: the doctor's office. She's not here to sell us a product. 48 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: She's simply here to provide the tools and the simple 49 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: micro habits, little changes that we can make to our 50 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: lifestyles on a daily basis to improve our odds of 51 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: a successful fertility journey. You already know I've been on 52 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: my own journey of trying to better understand my cycle, 53 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 1: my hormones, and my long term fertility health. And it 54 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,000 Speaker 1: can be overwhelming. It truly can, and it can often 55 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: feel like, oh gosh, I don't even know where to start. 56 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: We'll start here, start with us today, because we're going 57 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: to talk about some of the most misunderstood but important 58 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: topics around reproductive health, like what actually impacts egg quality, 59 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 1: how to understand your ideal egg freezing window, and why 60 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: focusing on your partner's fertility for those of you in 61 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: a heterosexual partnership may provide faster results than you might think. 62 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: Whether you're trying to conceive, hoping to in the future, 63 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: or just want to understand your body better, there is 64 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,119 Speaker 1: so much here for you. Please save this episode, bookmark 65 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: this episode, and if you know someone who is trying 66 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: to conceive right now, this is the kind of conversation 67 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: that you're going to want to send to them. All right, 68 00:03:53,440 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: here's my chat with doctor Natalie Crawford. Doctor Natalie, Welcome 69 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: to the bright Side. 70 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 2: Thank you Simone so much for having me here. 71 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: I feel so lucky that I get to host this show, 72 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: and I know you have a podcast as well, but 73 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: I have learned so much about my own body and 74 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,720 Speaker 1: just about women's health through the conversations that we have 75 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: on this show, and I know that our chat today 76 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: is going to be incredibly informative as well, specifically on 77 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:27,600 Speaker 1: the topic of fertility. Your videos are wildly popular online. 78 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: You have several viral videos on Instagram and TikTok, and 79 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: it's so clear to people how passionate you are about 80 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 1: this topic of fertility. I'd love to hear about the 81 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: moment that you would say your heart really got lit 82 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 1: on fire about fertility, about women's health, and that moment 83 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: that just set you down this path that you're currently on. 84 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 3: I took a little bit of an indirect road to 85 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 3: the fertility stands. I always wanted to be a doctor. 86 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 3: I went to medical school. I actually did a year 87 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 3: of emergency medicine first. I just loved the diagnostic challenge. 88 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,599 Speaker 3: Very quickly realized I wanted to be more involved in 89 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:05,800 Speaker 3: my patient's story long term. I wanted to see them 90 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:10,480 Speaker 3: through the problem, and that really led me towards women's health. 91 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,359 Speaker 3: And because I still loved the diagnostic challenge. There's nothing 92 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 3: as diagnostically challenging as the hormone, so I'm very nerdy. 93 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 3: I loved that diagnostic puzzle of trying to figure out 94 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 3: what was really going in the inner workings of our body. 95 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 3: And of course, walking with somebody through a fertility journey 96 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 3: is truly being involved in their life and their story. 97 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:36,119 Speaker 3: I switched from emergency medicine to Obigian and then loved 98 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 3: fertility so much that I did three years of fellowship 99 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 3: after Obgian training so that I could really be a 100 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 3: hormone and fertility expert. And during that time, I will 101 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 3: say I had my own experience with infertility that I 102 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,840 Speaker 3: was very unprepared for even as a professional. I had 103 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 3: four pregnancy losses during training. I realized I was looking 104 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 3: for the answers to the questions I had that I 105 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 3: weren't taught in training. Medicine is so reactionary, especially women's health, 106 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 3: where we don't always talk about prevention. We don't talk 107 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:08,840 Speaker 3: about prevention at all when it comes to fertility or 108 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,839 Speaker 3: understanding your body. By definition of the field, infertility is 109 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 3: not having success trying to get pregnant, and then that's 110 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,839 Speaker 3: when you get all this testing done. So I really 111 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 3: started researching and looking for answers myself and experience to 112 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 3: what it was like being a patient. And that led 113 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 3: me very strongly in my fellowship to want to understand 114 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 3: natural fertility, more understand the factors we can control, and 115 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 3: help educate women so that they could have more ownership 116 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 3: over their bodies, understand the journey they're walking, try to 117 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 3: have more control over an uncontrollable situation. And that's kind 118 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,599 Speaker 3: of what spurred me from not just you know, being 119 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 3: a fertility doctor what I do every day, but really 120 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 3: trying to talk about this online and on social platforms 121 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 3: to try to reach more people and help women really 122 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 3: understand what's going on with them. 123 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: I do feel like fertility is something that we have 124 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: been talking about more on social media. I think those 125 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: conversations have been helpful in creating a space where parents 126 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: feel less alone. And then there's the other side of it, 127 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: which is this like infiltration of uninformed voices and all 128 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: of the misinformation that can come along with having conversations online. 129 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: I'm thinking in particular about this one clip that's been 130 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: circulating from a podcast host and she. 131 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 2: I know the clip. 132 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: You know the clip, Okay, so you know the clip. 133 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: She basically suggests that she manifested being pregnant, and I 134 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: can only imagine how hurtful that is and how callous 135 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: that feels for someone like you who's had several pregnancy 136 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,679 Speaker 1: losses and did have so many challenges in getting pregnant. 137 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 3: It was an extremely hurtful clip towards the unfertility community 138 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 3: as a whole, you know, and very short sighted. And 139 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 3: I always want to say, we are all entitled to 140 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 3: our own experience, and anytime somebody is talking about their 141 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 3: own own personal medical history, whether it is a positive 142 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 3: or negative experience, you know, that's something that they don't 143 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 3: have to share with us. And so you know, there 144 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 3: is something about opening up the space for the discussion 145 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 3: whether it is an easy or a hard road, that 146 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 3: is important. But I do agree we have to be 147 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 3: very mindful that there's sometimes no amount of manifestation that 148 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 3: will overcome certain medical conditions. And even though she had 149 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 3: a great experience, and I'm so happy that that was 150 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 3: got to be the road that she got to walk, 151 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 3: and there is something to be said for, you know, 152 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 3: trying to put yourself in the best position to get 153 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 3: pregnant and controlling what you can control. I think all 154 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 3: of that is great, but we have to acknowledge that, 155 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,599 Speaker 3: you know, there's so many medical conditions that cause infertility 156 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 3: that no amount of manifestation or good lifestyle choices will 157 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 3: ever overcome, and that it is something that is so 158 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:59,000 Speaker 3: sensitive to so many people, because you know, society kind 159 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 3: of teaches you that. Forertility is a rite. It is 160 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 3: like something we almost take for granted. I'm going to 161 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 3: prevent having kids so much to my reproductive life. We 162 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,360 Speaker 3: talk about contraception and not getting pregnant, and then suddenly 163 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 3: when somebody decides they want to be pregnant, it's a 164 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 3: complete one eighty and we're not always prepared for what 165 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:20,959 Speaker 3: that journey would look like, whether it's positive or negative. 166 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 3: So I always think you never want to say boo 167 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 3: for somebody for sharing their personal experience. But it is 168 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 3: very insensitive when we talk about fertility and our positive experience, 169 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 3: and with such generalized terminology. It really is a privileged view, 170 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 3: not accounting for what so many people who walk the 171 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,959 Speaker 3: fertility road experience. Not everybody even has success even with 172 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 3: infertility treatments. It's a really tough journey for a lot 173 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 3: of people. 174 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: You mentioned that you experienced several pregnancy losses while you 175 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: were training to become a doctor. Can you tell me 176 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: more about that and how you over came that. I mean, 177 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,959 Speaker 1: that sounds so traumatic to be in school in academia 178 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: trying to learn, and then you're also dealing with your 179 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: own personal health issues. 180 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 3: Simono was terrible. I was an Obiguyan resident, so I 181 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 3: was in my last year of residency. So I was 182 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 3: the chief resident, which means you're running the labor and 183 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 3: delivery floor, you're making the decisions. I mean, the most 184 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 3: traumatic experiences I had. A miscarriage was our second pregnancy, 185 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 3: so it would be our second pregnancy loss. I was 186 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 3: the chief resident in charge of Obiguyan. Right, I was 187 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 3: delivering other people's babies that night while actively miscarrying. And 188 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 3: this is something that all physicians have to do in 189 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 3: some way, is put your own personal needs to decide 190 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 3: to take care of patients and what they need in 191 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 3: the moment. I think every physician will always say that 192 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 3: that is something you learned to do is I'll deal 193 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 3: with this later because I got to focus on the 194 00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 3: patient in front of me. 195 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 2: But it was, you know, devastating. 196 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 3: I remember, you know, crying in the bathroom, having to 197 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 3: try to just like put on my focused face while 198 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 3: I'm actively bleeding doing surgery, and you know, crying on 199 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:08,079 Speaker 3: the way home and just feeling like how can I 200 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 3: know so much and this is my job yet find 201 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 3: myself in this position, And when I went to see 202 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,760 Speaker 3: my own doctors, was told, oh, it's just bad luck, 203 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:22,559 Speaker 3: Oh you're distressed, Oh it'll happen, and really was dismissed, 204 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 3: which I think is a common experience now that so 205 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 3: many women feel like they go seeking for answers or 206 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,719 Speaker 3: saying they feel like something's wrong and just told no, 207 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 3: don't worry about it, without any test being run or 208 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 3: more stuff being evaluated, and you know that carried on 209 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 3: for me. 210 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:41,359 Speaker 2: It was really a traumatic experience. 211 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: More from doctor Natalie Crawford. After this shortbreak, Now, your 212 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: turning point with fertility actually came with the diagnosis of 213 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: Celiac disease. I was not aware of this connection. Tell us, 214 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: how did Celiac disease disrupt your fertility? 215 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:08,319 Speaker 3: Well, this is a great question because I had unexplained 216 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 3: in fertility. I had unexplained pregnancy loss. That was the 217 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,360 Speaker 3: diagnosis I ended up getting. I was in Fellowship, and 218 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 3: when everything's turning back normal, they do all the testing, 219 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 3: you get this unexplained diagnosis. And I always say unexplained 220 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 3: truly means undiagnosed, because nothing's easy to diagnose. It's one 221 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 3: of those diagnoses that's really unsatisfying as a patient. I mean, 222 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 3: unexplained that sounds terrible. And I was told there was 223 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 3: nothing I could do that could make any difference, and 224 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 3: IVF was the only option. And I wasn't opposed to IVF. 225 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 3: I mean, I do IVF every day for patients, but 226 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 3: just because of my schedule, it wasn't a time in 227 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 3: my life where I could do it. So I said, okay, Well, 228 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,560 Speaker 3: I can't do that because I'm of my job. I'll 229 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 3: have to do that in a little bit of time. 230 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 3: So what can I do in the interim to try 231 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:57,439 Speaker 3: to make a difference here? And at the same time, 232 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 3: I was starting to research natural fortils and our cycles, 233 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 3: and I was doing a research project that I was 234 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 3: very passionate about about indocrine disrupting chemicals and our fertility 235 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,080 Speaker 3: and really starting diving in this research about inflammation and 236 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 3: how that can cause miscarriage. And I started to say, 237 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:16,959 Speaker 3: you know, if we're going to have to walk this road, 238 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 3: I'm going to control everything that I can and changed 239 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 3: my diet went very anti inflammatory, changed how I was 240 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,040 Speaker 3: working out, took all the teflon and plastic out of 241 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 3: our kitchen. My husband thought I was crazy, but I 242 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 3: was just like, you know, we're going to walk this road, 243 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 3: knowing like it wasn't this, it wasn't this, and we 244 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 3: just ruled it out and in that learning to listen 245 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:39,280 Speaker 3: to my body and how I ate. When I ate 246 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 3: anti inflammatory, I wasn't eating any gluten, and it wasn't 247 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 3: that gluten itself is bad in the majority of people, 248 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 3: but I noticed I felt more bloated more what we 249 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 3: would call of those inflammation symptoms after having gluten, and 250 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,840 Speaker 3: since I wanted to be as low inflammatory as possible, 251 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,680 Speaker 3: I cut it out. Happened to get pregnant, you know, 252 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,200 Speaker 3: with clomid before we I didn't have to do IVF. 253 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,319 Speaker 3: Ended up getting pregnant and had my kids that way, 254 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 3: which was kind of shocking after walking this road. And 255 00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:10,439 Speaker 3: I didn't get diagnosed with celiac disease until a decade later. 256 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 3: And what happened is I was never tested for it 257 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 3: back when all this other stuff was going on. I 258 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 3: wasn't tested for anything autoimmune. I wasn't tested for inflammatory markers, 259 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 3: and I really self treated myself with this idea of 260 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 3: something's going on, and I refuse to accept that it's nothing. 261 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 3: But Ciliac disease is obviously where you have a reaction 262 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 3: to gluten, and so the treatment is a gluten free diet, 263 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,160 Speaker 3: but it causes such severe inflammation in your body, and 264 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 3: it is associated with a higher risk of infertility and 265 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 3: pregnancy loss. Has are a lot of autoimmune diseases. So 266 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 3: I think there's a lot about our lifestyle in the 267 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 3: world around us that we actually do have a lot 268 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 3: more power over and we have to especially in the 269 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 3: fertility and the women's health zone, where so little money 270 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 3: has been put towards research and understanding women's bodies. Have 271 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 3: to acknowledge that just because the study hasn't been done 272 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 3: doesn't mean that something's not impactful. And really, I love 273 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 3: the turn of seeing where people talk about fertility or 274 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 3: talk about listening to women and paying attention to their symptoms. 275 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 3: And that's one thing I always tell my patient is 276 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 3: you know yourself the best. If you tell me you 277 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 3: don't feel good, you feel off, things are not normal, 278 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 3: I believe you. 279 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:23,160 Speaker 2: I may not. 280 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 3: Always be able to get to the answer, but we 281 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 3: should at least try. And we need to make our 282 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 3: life choices, the daily decisions in line with what we 283 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 3: think is going to be making a difference and not 284 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 3: adding or compounding on that problem. 285 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,920 Speaker 1: So just to make sure that I understand correctly, it 286 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: sounds like it wasn't necessarily Celiac disease itself. That might 287 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: have been the cause of the infertility, but the inflammation 288 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,000 Speaker 1: that gluten was causing in the body impacted your ability 289 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: to conceive. 290 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 3: Correct it's tied to the Celiac disease, but there's so 291 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 3: many different inflammatory conditions that people have, and we know 292 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 3: that inflammation really is so toxic to our body. When 293 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 3: we start thinking about the inflammatory response is meant to 294 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 3: be this acute self limited. Right, you cut your hand 295 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 3: and your inflammation system gets turned on. Your immune system 296 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 3: goes to heal that cut. But we live in an 297 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 3: inflammatory world. In addition, to see this huge rise of 298 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 3: autoimmune disease, which are all connected by inflammation. So so 299 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 3: many people have chronic inflammation. Think about pcos and endometriosis. 300 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 3: We see you know, autoimmune disease like celiac disease and 301 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 3: hashimotos at, you know, alarmingly high rates. A lot of 302 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 3: this is the world around us and the lifestyle we're living, 303 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 3: genetic factors and a combination of this. And as somebody 304 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 3: who does IVF every day for patients, ignoring the lifestyle 305 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 3: aspects and ignoring inflammation also puts us at a disservice 306 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 3: because we're working with eggs and sperm that come from 307 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 3: the body, and we're trying to put an embryo back 308 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 3: in the body, and we have to pay attention to 309 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,040 Speaker 3: the holistic whole person in view if we want to 310 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 3: have the highest odds of success. 311 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,400 Speaker 1: And you're taking this holistic approach with your upcoming debut book, 312 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: The Fertility Formula. Congratulations, oh similar, thank you. 313 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 3: What did you. 314 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: Feel like you could do better or differently with this 315 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:18,719 Speaker 1: book compared to the other resources that are in this space. 316 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:21,639 Speaker 3: One thing that I think is really important that the 317 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 3: book has is it's really walking you progressively through understanding 318 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 3: your body. Because so many facts build on themselves. Right before, 319 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 3: we talk about hormone dysfunction, what's supposed to happen when 320 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 3: everything's normal, what is supposed to happen as we get older, 321 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 3: what's happening with infertility. So it's walking you through all 322 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,200 Speaker 3: of that in a way that I find really build 323 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 3: on itself and is easier to understand coming from an 324 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,000 Speaker 3: expert instead of a lot of books that are written 325 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,919 Speaker 3: are written from the patient experience, which are so valuable, 326 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 3: but that is a one sided view of somebody's journey 327 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 3: versus coming from the inside of somebody who takes care 328 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:02,200 Speaker 3: of a vast multitude of patients different circumstances. But also, 329 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 3: I mean, half the book is really talking about lifestyle 330 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,880 Speaker 3: and what you can do, So it's really the culmination 331 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 3: of what I feel like is my life's work and 332 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 3: coming at it from a place I'm so passionate about, 333 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 3: which is at every stage of the journey, you deserve 334 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 3: to understand your body, how your hormones work, and be 335 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,880 Speaker 3: the one making the decisions for yourself. Right, it shouldn't 336 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 3: be lack of knowledge that makes decisions for you, because 337 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 3: for every woman that will happen at some point time 338 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 3: will make the decision for you if you do not. 339 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:33,160 Speaker 2: And I want to. 340 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 3: See more people taking a proactive approach to their fertility 341 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:38,920 Speaker 3: and their reproductive health. Well. 342 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:43,119 Speaker 1: Proactivity seems like this through line throughout your work and 343 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: just throughout who you are as a person, and I 344 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: know you're bringing that to this book as well. So 345 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:52,159 Speaker 1: let's get into some fertility questions. What are some of 346 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 1: the most common misconceptions about infertility that you see in 347 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:00,199 Speaker 1: your work and that you would like to say the 348 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:00,919 Speaker 1: record straight on. 349 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:03,159 Speaker 3: I think the number one is going to be that 350 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,800 Speaker 3: most infertility is due to a female factor. We certainly 351 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 3: see such a female focus on infertility, but half of 352 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 3: infertility is due to male factor. So if we really 353 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 3: look at it, it is not that everything is always 354 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:18,879 Speaker 3: the woman. I see patients every week. He'll say, oh, 355 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,760 Speaker 3: we don't need to test him, oh he had kids 356 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 3: in the past, or oh his test sawstone is fine, 357 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 3: or the problem is me. But half the time there 358 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 3: is a male issue involved, and we certainly can have 359 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 3: more than one thing going on. We always want to 360 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:35,880 Speaker 3: test both partners. This also applies to taking good care 361 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 3: of yourself. What's good for your health is good for 362 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 3: your fertility, for both men and women, and not just 363 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 3: a I'm going to do all of this, but my 364 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,399 Speaker 3: partner is going to do their own thing. That doesn't 365 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 3: really work when it comes to trying to get pregnant. 366 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:50,439 Speaker 3: We really want to take a couple focused approach. I 367 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,399 Speaker 3: think second that I think is really important to say 368 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 3: is that, well, well, IVF will always work or I 369 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 3: can just do IVF. IVF is an amazing technology. It 370 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:02,560 Speaker 3: is one the only things we have that makes our 371 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:05,920 Speaker 3: rate of getting pregnant higher than whatever our age related 372 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:07,879 Speaker 3: rate is going to be because it gets harder to 373 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,200 Speaker 3: get pregnant as we get older. But IVF is still 374 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 3: limited by age, a number of eggs that you have. 375 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 2: And we see in. 376 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 3: Pop culture, you know, celebrities having kids at a much 377 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 3: older age. They're not always transparent about the road they 378 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 3: walk to get there, you know, did they use donor eggs? 379 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,399 Speaker 3: Did they freeze eggs earlier? Were they able to just 380 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 3: get pregnant in their fifties? But it's exceedingly rare that 381 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 3: women are able to conceive, especially after your age forty five. 382 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 3: It's not impossible, but it's much harder with your own 383 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,440 Speaker 3: eggs at that stage to get pregnant. And so there's 384 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 3: this idea. I will see women wait, you know, a 385 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 3: long time. They'll say, well, I'll just do IVF. And 386 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:48,879 Speaker 3: sometimes IVF doesn't always work. It's not always going to 387 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,240 Speaker 3: be that thing that you can just do at any moment. 388 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: I want to break each of these down one by one. 389 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,160 Speaker 1: I'm so glad that you brought up male fertility because 390 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,000 Speaker 1: I agree when I hear women talking about this topic, 391 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: it's always about and what we're doing wrong, and not 392 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: about what our partners can do to be better, more 393 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: fertile partners. So you actually talked about this on TikTok 394 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,399 Speaker 1: and it went viral. What are a few things that 395 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: you would never let your partner do if you were 396 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:15,199 Speaker 1: trying to conceive. 397 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 3: I'm going to preface this by saying you actually can 398 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 3: make such a bigger difference faster when it comes to 399 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 3: male fertility than female fertility based on lifestyle choices. And 400 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 3: that because the life span of a sperm is about 401 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 3: three months, meaning women are born with all the eggs 402 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,479 Speaker 3: we're ever going to have. They absorb the wear and 403 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:36,639 Speaker 3: tear of our life. And that is why age becomes 404 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 3: so impactful to us, because they're just cumulative wear and 405 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:44,919 Speaker 3: tear that builds up. For men, they are constantly regenerating sperm. 406 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,479 Speaker 3: It is not fair. They are much more efficient at this, 407 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 3: but because of that, they could make a change today 408 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 3: and have completely new sperm created three months from now 409 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 3: that have not been exposed to whatever they did previously. 410 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:01,400 Speaker 3: So it is such a room to make a difference, 411 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,960 Speaker 3: which makes me even matter. So often that the male 412 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,160 Speaker 3: site is ignored and we see, you know, women doing 413 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 3: all these things to try to make themselves better, and 414 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 3: like men are doing some of these things that I 415 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 3: say don't do. So Number one is going to be 416 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 3: smoked cigarettes or use marijuana. Truly, both of these factors 417 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,119 Speaker 3: can impact our sperm counts, our motility, and the shape 418 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 3: of the sperm. Daily marijuana use can be so damaging 419 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,800 Speaker 3: to sperm. It can both stop our brain from sending 420 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,920 Speaker 3: out the signals to even make sperm, and it can 421 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 3: damage the DNA inside the head of sperm. Some of 422 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 3: the cases even of IVF that I've seen couples go 423 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:39,640 Speaker 3: through and then they don't have good embryos. When I'm 424 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,560 Speaker 3: diving back in what could be going on, a lot 425 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 3: of times the embryo stop developing when the male genome 426 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:47,639 Speaker 3: kicks in. And when I go back and talk to 427 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 3: these partners, oh, well, they're using marijuana daily that they 428 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 3: didn't disclose and it was something that didn't they didn't 429 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 3: want to tell or didn't get detected. But it has 430 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 3: such an impact on both the production and the functionality 431 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,679 Speaker 3: of sperm. In fact, miscarriage RAITs are even higher in 432 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,920 Speaker 3: female partners who don't use marijuana, but whose partners do. 433 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,679 Speaker 3: So if your partner's using marijuana, your risk of a 434 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,200 Speaker 3: miscarriage is higher, and that goes back to damage of 435 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,000 Speaker 3: the DNA inside the sperm head. Next is going to 436 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 3: be testosterone use. This one I see all the time 437 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 3: because we love people trying to take their own health 438 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 3: into their hands, but there are so many people healthcare 439 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:32,640 Speaker 3: providers calling themselves hormone experts who don't truly understand how 440 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 3: hormones work. And sometimes men have a true problem where 441 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 3: they may go in and they might have fatigue, or 442 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 3: they might have low testosterone, they might have difficulty with 443 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 3: erections or ejaculations, and they are given testosterone. I had 444 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:47,560 Speaker 3: a patient where this was the case. He was given 445 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,439 Speaker 3: testosterone for his fatigue and he was on it for 446 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 3: twelve months while they were trying to get pregnant. And 447 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 3: testosterone tells the brain to stop making sperm. And the 448 00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 3: reason why is that sperm and testosterone and are made 449 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 3: together in the testes. So if your brain sees a 450 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 3: lot of testosterone because you're taking tea shots, it says 451 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:08,920 Speaker 3: we must have a lot of sperm. Also, we don't 452 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,679 Speaker 3: need to send out any signals to make either. And 453 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:16,919 Speaker 3: sometimes testosterone use the what we call azospermia or the 454 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 3: absence of sperm and the ejaculate. Sometimes that is irreversible, 455 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 3: and that can be really devastating to couples. And so 456 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 3: testosterone is essentially male birth control. Having low t can 457 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:33,119 Speaker 3: be a medical problem, but there are other treatments for 458 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,439 Speaker 3: it that are safer if you're trying to get pregnant 459 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 3: that are not testosterone itself. So would say no testosterone use. 460 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,320 Speaker 3: And then we also want to avoid heat to the testes, 461 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:45,919 Speaker 3: so you know, the scrotums outside the body for a 462 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 3: reason that is because you are supposed to make sperm 463 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 3: at a slightly lower temperature than the rest of the body. 464 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,159 Speaker 3: We actually know that if a man has an undescended 465 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 3: testicle where it stays inside his abdominal cavity, the heat 466 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 3: of the abdominal cavity will actually droy the tubules that 467 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,960 Speaker 3: make sperm inside the testes and render it not functional anymore. 468 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,200 Speaker 3: And so that's why you know, little kids have surgery 469 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 3: if their testicles haven't descended so that they can have functionality. 470 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,640 Speaker 3: But we think about other things that can really increase 471 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 3: the heat. Saunas, hot tubs, I mean, sauna use is 472 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 3: so popular right now, right we see so many guys 473 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 3: coal punch sauna alternating that. But what they're doing is 474 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 3: they're actually elevating some of the body temperature of the scroton, 475 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:30,120 Speaker 3: which isn't supposed. 476 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:31,200 Speaker 2: To be warm like that. 477 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:35,160 Speaker 3: And also cycling, like long term cycling, because this crodon 478 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,000 Speaker 3: can get compressed and the heat can really build up. 479 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 3: And I will see that if I've got patients and 480 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 3: the male partner really loves is a cyclist. We've got 481 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 3: to like cut down or break up, you know, time 482 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:48,920 Speaker 3: in the saddle on the bike, because that can kind 483 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:50,960 Speaker 3: of really ramp it up. I think it's important in 484 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,160 Speaker 3: the same breath to say, like type of underwear choice 485 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 3: doesn't increase squirtle temperatures, so brief s boxers, that doesn't matter. 486 00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 3: We do see a little bit of damage from laptop 487 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:01,639 Speaker 3: in la. You know, if you've ever held your laptop 488 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 3: you're working, you know you can get hot underneath. Sometimes 489 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:06,199 Speaker 3: we see a lot of guys sometimes who will like 490 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:09,639 Speaker 3: PLoP that right on their lap while they're working, and 491 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:10,880 Speaker 3: that can make an impact. 492 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:12,880 Speaker 2: And I once had this guy who had really bad 493 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:13,360 Speaker 2: sperm count. 494 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 3: You like to take a cell phone and put it 495 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:18,359 Speaker 3: like under his scrotum while he was driving, and it 496 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,720 Speaker 3: would increase the temperature and kind of impacted production of sperm. 497 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,400 Speaker 3: So I think we've got to avoid heat, avoids, smoking 498 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 3: and marijuana use, and no testosterone for sure. 499 00:26:30,119 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 1: We've got to take a quick break. But we'll be 500 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:38,440 Speaker 1: right back with more from doctor Natalie Crawford. And we're 501 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,520 Speaker 1: back with doctor Natalie. You kind of touched on this 502 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:45,880 Speaker 1: with testosterone but when we think about female fertility, there's 503 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:48,439 Speaker 1: a lot of talk on social media about supplements that 504 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:50,479 Speaker 1: are being marketed that say that you can kind of 505 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,520 Speaker 1: hack your fertility by taking a certain you know, concoction 506 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:57,880 Speaker 1: of herbs and nutrients. What is one popular fertility trend 507 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: that you've seen online that's more noise than science and 508 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: what would you recommend instead? 509 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 3: When it comes to supplements, I think we have to 510 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:10,359 Speaker 3: be really mindful that not everything is neutral or good. 511 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 3: I do prescribe supplements, but for certain conditions, I want 512 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,280 Speaker 3: to know what we're treating, what is going on, how 513 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 3: is this going to benefit. A couple examples, so a 514 00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:23,960 Speaker 3: lot of hair, skin and nails products that we see, 515 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:27,199 Speaker 3: or greens powders that people are putting in smoothies, they 516 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:31,280 Speaker 3: have extremely high levels of biotin. And you know, biotine 517 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 3: actually binds to the lab assay that test hormone values, 518 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,320 Speaker 3: So it doesn't change how your body is making hormones, 519 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 3: but it changes what tests I'm getting. So if you're 520 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,880 Speaker 3: coming to me and I'm trying to evaluate your thyroid, 521 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 3: your egg count, your testosterone, your estrogen, if you are 522 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:54,840 Speaker 3: taking any of these supplements that have high biotin levels, 523 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,119 Speaker 3: which is very very popular. It is actually interfering and 524 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 3: none of those test results are accurate. There's a little 525 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,399 Speaker 3: bit of biotinine like a prenatal or a multi vitamin, 526 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 3: and that is fine, but additional hair, skin and nails 527 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 3: that can be like way too much. Also, when we 528 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,680 Speaker 3: think about supplements, there's a lot of you know, vitamin 529 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 3: nutrient supplements that are trying to replace things like vitamin 530 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,920 Speaker 3: E or vitamin C that maybe you're not getting enough 531 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 3: of in your diet. And then there's a lot of 532 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:25,160 Speaker 3: herbal options that people like and they sound really good 533 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 3: in theory. So there's things that maybe will make your 534 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:32,920 Speaker 3: progesterone higher, like vitex, or there's things like I've taken vitex, 535 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 3: get it. And there's things like Maco which maybe can 536 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,880 Speaker 3: like make buis estrogen. And so a lot of these 537 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 3: things like Vitex is a good one. It's from the 538 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 3: Chase Berry Monks used to use it to cut their 539 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 3: sexual desire because it is changing how the brain would 540 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:48,239 Speaker 3: send out prolactin and what we do not want to 541 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 3: do if you're trying to get pregnant or you're trying 542 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:54,360 Speaker 3: to like have your best, most normal cycles have your 543 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 3: body and balance. For lack of a better word, is 544 00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 3: be adding extra things to the mix that purposely by 545 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 3: to our brain and interfere with our brain's ability to 546 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 3: determine what's actually happening. And that's what a lot of 547 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 3: these herbs do. So I'm not a fan of herbs 548 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 3: when it comes to this because they're very unregulated. They 549 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:16,440 Speaker 3: can really interfere with a lot of our different hormone 550 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 3: receptors and that's not the goal for if we're trying 551 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 3: to have our hormone healthy life or we're trying to 552 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 3: get pregnant, we really want that system to be communicating properly. 553 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: So on the flip side of fertility and nutrition, are 554 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:33,040 Speaker 1: there any foods or supplements that we can eat that 555 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 1: can potentially improve the quality of eggs? 556 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:35,719 Speaker 2: Is that? 557 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:37,000 Speaker 1: Is that real? Is that a thing? 558 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:38,840 Speaker 2: That is a thing? Right? 559 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 3: So let's think about eggs in general. So we already 560 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:42,920 Speaker 3: talked about you're born with all the eggs you're ever 561 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 3: going to have, you run out of them. Over time, 562 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 3: they sit inside your bodies. They do absorb the wear 563 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,760 Speaker 3: and tear of your life, but they are most susceptible 564 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 3: or sensitive to the world around you the few months 565 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 3: before they are ovulating. Now, egg quality. Your chromosomes are 566 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,440 Speaker 3: inside your egg from before you're born, and they are 567 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,960 Speaker 3: held in a perfect position. And the analogy I like 568 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,719 Speaker 3: to use for this is to imagine your chromosomes are 569 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 3: like a line of kindergarteners, and the longer I've asked 570 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:11,520 Speaker 3: them to stand in alphabetical order, the higher the likelihood 571 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:13,440 Speaker 3: that somebody is going to get out of line. And 572 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,240 Speaker 3: that is what age related changes essentially start to do 573 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 3: to our eggs. The way've been standing there longer, they 574 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 3: start to get out of line. But the world around 575 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 3: us are the distractions, meaning inflammation, the foods we eat. 576 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,960 Speaker 3: That's like puppies and kiddies and candy, right, the kindergarteners 577 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 3: are even going to get worse in context of those things. 578 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,040 Speaker 3: When it comes to how we can eat to support 579 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:39,680 Speaker 3: our hormonal health and our fertility, the best, it's not 580 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 3: super sexy, but number one, fruits and vegetables. Fruits and 581 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,000 Speaker 3: vegetables have fiber. Fiber is going to be one of 582 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,960 Speaker 3: the key components here because fiber is going to help 583 00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:52,280 Speaker 3: keep your gut permeability intact, meaning your guts like your 584 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:56,240 Speaker 3: first line defense system, and a lot of people start 585 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 3: to develop something that trendy is called leaky gut. But 586 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 3: this is an increased permeability of your intestines, allowing more 587 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,120 Speaker 3: than just the nutrients to get absorbed into your blood stream. 588 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 2: That's a big. 589 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 3: Contributing factor to having higher levels of inflammation and insulin resistance. 590 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 3: So when we start talking about the foods that you're eating, 591 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 3: the way to heal the gut lining is to have 592 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:21,680 Speaker 3: high fiber and fibers and fruits and vegetables. Meat doesn't 593 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,840 Speaker 3: have any fiber in it. Any diet that tells you 594 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,800 Speaker 3: fruit is bad is false because fruits and vegetables have 595 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:29,880 Speaker 3: so many important vitamins and nutrients. 596 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,240 Speaker 1: There's this whole cohort of people now who are saying 597 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:34,520 Speaker 1: that vegetables are bad all of a sudden, and I 598 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:37,280 Speaker 1: just mean, right, it's so absurd. 599 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,440 Speaker 3: How do we even believe that vegetables are bad for you? 600 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,440 Speaker 3: You know, in the perfect world? And fertility data supports 601 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 3: that eating less meat, like more servings of vegetable protein 602 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 3: or thermal protein, is associated with higher rates of fertility 603 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 3: and better ovulation. Eating less red meat associated with higher 604 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 3: rates of getting pregnant. Lower rates of endometriosis, better embryo 605 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 3: results with IVF cycles. So we can't act like that 606 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,959 Speaker 3: data doesn't exist. I mean, in addition to you know, 607 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 3: we also know the animal meat is a carcinogen. But 608 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 3: when we think about what's going to be the healthiest 609 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:15,479 Speaker 3: for you, it's going to be limiting or avoiding, you know, 610 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 3: animal meats. I always say freeze and vegetables are the 611 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 3: mainstay if you eat animal meat. Let's say you're going 612 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:23,719 Speaker 3: to have meatless Monday, so you're forced to eat more 613 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,320 Speaker 3: fruits and vegetables that day. You're going to then on 614 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:28,480 Speaker 3: the other days of the week have meat one time 615 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 3: a day at maximum, so you can kind of choose 616 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:32,640 Speaker 3: when that's going to be, and red meat no more 617 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 3: than one time a week. So we're automatically by pulling 618 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 3: back on animal meat, we're going to have to replace 619 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:41,120 Speaker 3: that with lagomes, with fruits and vegetables and other sources 620 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:45,160 Speaker 3: of both healthy proteins, nutrients, vitamins, fiber that is going 621 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,040 Speaker 3: to decrease our insulin resistance and heal our gut in 622 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:48,760 Speaker 3: a better way. 623 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 2: And then all of the. 624 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,800 Speaker 3: Ultra processed foods, the artificial added sugars, all of the 625 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:58,480 Speaker 3: things that are not made in nature. We know those 626 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 3: are not good for us. And I know we grew 627 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:02,680 Speaker 3: up on diets like this, right, we have to acknowledge 628 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:06,040 Speaker 3: the fact that we grew up on artificial foods. And 629 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:08,560 Speaker 3: it's not that I woulds say it's not never. But 630 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:10,560 Speaker 3: you know, we know if you eat more than five 631 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 3: fruits and vegetables today, you're going to have a higher 632 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,680 Speaker 3: chance of getting pregnant. This is not just like theoretical data. 633 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:19,800 Speaker 3: We actually have data saying that that is going to 634 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:21,720 Speaker 3: be a faster path towards pregnancy. 635 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:24,240 Speaker 1: Okay, I want to ask you about egg freezing. I'm 636 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,800 Speaker 1: really curious about this because it feels like, I don't know, 637 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:31,800 Speaker 1: maybe ten years ago, just anecdotally, I witnessed this boom 638 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: in marketing for egg freezing and it became this really 639 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: highly you know, talked about and sought after a solution 640 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 1: for women who wanted to delay a pregnancy. I have 641 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 1: heard now, though, that it's not exactly all that it's 642 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 1: cracked up to be, and perhaps that it's not as 643 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:54,920 Speaker 1: reliable as we once thought it was. Is that true? 644 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,920 Speaker 1: What is your take on egg freezing? 645 00:33:57,360 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 3: Oh? I have a lot of thoughts on egg freezing. 646 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 3: First of all, I think it's really important. We had 647 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,920 Speaker 3: this discussion to say that ten years ago, egg freezing 648 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,640 Speaker 3: was just coming off an experimental status, Meaning when I 649 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:10,960 Speaker 3: first entered the field, we're asking us to freeze a 650 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 3: single cell mostly filled with water and DNA, and we 651 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:16,719 Speaker 3: want to thought and keep all the DNA intact. And 652 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:19,960 Speaker 3: so a decade ago we would see that only about 653 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:23,160 Speaker 3: forty percent of eggs would survive the freeze though process, 654 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 3: making it a lot harder to do on whole scale, 655 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:30,160 Speaker 3: to have patients pay thousands and thousands of dollars for 656 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:31,480 Speaker 3: and outcomes. 657 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:32,279 Speaker 2: Really not as great. 658 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:37,480 Speaker 3: Subsequently, from then, the technology has improved dramatically, whereas now 659 00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:40,040 Speaker 3: in our lab, ninety five percent of eggs will survive 660 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:43,400 Speaker 3: the free thaw. So it's just a stark difference that alone, 661 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:47,360 Speaker 3: and improvement in technology has led to more embryologists being trained, 662 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,680 Speaker 3: more labs being able to do very high quality egg freezing, 663 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:53,239 Speaker 3: and egg freezing up today is not egg freezing that 664 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,239 Speaker 3: it was ten years ago. It also means though that 665 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,600 Speaker 3: people who maybe froze their eggs ten years ago, who 666 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:00,839 Speaker 3: are going to use them right now, or finding out 667 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:02,920 Speaker 3: that they didn't get the outcome they wanted, and they 668 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:07,879 Speaker 3: are being very loud, maybe online about how negative their 669 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,920 Speaker 3: experience was. And same thing true that we said earlier 670 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,520 Speaker 3: about the podcast. I never want to shame somebody for 671 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:17,040 Speaker 3: sharing their in of one experience. Every experience is valid, 672 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 3: but we'd be so careful that our singular influence could 673 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:26,279 Speaker 3: really alienate or how it can impact somebody. I do 674 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:31,040 Speaker 3: think there are a slew of physicians or providers who 675 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 3: have not properly educated their patients. And one thing that 676 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,200 Speaker 3: I hate is seeing people say I'm going to freeze 677 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 3: my eggs as an insurance policy against my fertility. Right, Oh, 678 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,640 Speaker 3: it's an insurance policy and I'll have those eggs there. 679 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:43,840 Speaker 2: False. 680 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 3: Right, you get a car accident, your car insurance is 681 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:49,680 Speaker 3: going to pay money to help you out. Egg freezing 682 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:52,080 Speaker 3: is an investment. It is like putting money in the 683 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:55,080 Speaker 3: stock market. Where is this usually a good thing? Yes, 684 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,520 Speaker 3: But it depends on the stocks you put it in, 685 00:35:57,600 --> 00:35:59,520 Speaker 3: how much you put it in, and the environment when 686 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:01,600 Speaker 3: you go into take the money out. And we don't 687 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:04,080 Speaker 3: always know what the ROI on that investment is going 688 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,680 Speaker 3: to be. But it is generally considered a good thing, 689 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 3: right for most people. Most of the time it will 690 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:13,279 Speaker 3: be a beneficial thing, but not for everybody, and so 691 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:16,960 Speaker 3: you have to understand the uncertainty of the process. The 692 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:19,640 Speaker 3: ideal age to freeze your eggs, I always say, is 693 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:21,439 Speaker 3: the moment you're asking the question. If you say, should 694 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 3: I freeze my eggs? You should go get an evaluation 695 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:26,359 Speaker 3: because you don't know what you don't know. But if 696 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:28,439 Speaker 3: we look at studies, it's going to be by about 697 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:30,840 Speaker 3: age thirty two thirty three. If you know you like 698 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:32,759 Speaker 3: to have children as a life goal and you are 699 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:34,960 Speaker 3: not ready to have them yet, at thirty two thirty three, 700 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:37,560 Speaker 3: this is the age you should go get an evaluation 701 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:40,399 Speaker 3: and at least learn more about the process. If you're 702 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 3: older than that and you're listening, now, you can go now. 703 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,239 Speaker 3: I have had older women freeze their eggs and still 704 00:36:46,239 --> 00:36:49,719 Speaker 3: have success. There's a lot of assuming that happens with 705 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:52,440 Speaker 3: egg freezing. So simone, if you were coming to me, 706 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:53,759 Speaker 3: you so you want to freeze your eggs, We're going 707 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:55,359 Speaker 3: to talk it through based on your age and how 708 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,839 Speaker 3: many you have. If you have a partner who you 709 00:36:57,880 --> 00:36:59,840 Speaker 3: want to have children with, just you don't want to 710 00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:02,000 Speaker 3: have children with now, well then we're going to talk 711 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:06,760 Speaker 3: about the difference in eggs versus embryos. Right, embryos are fertilized, 712 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,759 Speaker 3: they cost twice as much. However, you have much more 713 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:13,000 Speaker 3: data on how many do you need and kind of 714 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 3: how part of the process is going to fall Because 715 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:19,760 Speaker 3: we know not every egg will fertilize, will become an embryo, 716 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:23,799 Speaker 3: will be genetically normal, or will implant. Human reproduction is 717 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:28,000 Speaker 3: extremely inefficient, but I think on the whole, egg freezing 718 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:32,400 Speaker 3: is a game changer. So I always encourage women if 719 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:34,279 Speaker 3: having kids is something they think they want to do, 720 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:37,279 Speaker 3: especially if they're getting into their thirties and they're not 721 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:40,040 Speaker 3: yet ready. You can see a fertility doctor. You can 722 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:42,600 Speaker 3: have initial testing done to find out how many eggs 723 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:44,960 Speaker 3: you have, learn about what the process would be like 724 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,080 Speaker 3: for you, and then you can choose whether to do 725 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,239 Speaker 3: it or not. But being the one to say I 726 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,719 Speaker 3: know this exists, I'm not just educated on social media lies, 727 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,239 Speaker 3: but I understand what's going on in my body, and 728 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:57,520 Speaker 3: now I can say I want to do this or 729 00:37:57,560 --> 00:38:00,399 Speaker 3: I don't. That puts the power in your hands versus 730 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:02,560 Speaker 3: back to what we said earlier, having time make a 731 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:03,359 Speaker 3: decision for you. 732 00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:06,520 Speaker 1: Doctor Natalie as we come to the end of our conversation. 733 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:10,600 Speaker 1: I am thinking about those listeners, those folks in our 734 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:13,839 Speaker 1: community who have been trying to conceive for a long time, 735 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:17,560 Speaker 1: maybe let's say twelve months, and are still not having 736 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:21,759 Speaker 1: any luck. What would you say are the questions they 737 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:27,040 Speaker 1: should be asking themselves as they think about next steps infertility. 738 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,800 Speaker 3: No. Number one, big hug. You are not alone. It 739 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:35,520 Speaker 3: can feel very isolating. You can feel left behind your friends. 740 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:37,320 Speaker 3: I understand all of those feelings. 741 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:38,400 Speaker 2: Look online. 742 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:43,040 Speaker 3: There's a huge, robust community of people sharing their experience 743 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,920 Speaker 3: with infertility that can help you feel us alone. 744 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:46,879 Speaker 2: Number two. 745 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:50,040 Speaker 3: Go get an evaluation and find a fertility doctor that 746 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:54,200 Speaker 3: you trust. And evaluation is just data. Nobody's going to 747 00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:56,520 Speaker 3: force you to do any treatment. But you can't make 748 00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:59,320 Speaker 3: decisions on data you don't know, so go and find 749 00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:02,440 Speaker 3: out what is happening. The recommendation is if you've been 750 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,919 Speaker 3: trying for twelve months and you're under age thirty five, 751 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:07,360 Speaker 3: if you're older than age thirty five, you've been trying 752 00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:10,600 Speaker 3: for six months, and if you're forty year older, just go. 753 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:12,479 Speaker 3: You don't have to try for any amount of time, 754 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:15,200 Speaker 3: and you can have fertility testing done to at least 755 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:17,840 Speaker 3: find out if there's anything that's obviously going to be 756 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:21,640 Speaker 3: preventing you, or what your options are based on your tests. 757 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:24,799 Speaker 3: If you don't have a fertility doctor who you like, 758 00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:27,880 Speaker 3: or if somebody dismisses you, you feel like they're gaslighting 759 00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:31,239 Speaker 3: you go find somebody else. This is too important of 760 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:34,239 Speaker 3: a thing in your life to allow yourself to have 761 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:38,120 Speaker 3: question marks about the person who is the captain of 762 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:40,520 Speaker 3: the ship. Right you have to know that it's somebody 763 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,200 Speaker 3: you trust, somebody who will take the time to explain 764 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,800 Speaker 3: things for you, answer your questions and understand. I always 765 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:48,480 Speaker 3: say with my patients, I'm not here to make you 766 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:50,880 Speaker 3: do one thing or another. I'm here to explain the 767 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:53,520 Speaker 3: options for you, tell you what can be best. At 768 00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:55,799 Speaker 3: the end of the day, it's your journey. You're the 769 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:59,280 Speaker 3: one making decisions, So put yourself in the best position 770 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:02,560 Speaker 3: for success. Control the factors that you can be an 771 00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:08,200 Speaker 3: active participant in understanding why your doctor may be recommending 772 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:12,520 Speaker 3: one thing over another. You know you're not alone. Like 773 00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:15,280 Speaker 3: it can be hard. The number one reason why people 774 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:18,320 Speaker 3: drop out of fertility treatment is not financial expense or 775 00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:22,400 Speaker 3: physical stress. It's the emotional damage that fertility does and 776 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:24,239 Speaker 3: I think that just speaks to how hard it is. 777 00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:27,280 Speaker 3: We always say in the community that it's the worst 778 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:29,040 Speaker 3: club with the best members. 779 00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:32,120 Speaker 1: The worst club with the best members. I love that line, 780 00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:34,160 Speaker 1: and that community is so lucky to have you as 781 00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:36,120 Speaker 1: a voice. Thank you, Doctor Natalie. 782 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:38,319 Speaker 2: Thank you Simon so much for having me on. 783 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:45,000 Speaker 1: Doctor Natalie Crawford is a nationally recognized fertility physician who 784 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:49,000 Speaker 1: is double Board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive 785 00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:52,640 Speaker 1: and chronology and infertility. She's the co founder of Fora 786 00:40:52,719 --> 00:40:56,600 Speaker 1: Fertility in Austin, Texas, and her debut book, The Fertility Formula, 787 00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:02,120 Speaker 1: goes on pre sale July seventeenth. The bright Side is 788 00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:05,200 Speaker 1: a production of Hello Sunshine and iHeart Podcasts and is 789 00:41:05,239 --> 00:41:09,600 Speaker 1: executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and me Simone Boyce. Production 790 00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:13,600 Speaker 1: is by a Cast Creative Studios. Our producers are Taylor Williamson, 791 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:18,600 Speaker 1: Adrian Bain, Abby Delk, and Darby Masters. Our production assistant 792 00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:23,160 Speaker 1: is Joya putnoy Acasts executive producers are Jenny Kaplan and 793 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:27,320 Speaker 1: Emily Rudder. Maureen Polo and Reese Witherspoon are the executive 794 00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:31,480 Speaker 1: producers for Hello Sunshine. Ali Perry and Lauren Hansen are 795 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:36,319 Speaker 1: the executive producers for iHeart Podcasts. Tim Palazzola is our showrunner. 796 00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:40,320 Speaker 1: Our theme song is by Anna Stump and Hamilton Lighthouser