→ Learn to read your own body & hormones. Download my free Cycle Tracking Guide: https://www.karindawholistix.com.au/cycletracking

Preparing to grow a human is no walk in the park. And even though I support women with their fertility every week, stepping into my own preconception era has required me to take a dose of my own medicine.

I am officially aiming for pregnancy in the next 12 months (but also open to the Universe’s timing!), which means my 100-day preconception journey has officially begun.

In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on exactly what I’m doing to optimise my health, egg quality, and nervous system.

We are talking about the clinical testing, the non-conventional supplement strategies, the blood sugar realities, and the deeply spiritual, somatic side of preparing for pregnancy.

Whether you are planning to conceive in the next year, actively trying now, or simply want to build vibrant, hormonal health, this episode is your practical (and slightly woo-woo) roadmap.

TIMESTAMPS:

04:15 My 12-month preconception timeline: focusing on what is in my control
06:30 1. Comprehensive hormone testing: why I did the EndoMAP (DUTCH) test.
09:45 2. Taking stress seriously: epigenetics, maternal lineage, and my non-negotiable morning routine.
14:15 3. Blood sugar and insulin resistance: getting honest about cafe “treats” and emotional eating.
18:30 4. Exercise for the non-exerciser: dumbbells, stopwatch tricks, and short movement chunks.
22:45 5. Complicated iron results and the truth about gestational haemodilution.
27:15 6. The truth about prenatals (and why I prioritise Ubiquinol instead).
31:30 7. The spiritual side of conception: Jungian dreams and my daily vulva-softening practice.
36:45 8. It takes two to tango: getting my partner on board with sperm health and clinical testing.
40:15 9. Libido, life force, and our monthly relationship check-in.
44:30 10. Circadian rhythm: how artificial light at night is sabotaging your ovaries.

MENTIONED IN THIS EP:

• Listen to our episode on ⁠Iron in Pregnancy: https://www.karindawholistix.com.au/podcasts/nuanced-naturopaths/ep-43 ⁠⁠

• The Fertility Files⁠: My private, limited-series podcast all about fertility and libido: https://www.karindawholistix.com.au/secret-podcast-fertility-files

• Books: 

  • The Ten Moons Journey by Jane Hardwicke Collings

  • Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Dr. Rachel Reed.

• YouTube Workouts:⁠

  • Fit by Mik ⁠

  • Mr & Mrs Muscle⁠⁠

  • Isa Welly Pilates⁠

FREE RESOURCES

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🎙️ ALSO LISTEN TO: The Nuanced Naturopaths — my podcast with naturopath colleague Julie Forrester, deep-diving into holistic health topics: https://karindawholistix.com.au/podcasts/nuanced-naturopaths

TRANSCRIPT:

OMM Ep 39 - 10 things i'm doing for my fertility & preconception care

[00:00:00] In today's episode of Oh My Menses, we are going through all the things that I am personally doing as a women's health and fertility naturopath to prepare for my own trying to conceive journey. We are talking about the practical, we are talking about the testing, we are talking about the supplements, we are talking about the woo-woo side of it all.

Fertility friends, let's get into it. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Oh My Menses. How are we all doing? How are you doing? What cycle day do I find you on? Today, I am on cycle day nine. Cycle day nine. And I'm, I'm feeling follicular, and I'm sure you can go back through oth- other episodes, and you'll have heard me say that before.

I am feeling the rising of my energy. I am feeling [00:01:00] my estrogen kicking in and helping me stay resilient. Some issues, some tense conversations have come up in my life, but it's been very much like a water off a duck's back situation. This, this is the power of hormones. They, they can change the entirety of your being, right?

I'm feeling springy in... Spring is the season I find myself in, in the Southern Hemisphere, where I am anyway. Um, and even today, it was a gloomy day, but that didn't stop me from getting work done and keeping positive overall.

Cycle tracking is my secret to life, I think is how I'm gonna say that. And it's gonna be a big part of today's episode in terms of the things that I've been doing to prepare for my conception journey. Also, you could argue that I've been preparing 13 years for this, 'cause that's how long I've been tracking my cycles diligently and [00:02:00] confirming every ovulation I have ever had.

And this is the number one skill that is supporting me as I transition into different journeys and different, like, health priorities as I age and as my life evolves. And it is the skill that I would encourage you to start today. If you are not already tracking your cycles, if you are not already listening to the signs of your body, this is just straight off the bat the thing to get started with.

Because what we learn about cycles and periods and fertility in high school, because it's not, like, as gold standard and schmick as I'd like it, as I wish it was for all of us, I made my own cycle tracking guide with all the basic foundational information that I want every woman to have so she can truly understand not only, like, the basic biology of her menstrual cycle, but also the power and the magic of her menstrual cycle.

So if you're like, "I have no idea what cycle [00:03:00] day I'm on. I have no idea what cycle phase I'm in. How do I find my fertile window? Th- there's a right way to track my periods? I just go by my app. WTF?" Don't worry, I've got you sorted. Check out the description. Free cycle tracking guide. Download it. Get started. Thank me later

And as always, I would invite you, if you are tracking your own cycles, I would invite you to just take a moment wherever you find yourself listening to this or watching this, and just take a moment to be with your body, sense your energy, and sense where you are in your own cycle. What are you feeling?

What's your body feeling? What are you thinking? Just get a sense of like the season you're in, your inner season.

So I'm really excited to get into all the things that I've been doing on my own trying to conceive, TTC journey. My context is that, I, I don't have to share everything with you, but I will share that my goal at the moment is aiming for pregnancy in the next 12 [00:04:00] months or so. And because I'm a women's health naturopath, because this is what I do, I'm taking my own advice, and I am using 12 months before I would like to be pregnant to prepare my body and optimize my health in a way that supports not only future baby, but my own health to be the best it can be so that I have

as smooth of a pregnancy as possible, that there are the best birth outcomes as possible, that it's just as easeful as an experience as it can be. Yes, I know I'm talking about pregnancy and birth, maybe arguably one of the most intense experiences of human existence.

I, I, don't worry, I hear what I'm saying. I hear what I'm saying. And I know that anything could happen. Any number of circumstances outside of my control could happen to influence my pregnancy journey, my conception journey, my pregnancy journey, and the birth itself. But [00:05:00] how I like to see it is looking at all the things that are in my control and looking at giving myself the best possible chance.

You know, if there are odds against me that are outside of my control, I'm gonna focus on the odds that might be against me that are in my control, that I do have some influence and power over

So on my list today there are, let me count, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine things that I want to talk to you about, um, that were just top of mind when I thought, "What am I doing? Focusing on my fertility. I'm guiding other women on focusing, uh, to focus on their optimizing their fertility before conception.

What am I doing?" And these are the things that came to mind. The first thing is gonna be quick and easy because I'm actually gonna do a whole other episode about it. Um, I got comprehensive hormone testing done. The hormone testing that I refer most of my patients for when it's appropriate and [00:06:00] indicated, I did myself.

This is a dried urine test, with the provider that I use in Australia, it's called an Endomap test, but you may have also heard it referred to as a Dutch test

This goes so beyond, like, a standard blood hormone panel, like when you get your blood tested to get your hormones checked. This goes so beyond that. This is, like, a multi-page document walking me through all my kinds of estrogen and estrogen metabolites in my body, progesterone and progesterone metabolites in my body, testosterone and other androgens and all the metabolites, my cortisol, so my stress hormone, my main stress hormone.

Goes through my melatonin, and this is all done based off, uh, four urine samples that you collect across a day. You then dry those samples, and then you send them back. It's actually super easy. Sounds a bit weird, but it's super easy, and the insight that you get from that is pretty [00:07:00] significant. And my results were pretty significant.

So I've wanted to... Like, I got the results, like, months ago, and I've been working on it in myself, and I immediately had the idea. Like, before I even got the results back, I was like, "I want to do a podcast episode going through the results," because I talk about this test all the time, and I talk about the benefits, and it's helped so many of my patients get clarity on their own situation.

But I wanna, like, walk you through that as well, just so you can see, like, what the hell I'm talking about and how it might be of benefit on your own journey. and then I got the results back, and it was more complex than I was expecting, and so I just have not done- recorded that episode. it feels a bit vulnerable.

It feels a little bit edgy. But, uh, you know me, that doesn't make me shy away from a situation. So I'm gonna talk about it.

But that's the first thing I did when I was like, "Ooh, okay, I think I want to start focusing on my fertility." Testing was one of the first things that I did, knowing that [00:08:00] pregnancy wasn't going to be a goal for me until, like, 12 even to 24 months in the future. So I got that testing done earlier th- this year, and then late last year, I just got, like, an annual set of blood tests done, and I'm probably due for, uh, some retesting.

And a part of that, I also decided to get AMH tested. This is anti-Müllerian hormone. There's a lot of nuance around this. In short, it's pretty much like your egg reserve, like, indicator. It's so much more than that, and I think too many women place too much weight on that, or maybe whoever's interpreting the results for them placed too much weight on it, and it's not great.

It, it's... You got to take it with a grain of salt, and you got to interpret it in the context of a lot of other factors. But with that said, I was happy with my AMH result considering all the factors for myself, and that is something that I, I wouldn't recommend you get tested straight off the bat. But it's certainly [00:09:00] something to look at if you suspect that you'll have fertility issues, if you have complicated cycles at the moment, and you're looking for answers.

So the blood tests that I got done were, my sex hormones done on day two or three of my cycle, which is very different to getting, uh, your sex hormones tested seven days after ovulation, which is the time we usually like to aim for. If you're doing gold standard, you would get, uh, you would get tested twice in the same cycle.

You would do day two or three of your cycle, get the same tests, and then seven days after ovulation, so you need to be tracking your cycle to know when you ovulate, um, you would get those same things tested. and then I had, you know, standard checkup with, like, all the red blood cells and hema- hematology, so full blood exam, including the white blood cells, urea and electrolytes, liver function tests, thyroid function tests, um, fasting blood sugar.

Uh, didn't test my insulin this time. Uh, cholesterol. V- didn't test my vitamin D this [00:10:00] time, but, like, folate, B12, um, iron studies

I think that was everything. And then, yeah, I added on the AMH testing. So that's, like, a nice sort of, like, comprehensive place to start. As a result of the Endomap, so the comprehensive hormone test results, I realized that I needed to take my stress more seriously. So this is the second point. This is the second thing I started focusing on.

I es- particularly based on, like, my cortisol results, it sort of made me reflect on the impact that stress has had on my whole life. And it kind of, it framed it differently for me. Instead of just being this, like, mental thing that I experience on an intellectual and, like, spiritual level, and seeing it as just, like, a part of life that I need to navigate, um, it really was great putting it into the [00:11:00] perspective of this is how it's affecting your body.

This is how stress is affecting your body. And I don't think if I got, if I didn't get the results, I don't think I would've... Like, it would've taken a big, big life circumstance for me to kind of, like, jolt into awakening and start, like, dealing with my stress differently or relating to my mentality and how I respond to stress differently Um, so it was a great point of reflection, just reflecting on like, you know, getting deep with it.

Like reflecting on my whole life and all the things that have wired me to experience stress in the way that I do. Even including things that are technically out of my control. Um, circumstances that have set up my stress system for being a bit more sensitive, including my mum's cortisol pattern [00:12:00] and my mum's stress levels when she was pregnant with me.

That is one of the number one blueprints that we have that will determine our own stress patterns. Uh, specifically like the pattern, the levels and patterns of cortisol that we'll have, that we'll be predisposed to. Obviously, there's lots of factors that go into that, but I thought that was interesting that I kind of got these things looked at with fertility in mind.

And it kind of prompted me to reflect on my mother's own fertility journey and her pregnancy journey with me. And, you know, just thinking about epigenetics and maternal lineage, the red thread. So like how our lives and our experience of life is impacted by the women who came before us down our maternal line.

And I think that was a good thing for me to reflect on because it made me, it made me get compassionate about my mum's experience, but then also [00:13:00] prompted me to go, "Yeah, I want to change some things in myself before I start growing life in me." Because my experience will then imprint onto that new life, and I would love to be in the best state possible, to imprint the best possible baseline, um, on my future children So taking my stress more seriously, but that's not really an answer as to, like, what I'm doing, hey.

So I guess doing a mini, mini deep dive into what I'm actually doing is protecting my mornings a lot more, not racing into the day, not rushing into the day. Um, something I still struggle with but I'm a lot more mindful of is giving my energy to my phone and, by extension, other people, first thing in the morning.

This is not how we should be tending to our energy first thing in the morning, I think especially as women, especially as sensitive women, especially with women predisposed [00:14:00] to more strung out nervous systems. So I'm really trying to practice how I can nourish and at least check in with my own energy at the start of the day before just sending it out to everyone else, like, because of autopilot habits that don't serve me.

So morning routine, I try to meditate as soon as I can. It's usually when I really wanna, like, oof, expand and elevate my energy and, like, the vibe I'm in. I'll do a loving kindness or, like, a heart-based meditation, and lately I've also been in the habit of, like, paper journaling, which is something I've been resistant to for so many years.

I've kept a lot of digital journals, but there's something about handwriting that just hits different. And so I've been doing that every morning and every night, actually. And then as soon as I'm done with those practices, I hydrate with my big mason [00:15:00] jar, and I go straight outside to get some sunshine in my eyes, on my skin, and also to get Laika out for a walk.

Another thing for me is also just, like, trying to remind myself about, like, the more grand scheme of things, trying to zoom out, as I've called it for many years now. Because it's so easy to get up- to get caught up in the minutiae of your life and get so zoomed in on, like, minor details and s- you know, pains and sufferings of, like, the day-to-day of life.

And then we lose sight of, like, what's really, really important. And so yeah, I try to have a regular practice of zooming out, being like, "Hang on, think of the bigger picture." And I just start to look outside myself and outside of my own life, and I think about nature, and I think about the universe, and I think about other people, and I think about history and the future, and I just do a lot of [00:16:00] contemplation of things that are bigger than myself.

And that's really helpful to sort of just snap me out of any times where I'm, like, just way too caught up in my own shit. That keeps me in a state of, like, higher stress, more worry, more self-concern. That is not the energy I wanna be, like, cultivating as my baseline.

And I've got more intuitive stuff, um, that I'll talk about shortly. More woo-woo, intuitive, spiritual stuff. Something else that I've been doing, so number three on my preconception journey is taking my predisposition to insulin resistance a lot more seriously. Loose diagnosis of PCOS, PMOS, blah, blah, blah.

Have a lot of podcasts and things on Instagram where I've spoken about my history and my journey with that. Long story short, insulin resistance is a thing, and blood sugar regulation, if it's not stable and flexible and adaptive, this can set you up for a lot of drama in [00:17:00] pregnancy and also have an impact on your future baby.

So this is something that I am really trying to focus more on. It was so easy for me, o- over the last year, it was so easy for me to get in the head space of, "No, I eat pretty healthy most of the time. Like, uh, this is just a treat. This is just a treat." And, you know, I would go to cafes, and I would get, you know, cinnamon bun- buns and croissants and all sorts of, like, beautiful vegan and non-vegan sweet treats to fuel my cafe working sessions or to accompany, you know, a social catch-up with a friend or a colleague.

And I had to get really real with myself in terms of going, like " Is it, is it just a treat? And, like, can we start tallying up these treats?" Because when I did that, I started to realize how frequent it was getting and how that was really feeding, like, a [00:18:00] regular insatiable sugar craving. Thankfully, I have the tools to manage that.

I know how to break out of that cycle. It's not, uh, made any more helpful by the presence of, like, having a kind of relationship with emotional eating, which I think affects a lot of us, and we still need to talk about so much more, especially with the rise of, like, these GLP-1 medications, and people seeking more, more support for weight loss.

I think we need to get really real with our, yeah, relationship with emotional eating as a society. But anyway, that's something I've had to focus on personally, with myself, uh, w- when going like, "Okay, I wanna take my blood sugar more seriously." Like, emotional eating was, like, the number one thing that I had to get real with, and I had to look at, okay, sugar cravings, cool.

When are they happening? What's triggering them? And what emotions do I have to face that I may be avoiding, uh, when I opt for a sweet treat or when I say like, "Oh, I'm gonna take [00:19:00] out, take myself out for froyo," or maybe it's been a stressful week and I convince my partner to get takeaway and, you know, some kind of dessert somewhere.

That is fine as a genuine treat, but I think this is where habit tracking can be so, so helpful because it forces you to, like, really look at your patterns. because the inner voice is always gonna convince you that it's fine, that you're fine, that you are healthy, and that this habit that you're inquiring about is not a problem.

But when you start to objectively look at it, you go, "Oh, okay, I see how that's stacking up." And in the context of fertility and, uh, the Glucose Goddess, one of my favorites, uh, a favorite research scientist in the, um, glucose insulin resistance space, she lately has been focusing on the impact of sugar intake during pregnancy, like outcomes on [00:20:00] maternal health but also outcomes on the baby.

And this has really helped shift my lens from, "Oh, it's just a sh- sweet treat," to, "No, this is contributing actively to my insulin resistance every time I make a crap food choice in the realms of sugar and carbohydrates."

this is stacking up and contributing to my risk of gestational diabetes, to my risk of different, uh, side effects and negative experiences during pregnancy, and also impacting the health of my future baby. So it became less about me. I mean, yes, I care about my experience in pregnancy, but again, I've sh- had to shift my focus to outside myself, think about the research that exists, and maybe I'll link some in the show notes or description.

I had to think about the research that does exist, uh, with sugar, between sugar intake and pregnancy outcomes and birth and, [00:21:00] um, baby outcomes. Baby outcomes. And yeah, just had to like ac- just actually take it seriously. Not brush it off as, "Oh, just a sweet treat." I had to just, yeah, look at it differently.

And I think the important thing to remember here is that every decision does add up. So yes, you can have treats occasionally, but you need to be honest with yourself and look at how they are adding up. How your day-to-day choices are accumulating and stacking up. And are they tipping the odds in your favor of having a more easeful conception, pregnancy, birth experience, or are they kind of stacking up against you and maybe putting you more at risk of experiences that you don't necessarily need to have?

Again, we're focusing on like what is in our control and how we can influence our own health. And sugar intake is one of the biggest areas where I think everyone would experience better health. No matter what their struggle is, everyone would experience better health [00:22:00] if we reduced our sugar intake. At least, at the very least, if nothing else, reduced our intake of processed sugar.

Just not what we need

The fourth thing that I have started doing to prep for my preconception era is exercising more consistently. Boo, blah, boring. I I cannot tell you how, how, ugh, exercise has just had this, ugh, weighty hold on me my whole life. I have... If I look at my whole life, I have overall exercised consistently in the context of, like, every year of my life, but not consistently in the context of, like, day in, day out.

Like, I don't have a regular daily, weekly, even monthly routine. But even when I'm thinking about my teenage years, I always had some kind of movement that I would [00:23:00] come back to, but never got into, like, the consistent daily practice that I wanted. I started doing yoga as a teenager, Pilates. I would do, like, strength training stuff with my mum.

My mum is an avid exerciser. She used to go to the gym. She did body pump, and now she just does strength training, yoga, and all sorts of things from home, like, five, five days of the week every morning, no questions asked. and I just don't have that thing in my brain, in my body, in my genetics that goes like, "Exercise feels good."

It is always, like, this much effort to, like, get myself to do it, a lot less effort to get myself to maintain it. And again, this is why habits can be so important. You know, whether they're habits that are helping you or habits that are hindering you, once you get into a habit, it's easier to maintain. So it's harder to break the bad habits, and it can be harder [00:24:00] to start the good habits, just 'cause there's more effort needed to break out of the cycle or to start the cycle, depending on which way you want.

So I have had to make... Personally, I've had to make exercise, as much of a no-brainer as possible. And for me, that looks like time. If I look at the most ideal routine I could possibly have, all I see is how much movement is cutting into my time when I wanna be seeing clients and recording podcasts and creating content and stuff like that.

So keeping it short is a big pro for me. That is something that helps me do it consistently, rather than being like, "Okay, I'm gonna do this hour-long workout, you know, every other day." I would rather focus on smaller 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes tops chunks of movement at a time. Granted, times in my cycle I feel like I have more energy or I feel naturally inclined to move more, I will go more than half an hour.

And I will [00:25:00] go closer to an hour of, like, active movement in one session. But lately for me it's been, like, quick dumb- I've actually got my dumbbells on the floor here, um, 'cause I was watching a webinar earlier and just doing some dumbbell exercises. alternating dumbbell movements like bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep, tricep curls are they called?

Uh, doing rows, um, doing deadlifts with the dumbbells, alternating dumbbell exercises with, like, body weight squats, calf raises, holding a plank pose, um, doing some, like, twists. Um, so I alternate, like, the weighted movements and just the body weight movements like a squat. And sometimes I follow a YouTube video.

Down below, I'll share some of the, uh, creators that I've been following for, like, easy-to-follow dumbbell exercise routines. But this week actually, I just started... Sometimes, like, relying on something to watch, mm, [00:26:00] makes it more likely for me to get distracted, and then I get off my flow for the routine.

Uh, so lately I just set a timer, set a stopwatch, and I just moved until I hit the 15-minute mark, and I just kept going, kept rotating exercises until I got 15 minutes in, and that actually felt really good. Another thing that's helped me is, like, find your time, the time when you will be most likely to do the thing that you don't wanna do.

I know that if I don't work out in the first half of the day, like before or around breakfast, within, like, the first two hours of waking up, I know I'm, like, 80% more likely to just skip it for the whole day. I always go for my walks, but I'm talking about, like, an active session dedicated to intentional movement for health purposes.

Again, blah, exercise. , So I kn- so I have to get it done in the day, get it done in the first half of the day, early in the morning, and then I can just chill the rest of the day and know that it's ticked off the box. [00:27:00] I feel better having done it earlier. My body feels better having done it earlier. And I know if I skip it, m- my chances of doing it later in the day...

And again, that voice in your head will say, "No, no, no. Don't, don't have to do it now. We can do it later. Let's just do this first. We don't have to worry about that now. Put that off." That voice is lying to you. Just... We have to acknowledge that voice and say, "Babe, look, I hear you, and I just don't believe you."

So I'm gonna do 15 minutes of exercise now. We're not gonna die. 15 minutes of exercise in the morning is not gonna kill us. Anyway, that's my tip.

Fifth thing, fifth thing. low-key, don't wanna... I really wanna try to not get into this too much, and I, I have something, if you wanna learn more about this, I have something that I can direct you to.

Based on the testing that I got done, something that came up was complicated iron results. I say complicated iron results because it wasn't, it wasn't frankly low iron, but it was a [00:28:00] bit low, and there were some other markers there that were, like, pointing towards iron maybe being a problem. Bleh. Anyway, I have big thoughts, feelings, and ideas and opinions about iron supplementation and the diagnosis of iron deficiency.

And I've been on a whole journey with addressing my own low-key iron deficiency in kind of a non-conventional way, in a way that is informed by everything I know as a naturopath, plus extra research that I've done into this area, because it's a minefield. And the way iron deficiency is being addressed in a mainstream, conventional way, I think is causing more harm than good.

And so I care about doing it differently, and I care about doing, doing it in a way that- makes a difference without harming our bodies. I would never do an iron infusion, just straight up would never do an iron infusion, and would never recommend high-dose daily iron supplementation to [00:29:00] anyone, no matter how low your iron is, um, would not recommend that.

So I've been doing it a bit differently, and I wrote, um, a, an exclusive blog on my Karinda's Corner, uh, private email list all about my own iron results, like showing you screenshots of my results and showing you exactly how I was going about correcting it, improving my levels, and why I made the decisions I made.

And that could help you on your own journey with your own iron results. Not saying to do what I did, but you get a look at how I analyze iron results, which is really, really helpful. And I think in this age of, like, health awareness growing and taking health into our own hands, taking power over our health, I think this is a really important skill to have.

So if you want that, link will be down below to get that secret iron blog. Look at my iron results. I take you through a sneak peek of what I did to bring those back up and get them to a level that I would be more comfortable starting a [00:30:00] pregnancy in. The other thing, quick thing I want to say here, and I have done an episode of The Nuance Naturopaths all about this topic, um, because over, over the course of a year, I had, like, three different women come to me specifically for consultation around whether they should get, an IV iron infusion, uh, when they were in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy because they were getting diagnosed with iron deficiency at those stages of their pregnancy.

Let me tell you this. The reference ranges that we use for non-pregnant people versus the reference ranges that are more applicable in the second and third trimester are radically different. But women are being diagnosed with iron deficiency while they're pregnant based on those normal non-pregnant reference ranges.

You have more blood when you're pregnant because of all the things that are happening in your body and the fact that you are growing a new human inside of you, right? This dilutes a [00:31:00] lot of the markers that can be picked up in your blood. So this is called hemodilution. So your iron results cannot be looked, assessed against the normal reference ranges because it, there's a totally different physiology going on in your body.

So I'm just gonna plant that seed there, and I'll link that episode down below as well, um, if you would like to more, learn more specifically about iron in pregnancy. So that's something that I am focusing on specifically, um, as part of my preconception care. And then I guess expanding on this, six, is just supplementation in general.

Am I taking a prenatal? What nutrients am I taking? Mm.

I did decide to buy a prenatal, and I will let the record show that based on really good conversations and teachings from one of my mentors from afar, Rachel Arthur, I do have a different mindset. I do have a different opinion [00:32:00] on the use of prenatals for every woman. I'm not sure that we all need to be on a prenatal.

I'm not sure that we need to be taking a daily supplement for, for a prenatal, whether we are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. I think there's a lot of nuance and bad science when it comes to multivitamins in general. And what's interesting is that I've had that belief for many, many years, like even early in my naturopathic training.

But my brain, there was a disconnect in my brain between, mm, multivitamins aren't that great or efficient for most people, and prenatals are essentially just multivitamins that are marketed differently. So I had to get really real with myself, about, about how I saw those two things differently when they're actually pretty much the same thing.

Um, and I also d- wanted to make sure that I wasn't just, like, throwing out the baby with the [00:33:00] bathwater. God, awful saying on a fertility episode. But, like, I didn't want to dismiss prenatals just because I was having some changing opinion, opinions about some research that was coming out about multivitamins.

I wanted to make sure that I was considering all the factors. And, you know, it's always going to come back to your unique needs. You might be a good candidate for daily prenatal supplementation, or you might be a better candidate for really specific nutrient supplementation that are specific to symptoms that you have, history that you have, deficiencies that we know you have, rather than just throwing everything at you and take it in one tablet, you know, boom, there you go.

Anyway, all that aside, I did decide to buy a prenatal, but I'm taking that very, very occasionally. I will probably take it more, uh, if I do find out that I'm pregnant, mostly because my nutritional needs in general will increase when a pregnancy begins, and as a pregnancy develops. But [00:34:00] I still don't think I would be taking anything daily consistently.

I think that nutrients in the form of supplementation can have an impact, sometimes a better impact, when the dosage is lower or the frequency that you take it is less frequent.

So yeah, that's an area of health that is really important to be tailored to you. So I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna say anything more specific about that.

But that is absolutely something that I can help you with in Harmonized Hormones or Fertile Foundations. That's how I work with women who are looking to get to the root of their PCOS, endo, period problems, cycle irregularities, or the Fertile Foundations is more specifically for if you are trying to conceive.

And that is all around support for that, and we will definitely cover that throughout that process. What supplements you actually do need, and what supplements you can save your budget for and just not worry about. 'Cause there's a lot of, there's a lot of fiction out there, and there's a lot of really great marketing out there that [00:35:00] can make you believe that you do need a supplement when maybe you don't need a supplement.

A supplement that I would recommend to more people than not is ubiquinol. I am grateful to, uh, engage in the work of Dr. Leah Hechtman, who is a incredible fertility-focused naturopath, who does a lot of great research and collaborates with a lot of great researchers. And she taught me a lot about ubiquinol and how important it is in pregnancy.

So that is something I'm taking, and I also do feel a direct benefit from that when I take it. Even, you know, conception care aside, I feel better when I take it. I feel a difference. I do feel more energy, and I feel... I, I just, I j- I just feel better. And there is a s- very specific way to take that that is based on your unique body weight.

So again, I'm not gonna be making any generalized recommendations here.

Okay, so are we up to number seven? Yes, we're up to number seven. So I mentioned before that there's maybe some more [00:36:00] spiritual woo-woo things that I've been doing. And I guess, yeah, I do have some specific things, but it is kinda just general that I feel better, like in my body, in my mental health, in my life, I, I feel better when I am connected to a higher purpose or something bigger than myself. And I do have this bad habit of comparing the current version of myself to different times in my life where I felt like I was more intuitive or I was more connected to, like, a daily spiritual practice, or going to women's circles more often, or going to, uh, full moon gatherings and, or just, you know, with my own regular practice with the moon, with nature, with the elements, with the Sabbats, and, like, the Wheel of the Year.

And yeah, I can get down on myself when I'm like, "Oh, I feel like I'm not as, like, strong in that." But what I know is that the more attention I pay to those bigger aspects of life, those more, [00:37:00] more energetic, more spiritual practices, I, I just know that I feel better. I feel more connected to my intuition. Another practice that helps me feel more connected to my intuition is, um, dream journaling and specifically dream interpretation through a Jungian lens.

I can be in the day-to-day of, like, doing work, getting things done, participating in society. But when I have these u- undercurrents of, like, being connected to my dreams, being connected to, like, my mind, but also my spiritual self, I just feel so much better about everything. And I know that pregnancy...

Like, conception, pregnancy, birth, they are significant initiations as a woman and as, as a human. And I don't wanna be bogged down in the, uh, in the objective, like, clinical side of it only. I want to be open to those [00:38:00] experiences as deeply, deeply spiritual and deeply, deeply initiatory. Um, and I know that the more I strengthen my intuition now, the more I stay connected to my energetic, my seasonal, my spiritual practices now,

I think the more naturally I will be more connected to the spiritual elements of pregnancy and birth, which is something I really, really deeply desire. And there are also some books on my radar. Jane Hardwick Collings has a book. It might be The Ten Moons Journey. And Rachel Reed, I believe, has a book.

Is it The Rites of Childbirth? Or maybe not. but I will link those below, and these are also... You know, so I seek out sources who will remind me of, like, the spiritual, the spiritual elements of pregnancy and motherhood and the journey that it is. And you know, people might see spirituality as something that is, you know, specifically not grounded.

But in [00:39:00] a weird way, the more focus and attention and energy I give to my spiritual practices, the more grounded I feel in this reality. So I think, yeah, when you strike a, a good balance, it can work out really well in that way. And, you know, I, I think another part of, like, my, my own personal, like, intuition practice is staying connected to my body and what I feel in my body in a really neutral way.

And just, like, acknowledging my body as the sensitive sensor that it is. and one of my practices, uh, one of my morning practices alongside meditation, m- don't do this all the time, but again, I just feel better when I do it more often, is a, a self-touch practice, uh, with my vulva. I will just have my hand over my vulva, and I will just tune into what I can sense, tune into how my tissue feels there.

And [00:40:00] usually the only, the only invitation I will give myself t- m- give myself is to soften. Sometimes I'll have one hand on my heart, one hand on my vulva, and I will just invite myself to soften. If I feel tension, soften. Breathe into it. And that's it. It's as simple as that. Um, not to

mention how I think import- how important it is to be connected to those physical parts of yourself, your anatomy, your vulva, your vagina, your womb, leading up to pregnancy and birth because those parts of you are gonna be really, really prominent. They are gonna be expanding a lot, changing a lot, sensing a lot, feeling a lot, experiencing a lot, in a really intense way.

And I would rather feel more connected

to them before being, like, just thrown into the deep end of, "You haven't been connected to your body. Now feel all of this stuff in your body." I would rather tend to that connection now so that I do have a stronger connection when those parts of [00:41:00] me are going through really intense changes. Hope that makes sense.

Anyway, if none of it makes sense, or s- only some of it makes sense and you'd like to learn more, feel free to just shoot me a message on Instagram or email me. Just say, "Hey, that thing you were talking about on the podcast, can you tell me more about that?" Very happy to answer any questions. And the last two things That I have been doing as part of my preconception journey is, uh, the partner related stuff.

Because guess what, girls? It takes two to tango. It takes two to tango, and me tending to myself and my own health is as important as my partner tending to himself and his health. Uh, one of the favorite th- one of my favorite things that I've done recently, that I'm so glad I did, and I'm so grateful my partner took part in, my partner has been watching some webinars with me, some webinars that I watch as part of my [00:42:00] continuing professional education as a naturopath, all about male fertility and sperm health, and looking at male hormonal health.

And he is learning so much about, like, all the things that contribute to sperm quality, and DNA quality, and how they, uh, influence pregnancy outcomes, and birth outcomes, and future baby outcomes. And he is like... And it's just such a breath of fresh air that, like, I'm not having to, like, convince a partner to, like, care about their health for these really specific reasons that I can't be bothered explaining.

I can just be like, "Hey, can you watch this with me?" And he's like, "Yeah." And then he learns from it, and he actually takes it on, and it impacts him directly. He's not just like, "Oh, I'm gonna do this thing because, like, Karinda says I have to." He gets the information firsthand from the same high-level sources that I get my own information from as a practitioner.

And that inspires him [00:43:00] to make changes, to look into things, to investigate certain supplements, to do certain tests, um, and to make lifestyle changes, uh, for himself. Really, really grateful for that. so yeah. He's gotten testing done. He's got specific supplements based on his need, based on signals that he was getting from his body.

And that is gonna make a huge impact on fertility and our chances of conceiving when we do actively try, and I'm so, so grateful for that. And then the, the last thing that is also partner related that I'm focusing on for my preconception journey is intimacy connection.

Strengthening our intimacy and the intimate bond that we have, strengthening our sexual connection. Because this is something that I actually talk about a little bit in, um, a secret podcast that I do, 'cause I do, uh, lots of secret things. I've got secret blogs online and secret podcasts. Um, but I'm making a podcast called [00:44:00] The Fertility Files.

Um, that's just a short, limited series, uh, private podcast for those of you who are specifically interested in fertility. And one of the more recent episodes is all about libido. Because

Libido is what is needed to naturally engage in the process of procreation, right, and making babies. And I don't think we can separate making babies from sex and sexual health and libido. Uh, we certainly can separate them, but I'm not sure that it's healthy to or that it's in our best interest to, because I believe libido, sex, that is vital life force.

That is the energy that is going into creating this, you know, cr- uh, initiating this fertilization and creating new life. And I know personally, [00:45:00] I want my best, like deepest well of energy flowing into that process. And I want the same thing for my partner. I don't want either of us coming to this process with depleted states, from a depe- depleted place, from a place of feeling like we need to do it as a chore, from a place of feeling like we're disconnected from each other, but, like, we want kids, so we need to do this thing.

I'm really passionate about encouraging couples and supporting couples to have, like, a genuinely deep, intimate connection that gets to result in the babies that they want and the family that they want to grow. And one of my tips for supporting this is doing a monthly relationship check-in. This is, like, for the health of our relationship in general.

We ask each other several of the same questions, about our relationship in general [00:46:00] and how we've been tracking the last month, issues, things that haven't been said that we want to get off our chest, celebrating ourselves, celebrating each other, and also identifying areas where we think we could do a little bit better or where we want to change things.

And as part of that check-in, uh, we include questions specifically about our sex life and our intimacy. And that is such a good, vulnerable, beautiful opportunity to talk about that part of our connection with each other and where it needs some attending to, where it needs some TLC. And again, just celebrating where we think it's, it's really beautiful.

It's just so important to talk about. And, like, I, I feel like in, in the libido episode that I did of the Fertility Files podcast, I talk about how, like, I don't think doctors and, like, fertility specialists are asking about this part of health as much as they could be. Because at the end of the day, if your libido is low or struggling, and [00:47:00] you are not feeling a natural desire to connect with your partner, the person that you want to procreate with, I think there's some things to look at there before just, like, steamrolling ahead into, like, "Oh, we need to make a baby," you know, and getting really caught up in the timeline.

Um, ugh, there's so much nuance here. I know there's so much nuance. I know some people might hear this and be like, "This isn't what I wanted to hear." Um, "I'm already, you know, over having sex with

my boyfriend or partner or husband, you know? I, you know, ugh, that's the least of my priorities." And I would invite you to maybe look at that in a different way, especially if starting a family or having babies is, um, is one of your goals. That's been a really nice thing for me and for us to look at and to tend to, and just acknowledging it for the beautiful, important process that it is.

Acknowledging it for the [00:48:00] literal life sparking act that it is, rather than just like a surface level, like lustful, you know, superficial thing that that, you know, we feel like we should do or, like, we have to do. Like, no, it gets to be fucking great, and it gets to result in life. Like, I'm passionate about sex.

I'm passionate about good sex, passionate sex, great sex, life-giving sex. Anyway, if you have any messages about sex, if you have any questions about sex, ask me. Message me on Instagram. I'd love to talk about sex with you. Um, and maybe this is also explains, uh, some of my natural pivoting into fertility work this year 'cause I just love sex, and what's related to sex?

Fertility. Um, and do you know what? Do you know what, babes? I've got one last tip for you. Let's round it off to a nice, clear 10. 10 tips for preconception care. 10 things that I am doing in [00:49:00] my own preconception journey because I would like to be pregnant in about a year from now. And this one is free, and it's a basic and, and I, I, I don't want any arguments.

There's no ifs, ands or buts. And do you know what? I'm actually breaking my own rules at the moment. Because number 10 is protecting your circadian rhythm. Protecting your circadian rhythm, protecting your eyes from artificial light at night, which has a direct impact on your hormones. My angry gavel is my case from Block Blue Light.

Shout out Block Blue Light. That's where I get these glasses from, my red bulbs from, my red lens glasses from. I've said so much about this. I've said so much about this. I do have a, a free online guide for what circadian rhythm is, how the sun impacts your circadian rhythm, how your artificial light exposure impacts your circadian rhythm, and best steps to [00:50:00] take to start optimizing your circadian rhythm.

This is your daily rhythm. It informs all your other rhythms, including your hormonal rhythm, which informs your fertility, okay? So I don't want to argue about it, okay? I just need you to protect yourself from artificial light, especially at night, and I need you to get some sunlight. Can we do that? If you care about fertility, if trying to conceive is one of your goals for this year or in the next 12 months, protect your circadian rhythm.

And that is something that clearly not for the first, uh, 90% of this episode, but that is something that I have been focusing on, in the last few months as well, taking more seriously, you know, alongside insulin resistance, alongside my stress. Because I know, I, the research, the research that is emerging is undeniable.

The links between the light that we are exposed to and the darkness that we are exposed to, and the impact that that has on our [00:51:00] reproductive hormones, our menstrual cycles, and our fertility, it is undeniable, guys. This, th- this is like a, it's just a non-negotiable. If you care about your health at all, this is a non-negotiable, okay?

I know we live in modern times, and this is why there's modern solutions like these glasses, to protect ourselves against these, um, these perils of modernity that are sabotaging our ovaries. I'm here to help. I'm here to help. And also, um, the link is always in the description for Block Blue Light,

where you can get your own pair of glasses or red bulbs or red reading lamps or red light therapy devices. They have a beautiful range of so many health supportive, circadian rhythm optimizing tools, which I highly, highly, highly recommend. I use it myself. I r- I recommend it to all patients. It's just how it is.

Do you think I've said enough? Do you think I've said enough this episode? Do you think I've given you enough to chew on? You know a bit more about my own life now and what I'm [00:52:00] doing as a women's health naturopath and fertility educator to support my own health in this new preconception era that I find myself in.

But I hope you've also got some tidbits that will benefit your own, uh, trying to conceive and fertility journey. If you would like my one-on-one tailored support for this, because it can be hard to get all the information from the internet, even listen to my podcasts, and, you know, get all my resources, and still try to figure it all out yourself, especially if you have complex health or irregular cycles, and fertility's on the back of your mind, and you're just like, "Oh, am I gonna have some troubles?"

Book in for a free fertility clarity call. Let's find out what support you need. Let's find out what your body's asking for, and let's make it as easeful as possible for you to conceive on the timeline that you desire.

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Oh My Menses. Little bit different, little bit fertility-focused. If you want more fertility content, click the link below for access to the [00:53:00] Fertility Files. There's currently five, four episodes of that out, with two more on the way. if you are trying to conceive, that is the info that I want you to have.

In the meantime, take care. Support your circadian rhythm, for God sakes. Download the free cycle tracking guide. Do all the things, and I will see you in the next one