The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! In this episode, I interview Kimberley Banfield, is the Founder of Soulcology™. As a Soulcologist™ & Soul Purpose Mentor, Speaker and Teacher, she guides & supports Entrepreneurial Women to find the clarity, confidence & courage to listen to their intuition, heal past experiences & find & fulfil their Soul's Purposes. She is most passionate about helping women to 'make their life a moment that matters™.'

In Today's Episode: 

• Kimberley’s background and personal journey
• Kimberley’s experience in the corporate world and how her intuition conflicted with this chosen life path
• The mental, emotional and spiritual consequences Kim experienced from her years of choosing to ignore her intuition
• Kimberley’s decision to change her life path and choose the unknown and what helped her make this decision
• What it means to fully embrace your feminine side
• Society’s influence on our view of femininity
• How to start to discover your intuition
• How your body might be giving you hidden intuitive messages
• The relationship between the menstrual cycle and femininity
• The menstrual cycle and what can be learned through harnessing your intuition
• Period pain and the energy that may be associated with it
• Listening to your body and intuition during menstruation
• Advice for finding a balance between your feminine energy and masculine energy in everyday life
• What is self-muscle testing and how to use it on yourself?
• How Kimberley teaches women to do what feeds their soul and follow their own intuition
• Kimberly’s poem, “Women Rewilding”

Connect with Kimberley Banfield

Welcome to another episode of the Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! In this episode, I interview co-founders of FertilityCE webinars, Nora Pope, and Dr. Jessica Liu, ND. 

Nora Pope is an educator, public speaker, and former Naturopathic Doctor in Toronto. She is the creator of “Cycle Charting: The Key to Fertility” CE Seminars. In her CE lectures, she merges her expertise in Natural Family Planning Cycle Charting with perinatal care in calculating precise due dates, how to flag risks for miscarriages, how to prescribe progesterone to prevent pre-term births, and how to naturally space out the next pregnancy during breastfeeding. 

Dr. Jessica Liu, ND, co-produced the 2021 accredited webinar “Chart Your Cycle, Progesterone HRT and FertilityOptimization” for healthcare professionals. Dr. Jessica Liu, ND has been a speaker for various events and organizations including The Canadian Fertility Show, The Children’s International Wellness Conference. With an extensive background in natural reproductive care, Dr. Jessica Liu, ND has helped many couples conceive healthy babies, whether naturally, or alongside assisted reproductive techniques such as IUI or IVF. Her program, “Creating Vibrant Fertility” has a particular focus on supporting women to move through their fertility trauma in order to awaken their optimal fertility potential.

In this episode we discuss the following topics:

• Introduction to Nora and Jessica - their personal and professional backgrounds
• What does holistic fertility care look like?
• The importance of body literacy
• The common fertility tests that are often missed or conducted inaccurately with conventional fertility care
• Menstrual cycle charts as a diagnostic tool
• The benefits of the information that comes from cycle charting
• How to read your cycle chart and what certain signs mean in terms of reproductive health
• Addressing the dependence on LH strips and the reliability of this tool
• SOFT (sensation, observation, finger test) to track fertility
• The pros and cons of period tracking apps
• What lower abdominal pain can mean
• The most important charting signs and signals and what they mean
• Top three pieces of advice for a woman who’s trying to conceive
• Fertility as an extension of healthy physiology
• Why women should start cycle charting sooner rather than later
• The costs of hormonal birth control in young women
• The truth about progesterone levels and testing
• What contributes to progesterone levels
• Low progesterone and epilepsy
• The diversity of women’s cycles
• Progesterone testing during TTC & early pregnancy
• Charting signs that may reveal infections during pregnancy

Connect with the speakers

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast!

In today's episode, I interview Clinical Aromatherapist, Kathleen Bednis! And we discuss the benefits of using essential oils for hormone balancing, cycle syncing, and pain management associated with hormonal conditions like endometriosis. Kathleen also shares how to safely use essential oils and how to go about creating your own blends. Kathleen's passion for research and health has lead her to a career educating and helping women and families integrate essential oils into their health practices! 

In this episode:

• Introduction and what got Kathleen to doing the work that she does
• What is aromatherapy and how does it help with healing
• Essential oils have different properties and how they can be used
• What women need to know about incorporating essential oils
• What you should NOT do with essential oils
• Interactions with essential oils
• How essential oils can help with hormone balancing
• Top essential oils for period pain
• How to apply essential oils for menstrual concerns
• Best carrier oils or diluting oils
• Essential oils for endometriosis
• How long do you need to see changes with essential oils
• Cycling oils during your menstrual cycles
• What essential oils would you use to regulate your cycles
• Essential oils in pregnancy - what you need to know about the safest dilution
• Essential oils for pregnancy morning sickness
• Energetic properties of essential oils and how they can influence the 7 chakras
• What is a chakra imbalance at your third eye chakra
• What essential oils help balance chakras
• What does working with a clinical aromatherapist look like

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! Today we are talking about menstrual cycles and the moon phases with Joy Davis, a Fertility Awareness Educator training in the Justisse Method. Joy grew up in Alderville First Nation in Southern Ontario, Canada. Her Anishinaabe culture is a huge part of her identity. She teaches menstruators about using their menstrual cycles as a health tool and to achieve or avoid pregnancy. She strives to make fertility, cervical mucus, vagina's and uterus' fun and talked about openly. She believes in using your fertility to your advantage instead of fearing it!

In this episode:

• Introduction and Joy’s experience with hormonal birth control and her discovery of fertility awareness method (FAM)
• The benefits of the fertility awareness method and the ways it can connect you to your cycle and your body
• Joy’s business Full Moon Fertility, and the meaning behind the name
• Full moon ceremonies: what there are and what they signify
• The relationship between the moon and a women’s cycle
• Red moon cycles vs white mood cycles
• The difference in energy flow between these two-cycle types
• Acknowledging how our cycles and energy may vary month by month
• What are a woman's top fertile signs that she should be paying attention to?
• Misconceptions when looking at basal body temperature as a fertility indicator
• Addressing why FAM is worth the extra time commitment
• The learning curve of FAM
• The benefits and reward of charting your cycle
• The first steps to getting started with FAM
  

Connect with guest: Joy Davis

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! Today we are talking about Jannette's infertility journey and how she came to discover the Fertility Awareness Method and how to use it to become empowered about her fertility and reproductive health. She also shares her best coping strategies and how used NaPro technologies to receive answers about her diagnosis of unexplained infertility. 

Jannette is a Registered Nurse with a critical care background. She felt that her medical education did not prepare her for a diagnosis of unexplained infertility from the conventional medicine point of view. At the time she felt relatively healthy and knew there had to be a root cause for my inability to get pregnant. Her quest for answers led her to the wonderful world of body literacy and fertility awareness in a way that was never described in her nursing textbooks. The deeper she dove, the more she realized that this information was not just useful for women trying to avoid pregnancy or trying to achieve pregnancy, but as a way to connect with your body and have a diagnostic tool to use to advocate for yourself with your doctors!

In this episode:

• Introduction and Jannette’s story
• Jannette’s experience with infertility
• Discussing misinformation and the lack of proper sex education
• How Jannette discovered the FAM method and why this was beneficial in her health and fertility journey
• The benefits of FAM and how it can help women become more knowledgeable and empowered when it comes to their reproductive health
• Addressing how some medical professional lack FAM knowledge and training
• What is NaPro technology?
• The history of NaPro - how was it created?
• How NaPro changes the way we view women’s health care
• NaPro and finding the root cause of hormonal imbalances
• Who can benefit from using NaPro?
• How NaPro and can help answer why an individual is experiencing unexplained infertility or miscarriages
• NaPro technology and fertility
• What sets NaPro doctors and technology apart from traditional medical treatment?
• Jannette talks about her endometriosis diagnosis and how this impacted her view on IVF
• Top pieces of wisdom every women or couple should think about when considering using NaPro
• The benefits of using NaPro technology as a teenager
• The spiritual side of the fertility journey
• The idea of “life tanks”
• How Jannette’s childhood experiences impacted her mental, physical, and spiritual health as an adult
• Exploring the idea of spirit babies that exist before conception
• How surrendering is strength
• Relationships and the fertility journey
• Remembering what we have control over in the fertility journey
• Pieces of advice for women who are just beginning their fertility journey

Connect with guest: Jannette Carlos 

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast!

Today we are talking PCOS with Family Nurse Practitioner, Callie Crouch. She is the creator of The PCOS Lifestyle Program and has a private practice in Texas doing primarily telemedicine. Callie struggled with PCOS for years before learning how to control her symptoms, she then felt a need to help other women find their way towards PCOS management. Callie wanted the opportunity to look at each individual woman’s habits and help make small tweaks to move towards a healthier lifestyle so their acne improves, belly fat shrinks, and irregular periods become regular. Working as a health coach gives me the opportunity to work with more women all over the globe! She is passionate about working with women as their health coach to move them towards a healthier life so they can feel sexy, beautiful, and in control of their PCOS symptoms.

In this episode:

• Introduction and what led Callie to work with women who have PCOS
• Callie’s professional background and personal experience with PCOS
• What is PCOS?
• The symptoms of PCOS
• How PCOS is diagnosed and why PCOS may be difficult to identify in some women
• Hormonal birth control and PCOS
• What is the first-line treatment for PCOS?
• Are there different types of PCOS and how they are related?
• The effects of insulin resistance with PCOS
• PCOS and the thyroid - what’s the role of the thyroid and what is the relationship between the thyroid and PCOS?
• PCOS and the adrenals - what are the adrenals responsible for and what does their dysfunction lead to?
• Which tests should women have done if they think they may have PCOS?
• Recognizing that normal lab results do not necessarily mean that everything is regular
• Top 3 pieces of nutritional advice that every woman with PCOS should consider
• Recognizing that making small lifestyle changes is the first step to achieving your health goals
• The vegan diet and PCOS
• The importance of magnesium
• What type and level of exercise should women with PCOS partake in?
• The benefits of exercise for women with PCOS
• The connection between PCOS and fertility
• What can women with PCOS do to help support fertility?
• The role of progesterone with fertility in women with PCOS
• Tools and devices to monitor ovulation and fertility
• All about Callie’s PCOS Lifestyle Program

Connect with guest: Callie Crouch

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! 

Today we are talking endometriosis with Registered Dietitian, Cindy Dabrowska. She is the founder of "The Supportive Endo RD" and her passion comes from supporting endo warriors - who much like me, have said “enough is enough” to debilitating, life-altering symptoms of endometriosis. Cindy has supported countless women in her nutrition counseling practice through a functional medicine root-cause approach to endometriosis. As a registered dietitian and endowarrior, she prides herself on being an ally to, and a resource for, the endometriosis community.

In this episode:

• Introduction and what lead Cindy into working in women’s health and specializing in women with endometriosis
• How Cindy can relate to her clients and why this is helpful
• What is endometriosis?
• Where endometriosis can occur in the body and the various health complications associated with endometriosis
• What causes endometriosis and what are some risk factors?
• The link between endometriosis and the autoimmune system
• Top 3 pieces of nutritional advice that women with endometriosis should consider
• Should women with endometriosis restrict certain foods?
• Using supplements to manage endometriosis
• Choosing supplements based on the individual
• How endometriosis can affect fertility
• What we know about the ability for women with endometriosis to conceive
• What can be done to support conception for someone with endometriosis
• How diet and lifestyle can support fertility and complement conventional fertility treatments
• Which types of proteins should women with endometriosis include in their diet?
  

Connect with guest: Cindy Dabrowska

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! In today's episode, we are talking all things clean beauty with holistic skincare therapist, Seanna Cohen.  She is a certified Skin Care Therapist and founder of the Clean Beauty School, an online destination to learn about skincare, shop the effective clean beauty products and get personalized advice through 1:1 consultations. As a trusted expert, she helps women create holistic skincare plans so they can feel confident both in their skin and with their beauty choices.

In this episode:

• Introduction and why Seanna got into the clean skincare industry
• Navigating miss-information of the beauty industry from a research perspective
• Skin during the phases of your menstrual cycle - follicular phase, ovulation phase, luteal phase, menstrual phase
• When is the optimal time to test out new skincare products?
• When is the best time to get a facial during your menstrual cycle?
• Progesterone’s effect on the skin
• Cycle synching skin-care method
• Intuitive skin-care treatment - learning what your skin needs
• How often should you cleanse your skin?
• Skin-care tracker available here:
• Top 3 skincare tips for women
• Benefits of facial massage and tension release
• Estrogen dominance and skin
• Mental health and skin issues
• Addressing the root cause of your skin concerns and how it originates from an underlying hormone condition
• The regulations around clean and organic skincare
• Environmental working group, skin deep campaign, think dirty app
• How to approach research with caution
• What you need to know about retinol for your skin
• How to navigate fear-mongering within the skincare industry
• What chemicals are absorbed into the skin
• Discussing the cost of clean beauty and is spending more money mean it’s a superior product?
• Difference between different oils for your skin
• Learning how to read an ingredient list
• What concentration of active ingredients should you look for
• The skincare regime that every woman needs to do
• Choosing the right cleanser
• What skincare item can you skip?
• Where to start with your transition to clean beauty
• What a virtual skincare consultation looks like
• Working with Seanna at Clean Beauty School

Connect with guest: Seanna Cohen 

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! In today’s episode, we are talking everything postpartum from how to navigate your health and the return of your fertility to how you can use the fertility awareness method as your birth control during this phase!

My guest is Kimberly Parker, a mother of 5, ages 8 to 1-year-old. She grew up in central Minnesota in agriculture and her and her husband's harvesting business took lead the to recently settling in Holyoke, Colorado. As the daughter of a dairy farmer, Kimberly has a strong love for agriculture and nutrition. She believes families need to know they have lots of options for their health.  She believes through the power of whole food nutrition one can change what society claims as normal. Her experiences led her to want to help families, women, and men with Juice Plus, which is simply a high powdered vine-ripened produce in a capsule!

In today's episode

• Introduction from Kimberly Parker and what lead her to Fertility Awareness Methods after being pregnant with her 5th baby
• Experience with previous Fertility Awareness methods, before finding the Justisse Method
• Pros and cons to self-teaching a fertility awareness-based method
• FAM is not just for babies but for women’s health
• Overcoming the challenges of postpartum charting and using FAM
• Understanding your fertility postpartum and during breastfeeding
• Creating time for FAM as a busy mom
• Difference between using an app to track cycles and learning a FAM
• Why fertility awareness apps are not effective at knowing when a woman ovulates
• How the Justisse Method affects your relationship with your partner
• Managing abstinence with FAM
• Postpartum nutrition and charting
• Stress and charting
• Advice for other postpartum moms about FAM
• Talking to your daughter about charting

Connect with guest: Kimberly Parker 

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! In today’s episode, we are talking about how to optimizing your libido for your stage of life. And what underlying factors may be leading to you not feeling like you have the same mojo you had in the past.

My guest is Maraya Brown, a Yale Trained CNM, MSN with her undergraduate in marketing.  She has been attending births for 20 years, managed women’s health clinics in Hawaii and Oregon for 13 years, taught at the Chinese Medicine College on the Big Island of Hawaii, and is in the process of getting her certification through the Institute of Functional Medicine.

She has a deep appreciation and respect for food as medicine and now practices online as a women’s health coach with her 8-week program to “Help Women move from Exhausted to Energized, Balance their Hormones and feel Turned On by their Life, their Lover and Themselves.”

She is the co-creator and co-founder of Beyond The Red Tent and she and Missy have put this Hormones & Wellness Summit together for all of you as well as their online FB group, membership, and TentTalks on YouTube.who has a deep appreciation and respect for food as medicine and practices as an online women’s health coach where she helps Women move from exhausted to energized, balance their hormones and feel turned on by their life, their lover and Themselves.

In today's episode

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! In Today’s episode, we are talking about the microbiome and how essential it is for healthy hormones. We are going to dive deep into estrogen metabolism, including understanding the estrobolome and what foods you need to eat and how to optimize the strain of probiotics you choose.

My guest today is Dr. Kristin Spark, a Naturopathic Doctor, certified sports nutritionist, and the owner of Verdure Wellness Clinic, an interdisciplinary health and wellness clinic that offers a modern approach to natural medicine. Dr. Kristin has a special interest in treating digestive and hormonal health conditions and loves to work with active and motivated individuals ready for change.

I am excited for Dr. Spark to share her knowledge, clinical expertise, and research about how we can optimize our microbiome for superior hormone health. 

In Today’s episode:

• Dr. Spark’s background and research in understanding the microbiome
• Hormone health and it’s connection to the microbiome/gut
• Phases of estrogen detoxification
• What is the Estrobolome
• Case studies of improved hormone symptoms once  gut health addressed
• Changes in PMS when IBS symptom improved
• Top 3 foods essential for gut health in women
• Ketogenic diet and lack of this key essential gut food
• A Carbohydrate called MACS
• Bitter foods and its role on stimulating the organs of digestion 
• Lifestyle factors that influence bacteria and gut health
• Meditations and their role on gastric motility
• Probiotics and what strains are best for you
• When to take a probiotic
• Probiotics and PMS, estrogen dominance, hormonal migraines
• SIBO and probiotic use
• What you need to know about Align brand probiotics
• Probiotic supplements vs food sources
• Various strains of probiotics
• Summary of probiotic research and women’s health concerns
• PMS and probiotics
• Endometriosis and specific probiotic strains
• Probiotic strain and recurrent urinary tract infections
• PCOS and gut diversity
• Fertility, probiotics and baby’s gut flora
• Adverse reactions to probiotics

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast!

Today’s episode is all about the Fertility Awareness Method and cervical mucus, topics I am really excited to talk about. And my guest for today's episode is equally passionate about all things cervical mucus and we are going to tell you everything from what cervical mucus is to why it is important for your fertility, reproductive, and hormone health!

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast!

Today’s episode in my fertility series is about miscarriage and understanding what hormonal condition can put you at an increased risk of miscarriage, and what labs you should consider asking your fertility doctor for if you have experienced one or multiple miscarriages. My guest today Dr. Anna D’intino shares her personal experience with miscarriage and how she works with couples on their fertility journey.

Dr. Anna D'Intino is a Naturopathic Doctor practicing in Nova Scotia who helps women feel better by optimizing their hormones, supporting them through hormonal challenges and changes and helping them on their fertility journeys. Anna believes that when we are feeling our best, we can achieve anything we want, and she works with her patients to remove their obstacles to health.

In today's episode:

• Introduction from Dr. Anna and her personal experience with miscarriage
• Language around having a miscarriage and how to talk to love ones
• Understanding the frequency of miscarriage
• Defining the different types of miscarriage like chemical pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, blighted ovum
• The pain of having a miscarriage (in comparison to birth)
• Explaining the various causes of miscarriage
• Chromosomal abnormality and miscarriage
• Predisposing conditions that increase your risk of miscarriage
• Autoimmune diseases and increased risk
• Paternal health and its correlation to miscarriage risk
• Causes of uterine abnormalities
• Luteal Phase Defect and what to look for in your chart
• Recommends for staying positive after experiencing 1 miscarriage
• What to do after you had your first miscarriage
• What does a fertility workup post-miscarriage look like
• Top 3 general fertility tips that all couples could benefit from

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! 

Today’s episode in my fertility series is about PCOS and what it looks like for women who already have this diagnosis or they have learned from their fertility workup that PCOS may be leading to their fertility challenges. And my special guest today is Dr. Anne Hussain who is not only a PCOS "cyster" but a Naturopathic doctor with a focus on helping women navigate the complexities of PCOS and hormone health!

Dr. Anne Hussain is a naturopathic doctor and period literacy advocate who helps women optimize their periods, hormones, and fertility. Her personal experience with polycystic ovarian syndrome and a thyroid disorder drives her passion to empower and educate women to practice self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-advocacy.

Dr. Anne practices out of Aurora, Ontario, is a supervising clinician for the non-profit Naturopaths Without Borders - Thailand and sits on the board of directors for the Aurora Community Band and Toronto Vegetarian Association. She loves eating chocolate, drinking tea, spending time in nature, playing her saxophone, and talking about women’s health.

In today's episode:

• Dr. Anne’s personal story and what lead her to do the work she does
• Birth control and informed choice
• The research involved in the diagnosis PCOS
• Rotterdam Criteria
• Insulin Resistance and testing
• PCOS Comorbidities
• Important PCOS lab tests
• What is a complete PCOS assessment and why it’s important
• Homa-IR calculation and how to interpret it for women with PCOS
• How conception is about more than ovulation
• Miscarriage and how it can be thought of as a cardiovascular disease of the placenta
• PCOS dietary guidelines and recommendations
• Should women with PCOS reduce their carbs
• How self-compassion gets us out of guilt
• Top supplements for women with PCOS who are trying to conceive
• AMH levels as a diagnostic tool
• Mapping out the hormonal connection between
• The connection between PCOS, ovulation and appetite control
• Using ovulation predictor kits for women with PCOS
• Charting and PCOS
• Additional tips for fertility support and PCOS
• How to manage the mental-emotional aspect of PCOS
• What does professional help look like

Welcome to another episode of the hormone heartbeat podcast! 

Today’s episode in my fertility series is all about knowing your options through fertility treatments. And guest shares her journey motherhood using reproductive technologies, including third-party reproduction.

Meta Getman is a mom to 3-year-old twins after 4 rounds of IUI, 3 rounds of fresh IVF and one round of IVF using donor eggs.  With a heart for serving others and passion for people to know they are not alone, Meta uses what she learned on her journey to help others.  She helps family-focused, responsible, and relationship-driven women and couples facing infertility and using third party reproduction so they can make thoughtful, confident, and informed decisions about how to best build their family without anxiety, fear, misinformation, judgment, rejection or worry about how their choices will impact their future child and family. In addition to co-founding a community in Minneapolis/St. Paul of families who used a donor to build their families, Meta continues to drive change in the infertility community. Meta volunteers with RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association and her husband have spoken at the RESOLVE Midwest Family Building Summit, one of the largest gatherings of professionals and those struggling to build their families in the United States.

In today’s episode

• Introduction and Meitha’s Story and what lead to the birth of her twin girls
• Clomid for low sperm
• What is an IUI fertility procedure
• What does AMH level mean about IVF and egg quality
• How to cope when your IVF round produces no embryo’s to freeze
• How to choose a donor and the various types of donor options
• Twins through Artificial Reproductive Therapies 
• What are the various types of Third Party Reproduction
• How common is Third-Party Reproduction
• Fear mongering in the Fertility world
• Feeling pressure to make a decision
• How to build your toolkit and have practitioners on your team
• The truth about the emotional connection when having a child through donor eggs
• Full transparency with your children about how they were conceived
• How to talk to your kids about how they were conceived
• Steps for rewriting your fertility story
• How to find gratitude within the struggle
• Top tips for couples going through the infertility journey and how to strengthen their relationship in the struggle

***Special Gift for HHP Listeners from Meta Getman, Fertility Coach ***

Welcome to another episode of the hormone heartbeat podcast!

In today's episode of the fertility series, I decided to do something a little different and I am going to have a REAL and RAW conversation with a friend and fellow fertility soul sister. This episode is going to be personal, vulnerable and may get emotional, as I share my story openly for the first time!

We will not dwell on the hardships of infertility, nor will it be a ranting session, because those of you going through it, know exactly what it's about and those who aren’t there yet, your journey and story DOES NOT have to be what anyone else’s experience is. 

Through sharing our personal stories, lessons, and blessings, the goal is to foster a connection with listeners and my fellow TTC warriors and offer listeners wisdom and insights that both myself and my guest, Rachel,  have gained over our journeys!

Highlights from the episode: 

• Personal Journey and highlighting tough moments
• Unexplained infertility
• Toughest part of the journey
• Coping with the feeling that “something is wrong with me”
• Interpreting comments form friends and family
• Stress and Fertility
• Key learnings from the journey
• Planning Kids in future what to start doing now
• Divine timing and letting go of the control
• Reiki and fertility
• Blessings in the journey
• Fertility and your Marriage and relationship
• One piece of advice for couples moving forward
• Fertility clinic won’t solve all problems
• Permission to say no to a baby shower
• Social media and your fertility

Thank you for listening! We invite you to connect with us!

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! The next episode in the fertility series is about the Spiritual aspect of fertility and the concept of spirit babies and how couples can communicate with their spirit babies and call them into conception.

I believe fertility is a marrying of a couple's physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

My guest today is Lynne Newman the founder of Gray Mothering where she helps resourceful women navigate the dark— in motherhood and life. After going through her own struggles, including dealing with fertility, loss, and cancer, she learned first hand, the depth and meaning of self-compassion. She's an inspiring speaker, author and holistic occupational therapist who loves to facilitate transformation. Her ultimate wish is that every person (small or big) listen and trust their intuition.

In today’s episode:

• Lynne’s Personal Journey and her connection with her Spirit Babies
• Spiritualty background rooted in her career as an Occupational Therapist
• Defining spirituality
• Sprit baby
• Fertility emotions and how to work through than
• Spirit babies by Walter Makichen
• The process of letting go and your fertility
• How your future baby plays a role in their conception
• Your baby’s personality before conception
• Surrendering during your journey
• How to begin exploring your spirituality and your spirit baby connection
• How to define and describe a spirit baby
• How to communicate with your spirit baby
• We all have the ability to communicate energetically with your spirit babies
• Karmic patterns
• Where to start your meditation and intuition for spirit baby connections
• Fears and barriers to becoming a mom
• Partnership and spirit babies
• Gray Mothering

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! 

Today’s episode in the fertility series is all about integrative and collaborative fertility management. My guest and I discuss how you can optimize your fertility outcomes by working with fertility focused practitioners to support your work with a reproductive endocrinologist at a fertility clinic!

My guest today Dr. Kelsey Duncan is a Naturopathic Doctor with a special focus in fertility and women's hormonal health. Kelsey is the Founder and CEO of The Fertility Confidence Method™ - her proven 12-week method to balancing hormones, boosting fertility and improve your chances of conceiving

In today’s episode:

• Dr. Kelsey Duncan’s personal story and what lead her to do the work that she does
• Why Dr. Kelsey got into women’s health
• What does integrative and collaborative fertility care mean
• Various stages of the fertility journey
• Timeline to impact egg quality
• Standard of practice for a referral to a fertility clinic
• Importance of getting a semen analysis right away
• How to know if you are ready for the fertility clinic
• Pros and cons of working with a fertility clinic
• What is cycle monitoring
• Fertility Foundations™ blood test panel
• What needs to be ruled in and out for fertility patients
• Importance of timing intercourse
• Fertility testing
• What is optimal semen analysis numbers
• The decline in fertility over the years
• How long should men abstain to produce the best sperm during the fertile window?
• Is daily intercourse too much for fertility?
• Importance of cervical mucus
• The optimal frequency of intercourse during the fertile window
• Timeline of birth control and fertility
• Advice for couples going through the fertility journey
• Importance of not being alone in your journey
• Fertility grief

Connect with Guest: Dr. Kelsey Duncan, ND

Welcome to another episode of The Hormone Heartbeat Podcast! This next series of episodes will focus on fertility and provide some insight into this complicated journey that 1 in 8 couples experience. 

Starting the series off is today's Guest Genieve Seigel

Genevieve Siegel is a Holistic Fertility Empowerment Expert and creator of the Gen-Touch Holistic Fertility Method™. She empowers strong ambitious souls who are having challenges trying to conceive, and helps them to feel calm, confident and in control of their fertility journey. She has a special passion for empowering women, globally, so they can be their whole and happy self again.

In today's episode, we are talking about holistic healing, including Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy® and how it is essential as part of your self-love and self-care practice for your fertility journey.

Episode summary:

In today’s episode, we are talking about essential oils and dispelling some of the myths that surround using them. And we will explore how they can be used safely and effectively for period health and hormone balancing. My guest today is super mama extraordinary, entrepreneur,  essential oil expert and the creator the Mama and Oils – Amanda Dumouchel!

Amanda is passionate about natural solutions to women's health and wellness and has a deep desire to support mamas in all stages of their journey. She is a Diamond Essential oils Leader and Educator with doTERRA and a holistic health coach. Having spent many years struggling with autoimmune disease and hormonal imbalances amidst the busy-ness of raising a young family, Amanda felt the pull to create Mamas and Oils. 5 years later, Amanda has the privilege of working with moms every day.

In Today’s episode:

• Amanda’s story and what lead her to do the work that she does
• Busting top myths about essential oils
• The meaning behind batch testing essential oils
• Essential oil regulation
• When in your healing journey are essential oils right for you
• How essential oils support holistic healing
• Where should women start with oils
• Essential oils for PMS
• Essential oils for Estrogen Dominance
• Acute and Chronic Use of Essential Oils
• Listening to your body and Intuition about an essential oil
• The emotional component to essential oils
• What is a healing crisis
• Essential oils for grief
• Essential oils to balance cortisol
• Regulating cycles with essential oils
• Fertility essential oils
• Essential oils for period pain
• Postpartum essential oils
• How to use essential oils
• Essential oils and their contradictions (especially in pregnancy)

Goodies from today's episode:

In today’s episode, we are talking about navigating the 4thtrimester of pregnancy!

My wonderful guest today is Jocelyn Wells, a postpartum doula based out of Guelph, Ontario. As a mom of two young girls, she is familiar with the challenges new parents face during the postpartum period. Drawing on her experiences and her formal training in postpartum support, breastfeeding, and maternal mental health she is inspired to help families thrive in the transition to parenthood and set them up for success. 

In today’s episode:

• Jocelyn’s journey and why she does what she does
• Planning a wedding vs. planning a marriage
• A women’s body knows how to grow a baby
• Defining 4th Trimester
• Tips for surviving the 4th trimester
• Importance of Baby Wearing and how to get started
• Expectations during the postpartum
• What does newborn care look like
• Hormonal changes postpartum
• Defining the baby blues
• Defining postpartum mood disorders and what are the red flag signs and symptoms
• Defining postpartum psychosis
• Good moms have scary thoughts
• Where to get support if you suspect a postpartum mood disorder
• Postpartum tops for new parents
• Quick and Easy postpartum recipes
•  What is a postpartum doula  and what are their roles
• Jocelyn’s Postpartum Plan
• What does postpartum support look like

Goodies from today's episode:

In today’s episode, we are talking about Thyroid Health, Hashimotos and Cycle charting with fertility awareness method and what you need to know to about the method and about how to use your chart as a diagnostic tool for thyroid conditions

My amazing guest today is the wonderful Rebecca McEvoy who is a FertilityCare Practitioner who teaches the Creighton Model of fertility awareness. She is passionate about helping couples plan their families naturally and safely and getting women support and answers for reproductive health issues. Looking forward to sharing Rebecca’s Charting wisdom with all of you today! Rebecca is a FertilityCare Practitioner who teaches the Creighton Model of fertility awareness. She is passionate about helping couples plan their families naturally and safely and getting women support and answers for reproductive health issues.

In this episode:

• Introduction and Rebecca’s personal journey to becoming a FAM instructor
• Menstrual Cycle as a vital sign
• Hashimotos and Hypothyroidism and how women are diagnosed
• Thyroid diagnosis
• Thyroid Health and charting
• The Billings Method of Fertility Awareness Based Method (FABM)
• Creighton Model of  FABM
• BBT and Thyroid Health
• How long do you have to chart to know if there is an issue
• Why it’s important to learn the method before interpreting
• Peak Mucus and Estrogen levels
• Top Myths about charting and how to break through them
• The downfall of charting apps and Fem Tech Devices
• Benefits of charting
• Fertility Awareness Based Method can enrich your relationship
• Charting as a diagnostic tool
• What to do when you suspect a thyroid condition with your chart

In today's episode of the Hormone Heatbeat Podcast, we are talking all about PCOS from how to define the 4 different types to what you can do to get starting on your PCOS healing journey. 

Our special guest is a Holistic nutritionist, hormone hacker, and mindset coach, Elizabeth Raybould!

In today's episode of the Hormone Heatbeat Podcast, we define what stress means and the different types of stress. We will breakdown the physiology of stress and how it influences your menstrual cycle and hormone health. At the end of today's episode, you will have excellent stress management techniques that you can put into practice immediately!

Our special guest today is a  Naturopathic Doctor, Stress Management Coach, and Happy Living Expert, Dr. Ellen Wong!

Dr. Ellen Wong is the Founder of The Recharge Revolution™ and Habits of Happiness™. She works with professional women who are feeling stressed out, overwhelmed and exhausted to develop sustainable habits so they feel relieved, re-focused and re-energized. What she's most passionate about is helping busy women live life feeling resilient, confident, fulfilled and happy! Dr. Ellen Wong, 

Details of today's episode:

• Introduction and Dr. Ellen’s personal journey
• Wearing “Busy as a Badge of Honour”
• The 4 types of stress in everyday life
• Ways to reduce work stress
• When taking a supplement for stress may not be effective
• Is seeking perfection a form of stress?
• Physiological reactions to internal stressors
• How internal conversations influence moods
• Do you need an Adrenal fatigue and burnout “diagnosis”
• The systemic effects of cortisol
• What hormonal symptoms are related to stress response
• How important is lifestyle factors at lowering cortisol
• Does taking a supplement get to the root of what is going on?
• How lifestyle change is not just eating and exercise
• How does stress affect the menstrual cycle
• Fight or Flight stress response
• Why Cortisol is an expensive hormone to make
• How stress affects reproductive hormones
• Dr. Ellen’s top stress management tips for women
• How asking for help is a sign of courage
• How to overcome the “All or nothing” personality type
  

Resources & Goodies referenced in today's episode:

In today's episode of the Hormone Heatbeat Podcast, we discuss one of my favourite topics - childbirth!

Our special guest is the wonderful, Dr. Alyssa Shepherd. As a transformational birth expert, Dr. Alyssa guides women who feel anxious, afraid and apprehensive about childbirth to a place of calm, clarity and confidence, helping mother and baby reclaim the transformational power of BirthBliss. But what Dr. Alyssa is truly passionate about is helping women re-connect to their inner power and fierce grace, while healing the energetic BirthPrint of both moms and babies.

Dr. Alyssa’s focus on the impact of pre- and peri- and post-natal experiences began during her Masters Thesis, which investigated how maternal diet in pregnancy can affect metabolism and the programming of long-term disease in the offspring.

No longer working in research, Dr. Alyssa has studied many healing modalities including both traditional and non-traditional chiropractic techniques, acupuncture, reiki, and mind-body medicine, and has carried the knowledge of these topics into both her clinical chiropractic practice as well as her Birth Bliss Coaching program. 

Details of today's episode:

• Introduction and birth story with Dr. Alyssa Shepherd  
• Important aspects of training the physical body and mental-emotional body for birth 
• Physical, emotion, and spiritual body and how they work together
• What can women expect physically towards the end of pregnancy and leading up to their birth 
• Mental emotional changes that pregnant women experience during their third trimester  
• What to expect during labour and delivery 
• "Surrender control so that things get easier" - And how it relates to birth 
• What does it mean to have a medical induction 
• Statistics on induction and reasons women may require a medical induction 
• Uncoupling the normal synergy of hormones between mom and baby 
• What does the "Intervention train" mean 
• Advice for pregnant women in avocating for their preferences for their birth 
• Why being "a good birl" is NOT ok during pregnancy and labour 
• The importance of using your voice 
• Birth Bliss 
• Removing birthing baggage
• NET Technique and labour

Resources & Goodies referenced in today's episode:

In today's episode of the Hormone Heatbeat Podcast, we discuss the foundations of the digestive system and explore the root causes of gut dysfunction and how it relates to other health conditions. We will also investigate how emotions and life situations can significantly ultra gut function and it's an important step in your healing journey.

Our special guest today is the wonderful,  Kim Pega, she's a spiritual nutritionist and digestive health specialist. As the founder of Modern Women's Wellness™, she helps millennial women who are feeling drained, disempowered and defeated to have more clarity, confidence, and control in their lives. Kim is most passionate about empowering them to understand that how you digest your food is how you digest your life so that they can create the vibrant life they deserve.

Details of today's episode:

• Introduction with Kim Pega 
• Defining intuition or having a "gut feeling"
• Intuition and hormone health 
• Digestion is a pillar of health 
• What is the digestive system and how it works 
• Gut and hormone metabolism 
• Cortisol merry-go-round
• Gut microbiome and hormone imbalances
• Digestion and hormone havoc 
• Where's the best place to start when working on hormone health
• "Agni" or your digestive fire 
• 3 simple steps to improve digestion 
• Digestion and emotions 
• How you digest your food is how you digest your life
• Listen and connect to your body's wisdom
• Your gut is your second brain 
• Strategies for exploring emotions and how it relates to gut health, and hormones 
• How to digest your food AND emotions 
• Benefits for a food and mood journal 
• How separation has held us back in our health

Resources & Goodies referenced in today's episode:

The brain is a fascinating organ that has the ability to change itself and influence healing on an entirely new level! In helping women transition to a state of hormone heaven,  or overcome their fertility struggles or even push through past trauma's prior to birth, there is always a fundamental component of "brain work!" Learning more about how the brain influences health and hormones can help many women draw the connection between their thought patterns and how it may be influencing their symptoms and pain. 

Today's guest, Eleni Kapetanios is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Time Line Therapy, Hypnosis, Core Transformation, and The Wholeness Process. She is the creator of The Rapid Relief Method™️, a fast healing process that works without you having to retell your story over and over. She is obsessed with the power of the brain and wanted to help others become free from their pain.

In today's episode we discuss:

• Introduction and personal healing journey  with NLP
• What it means for therapy to be content- free 
• What is NLP and how it works
• How to find another way to heal past trauma 
• Removing negative emotions that have been created from trauma 
• What does an NLP session look like and what to expect 
• Side effects of rebuilding neuropathways in your brain
• What happens when you suppress negative emotions 
• How your unconscious mind leads your treatment 
• What to do when moving forward can look like a regression 
• What does it feel like to "have space in your brain"?
• The difference between the conscious and unconscious brain 
• Getting to the root cause 
• Why a support group may not be effective 
• How change and transformation can be hard and it's link to personal identity 
• Case study of a client with Fibromyalgia
• Autoimmune conditions and past trauma 
• What to do when  new concern comes up down the road 

Connect with Eleni: 

Janet Walker is a midlife women’s wellness specialist. And as a health and wellness coach, she helps overwhelmed women with thyroid conditions balance their bodies, enhance their energy and master their mindset. She is particularly passionate about helping women align with their true nature for optimal lifelong health. Janet is an Osteopathic Manual Practitioner and Restorative Exercise Specialist with over 25 years of clinical experience. Her own recent health challenges inspired her to study holistic nutrition and health coaching. She is currently thriving with thyroid cancer while helping others navigate their wellness journeys.

In today's episode:

• Introduction with Janet Walker
• Thyroid affecting women during transition phases of life 
• Prevalence of thyroid disease 
• Subclinical thyroid dysfunction or Subclinical Hypothyroidism 
• Janet's personal story and her thyroid cancer diagnosis
• What are the common signs and symptoms of thyroid disease 
• Role of stress on thyroid physiology
• Integrative approach to thyroid health through mental-emotional and spiritual well being  
• Getting around blaming and shaming with your health 
• Top 3 strategies and next steps for optimal thyroid care 
• Thyroid physical examination and self-assessing thyroid
• Thyroid testing and a complete assessment 
• The 3 types of stress: chemical, physical and emotional  
• Water filtration and fluoride's effect on thyroid hormone
• Exercise prescription and thyroid health 
• Gratitude journal
  

Resources & Goodies referenced in today's episode:

Dr. Tracey Teasdale is the Founder of Absolute Athlete Care and in working with athletes and athletes at heart, her mission is to create healthy, optimally performing athletes while fostering lifelong mental, emotional and physical resilience! 

Dr. Tracey shares some great information on how women can target their exercise training program during the phases of their menstrual cycle! She shares how to optimize your recovery time and the best ways to refuel your body for any type of athletic performance. 

In today's episode 

• (1:18) Introduction and why Dr. Tracey loves working with athletes 
• (2:16) Relationship between exercise and hormone health 
• (3:20) Periods can be barriers to performance and active lifestyle 
• (6:58) The best type of exercises to do for each phase of the menstrual cycle 
• (8:55) Yin phases of the cycle and what are Yin based types of exercises 
• (10:34) Tips for women when they are training during their menstrual 
• (13:20) Magnesium and period cramping, tips on dosage and foods high in magnesium 
• (14:45) The optimal dosage of physical activity for health 
• (16:35) How to effectively Fuel your body as an athlete
• (18:30) Signs of poor recovery after exercise training and what is overtraining versus longer recovery time
• (20:25) What amount of pain is too much, when starting a new exercise program and how to identify if your body needs another rest day 
• (24:06) Female Athlete Triad Syndrome, disordered eating and low energy availability 
• (27:20) At what stage in Female Athlete Triad Syndrome does a woman lose her period 
• (27:50) What are the lasting effects of Female Athlete Triad Syndrome and Future Fertility 

Connect with Dr. Tracey Teasdale, ND 

Dr. Bridget Ross is a Toronto-based Naturopathic Doctor who is passionate about helping her patients achieve, what she refers to as, 'deeper healing.' In her work with women, men & children alike. She offers a space to explore what is truly behind any symptom or feeling on a mental, emotional, physical & spiritual level. Her greatest intention is for her patients to deeply connect & know themselves. In doing this, her patients are left feeling empowered with the tools to heal themselves.

In today’s episode, we will explore what deeper healing truly means and how one's emotions and feelings may be communicating through premenstrual symptoms (PMS) or period pain (dysmenorrhea). Dr. Bridget describes her top physical and emotional tips to support your body holistically reducing debilitating period pain by getting to the root cause - emotions!

Topics discussed in today’s episode:

• (3:48) Dr. Bridget’s background and mission
• (7:55) What is Dysmenorrhea and is it normal?
• (11:27) Dysmenorrhea and its mental-emotional connection. Validations of physical symptoms and how to transition to identifying the deeper emotion, energetic or spiritual connection
• (12:50) Cramping and emotions
• (12:57) Getting curious about what you are actually feeling in your body
• (14:12) Strategies to identify the root “word” emotion behind your dysmenorrhea
• (16:25) What resists persists and what happens when you push emotions deeper instead of addressing them
• (17:34) The value of rest and your period pain
• (18:19) Feeling "raw" when your period starts
• (20:06) How the body uses time of flow to release some emotions 
• (20:28) Next steps to process emotions as they come up from journaling
• (23:22) What can you expect to see in the next cycle once you have done the work  
• (23: 58) The science behind Psychoneuoloimmunology (PNI) and how emotions affect the psychology 
• (25:51) Dr. Bridget's top Physical tips for supporting dysmenorrhea 
• (30:08) Emotional strategies for supporting dysmenorrhea 

Connect with Dr. Bridget Ross, ND