Fertility Friday Radio | Fertility Awareness for Pregnancy and Hormone-free birth control

FFP 139 | The Truth About Infertility | Maintaining Hope After 9 Years of Trying to Conceive | Stephanie Risinger 0

May 26, 2017

Stephanie Risinger is a Fertility Coach, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Stephanie has been a therapist for nine years, and she decided to start her podcast, The Holistic Fertility and Wellness Podcast, after experiencing several years of fertility challenges and pursuing holistic approaches to improving fertility. She found that the information she sought was not as easily accessible as she had hoped. She worked hard to find resources and is now sharing those resources with others through her podcast.

In today's show, Stephanie shares her own fertility journey with us. After her 9 year journey with fertility challenges, Stephanie is expecting her first baby! She shares how she managed to maintain hope throughout her journey, and how she was able to maintain her own sense of identity and worthiness during the years she was unable to conceive.

Topics discussed in today's episode

Stephanie takes us through her 9-year fertility journey
Stephanie shares her experience with the adoption process
The importance of understanding your menstrual cycle
How to manage infertility when it feels like everyone around you is getting pregnant
How to navigate conversations with friends who get pregnant while you're struggling with infertility
The impact infertility has on relationships
The unexpected way infertility affects grandparents
Challenging the idea that your body is broken and instead choosing to believe your body can do it
How fertility challenges can impact your intimate relationship with your partner
What it was that finally made the difference for Stephanie and lead to her finally being able to conceive naturally

Connect with Stephanie

You can connect with Stephanie on her Website, and on Facebook, and Twitter

Resources mentioned

Join the community! Find us in the Fertility Friday Facebook Group

Subscribe to the Fertility Friday Podcast on iTunes!

This episode is sponsored by Cora! Made from 100% organic cotton, Cora tampons were designed not only to help you manage your periods but also to preserve your health. For every month of tampons you buy, Cora gives a month of pads along with menstrual health education to a girl in need in India. Click here to receive your first month's supply free of charge.

*Please note that Cora only ships within the United States.

Fertility Friday | Fertility Management Masterclass

This episode is sponsored by my Fertility Management Masterclass! Gain clarity and confidence using the Fertility Awareness Method and improve your cycle health at the same time! Click here for more information!

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by J-Gantic

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FFP 138 | Post-Pill Amenorrhea | Why It Took 4 Years For Her Period To Come Back | Andrea Petrus 0

May 19, 2017

Andrea struggled with amenorrhea for 4 years after coming off hormonal contraceptives. Andrea had come off the pill to try to conceive. After undergoing multiple failed rounds of IUI and IVF Andrea decided to turn to the world of naturopathic medicine. After a long road, Andrea's period finally returned after she made a number of significant dietary and lifestyle changes.

In today's show, Andrea shares her story, and what it was that finally helped her to turn the corner and bring her period back after so many years.

Topics discussed in today's episode

Andrea's history with hormonal contraceptive over a 12 year period
What happened (or rather didn't happen) when Andrea went off the pill
Andrea's experience with IUI and IVF along her fertility journey
What finally brought Andrea's period back after 4 years of amenorrhea
How the pill masked the underlying issue that caused Andrea's period to be MIA for so long
The possible PCOS-Thyroid connection to Andrea's prolonged amenorrhea
The transition period for Andrea towards a more natural lifestyle that allowed her to nourish and heal her body
The emotional aspect of Andrea's healing beyond the dietary and lifestyle changes
The benefits of a social media detox if your Facebook feed is causing you unnecessary pain and stress
The dietary and lifestyle changes Andrea made to improve her menstrual cycle health
The importance of seeking support from a functional practitioner
Why it's so very important to come off hormonal contraceptives before you're ready to start trying for a baby (at least a year or more).

Resources mentioned

Join the community! Find us in the Fertility Friday Facebook Group

Subscribe to the Fertility Friday Podcast on iTunes!

This episode is sponsored by Cora! Made from 100% organic cotton, Cora tampons were designed not only to help you manage your periods but also to preserve your health. For every month of tampons you buy, Cora gives a month of pads along with menstrual health education to a girl in need in India. Click here to receive your first month's supply free of charge.

*Please note that Cora only ships within the United States.

Fertility Friday | Fertility Management Masterclass

This episode is sponsored by my Fertility Management Masterclass! Gain clarity and confidence using the Fertility Awareness Method and improve your cycle health at the same time! Click here for more information!

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by J-Gantic

Download this Episode

FFP 137 | Panic Attacks, Emotional Breakdowns, and Recurrent Yeast Infections | The Truth About Hormonal Birth Control | Briana & Cieara 0

May 12, 2017

In today's episode, I share two powerful stories with you. I recently reached out to the members of the Fertility Friday Facebook Community and asked if anyone had experienced negative side effects on hormonal contraceptives. The responses were overwhelming, and I decided to invite two of the women who reached out to me to share their stories on the show. Both Briana and Cieara share their reflections about their time on hormonal birth control and the impact that it had on their moods.

Topics discussed in today's episode

Briana shares her experience taking hormonal contraceptives
Why Briana had to stop taking the pill 3 days after she started taking it for the first time
How hormonal birth control impacted Briana's moods the second time she was put on them
Why Briana didn't attribute many of the side effects of the pill to the pill until she finally stopped taking it
The scientific evidence that validates the effect the pill has on mood and painful sex
Why doctors often recommend a different pill instead of suggesting you stop altogether when you have a bad reaction to it
The political implications associated with telling the truth about the pill and the way it affects women
Cieara shares her experience taking hormonal contraceptives
The connection between the pill and chronic yeast infections
The roller coaster Cieara went on going from yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis
Why it was the headaches that Cieara experienced that finally made her come off the pill
Why Cieara didn't make the connection between the yeast infections and the pill until after she stopped taking it.

Connect with Lisa

You can connect with Lisa on the Fertility Friday Website and in the Fertility Friday Facebook Community

Resources mentioned

Join the community! Find us in the Fertility Friday Facebook Group

Subscribe to the Fertility Friday Podcast on iTunes!

This episode is sponsored by Cora! Made from 100% organic cotton, Cora tampons were designed not only to help you manage your periods but also to preserve your health. For every month of tampons you buy, Cora gives a month of pads along with menstrual health education to a girl in need in India. Click here to receive your first month's supply free of charge.

*Please note that Cora only ships within the United States.

Fertility Friday | Fertility Management Masterclass

This episode is sponsored by my Fertility Management Masterclass! Gain clarity and confidence using the Fertility Awareness Method and improve your cycle health at the same time! Click here for more information!

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by J-Gantic

Download this Episode

FFP 136 | Endometriosis, PCOS & Fibroids | Surgical Techniques That Preserve Fertility | NaPro Technology | Dr. Kyle Beiter 0

May 5, 2017

Dr. Beiter is a Board Certified Medical Doctor, with a specialization in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology who specializes in fertility. Dr. Beiter is a trained NaPro Technology Surgeon. For those of you who aren’t familiar with NaPro technology is a specialized form of gynecologic surgery whose primary aim is to reconstruct the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries in such a way that minimized adhesions and protects your tissues.

In today’s episode, we talk about the surgical side of NaPro technology, what it can mean for your health and fertility, and how the NaPro surgical approach can support women with fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS, pelvic pain, and infertility.

Topics discussed in today's episode

How the NaPro Technology surgical approach differs from the general approach that is taken by classically trained Obstetrician-Gynecologists
What are the main reasons why women are referred for surgery in the first place?
At what point would surgery be appropriate to remove fibroids?
What are the surgical techniques that minimize bleeding, scarring, and adhesions when removing fibroids surgically?
What exactly is an adhesion, and how do NaPro technology surgical procedures minimize adhesions of your reproductive tissues?
What is endometriosis, and how is endometriosis diagnosed?
Why you can't diagnose endometriosis with an ultrasound alone
How does endometriosis contribute to or cause infertility?
What does endometriosis actually look like in the body?
Does endometriosis just grow back after surgery?
What is adenomyosis and how is it related to endometriosis and infertility?
Can surgery (i.e. ovarian wedge resection surgery) improve PCOS symptoms?
How do ovulatory disorders contribute to or cause infertility?
How ultrasounds can be used to help to identify ovulatory disorders
What is LUF -- Luteinized Unruptured Follicle -- and how does it contribute to and cause fertility challenges?

Connect with Dr. Beiter

You can connect with Dr. Beiter on his Website

Resources mentioned

Related Podcast Episodes:

NaPro Technology

Abdominal Therapy Modalities

Join the community! Find us in the Fertility Friday Facebook Group

Subscribe to the Fertility Friday Podcast on iTunes!

This episode is sponsored by Cora! Made from 100% organic cotton, Cora tampons were designed not only to help you manage your periods but also to preserve your health. For every month of tampons you buy, Cora gives a month of pads along with menstrual health education to a girl in need in India. Click here to receive your first month's supply free of charge.

*Please note that Cora only ships within the United States.

Fertility Friday | Fertility Management Masterclass

This episode is sponsored by my Fertility Management Masterclass! Gain clarity and confidence using the Fertility Awareness Method and improve your menstrual cycle health at the same time! Click here for more information!

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by J-Gantic

Download this Episode

FFP 135 | Are Your Menstrual Products Toxic? | The Truth About Conventional Pads & Tampons | Managing Menstruation in Low Resource Settings | Molly Hayward 0

May 3, 2017

Molly is the visionary female founder of Cora. If you haven’t heard of Cora tampons before, Cora is a brand committed to providing healthy, modern menstrual products (i.e. tampons) in a completely new way.

After travelling the world through many developing nations Molly saw how menstruation negatively affects girls and women living in low resource settings. Many of these girls are unable to afford menstrual products and have to resort to using old rags, newspaper, tree bark, and even pieces of old mattresses to manage their monthly bleeds. As you can imagine, using unhygienic methods such as these can cause infections, reproductive health problems, not to mention leaking. When Molly later learned that many of the menstrual products widely sold in North America use harmful chemicals and materials (i.e. pesticides, and other synthetic chemicals) that can cause endocrine disruption, cancer and other illnesses she decided to take matters into her own hands. Molly joined forces with her business partner Morgen and founded Cora.

Not only are Cora tampons made from premium organic cotton (and free from harmful pesticides & synthetic materials), but Cora’s is on a mission to empower girls in developing nations. For every product sold, Cora provides sustainable menstrual products to girls in low resource settings.

In today's episode, we expose the dangers of using conventional menstrual products, and we also have a much-needed discussion of the challenges that girls and women face in low resource settings. What it means for women and girls when they don't have access to the menstrual products they need to manage their periods.

Topics discussed in today's episode

Why women in low resource settings are managing their periods with old clothes, tree bark and pieces of old mattresses
The reality for women and girls in low resource settings who are not able to attend school and work because of their periods
What toxic chemicals are lurking in your menstrual products
The link between synthetic materials like rayon and polyester and Toxic Shock Syndrome
The health benefits of using 100% organic cotton tampons compared to the regular tampons you buy at the store
Why women and girls in low resource settings lack access to menstrual products and what they use instead
How the lack of access to menstrual products prevents girls from attending school during their period in many countries worldwide.
Why menstrual products should be provided free of charge besides every toilet just like toilet paper
How Cora has integrated the fundamental issue of access to menstrual products their company's mission
How your purchase of Cora Tampons benefits girls in India and Kenya
The connection between conventional menstrual products and health issues like painful periods, yeast infections, and bacterial vaginosis.
The inspiration behind the design of Cora Tampons and accessories (i.e. say no to the obnoxious pink and purple packaging characteristic of conventional menstrual products)
Why the design savvy carrying case and other accessories are not about hiding your period or being ashamed of it but instead are about embracing it and creating a positive experience of menstruation
Why women who buy Cora tampons don't pay the tampon tax

Connect with Molly

You can connect with Molly on the Cora Website, on Facebook, and Twitter

Resources mentioned

Join the community! Find us in the Fertility Friday Facebook Group

Subscribe to the Fertility Friday Podcast on iTunes!

This episode is sponsored by Cora! Made from 100% organic cotton, Cora tampons were designed not only to help you manage your periods but also to preserve your health. For every month of tampons you buy, Cora gives a month of pads along with menstrual health education to a girl in need in India. Click here to receive your first month's supply free of charge.

*Please note that Cora only ships within the United States.

Fertility Friday | Fertility Management Masterclass

This episode is sponsored by my Fertility Management Masterclass! Gain clarity and confidence using the Fertility Awareness Method and improve your cycle health at the same time! Click here for more information!

Music Credit: Intro/Outro music Produced by J-Gantic

Download this Episode