Get Pregnant Naturally

Sarah Clark

Get Pregnant Naturally is the podcast for women and couples facing low AMH, high FSH, failed IVF, miscarriage, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), or a donor egg recommendation, and who are not ready to accept that recommendation before the full picture has been investigated. Hosted by Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, author of Fabulously Fertile, and host of a podcast with over one million downloads, Get Pregnant Naturally offers a functional fertility second opinion. Each week, Sarah walks through the lab work most fertility clinics do not run: gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, full thyroid panel, the iron panel, and inflammation markers, alongside nervous system work. Inside the Fab Fertile program, the full team works with each couple. On the podcast, Sarah brings you what she sees across more than a decade of cases. This podcast is for the woman who heard donor eggs and walked out, wondering what was missed. The woman whose REI looked at her AMH, her FSH, and her antral follicle count, and stopped there. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. The decision still belongs to you. The investigation should happen before the decision. Subscribe for weekly episodes on what your fertility clinic may not have tested before the next recommendation gets made.

  1. 5d ago

    Low AMH, Failed IVF, Told Donor Eggs? The Nervous System Behind Your Numbers

    Low AMH, failed IVF, or told donor eggs, and still no real explanation for why? This episode looks at the system a standard fertility workup rarely checks: the nervous system, and how chronic stress affects egg quality, progesterone, thyroid function, and ovulation. If you are a high-achieving, Type A woman who has been told your stress is handled and your thyroid is fine, this is the seven things behind low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, and recurrent pregnancy loss that rarely get investigated, including the cortisol pattern, the full thyroid panel, blood sugar, prolactin, and the stress nerves that run directly through the ovary. This episode covers: low AMH and high FSH, the cortisol curve, a single blood draw misses, thyroid antibodies and reverse T3 behind a "normal" TSH, how stress pulls raw material away from progesterone, blood sugar, and the 3 am wake-up, elevated prolactin, and the nervous system inside the ovary affecting egg quality. This episode is for you if you have low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, a failed or cancelled IVF cycle, or recurrent miscarriage, and you have been told donor eggs are your only option, and no one has explained why this is happening. CHAPTERS 00:00 Why the woman who handles everything is the one who needs this 03:00 The seven things, and why this is physiology, not mindset 03:40 One: survival first, and reproduction turned down 05:00 Two: why a single cortisol draw misses the pattern 06:00 Three: thyroid antibodies and reverse T3 behind a normal TSH 06:50 Four: how stress competes with progesterone 07:50 Five: the 3am wake-up is blood sugar, not anxiety 09:00 Six: the prolactin that got flagged, then dropped 09:30 Seven: the nervous system inside the ovary 11:00 What you can actually change 12:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion NEXT STEPS What Your Clinic Missed guide: the lab markers behind each of the seven, in writing. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject MISSED. Functional Fertility Second Opinion: a call where I review your full picture, your labs, your blood sugar, and your partner's results, and help you make an informed next decision. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject FERTILE, or book a call with your partner here. I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Get Pregnant Naturally: A Functional Fertility Second Opinion. If this show has helped you make sense of your numbers, please leave a review. It helps other women find the show and be their own advocate.

    15 min
  2. Jun 22

    Told It Was Unexplained? 9 Tests Your Miscarriage Workup Skipped

    You were told to try again. Maybe you were told it was bad luck, or to wait until it happened a third time before anyone would look. Here is what changed this year. In 2026, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine updated its definition of recurrent pregnancy loss for the first time since 2012. Two losses now meet the definition, not three, and a positive test that ended early counts. The old number kept women waiting for a third loss before the investigation even started. Here is the part no one tells you. Meeting the definition gets you a workup. It does not guarantee the workup is complete. After two or more losses, up to half of couples are told the same word. Unexplained. The losses are real. What gets called a complete workup is the question. This episode is the 9 specific things we most often find that are rarely checked before a woman is told her losses were unexplained or simply bad luck. Pull it up. Take notes. Bring it to your next appointment. The 9 patterns: Thyroid, the full panel and antibodies, not just TSH Antiphospholipid antibodies, tested correctly Chronic endometritis The reproductive microbiome, vaginal and seminal The gut, hidden gluten, and inflammation Sperm DNA fragmentation The male partner's full bloodwork Blood sugar and metabolic patterns The nervous system and progesterone These are the areas that sit outside a standard miscarriage workup. A 2012 meta-analysis in Human Reproduction, pooling sixteen studies and nearly three thousand couples, found miscarriage rates rose with sperm DNA damage, with about twice the relative risk. Unexplained rarely means there is nothing to find. It usually means the search stopped at the karyotype, one antiphospholipid test, the anatomy, and a TSH. For the full breakdown of every pattern, read the companion article, Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: The Functional Fertility Approach, at https://fabfertile.com/blogs/learn/recurrent-pregnancy-loss WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The companion guide walks through all 9 of these patterns in more detail, so you can take it to your next appointment and ask the questions. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, your losses, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 What "Unexplained" Means and What the 2026 Guideline Changed 01:30 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile 04:00 Thyroid: The Full Panel, Not Just TSH 05:50 Antiphospholipid Antibodies, Tested Correctly 06:30 Chronic Endometritis 07:30 The Reproductive Microbiome 08:30 The Gut, Hidden Gluten, and Inflammation 10:30 What Your Clinic Missed Guide 11:00 Sperm DNA Fragmentation 12:30 The Male Partner's Full Bloodwork 13:50 Blood Sugar and Metabolic Patterns 15:20 The Nervous System and Progesterone 16:30 What "Unexplained" Really Means 17:20 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion

    19 min
  3. Jun 15

    Told Donor Eggs? 11 Things Your Clinic Probably Missed

    For most people, donor eggs is at the bottom of the list. It is not where you wanted to land. And if your clinic is recommending it, something in you is saying there has to be more to look at first. Here is what we see every week. The donor egg recommendation rarely arrives after a complete workup. It arrives after looking at the AMH, the FSH, the follicle count, maybe a basic semen analysis, and maybe being told your TSH is normal. Those numbers are real. The diagnosis is real. What gets called complete is the question. This episode is the 11 specific things we most often find skipped before the recommendation gets made. Pull it up. Take notes. Bring it to your next appointment. The 11 patterns: 1. Thyroid, the full panel, not just TSH 2. The gut, including H. pylori 3. Hidden food sensitivities 4. Medications you are already on that affect fertility 5. The vaginal microbiome 6. The seminal microbiome 7. The male partner's full bloodwork 8. Sperm DNA fragmentation 9. Vaginal and seminal cross-contamination between partners 10. The nervous system and HPA axis 11. Liver function and hormone clearance These are the tests that sit outside the standard fertility workup. A 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that ovarian reserve markers like AMH do not significantly predict natural conception in women with regular cycles. The donor egg recommendation comes from one snapshot, not the full investigation. If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First," then "How Long Should I Try With My Own Eggs Before Donor Eggs?" then "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For," and "Multiple Failed IVF And Told Donor Eggs?" This episode brings all of it together. WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The companion guide walks through all 11 of these patterns in more detail, so you can take it to your next appointment and ask the questions. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation and What Gets Called Complete 01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile 02:00 Thyroid: The Full Panel, Not Just TSH 03:00 The Gut and H. pylori 04:00 Hidden Food Sensitivities 05:00 Medications That Affect Fertility 06:30 The Vaginal Microbiome 08:00 The Seminal Microbiome 08:30 The Male Partner's Full Bloodwork 09:00 Sperm DNA Fragmentation 09:30 Cross-Contamination Between Partners 11:00 The Nervous System and HPA Axis 11:30 Liver Function and Hormone Clearance 13:00 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion

    15 min
  4. Jun 8

    Multiple Failed IVF And Told Donor Eggs? The System Your Clinic Never Looked At

    You have done IVF more than once. Maybe twice. Maybe three times. Maybe more. Each cycle they tweaked the protocol. Higher dose. Lower dose. Different stimulation drug. Different trigger. Added growth hormone. Added DHEA. Mini IVF. Dual stim. Each cycle the protocol changed. And now they are telling you donor eggs. Here is the question this episode is about. They changed the protocol every time. Did anyone look at what was already in your body when each of those protocols arrived? That is what this episode is about. The layer underneath every protocol. In this episode: - Protocol vs system: what your clinic was trained to adjust, and what nobody adjusted across any of your cycles - Why the donor egg conversation arrives after the only variable your clinic was trained to address has been exhausted, not after a full review of your body - The thyroid, iron, B12, vitamin D, inflammation, gut, cortisol, mineral, vaginal microbiome, and blood sugar markers that did not change between cycle 1 and cycle 5 - Why we look at ferritin against 80 to 100 going into IVF, not the lab reference of 15 - What a 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found about ovarian reserve markers and natural conception — and why donor eggs gets recommended on markers the literature itself does not support If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First," then "How Long Should I Try With My Own Eggs Before Donor Eggs?" and "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For." This episode builds on all three. ——— WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The full thyroid panel, not just a TSH. The iron panel that flags ferritin against the fertility target. The gut microbiome testing your REI does not order. The inflammatory markers they tell you are normal. And the male side that almost nobody investigates. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. ——— FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ——— ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. ——— If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work. ——— TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The Protocol Changed Every Time. Did Anyone Change You? 01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile 02:00 Protocol vs System: The Layer Underneath Every IVF 03:00 What Your Body Brought to Every Cycle 04:30 What the 2024 Research Says About AMH 06:00 The Markers That Did Not Change Between Cycles 07:30 Why Multiple Tests Are Not One Test 09:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation With Half the Data 10:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion

    12 min
  5. Jun 1

    How Long Should I Try With My Own Eggs Before Donor Eggs?

    Your clinic told you donor eggs. You walked out wondering how much time you actually have left. Whether waiting six months means missing your window. Whether trying with your own eggs one more time is brave or stupid. The honest answer is longer than your clinic implied. And the window is not your AMH number. In this episode: - Why a 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that ovarian reserve markers like AMH do not significantly predict natural conception in women with regular cycles - What the 90-day window before ovulation actually is, and why the eggs you work with six months from now are not the eggs you are working with today - The inputs your clinic's timeline assumed would not change: mitochondrial function, inflammation, iron, B12, zinc, vitamin D, cortisol patterns, toxic load - The clinical pattern we see over more than a decade of cases: month zero to six is where the picture comes into view, twelve to eighteen months is where it can start to move substantially - Why some pictures do not move, and why that is still a reason to look before you decide If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First" and then "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For." This episode builds on both. ——— WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The full thyroid panel, not just a TSH. The iron panel that flags ferritin. The gut microbiome testing that your REI does not order. The inflammatory markers no one notices. The male side that almost no one investigates. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. ——— FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ——— ABOUT THE HOST Now in its eighth year, Get Pregnant Naturally was one of the first podcasts dedicated to the functional fertility approach for low AMH and failed IVF. Hosted by Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, author of Fabulously Fertile, and host of a podcast with over one million downloads. Fab Fertile is a functional fertility team that works with couples to review the lab work most fertility clinics do not run: gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, full thyroid panel, the iron panel, and inflammation markers, alongside nervous system work. Each week Sarah brings you what the team sees across more than a decade of cases. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. ——— If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work. ——— TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation and the Real Question 01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile 01:30 AMH Is Not the Countdown Clock 03:00 The 90-Day Window Before Ovulation 04:30 What Actually Changes In 90 Days 07:00 The Fab Fertile Method: What We Investigate 08:30 Why Some Cases Do Not Shift 09:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion

    10 min
  6. May 25

    Told Donor Eggs After Failed IVF? The Gut Pattern Your Clinic Did Not Test

    Told donor eggs after failed IVF? There is a category of testing that your fertility clinic does not run. We rarely run a stool test and find nothing. The IVF cycle did not work. Maybe it was poor response. Maybe it was canceled before retrieval. Maybe you got embryos and they arrested. Maybe the transfer failed. Your clinic looked at your numbers and told you donor eggs. In this episode, Sarah Clark walks through the gut pattern the Fab Fertile team sees in women who come to us after failed IVF with a donor egg recommendation, and why this pattern changes the picture before the next decision. What this episode covers: H. pylori. One of the most common findings in the women who come to us after failed IVF. It impairs absorption of iron, vitamin B12, and zinc, the nutrients that affect egg quality, thyroid function, and hormone production. It is passed back and forth between partners through saliva. If you have it, there is a strong chance your partner has it too. Parasites, giardia, blastocystis. Common findings. Rarely tested at the fertility clinic. Bacterial overgrowth, including streptococcus. Fungal overgrowth and dysbiosis. The reason chasing an anti-candida diet without testing moves you in circles. Elevated calprotectin. A signal of gut inflammation, often present in women with IBD, Crohn's, colitis, and women with no formal diagnosis. Elevated zonulin. A marker of intestinal permeability. The pattern we see after rounds of antibiotics, sinus infections, UTIs, birth control, and high stress. Why this matters before a donor egg decision: H. pylori impairs iron absorption. Ferritin reads low or low-normal. The clinic says iron is fine because the lab range starts around 15. The fertility-optimized range is closer to 50. Iron is foundational to egg quality. The oxygen carrying capacity to your follicles depends on it. B12 affects methylation, the process your body uses to produce the co-factors needed for egg maturation. Zinc affects ovulation and progesterone production. Chronic gut inflammation affects ovarian response to stimulation, implantation, and miscarriage risk. When your clinic looks at a canceled cycle, arrested embryos, or a failed transfer and recommends donor eggs, they are responding to the outcome. They are not asking what is driving the outcome. This episode is for the woman sitting with a donor egg recommendation who is not ready to agree before she understands what was actually evaluated. Next steps: Access the free guide: What Your Clinic Missed. It walks through the markers we review before a donor egg recommendation, including the thyroid panel, the iron panel with the fertility target, the gut testing your REI does not order, the inflammatory markers, and the male side. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED. Book a Functional Fertility Second Opinion. We will review your labs, your history, your full picture, and your partner's picture together. You will leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision should be informed by. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE. Or apply here. About the Host I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and  bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Timestamps [00:00] Told Donor Eggs After Failed IVF [01:00] Why the Fab Fertile Team Reviews Your Picture [02:00] H. pylori: The Most Common Gut Finding We See [03:00] Parasites, Streptococcus, and the Bacteria Most REIs Do Not Test [04:00] Why a Single Gut Test Without Fertility Context Misses the Picture [05:00] Iron, Ferritin, and the Fertility Range vs the Lab Range [06:00] B12, Methylation, and Egg Maturation [07:00] Zinc, Ovulation, and Progesterone [08:00] What Your Clinic Missed: The Markers Before a Donor Egg Recommendation [09:00] Why a Donor Egg Recommendation Responds to the Outcome, Not the Cause [10:00] The Functional Fertility Second Opinion: What the Call Covers

    13 min
  7. May 18

    The Workup Most REIs Skip Before Recommending Donor Eggs

    The donor egg recommendation rarely comes after a complete workup. It comes after AMH, FSH, and an antral follicle count. That is usually where the investigation stops. In this episode, Sarah Clark walks through what is missing from the workup before women are told donor eggs are their only path: the full thyroid panel, not just TSH. Stool DNA testing for H. pylori, parasites, and food sensitivities. The vaginal microbiome. The male partner's blood work, which most clinics do not run. The nervous system patterns most REIs do not connect to fertility. Sarah shares Rebecca's case as a proof point. Rebecca was 27. Her AMH was 0.04 ng/mL. POI diagnosis. Told donor eggs were her only option. Her stool DNA testing revealed H. pylori and a parasite. Her food sensitivity testing showed gluten, dairy, and egg intolerance. She had adrenal insufficiency, thyroid imbalance, mineral depletion, and toxic load on her workup. Her eczema, migraines, and asthma were not separate issues. After targeted work, she conceived naturally in month five. Outcomes vary. Rebecca's case is one of many we use to illustrate what completing the workup can look like. This episode is for the woman sitting with a donor egg recommendation who is not ready to agree before she understands what was actually evaluated. The goal is clarity. Not opposition to your clinic. Not a guarantee of any outcome. Clarity on what your workup did not include, so that whatever you decide next gets made on the full picture. What this episode covers: The diagnosis is real. The investigation is incomplete. Why TSH alone is not a thyroid panel. H. pylori, hidden food sensitivities, and the gut inflammation driver. Eczema, migraines, and asthma as fertility signals. The male partner's workup should include beyond a semen analysis. Nervous system patterns most REIs do not connect to fertility. Next steps: Access the free guide: What Your Clinic Missed. The guide walks through the markers that the Fab Fertile team reviews before a donor egg recommendation. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED. Book a Functional Fertility Second Opinion. We'll review your labs, your history, your full picture, and your partner's picture together, so you know what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision should be informed by. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. About the Host I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Timestamps [00:00] The Donor Egg Recommendation and the Investigation Underneath It [01:00] The Diagnosis Is Real. The Investigation Is Incomplete. [02:00] Sarah's POI Story and Why Fab Fertile Exists [03:00] Rebecca's Case: POI at 27, AMH 0.04, ng/mL Told Donor Eggs Were Her Only Option [04:00] Functional Lab Testing Before a Donor Egg Decision [05:00] What We Found: H. pylori, Parasites, Food Sensitivities, Adrenal Insufficiency, Thyroid [06:00] Eczema, Migraines, Asthma: Not Separate Issues From Fertility [07:00] Rebecca Conceived Naturally in Month Five [08:00] What Your Clinic Missed: The Markers Before a Donor Egg Recommendation [09:00] Why a Standard REI Workup Cannot Answer Why Your Numbers Are What They Are [10:00] Medical Gaslighting and the Permission to Investigate Further [11:00] The Functional Fertility Second Opinion: How It Works

    13 min
  8. May 11

    Told Donor Eggs at 43? Pregnant Naturally with Low AMH

    Low AMH, high FSH, two miscarriages, told donor eggs were her only option. At 43, she conceived naturally. Here's what her clinic missed before the donor egg recommendation. This episode is for the woman sitting with a donor egg recommendation. Low AMH or high FSH on the chart. Failed IVF or recurrent miscarriage in the history. A clinic that said the numbers leave you no other options. Sarah Clark walks through the case of a 43-year-old client whose REI told her IVF or donor eggs were her only realistic path. Her FSH was 13.6. Her AMH was low. She had two pregnancy losses behind her. The diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve was not wrong. The numbers were what they were. What had not happened was a structured investigation of why those numbers looked the way they did and whether the rest of the picture had been missed. Eighteen months later, she was pregnant naturally with her own eggs. What the clinic had not investigated was a long list. Her TSH was 3. Accepted as normal, but well above the range her own REI would have flagged before IVF prep. A full thyroid panel was never run. Her stool DNA test showed H. pylori, an infection that impairs nutrient absorption and drives inflammation. She had been gluten-free everywhere else for years, but she had been taking a weekly communion wafer every Sunday without realizing it counted. The cabergoline she was on was lowering her cholesterol and impairing her ability to make sex hormones. Her male partner had not been worked up. His semen analysis showed low volume and low concentration. His blood sugar was elevated. His kidney markers showed stress. The vaginal microbiome had not been tested. The seminal microbiome had not been tested. Her night sweats and disrupted sleep had been mentioned and dismissed. Her case is not a guarantee that anyone else will get the same outcome. Every case is different. The patterns we found in hers may not be the patterns in yours. But the principle holds: a diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve, low AMH, or high FSH is a starting point for further investigation, not a complete picture of what is possible. What this episode covers: Why low AMH and high FSH are not the complete picture when donor eggs are recommended Why a TSH of 3 is not normal for fertility even when a clinic accepts it How H. pylori, hidden gluten, and gut infections affect egg quality and miscarriage risk What a full male partner workup looks like when there has been pregnancy loss or implantation failure What a structured second opinion covers when you have been told IVF or donor eggs are your only path This episode is for you if: You have low AMH, high FSH, or a diminished ovarian reserve diagnosis You have had a failed IVF cycle, recurrent miscarriage, or implantation failure You have been told donor eggs are your next step and you are not ready to agree before you understand what was actually evaluated You are in your late 30s or 40s and want to understand whether natural pregnancy with your own eggs is still possible Timestamps: [00:00] Low AMH, High FSH, Donor Eggs Recommended at 43 [01:30] Functional Fertility Testing vs Standard REI Workup [03:00] Thyroid and Fertility: Why TSH 3 Is Not Normal [04:30] Cabergoline, Cholesterol, and Sex Hormone Production [06:00] H. pylori, Hidden Gluten, and Gut Infections in Low AMH Cases [08:00] Vaginal Microbiome and Implantation in Recurrent Miscarriage [09:30] Male Partner Workup: Seminal Microbiome and Sperm Health [11:00] Night Sweats, Sleep Disruption, and the Nervous System [12:30] Constipation, Liver Function, and Hormone Clearance [14:00] Pregnant Naturally at 43: The 18-Month Timeline Take action: If you have been told donor eggs are your only option and you want a structured review of your timeline, your labs, and your IVF history before the next decision, the Functional Fertility Second Opinion is where that review happens. 👉 Apply for a Functional Fertility Second Opinion: https://fabfertile.com/pages/book Not sure what has been fully evaluated in your workup? Download the free Embryo Audit Checklist to map your past cycles and labs and see what may have been missed. 👉 Download the Embryo Audit Checklist: https://fabfertile.com/pages/embryo-audit-checklist Or message the team directly: hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE to apply for a second opinion or CHECKLIST for the audit. About the Host Sarah Clark is the founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally: A Functional Fertility Second Opinion, a podcast with over one million downloads. For over a decade, Sarah and her functional fertility team have worked with couples navigating low AMH, high FSH, diminished ovarian reserve, failed IVF, embryo arrest, implantation failure, and recurrent pregnancy loss, reviewing functional labs and patterns that standard care often misses. This episode is a re-aired case study originally shared in 2025. Client details have been anonymized.

    13 min
4.3
out of 5
29 Ratings

About

Get Pregnant Naturally is the podcast for women and couples facing low AMH, high FSH, failed IVF, miscarriage, premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), or a donor egg recommendation, and who are not ready to accept that recommendation before the full picture has been investigated. Hosted by Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, author of Fabulously Fertile, and host of a podcast with over one million downloads, Get Pregnant Naturally offers a functional fertility second opinion. Each week, Sarah walks through the lab work most fertility clinics do not run: gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, full thyroid panel, the iron panel, and inflammation markers, alongside nervous system work. Inside the Fab Fertile program, the full team works with each couple. On the podcast, Sarah brings you what she sees across more than a decade of cases. This podcast is for the woman who heard donor eggs and walked out, wondering what was missed. The woman whose REI looked at her AMH, her FSH, and her antral follicle count, and stopped there. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. The decision still belongs to you. The investigation should happen before the decision. Subscribe for weekly episodes on what your fertility clinic may not have tested before the next recommendation gets made.

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