Fringe Fertility Podcast with Kerry Hinds Kerry Hinds

Trying to decipher your reproductive health when we're trying to conceive can be confusing & often leaves us feeling isolated. Knowing where to start, who to talk to, what tests to run, and how to care for yourself becomes overwhelming pretty quickly.

When it comes to fertility - we often think our first line of inquiry is the OB/GYN office after you’ve been trying to get pregnant for 6 months or 1 year. And then, often it's straight to the fertility clinic.

Yet we are completely skipping a huge piece of the fertility puzzle. 

Preconception wellness. 

There are so many factors at play when it comes to fertility - fertility is not just ‘waist down’ (as my guest says). There is a need to approach your fertility more holistically and with a wider scope of inquiry and care.

In today’s episode, I had the great pleasure to speak with Alexandria DeVito. She has an eclectic background and is so full of knowledge about preconception health and ways you can prepare yourself for conception, pregnancy, IVF, birthing, and beyond. 

Alexandria has a Masters of Science and is a Clinical Nutrition Specialist and functional nutritionist who specializes in fertility and preconception health. She is the author of the book - 9 Months is Not Enough: The Ultimate Pre-pregnancy Checklist to Create a Baby-Ready Body and Build Generational Health. 

She is the founder and CEO of Poplin, the first pre-pregnancy wellness company. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. She also has a master’s degree in nutrition; extensive training as a doula, yoga teacher, and personal trainer; and is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner, all of which inform her approach to pre-pregnancy wellness.

We use her book in this episode to guide our conversation - so it will really give you a good idea of what is in this great book.

Here is what we cover!


What is preconception wellness?
Did you get a preconception visit?
How our modern society supports infertility not fertility
Merging ancient systems with modern science
Epigenetics
Incorporating change as positive and not deprivation
Ageism in fertility
Reproductive anxiety
Male Infertility
Functional Medicine
Fertility Foods from a functional medicine viewpoint
Exercise and the Goldilocks effect
Testing for preconception health with Poplin

Resources:

Poplin - Preconception testing

9 Months is Not Enough

IG Poplin 



Fringe Fertility is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Kerry Hinds ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Fertile Body Yoga⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – a virtual holistic wellness hub for those going through fertility. She focuses on the mind, body, energy & soul while supporting people in⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠coaching programs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠fertility yoga classes,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠collaborative workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.






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When we make a conscious choice to get pregnant and have a baby - and things don't happen as easily as they said it would in middle school sex ed class - we enter what I call 'Fertility Land'.

A road that we don't know when it will end, with lots of peaks to climb and valleys to go down into, paths heading off on detours, and helpful pit stops along the way.

Fertility Land is full of 'the next thing that will get you pregnant' - but often we don't need to go outside of ourselves to boost fertility.

In this episode I talk about some of the limiting beliefs that we encounter on our fertility paths.

The catalyst for transformation is awareness - so first we must beware that sometimes our subconscious patterns are holding us back.

Everything that I talk about in this episode is part of the 40 Days to Fertile Freedom program that I offer. Along with so many other things beyond mindset shift - this program is multi-layered and multi-faceted!

Click the link to see when the next program begins.

Fringe Fertility is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Kerry Hinds ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Fertile Body Yoga⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – a virtual holistic wellness hub for those going through fertility. She focuses on the mind, body, energy & soul while supporting people in⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠coaching programs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠fertility yoga classes,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠collaborative workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.








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Fertility Land is always trying to sell you ‘new’ products that will boost fertility or help you get pregnant. But really - many of what people are selling now have been taken and repurposed from ancestral practices and herbal medicine. 

These practices have been repackaged with a modern twist - which generally does not acknowledge the source of where they came from.

Promises are made about these practices or products and sold to you at an extremely high cost. When in reality - much of what is being sold these days, can be achieved through reconnecting with nature and returning to the earth.

In this episode we talk about two things that have been repackaged, but are based in ancient wisdom! We talk about herbalism and steaming - which people refer to as vaginal or yoni steaming - but for us, we will use the term pelvic steaming (listen to see why!).

Today I have the great pleasure and honor to speak with Tamara Niedermann, a doula, an herbalist, and fertility awareness educator. She is the founder and human behind The Kindred Feminine, which is a community built on the divine feminine that is often overlooked, or ignored, or destroyed.

This is a hub for caring for yourself and your body.

She believes that people are longing for a more intentional way of caring for themselves and the world around us. She has a deep passion to teach others this new way to know our bodies, experience our menstrual cycles, and conceive and birth our babies.⁣

⁣She is a bisexual cis woman of color who uses the pronouns she, hers, her. She’s in her thirties, married, and has two cats. She is the daughter of an immigrant single mother and she acknowledge that Black, indigenous, people of color (bipoc) have much worse reproductive outcomes than their white counterparts. She is an advocate for folks from menarche to menopause no matter their race, sexuality, gender, or size.⁣

This conversation is sooooo good! We talk about certain herbs and fertility, how to take herbs so that they will be supportive, and how to know if an herb is right for you. Then we dive into steaming! Which was such an educational and inspiring conversation - and how easy steaming can be! 

Here is what we covered: 


The importance of body and medical literacy for informed decision making
Why some herbs/supplements work for some people and not others
Chaste Tree/Vitex
Nettle, Red Raspberry, Oatstraw support for fertility and reproductive health in general
Allopathic medicine and Herbalism
Herbalism and the feminine
Best ways to take herbs
Pelvic Steaming: 34:30
History of steaming - passed down orally through women
Colonialism & ancestral knowledge
Why steam?
Steaming for beginners - how to do a home steam
Using herbs with your steams

Virtual herbal consultations: https://www.holisticlivingschool.org/resources/consultation/

The Holistic Living School: https://www.holisticlivingschool.org/

Website: www.thekindredfeminine.com

IG: @thekindredfeminine

40 Days to Fertile Freedom Small Group Program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fringe Fertility is brought to by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Kerry Hinds ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Fertile Body Yoga⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – a virtual holistic wellness hub for those going through fertility. She focuses on the mind, body, energy & soul while supporting people in⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠coaching programs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠fertility yoga classes,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠collaborative workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fringe-fertility/message

Every now and again I come across something that makes me think - 'what?' why are not more people doing this for their fertility? And this is one of those instances.

Friends - your mouth matters to your fertility. And this conversation that I have with Dr. Katie Lee is mindblowing - if you haven't seen a dentist recently - you'll surely be calling for an appointment - because your oral microbiome is related to you fertility - ovulation, implantation, pregnancy, and the health of your child moving forward.

From her book, Saved by the Mouth, and her own experiences with fertility treatment - Dr. Katie Lee is on a mission to make oral microbiome testing standard of care when people are getting a fertility make up.

This is what we cover in this amazing episode:


How the mouth microbiome affects fertility
The Mouth Body connection
How the oral microbiome is created
The connection between gut health & oral health
When to go a see a dentist (during preconception, pregnancy, and post partum)
The specific mouth bacteria that affect fertility - from fertility, ovulation, implantation, miscarriage, still birth
Get your partner checked
Male factor of poor oral microbiome - ED, sperm mobility, motility, and morphology
Estrogen and Progesterone interplay with mouth bacteria
Timing of deep cleaning
How to get a saliva test



Dr. Katie Lee's first-hand journey in recovering from the effects of dental trauma led her to specialize her career on the mouth-body connection® and dental implants. Dr. Lee searches for proven technologies that improve clinical outcomes and the patient experience and loves to educate her peers on those technologies. Dr. Lee authored a book entitled Saved By the Mouth to educate patients and clinicians on the importance of oral health. Dr. Lee has won many accolades, including Top 40 under 40 Dentists in America, and International Woman of the Year in Dentistry. She has been featured on local Fox and NBC news stations discussing the importance of oral health.

This is an eye opening episode that I hope will give some you an avenue to explore moving forward with your fertility journeys.



Resources:

Book: Saved by the Mouth

Website: https://katieleedds.com/telehealth

IG: https://www.instagram.com/katieleedds/



40 Days to Fertile Freedom Small Group Program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fringe Fertility is brought to by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Kerry Hinds ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Fertile Body Yoga⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – a virtual holistic wellness hub for those going through fertility. She focuses on the mind, body, energy & soul while supporting people in⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠coaching programs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠fertility yoga classes,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠collaborative workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fringe-fertility/message

Entering the IVF world can be overwhelming, stressful, exciting, and scary. It's almost as if you need to learn a whole new language, have a degree in fertility acronyms to follow a thread on facebook, or completely understand the intricacies of your hormones like an endocrinologist! It's a lot. And on top of that you're trying to navigate all the mental, emotional and physical layers of the journey.



This is the 2nd Part of 8 things I wish I knew before starting IVF - my heart to heart with you all! The one I wish someone sat me down with when I was going through it.



Part 1 is Season 1 episode 15 and both of these podcast segments are based on a blog post a did a few years ago and feature with Resolve New England.



Here are numbers 5 - 8:


Give mind/body fertility practices a chance
Find ways to deal with the stress
Find your people
Realize that babies are not a zero sum game



Resources:

Fertile Body Yoga: Fertility Yoga

Resolve New England Support Groups

Resolve Support Groups

40 Days to Fertile Freedom Small Group Program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fringe Fertility is brought to by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Kerry Hinds ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Fertile Body Yoga⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – a virtual holistic wellness hub for those going through fertility. She focuses on the mind, body, energy & soul while supporting people in⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠coaching programs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠fertility yoga classes,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠collaborative workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fringe-fertility/message

Often it’s not until people begin their trying to conceive phase of life that they start paying attention to their menstrual cycle. Mainly to figure out when exactly your fertile window is so that, if you’re in a hetero relationship, time sex properly. But really - we need to start paying attention sooner!

We have a tricky relationship with our monthly bleed. When we don’t want to get pregnant, it’s a nuisance, and when we’re trying to get pregnant and we see blood on the toilet paper - it’s devastating. Both scenarios, your bleed is associated with something negative. 

Considered the 5th Vital sign, the quality and function of your menstrual cycle is paramount for understanding your fertility. More and more awareness is being placed on menstrual cycle, but there is still a long long way to go to understanding the whole cycle and how it affects your life and fertility.

In this episode, the lovely Julie Lipsett and I have a VERY cool conversation about all things related to your menstrual cycle. We also dive into the history of PMS which is a very interesting avenue of exploration. 

Julie is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a certified Fertility Awareness Educator.. Since graduating from Drexel University with a degree in Music Therapy and Counseling in 2017, she has worked as an outreach therapist in the neighborhoods south of Boston, a special education counselor, and then as a virtual outpatient therapist. 

She decided to incorporate Fertility Awareness into her practice in 2021, after experiencing the life-changing benefits of the method herself. Because menstrual cycles are so intimately connected to our overall wellness and mental health, she felt like it was a natural next step. She became a Fertility Awareness Educator after a two year certification course through The Well School of Body Literacy. 

Here’s what we covered in the episode.


The importance of Menstrual Cycle Awareness


What is the fertility awareness method


Charting vs no charting?


The average length of the menstrual cycle


Ayurveda, menstruation, and fertility


Cycle Syncing & the seasonal references


The history of PMS


The importance of understanding your body and having good body and medical literacy when going to appointments



Resources:

⁠therapywithjuliallc.com⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/julie.lipsett.fae/⁠

⁠https://www.amazon.com/Her-Blood-Gold-Awakening-Menstruation/dp/1906289069⁠

⁠https://www.amazon.com/Period-Repair-Manual-Treatment-Hormones/dp/1975926773



40 Days to Fertile Freedom Small Group Program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Fringe Fertility is brought to by⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Kerry Hinds ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Fertile Body Yoga⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ – a virtual holistic wellness hub for those going through fertility. She focuses on the mind, body, energy & soul while supporting people in⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠coaching programs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠fertility yoga classes,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠collaborative workshops⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fringe-fertility/message