I recently joined the Almost 30 Podcast for a powerful conversation about something I believe we need to start thinking about much earlier: fertility health doesn’t begin a few months before you want to get pregnant. The choices we make in the years leading up to conception can influence our reproductive health, overall health, and even the health of a future baby.
We talked about why I believe many cases labeled “unexplained infertility” may not be truly unexplained. Often, there are underlying factors that simply aren’t being fully investigated, things like environmental toxins, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, gut health, hormone disruption, mitochondrial health, stress, and other exposures that can affect both egg and sperm health.
We also explored the science of epigenetics and how nutrition, toxins, sleep, stress, movement, and other daily habits can influence how our genes are expressed. This is one of the reasons I encourage couples to think beyond simply “trying to conceive” and instead focus on becoming ready to conceive.
And this conversation isn’t just for women. Sperm contributes 50% of the genetic material, and male fertility deserves just as much attention when we are preparing for a healthy pregnancy.
We also talked about:
- Why “unexplained infertility” deserves a deeper look
- Common environmental toxins that may disrupt hormones and fertility
- Why sperm health matters just as much as egg health
- What AMH can (and cannot) tell us about fertility
- IVF, fertility testing, and what may be overlooked
- Simple daily habits that can support fertility and healthy aging
- Birth control, testosterone, and reproductive health
- How to shift the mindset from “trying to conceive” to “ready to conceive”
Whether you’re actively preparing for pregnancy, experiencing fertility challenges, thinking about having children someday, or simply want to protect your reproductive and long-term health, I hope this conversation gives you a new way to think about fertility, and reminds you how much opportunity we have to support the body before conception.
