So, you’ve decided you want to get pregnant. It’s a big decision and certainly not one to take lightly, but you have officially decided parenthood is for you – and that's amazing! But like all new and uncertain things, you might not know where to start or how to begin this journey to conception. Don’t worry – we’re here to help break down a few important items on the preconception checklist  1. Start taking prenatal vitamins You might be surprised to see this as the first item on the list of things to start doing...

Infertility has a funny way of making you experience dual but conflicting feelings: strong yet weak, excited yet entirely worn down, some days quite literally laughing and crying in the same beat. As someone who has long struggled with my body image in the past, one thing I was certainly not expecting out of IVF was gaining a deep admiration for my body and the strength and perseverance it displayed throughout the long road to pregnancy. During my teen years, my body image was not what I would call particularly healthy. Like many young women,...

When it comes to optimizing your fertility and improving your odds of getting pregnant, there is so much to consider and understand. If it’s been a while since you started trying, you might begin to question your every move, wondering what it’s doing to your body and your chances at conception. Because there is so much misinformation on the internet, relying on reputable, science-based guidance is extremely important during this time.  So, do you have to give up your beloved coffee, wine, and exercise when trying to get pregnant? The answer is it’s complicated, but...

When you have been trying to conceive for a while, the two-week wait can be a highly anticipated time filled with feelings of fear, hope, and most of all, uncertainty. You’ve taken your meds, you’ve gone to the appointments, you’ve tracked your ovulation, and now all you can do is wait (and wait, and wait).  While it might feel like you’ve lost any semblance of control over the outcome of your cycle, there are things you can do nutrition-wise during the two-week wait to improve your chances of implantation:  What happens in your body during the...

A lot of people sense that they will have trouble conceiving, but I actually did not have that innate fear. Despite all of the signs that pointed toward a more difficult fertility journey (lack of regular periods, short luteal phase, etc.), I was quite honestly nothing but optimistic as my husband Bryce and I started trying to conceive.  Maybe my optimism was blind, dumb, or naive; maybe it’s just my personality to see the silver lining, or maybe it was some weird (false) sense that an easy fertility journey was “owed” to me by the...

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that affects approximately 1 in 10 women of childbearing age. It is also one of the leading causes of infertility in the United States, with about 10 million women affected. These are big numbers for a condition that has such a profound impact on a woman’s fertility; and yet, the support for it is so lacking.  The symptoms of PCOS can impact all elements of a woman’s life and can include irregular cycles, the prevalence of acne, mood swings, weight gain, and unwanted hair growth, to name a...