Show Notes
Dr. Belinda Adams — a UK physician who traded the doctor's coat for the patient gown, going through six rounds of IVF before becoming a mother, and later founding Fertility Hero, an evidence-based supplement company built from everything she wished someone had told her.
From discovering that egg quality isn't actually fixed, to using a gluten-free diet to normalize thyroid antibodies instead of steroids, this episode is packed with real clinical insight, hard-won personal experience, and practical fertility tools you won't hear anywhere else. We go deep into why infertility carries psychological symptom scores comparable to cancer patients, the shame and self-blame so many women silently carry, and the science behind sleep, melatonin, CoQ10, and five element acupuncture — plus what Belinda wishes she'd known before her very first IVF cycle.
Chapter and Time Stamps: 00:58 Meet Dr Belinda Adams 01:43 Her Infertility Journey 04:15 Mental Health Toll 07:18 Dropping Shame and Blame 08:43 Getting Unstuck Tools 11:37 Visualization and Testing 15:12 Five Element Acupuncture 17:28 Egg Quality Lifestyle 20:46 When to Seek Help 22:09 Talking to Loved Ones 23:55 Self Care and Sleep 25:11 IVF Lessons Learned 26:43 Choosing Clinics Wisely 30:21 Autoimmunity and IVF 32:33 Why Fertility Hero Exists 35:11 Reading Supplement Labels 38:35 How to Take Supplements 40:56 Where to Find Belinda 41:53 Final Thanks and Goodbye
Key Takeaways 🥚 Egg Quality Isn't Fixed — The Months Before Ovulation Matter 💔 Infertility Grief Rivals a Cancer Diagnosis Psychologically 🙅 Shame Isn't the Cause of Your Infertility — Let It Go 🧵 Some Emotions Are Healthy — Anger Can Spur You to Dig Deeper 🪡 Acupuncture May Help — But Nobody's Fully Sure Why Yet 😴 Sleep Isn't Just Rest — It Protects Egg Quality Through Melatonin 🔬 One Round of IVF Is an Experiment, Not a Verdict 🗣️ You Don't Owe Anyone Real-Time Updates on Your Journey
Guest Details & Links Guest: Dr. Belinda Adams Specialty: UK Physician | Fertility, Hormones & Reproductive Psychology | Founder of Fertility Hero Background: After three years of unexplained infertility, Belinda took what she thought was a temporary break from clinical medicine to pursue IVF — a break that became permanent. She and her husband went through six rounds of IVF and four different clinics over several years before welcoming their two daughters. Being on the receiving end of care, having to ask to see her own blood results, completely reshaped how she understood the fertility system from the inside. Education: Trained and practiced as a physician in the UK before stepping away from clinical medicine in 2018 Certifications: N/A (medical training; not formally stated in episode) Past Work: Practiced clinical medicine in the UK; worked in medical education, which shaped her ability to critically evaluate fertility research and supplement evidence Turning Point: After her own struggles with raised thyroid antibodies, a chemical pregnancy, and repeated failed IVF cycles, Belinda used a gluten-free diet to normalize her thyroid antibodies as an alternative to steroids — an experience that deepened her belief in accessible, low-risk lifestyle interventions alongside conventional care Known For: Founder of Fertility Hero, a UK-based evidence-based fertility supplement company; vocal advocate for addressing the mental health toll of infertility, egg quality myths, and the overlap between autoimmune conditions and fertility struggles Offers: Third-party tested, evidence-based fertility supplements (CoQ10, magnesium bisglycinate, prenatal, omega-3) currently available in the UK, with plans to expand to Europe and the US
Links: 🌐 Website: fertilityhero.co.uk 📷 Instagram: @fertilityhero
About Your Hosts Micah Yu, MD, MHA, MS, ABOIM, DipABLM, IFMCP Dr. Micah Yu is a triple board-certified integrative rheumatologist who blends conventional medicine with holistic, nutrition-based healing to treat autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions. A
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