Fertility Mindset: Inspiring Stories to Keep You Moving Forward

Anne is back with Hayley, sharing her fertility journey from egg freezing at 34 through pregnancy at 44. She froze her eggs at 34, did a second retrieval at 38 that included making two embryos with a sperm donor before she'd even met her husband, and went on to have two unplanned chemical pregnancies with her now-husband before they'd officially started trying. She shares the loss of a pregnancy after IUI at 9 to 10 weeks, later confirmed to have an extra chromosome, and how three euploid embryos led to two failed transfers before Anne recommended an endometrial biopsy that uncovered chronic endometritis. After treatment, her third transfer worked, and she gave birth at 44. This episode is for anyone who thinks freezing their eggs alone guarantees a pregnancy, anyone facing failed transfers with euploid embryos, or anyone who needs to hear that age is not the whole story.

Anne is back with Leslie Fair, sharing three and a half years of trying to build a family that included six pregnancy losses, the pressure of being told her age was the problem despite bloodwork that looked completely normal, and two rounds of IVF. She walks through the devastating moment a technician told her "it happened again" during an ultrasound with no support offered afterward, why she and her husband kept trying to collect more embryos even when it wasn't working, and how a comment from Ryan on this podcast about not choosing a fertility clinic based on convenience led her to Anne. She covers what actually changed the outcome: testing her husband's DNA fragmentation for the first time, an immune and lifestyle overhaul through the Energy Makeover, and LIT treatment, after which she got pregnant spontaneously and carried to a healthy birth in February 2026. This episode is for anyone who's been told their labs look fine but keeps losing pregnancies, anyone considering another round of IVF without knowing why the last one didn't work, or anyone who needs to hear that six losses doesn't mean it's over.

Anne is back solo, breaking down the latest research on sperm biology and why the old "sperm just delivers DNA" model is outdated. She covers a 2025 study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Harvard Medical School on "selfish sperm selection," where certain mutations allow sperm-producing stem cells to outcompete healthy ones as men age. She explains new research on imprint control regions and paternal age, and reframes what "egg quality" actually means: the egg's job isn't just to accept sperm, it's to repair sperm DNA damage before development begins, which means DNA fragmentation is a couple's diagnosis, not just a male factor one. She digs into why varicoceles are the most treatable and most ignored cause of male infertility, walks through the biology of testicular temperature and a landmark thermal contraception study, covers the 2018 Harvard boxers versus briefs research, and names specific reproductive microsurgeons for anyone considering a second opinion. This episode is for anyone being told their DNA fragmentation doesn't matter, anyone who's been told they have bad egg quality without anyone testing it, or anyone about to do funded IVF without addressing male factor first.

Anne is back with a solo episode on one of the biggest shifts happening in women's health right now: the rename from PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) to PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome). She breaks down why the old name was misleading, why many women with PCOS never actually had ovarian cysts and why many women with polycystic-looking ovaries were completely hormonally well, and what the rename means for how the condition is now understood. She covers lean PMOS, post-pill PCOS, why letrozole works for PMOS patients, why high egg numbers in IVF don't automatically mean high embryo quality, and why PMOS patients are at serious risk of OHSS from aggressive stimulation. She also covers the lifestyle interventions that actually move the needle: resistance training, blood sugar stability, sleep, inflammation reduction, and why male factor is still being ignored in PMOS patients doing IVF. This episode is for anyone who has been told they have PCOS and sent away until they want to have a baby, anyone doing IVF with PMOS and wondering why egg numbers aren't translating to embryos, or anyone realizing that PMOS is a lifelong metabolic condition, not just a fertility problem.

Anne is back with Nico, her first male guest sharing a male factor story. Nico walks through DNA fragmentation climbing from 15% to 24% despite lifestyle changes, discovering he'd had an undiagnosed varicocele for 20 years, being dismissed by urologists who said his wife's PCOS was the real problem, and advocating for surgery that dropped fragmentation to 14%. After immune testing revealed LAD levels at 2%, they fixed both issues but still had five losses before IVF. This episode is for anyone dealing with male factor and recurrent loss, or anyone realizing structural problems need surgical solutions.