Get Pregnant Naturally

Episodi

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  Poor Responder After a Cancelled IVF Cycle: 3 Questions to Ask Before You Go Again (Low AMH, Failed IVF, Diminished Ovarian Reserve) 17.08.2026 10min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com Your cycle was cancelled on day eight or day nine. Someone called and said there were not enough follicles and it was not worth going ahead. At the follow up, you heard the words poor responder. What do you actually do with that? Change the protocol. Go again next month. Take three months off and work on your health. Get another opinion. Or accept that this is what your ovaries are capable of and stop looking for an explanation. This is where I see women get stuck, because if you are listening to this, you have already done a lot. Clean eating, the supplements, CoQ10, a methylfolate prenatal, vitamin D, no alcohol, no plastics, acupuncture twice a week, reading It Starts With The Egg. Almost nobody walks into IVF blindly. None of that answers the question in front of you now. What should I actually do before another retrieval? In this episode, I walk through the three questions I would want answered. None of them are more supplements, and none of them are another checklist. A cancelled cycle tells you how your ovaries responded to medication. It was never designed to tell you about the environment those eggs were developing in during the ninety days before the injections started. What I cover: what the cycle actually established and what it was never built to answer. What happened in those ninety days, including the full thyroid panel with antibodies rather than TSH alone, ferritin where we look at 80 to 100, high sensitivity CRP where we like it below one, and absorption. Your partner's side, including DNA fragmentation, sperm antibodies and the seminal microbiome across his seventy-four days. And the question to ask your fertility team before you agree to another retrieval: what exactly are we changing, and why? I am not telling you which protocol to be on. That is a conversation with your fertility team. I am also not saying any one of these markers explains a cancelled cycle. That is not the claim I am making. It is about whether the investigation was finished before the next decision. CHAPTERS 00:00 Your cycle was cancelled and you heard poor responder 01:00 Question one, what did the cycle actually tell us 02:00 Everything you had already done before the cycle 03:00 Question two, what happened in the ninety days before stimulation 04:00 Full thyroid panel, ferritin, high sensitivity CRP and absorption 05:00 His side, DNA fragmentation, and why this is personal for me 06:00 What Your Clinic Missed, and what we actually look at 07:00 Question three, if you go again, what will be different 08:00 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion 09:00 Closing WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED A list of markers worth reviewing before another IVF cycle or a donor egg decision. It also gives you a sense of what we look at with clients, beyond bloodwork. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your bloodwork, your history, and your partner's results with you. Bring your partner and load your labs before the call. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
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  Failed IVF? 5 Questions to Ask Before Another IVF Cycle 10.08.2026 11min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs?  Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision → fabfertile.com After a failed cycle, the pressure to decide arrives fast. Another retrieval. A different protocol. A different clinic. Donor eggs. And underneath all of it, the question of what to do next. This episode is not an argument against IVF. It is the opposite. It is about walking into the next cycle having looked at the whole picture rather than only the protocol. These are the five questions I would ask if we were sitting together reviewing your case. What your last cycle actually told us, and why stimulation works with the eggs your body has already been developing rather than creating egg quality. What has genuinely changed since the last cycle beyond the medication. Whether investigating costs you time, or whether the two can run in parallel. Whether both partners have been evaluated, or only one. And what information would let you feel settled about the decision either way. I also share what I would do differently. I was 28 when I was told donor eggs were my only option. I did not know there were other questions to ask. CHAPTERS 00:00 The pressure to decide after a failed cycle 00:52 Review ask 01:00 What our team reviews and how we work 02:30 The type A pattern, and the tracking data that still has not answered it 03:10 Question 1. What did your IVF cycle actually tell us 03:40 Stimulation does not create egg quality 03:55 Question 2. What has actually changed since your last cycle 04:30 His full workup, beyond count and motility 05:00 Question 3. Will investigating cost me time 05:50 What is happening to your eggs while you gather information 06:15 Running functional work and IVF in parallel 06:50 Question 4. Have we looked at both partners 07:20 The 70 to 80 day window before conception 07:35 Question 5. What would help you feel confident either way 08:05 Medical gaslighting, and the symptoms nobody connected 08:30 I was 28 and I did not know what to ask 09:15 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion, and how parallel timing works FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call. Upload your bloodwork and IVF records to the portal beforehand and we go through what has already been investigated, where the gaps are, and whether our approach is a fit. If you have a retrieval scheduled we can still work with you. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book at fabfertile.com ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
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  High FSH and Told Donor Eggs? What Should the Number Actually Decide? 03.08.2026 15min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com You knew before the nurse called. You had been checking the portal, and there it was. FSH, flagged high. You read the range beside it several times, then searched the number late at night hoping it would tell you what it meant for your future. What came back was not an explanation. It felt like a verdict. Diminished ovarian reserve. Poor responder. Consider donor eggs. A high FSH is a real finding, and this episode does not pretend otherwise. But a number tells you where you are standing. It does not tell you how you got there, and it does not decide for you. In this episode, I walk through what a high FSH does tell us, what it does not, and the questions I would want answered before making another fertility decision. That includes the cycle day the sample was drawn on, whether estradiol was measured alongside it, whether the result has ever been repeated, and the layer of health that sits underneath the number and rarely gets examined. I also share the outcomes I have seen across ten years. Some couples conceive naturally. Some go on to IVF, and it works. Some choose donor eggs. Some choose adoption. Some decide not to pursue children and feel better than they have in years. The goal of this work is clarity, not a promise. CHAPTERS 00:00 The portal, the result, and what it felt like 01:00 What our team reviews and why it looks different 02:00 Both partners, and why this is multifactorial 03:00 What FSH is actually telling us 04:00 Cycle day, estradiol, and whether the test was repeated 05:00 What could be contributing to the bigger picture 06:00 Thyroid, ferritin, vitamin D, blood sugar, inflammation 07:00 Autoimmunity, gut health, endometriosis, sleep, nutrition 08:00 Under-fueling, chronic stress, and what the DUTCH test shows 09:00 The pattern I see in type A women, and my own diagnosis at 28 11:00 Every path we have helped couples take 12:00 What Your Clinic Missed 12:30 Three questions before your next decision 13:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The companion guide walks through the markers worth reviewing before a donor egg decision, so you can go through your own results and see what is there. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call. Before we speak, I review your bloodwork, your history, your previous treatment, and both partners' health, so the conversation focuses on what has been explored and what questions remain. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
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  What to Bring to a Fertility Second Opinion: 7 Questions to Ask After Failed IVF, Low AMH, or a Donor Egg Recommendation 27.07.2026 9min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com You have the appointment booked. Maybe it is a second opinion with a different clinic. Maybe it is a consult after a cycle that did not go the way you expected. You have your lab work, your partner is ready to join, and you have your questions ready. And some part of you is wondering whether the whole picture will actually be looked at this time. Here is what most women are never told. A diagnosis names where you are. It does not always explain why you are there. "We did not find anything" and "we looked for these specific things and ruled them out" are not the same sentence. One is the absence of an investigation. The other is the result of one. In this episode, I walk through exactly what to bring and what to ask: the records that tell the real story of your cycle, the symptom history most workups leave out, your partner's complete evaluation, and the three questions that move the conversation from what happened to why. Pull it up and take notes. This is not about avoiding IVF or distrusting your doctor. It is about walking into your next decision having asked every reasonable question, so the decision is an informed one. CHAPTERS 00:00 What to bring to a fertility second opinion 01:00 Why functional testing looks upstream, not just one more test 02:00 Your bloodwork and IVF cycle records, and how to get them 03:00 Your symptom history, and why every symptom is a clue 04:00 His records, including sperm DNA fragmentation 05:00 The first question, what has actually been ruled out 06:00 What would explain your numbers 07:00 What happens if you change nothing 07:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The companion guide walks through the patterns a standard fertility workup tends to miss, with the markers behind each one, so you can take it to your next appointment and ask the questions. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your bloodwork, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here: https://fabfertile.com/pages/book ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
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  IVF Failure Often Starts Before Stimulation Begins 20.07.2026 8min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com IVF stimulation doesn't create egg quality. It reveals it. Most people think an IVF cycle starts on day one of stimulation. Biologically, that's already too late. You were told the protocol would be adjusted. Maybe the dose went up. Maybe they switched you to a different one entirely. And the result was the same, or close enough that nobody could explain the difference. Somewhere in it, you started wondering whether the cycle was ever really the variable. The follicles recruited in your cycle have been developing for weeks to months. They reflect the metabolic and inflammatory conditions that were present during that window. Stimulation doesn't override those conditions. It asks the system to perform under them. The same applies to sperm. His semen analysis came back normal, he got a high five from the REI, and nobody looked at DNA integrity or fragmentation. In this episode, I walk through three patterns we see with clients and why repeating a cycle without reassessing readiness often produces the same result. CHAPTERS 00:00 Why the cycle was decided before day one 01:00 Pattern one: egg and sperm quality are set before stimulation begins 02:00 The sperm side nobody looked at, and why stimulation amplifies what is already there 03:00 Pattern two: why pre-IVF prep fails when it is just supplements and timelines 04:00 Blood sugar, gut and immune signaling, and stress physiology 05:00 Pattern three: preparing for IVF versus auditing whether you are ready 06:00 The hierarchy, and whether now is the time to push the system 07:00 The reframe: clarity protects your time, energy, and biology EMBRYO AUDIT CHECKLIST If you're preparing for IVF or considering another cycle, the free Embryo Audit Checklist walks through the key systems that influence egg quality, embryo development, and implantation, so you can have a more informed conversation before moving forward. Download it here: https://fabfertile.com/pages/embryo-audit-checklist FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your patterns with you. This is a diagnostic review, not coaching on a protocol. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Book here: https://fabfertile.com/pages/book ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
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  Embryo Arrest: Why Embryos Stop Growing Before Day 5 13.07.2026 16min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com The fertilization report looked good. You had eggs. They fertilized. Day three looked fine. Then came the call. Nothing made it past day five, or one did, and it was graded poor, and the cycle was over. You were told it was egg quality, or it was a numbers game, or that you have to try again. Here is what that explanation leaves out. An embryo does not run on one engine the whole way. For the first two to three days it runs almost entirely on the egg, on the proteins, the messenger molecules, and the energy the egg packed during its final growth phase. Then, around the four to eight cell stage on day three, the embryo activates its own genome and takes over, and the paternal contribution comes online. That handover changes where you look. If development stalls in the first three days, you start with the egg and its energy supply. If it looked strong on day three and stalled before the blastocyst, you start with the sperm and its DNA. Same line in the report. Two completely different first moves. Most workups examine neither. They adjust the protocol and go again. In this episode, I walk through the seven factors that shape whether an embryo keeps dividing, and what most clinics never review before they tell you it was your eggs. Pull it up, take notes, and bring it to your next appointment. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The day five call and what the explanation leaves out 00:55 If this show has helped you, leave a review 01:05 Who reviews your case at Fab Fertile 03:50 Number one: the day three handover and where to look first 06:10 Number two: the egg's energy supply was built before the cycle 08:05 Number three: sperm DNA fragmentation and the standard semen analysis 09:20 Number four: the full thyroid panel, including antibodies 10:20 The Embryo Audit Checklist 10:40 Number five: blood sugar and insulin, for both of you 11:45 Number six: inflammation, the gut microbiome, oxidative stress 12:40 Number seven: the ninety day window and why repeating a cycle repeats the result 13:45 Why the data driven approach works for left brain people 14:30 Chromosomal quality is information, not a verdict 14:55 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS A standard semen analysis measures count, motility, and shape. It does not measure the integrity of the DNA inside the sperm. Sperm carrying damaged DNA can still fertilize an egg and produce a normal-looking embryo on day two or three, and development can stall after the genome handover. In a 2025 retrospective analysis of 870 fresh single blastocyst ICSI cycles, each one percent increase in sperm DNA fragmentation was associated with roughly 2.5 percent lower odds of obtaining a top quality blastocyst on day five. The same analysis found that fragmentation was not predictive of clinical pregnancy outcomes. It speaks to why an embryo stalled, not to whether a pregnancy will happen. Thyroid autoantibodies have been detected in follicular fluid at concentrations that correlate with blood levels, which is one reason a complete thyroid panel may include Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, TPO antibodies, and thyroglobulin antibodies rather than TSH alone. These are not established diagnostic tests for embryo arrest. They can provide context that a single TSH result cannot. THE EMBRYO AUDIT CHECKLIST If your embryos have arrested and you want to walk through what to review before the next cycle repeats the same result, we built the Embryo Audit Checklist for exactly this. Download it at https://fabfertile.com/pages/embryo-audit-checklist Or email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line CHECKLIST. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION This is a call where I review your cycle, your labs, your history, and your partner's picture together in one place. You leave knowing what your embryos may be telling you and what the next cycle would be built on, instead of repeating the same outcome. Whatever you decide afterward is yours, but it gets made with information your workup did not give you. Book at https://fabfertile.com/pages/book Or email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped you make sense of your own numbers, leave a review wherever you listen. It is how another woman, being told the same thing, finds her way here. REFERENCES Machałowski T, Machałowska J, Gill K, et al. Sperm DNA Fragmentation Impairs Early Embryo Development but Is Not Predictive of Pregnancy Outcomes: Insights from 870 ICSI Cycles. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2025. doi:10.3390/ijms26167923 Monteleone P, Parrini D, Faviana P, et al. Female infertility related to thyroid autoimmunity: the ovarian follicle hypothesis. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology. 2011. American Urological Association and American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Diagnosis and Treatment of Infertility in Men: AUA/ASRM Guideline. 2020.
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  Low AMH and Failed IVF? Pregnant Naturally at AMH 0.27 ng/mL 06.07.2026 8min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com You were told your AMH is low, and maybe that IVF was your only option. Maybe you went through it, and it did not work. Maybe you already have one child and have been told this time is different. And some part of you has been wondering whether that number is really the whole story. Here is what most women are never told. AMH reflects egg quantity, not egg quality, and not your ability to conceive. It predicts how your ovaries respond to medication. It does not explain why a cycle failed, why embryos stopped developing, or why outcomes have not changed despite every protocol adjustment. In this episode, I walk through a real case. Her AMH was 0.27 ng/mL. She had a failed IVF cycle behind her and was navigating secondary infertility. One pattern that stood out was inflammation. Her hs-CRP was 1.3 mg/L, read as normal by conventional ranges but not optimal, and something was driving it. She conceived naturally, not because the number changed, but because the systems shaping egg development were finally looked at. This is not about avoiding IVF or chasing a better lab value. It is about reading what your body has already shown you, so your next decision is an informed one. CHAPTERS 00:00 What your AMH actually tells you, and what it does not 01:00 Why a failed IVF cycle can be more informative than the number 02:00 This was not unexplained, age, or bad luck 03:00 The patterns we see, inflammation, nutrient absorption, brain, and hormone signaling 04:00 Addressing systems in sequence, not a random checklist 05:00 What it looked like when the body started responding 06:00 Natural conception at AMH 0.27, and why the number was not the point 07:00 Pausing before the next cycle, readiness over urgency 07:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The companion guide walks through the patterns a standard fertility workup tends to miss, with the markers behind each one, so you can take it to your next appointment and ask the questions. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your bloodwork, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here: https://fabfertile.com/pages/book ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
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  Low AMH, Failed IVF, Told Donor Eggs? The Nervous System Behind Your Numbers 29.06.2026 14min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com Low AMH, failed IVF, or told donor eggs, and still no real explanation for why? This episode looks at the system a standard fertility workup rarely checks: the nervous system, and how chronic stress affects egg quality, progesterone, thyroid function, and ovulation. If you are a high-achieving, Type A woman who has been told your stress is handled and your thyroid is fine, this is the seven things behind low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, and recurrent pregnancy loss that rarely get investigated, including the cortisol pattern, the full thyroid panel, blood sugar, prolactin, and the stress nerves that run directly through the ovary. This episode covers: low AMH and high FSH, the cortisol curve, a single blood draw misses, thyroid antibodies and reverse T3 behind a "normal" TSH, how stress pulls raw material away from progesterone, blood sugar, and the 3 am wake-up, elevated prolactin, and the nervous system inside the ovary affecting egg quality. This episode is for you if you have low AMH, diminished ovarian reserve, a failed or cancelled IVF cycle, or recurrent miscarriage, and you have been told donor eggs are your only option, and no one has explained why this is happening. CHAPTERS 00:00 Why the woman who handles everything is the one who needs this 03:00 The seven things, and why this is physiology, not mindset 03:40 One: survival first, and reproduction turned down 05:00 Two: why a single cortisol draw misses the pattern 06:00 Three: thyroid antibodies and reverse T3 behind a normal TSH 06:50 Four: how stress competes with progesterone 07:50 Five: the 3am wake-up is blood sugar, not anxiety 09:00 Six: the prolactin that got flagged, then dropped 09:30 Seven: the nervous system inside the ovary 11:00 What you can actually change 12:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion NEXT STEPS What Your Clinic Missed guide: the lab markers behind each of the seven, in writing. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject MISSED. Functional Fertility Second Opinion: a call where I review your full picture, your labs, your blood sugar, and your partner's results, and help you make an informed next decision. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject FERTILE, or book a call with your partner here. I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Get Pregnant Naturally: A Functional Fertility Second Opinion. If this show has helped you make sense of your numbers, please leave a review. It helps other women find the show and be their own advocate.
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  Told It Was Unexplained? 9 Tests Your Miscarriage Workup Skipped 22.06.2026 18min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com You were told to try again. Maybe you were told it was bad luck, or to wait until it happened a third time before anyone would look. Here is what changed this year. In 2026, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine updated its definition of recurrent pregnancy loss for the first time since 2012. Two losses now meet the definition, not three, and a positive test that ended early counts. The old number kept women waiting for a third loss before the investigation even started. Here is the part no one tells you. Meeting the definition gets you a workup. It does not guarantee the workup is complete. After two or more losses, up to half of couples are told the same word. Unexplained. The losses are real. What gets called a complete workup is the question. This episode is the 9 specific things we most often find that are rarely checked before a woman is told her losses were unexplained or simply bad luck. Pull it up. Take notes. Bring it to your next appointment. The 9 patterns: Thyroid, the full panel and antibodies, not just TSH Antiphospholipid antibodies, tested correctly Chronic endometritis The reproductive microbiome, vaginal and seminal The gut, hidden gluten, and inflammation Sperm DNA fragmentation The male partner's full bloodwork Blood sugar and metabolic patterns The nervous system and progesterone These are the areas that sit outside a standard miscarriage workup. A 2012 meta-analysis in Human Reproduction, pooling sixteen studies and nearly three thousand couples, found miscarriage rates rose with sperm DNA damage, with about twice the relative risk. Unexplained rarely means there is nothing to find. It usually means the search stopped at the karyotype, one antiphospholipid test, the anatomy, and a TSH. For the full breakdown of every pattern, read the companion article, Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: The Functional Fertility Approach, at https://fabfertile.com/blogs/learn/recurrent-pregnancy-loss WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The companion guide walks through all 9 of these patterns in more detail, so you can take it to your next appointment and ask the questions. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, your losses, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 What "Unexplained" Means and What the 2026 Guideline Changed 01:30 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile 04:00 Thyroid: The Full Panel, Not Just TSH 05:50 Antiphospholipid Antibodies, Tested Correctly 06:30 Chronic Endometritis 07:30 The Reproductive Microbiome 08:30 The Gut, Hidden Gluten, and Inflammation 10:30 What Your Clinic Missed Guide 11:00 Sperm DNA Fragmentation 12:30 The Male Partner's Full Bloodwork 13:50 Blood Sugar and Metabolic Patterns 15:20 The Nervous System and Progesterone 16:30 What "Unexplained" Really Means 17:20 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion
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  Told Donor Eggs? 11 Things Your Clinic Probably Missed 15.06.2026 15min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com For most people, donor eggs is at the bottom of the list. It is not where you wanted to land. And if your clinic is recommending it, something in you is saying there has to be more to look at first. Here is what we see every week. The donor egg recommendation rarely arrives after a complete workup. It arrives after looking at the AMH, the FSH, the follicle count, maybe a basic semen analysis, and maybe being told your TSH is normal. Those numbers are real. The diagnosis is real. What gets called complete is the question. This episode is the 11 specific things we most often find skipped before the recommendation gets made. Pull it up. Take notes. Bring it to your next appointment. The 11 patterns: 1. Thyroid, the full panel, not just TSH 2. The gut, including H. pylori 3. Hidden food sensitivities 4. Medications you are already on that affect fertility 5. The vaginal microbiome 6. The seminal microbiome 7. The male partner's full bloodwork 8. Sperm DNA fragmentation 9. Vaginal and seminal cross-contamination between partners 10. The nervous system and HPA axis 11. Liver function and hormone clearance These are the tests that sit outside the standard fertility workup. A 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that ovarian reserve markers like AMH do not significantly predict natural conception in women with regular cycles. The donor egg recommendation comes from one snapshot, not the full investigation. If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First," then "How Long Should I Try With My Own Eggs Before Donor Eggs?" then "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For," and "Multiple Failed IVF And Told Donor Eggs?" This episode brings all of it together. WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The companion guide walks through all 11 of these patterns in more detail, so you can take it to your next appointment and ask the questions. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation and What Gets Called Complete 01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile 02:00 Thyroid: The Full Panel, Not Just TSH 03:00 The Gut and H. pylori 04:00 Hidden Food Sensitivities 05:00 Medications That Affect Fertility 06:30 The Vaginal Microbiome 08:00 The Seminal Microbiome 08:30 The Male Partner's Full Bloodwork 09:00 Sperm DNA Fragmentation 09:30 Cross-Contamination Between Partners 11:00 The Nervous System and HPA Axis 11:30 Liver Function and Hormone Clearance 13:00 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion
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  Multiple Failed IVF And Told Donor Eggs? The System Your Clinic Never Looked At 08.06.2026 12min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com You have done IVF more than once. Maybe twice. Maybe three times. Maybe more. Each cycle they tweaked the protocol. Higher dose. Lower dose. Different stimulation drug. Different trigger. Added growth hormone. Added DHEA. Mini IVF. Dual stim. Each cycle the protocol changed. And now they are telling you donor eggs. Here is the question this episode is about. They changed the protocol every time. Did anyone look at what was already in your body when each of those protocols arrived? That is what this episode is about. The layer underneath every protocol. In this episode: - Protocol vs system: what your clinic was trained to adjust, and what nobody adjusted across any of your cycles - Why the donor egg conversation arrives after the only variable your clinic was trained to address has been exhausted, not after a full review of your body - The thyroid, iron, B12, vitamin D, inflammation, gut, cortisol, mineral, vaginal microbiome, and blood sugar markers that did not change between cycle 1 and cycle 5 - Why we look at ferritin against 80 to 100 going into IVF, not the lab reference of 15 - What a 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found about ovarian reserve markers and natural conception — and why donor eggs gets recommended on markers the literature itself does not support If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First," then "How Long Should I Try With My Own Eggs Before Donor Eggs?" and "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For." This episode builds on all three. ——— WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The full thyroid panel, not just a TSH. The iron panel that flags ferritin against the fertility target. The gut microbiome testing your REI does not order. The inflammatory markers they tell you are normal. And the male side that almost nobody investigates. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. ——— FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ——— ABOUT THE HOST I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. ——— If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work. ——— TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The Protocol Changed Every Time. Did Anyone Change You? 01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile 02:00 Protocol vs System: The Layer Underneath Every IVF 03:00 What Your Body Brought to Every Cycle 04:30 What the 2024 Research Says About AMH 06:00 The Markers That Did Not Change Between Cycles 07:30 Why Multiple Tests Are Not One Test 09:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation With Half the Data 10:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion
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  How Long Should I Try With My Own Eggs Before Donor Eggs? 01.06.2026 9min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com Your clinic told you donor eggs. You walked out wondering how much time you actually have left. Whether waiting six months means missing your window. Whether trying with your own eggs one more time is brave or stupid. The honest answer is longer than your clinic implied. And the window is not your AMH number. In this episode: - Why a 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that ovarian reserve markers like AMH do not significantly predict natural conception in women with regular cycles - What the 90-day window before ovulation actually is, and why the eggs you work with six months from now are not the eggs you are working with today - The inputs your clinic's timeline assumed would not change: mitochondrial function, inflammation, iron, B12, zinc, vitamin D, cortisol patterns, toxic load - The clinical pattern we see over more than a decade of cases: month zero to six is where the picture comes into view, twelve to eighteen months is where it can start to move substantially - Why some pictures do not move, and why that is still a reason to look before you decide If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First" and then "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For." This episode builds on both. ——— WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED The full thyroid panel, not just a TSH. The iron panel that flags ferritin. The gut microbiome testing that your REI does not order. The inflammatory markers no one notices. The male side that almost no one investigates. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide. ——— FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. ——— ABOUT THE HOST Now in its eighth year, Get Pregnant Naturally was one of the first podcasts dedicated to the functional fertility approach for low AMH and failed IVF. Hosted by Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, author of Fabulously Fertile, and host of a podcast with over one million downloads. Fab Fertile is a functional fertility team that works with couples to review the lab work most fertility clinics do not run: gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, full thyroid panel, the iron panel, and inflammation markers, alongside nervous system work. Each week Sarah brings you what the team sees across more than a decade of cases. Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile. ——— If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work. ——— TIMESTAMPS 00:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation and the Real Question 01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile 01:30 AMH Is Not the Countdown Clock 03:00 The 90-Day Window Before Ovulation 04:30 What Actually Changes In 90 Days 07:00 The Fab Fertile Method: What We Investigate 08:30 Why Some Cases Do Not Shift 09:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion
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  Told Donor Eggs After Failed IVF? The Gut Pattern Your Clinic Did Not Test 25.05.2026 12min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com Told donor eggs after failed IVF? There is a category of testing that your fertility clinic does not run. We rarely run a stool test and find nothing. The IVF cycle did not work. Maybe it was poor response. Maybe it was canceled before retrieval. Maybe you got embryos and they arrested. Maybe the transfer failed. Your clinic looked at your numbers and told you donor eggs. In this episode, Sarah Clark walks through the gut pattern the Fab Fertile team sees in women who come to us after failed IVF with a donor egg recommendation, and why this pattern changes the picture before the next decision. What this episode covers: H. pylori. One of the most common findings in the women who come to us after failed IVF. It impairs absorption of iron, vitamin B12, and zinc, the nutrients that affect egg quality, thyroid function, and hormone production. It is passed back and forth between partners through saliva. If you have it, there is a strong chance your partner has it too. Parasites, giardia, blastocystis. Common findings. Rarely tested at the fertility clinic. Bacterial overgrowth, including streptococcus. Fungal overgrowth and dysbiosis. The reason chasing an anti-candida diet without testing moves you in circles. Elevated calprotectin. A signal of gut inflammation, often present in women with IBD, Crohn's, colitis, and women with no formal diagnosis. Elevated zonulin. A marker of intestinal permeability. The pattern we see after rounds of antibiotics, sinus infections, UTIs, birth control, and high stress. Why this matters before a donor egg decision: H. pylori impairs iron absorption. Ferritin reads low or low-normal. The clinic says iron is fine because the lab range starts around 15. The fertility-optimized range is closer to 50. Iron is foundational to egg quality. The oxygen carrying capacity to your follicles depends on it. B12 affects methylation, the process your body uses to produce the co-factors needed for egg maturation. Zinc affects ovulation and progesterone production. Chronic gut inflammation affects ovarian response to stimulation, implantation, and miscarriage risk. When your clinic looks at a canceled cycle, arrested embryos, or a failed transfer and recommends donor eggs, they are responding to the outcome. They are not asking what is driving the outcome. This episode is for the woman sitting with a donor egg recommendation who is not ready to agree before she understands what was actually evaluated. Next steps: Access the free guide: What Your Clinic Missed. It walks through the markers we review before a donor egg recommendation, including the thyroid panel, the iron panel with the fertility target, the gut testing your REI does not order, the inflammatory markers, and the male side. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED. Book a Functional Fertility Second Opinion. We will review your labs, your history, your full picture, and your partner's picture together. You will leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision should be informed by. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE. Or apply here. About the Host I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and  bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Timestamps [00:00] Told Donor Eggs After Failed IVF [01:00] Why the Fab Fertile Team Reviews Your Picture [02:00] H. pylori: The Most Common Gut Finding We See [03:00] Parasites, Streptococcus, and the Bacteria Most REIs Do Not Test [04:00] Why a Single Gut Test Without Fertility Context Misses the Picture [05:00] Iron, Ferritin, and the Fertility Range vs the Lab Range [06:00] B12, Methylation, and Egg Maturation [07:00] Zinc, Ovulation, and Progesterone [08:00] What Your Clinic Missed: The Markers Before a Donor Egg Recommendation [09:00] Why a Donor Egg Recommendation Responds to the Outcome, Not the Cause [10:00] The Functional Fertility Second Opinion: What the Call Covers
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  The Workup Most REIs Skip Before Recommending Donor Eggs 18.05.2026 12min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com The donor egg recommendation rarely comes after a complete workup. It comes after AMH, FSH, and an antral follicle count. That is usually where the investigation stops. In this episode, Sarah Clark walks through what is missing from the workup before women are told donor eggs are their only path: the full thyroid panel, not just TSH. Stool DNA testing for H. pylori, parasites, and food sensitivities. The vaginal microbiome. The male partner's blood work, which most clinics do not run. The nervous system patterns most REIs do not connect to fertility. Sarah shares Rebecca's case as a proof point. Rebecca was 27. Her AMH was 0.04 ng/mL. POI diagnosis. Told donor eggs were her only option. Her stool DNA testing revealed H. pylori and a parasite. Her food sensitivity testing showed gluten, dairy, and egg intolerance. She had adrenal insufficiency, thyroid imbalance, mineral depletion, and toxic load on her workup. Her eczema, migraines, and asthma were not separate issues. After targeted work, she conceived naturally in month five. Outcomes vary. Rebecca's case is one of many we use to illustrate what completing the workup can look like. This episode is for the woman sitting with a donor egg recommendation who is not ready to agree before she understands what was actually evaluated. The goal is clarity. Not opposition to your clinic. Not a guarantee of any outcome. Clarity on what your workup did not include, so that whatever you decide next gets made on the full picture. What this episode covers: The diagnosis is real. The investigation is incomplete. Why TSH alone is not a thyroid panel. H. pylori, hidden food sensitivities, and the gut inflammation driver. Eczema, migraines, and asthma as fertility signals. The male partner's workup should include beyond a semen analysis. Nervous system patterns most REIs do not connect to fertility. Next steps: Access the free guide: What Your Clinic Missed. The guide walks through the markers that the Fab Fertile team reviews before a donor egg recommendation. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED. Book a Functional Fertility Second Opinion. We'll review your labs, your history, your full picture, and your partner's picture together, so you know what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision should be informed by. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here. About the Host I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Timestamps [00:00] The Donor Egg Recommendation and the Investigation Underneath It [01:00] The Diagnosis Is Real. The Investigation Is Incomplete. [02:00] Sarah's POI Story and Why Fab Fertile Exists [03:00] Rebecca's Case: POI at 27, AMH 0.04, ng/mL Told Donor Eggs Were Her Only Option [04:00] Functional Lab Testing Before a Donor Egg Decision [05:00] What We Found: H. pylori, Parasites, Food Sensitivities, Adrenal Insufficiency, Thyroid [06:00] Eczema, Migraines, Asthma: Not Separate Issues From Fertility [07:00] Rebecca Conceived Naturally in Month Five [08:00] What Your Clinic Missed: The Markers Before a Donor Egg Recommendation [09:00] Why a Standard REI Workup Cannot Answer Why Your Numbers Are What They Are [10:00] Medical Gaslighting and the Permission to Investigate Further [11:00] The Functional Fertility Second Opinion: How It Works  
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  Told Donor Eggs at 43? Pregnant Naturally with Low AMH 11.05.2026 13min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com Low AMH, high FSH, two miscarriages, told donor eggs were her only option. At 43, she conceived naturally. Here's what her clinic missed before the donor egg recommendation. This episode is for the woman sitting with a donor egg recommendation. Low AMH or high FSH on the chart. Failed IVF or recurrent miscarriage in the history. A clinic that said the numbers leave you no other options. Sarah Clark walks through the case of a 43-year-old client whose REI told her IVF or donor eggs were her only realistic path. Her FSH was 13.6. Her AMH was low. She had two pregnancy losses behind her. The diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve was not wrong. The numbers were what they were. What had not happened was a structured investigation of why those numbers looked the way they did and whether the rest of the picture had been missed. Eighteen months later, she was pregnant naturally with her own eggs. What the clinic had not investigated was a long list. Her TSH was 3. Accepted as normal, but well above the range her own REI would have flagged before IVF prep. A full thyroid panel was never run. Her stool DNA test showed H. pylori, an infection that impairs nutrient absorption and drives inflammation. She had been gluten-free everywhere else for years, but she had been taking a weekly communion wafer every Sunday without realizing it counted. The cabergoline she was on was lowering her cholesterol and impairing her ability to make sex hormones. Her male partner had not been worked up. His semen analysis showed low volume and low concentration. His blood sugar was elevated. His kidney markers showed stress. The vaginal microbiome had not been tested. The seminal microbiome had not been tested. Her night sweats and disrupted sleep had been mentioned and dismissed. Her case is not a guarantee that anyone else will get the same outcome. Every case is different. The patterns we found in hers may not be the patterns in yours. But the principle holds: a diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve, low AMH, or high FSH is a starting point for further investigation, not a complete picture of what is possible. What this episode covers: Why low AMH and high FSH are not the complete picture when donor eggs are recommended Why a TSH of 3 is not normal for fertility even when a clinic accepts it How H. pylori, hidden gluten, and gut infections affect egg quality and miscarriage risk What a full male partner workup looks like when there has been pregnancy loss or implantation failure What a structured second opinion covers when you have been told IVF or donor eggs are your only path This episode is for you if: You have low AMH, high FSH, or a diminished ovarian reserve diagnosis You have had a failed IVF cycle, recurrent miscarriage, or implantation failure You have been told donor eggs are your next step and you are not ready to agree before you understand what was actually evaluated You are in your late 30s or 40s and want to understand whether natural pregnancy with your own eggs is still possible Timestamps: [00:00] Low AMH, High FSH, Donor Eggs Recommended at 43 [01:30] Functional Fertility Testing vs Standard REI Workup [03:00] Thyroid and Fertility: Why TSH 3 Is Not Normal [04:30] Cabergoline, Cholesterol, and Sex Hormone Production [06:00] H. pylori, Hidden Gluten, and Gut Infections in Low AMH Cases [08:00] Vaginal Microbiome and Implantation in Recurrent Miscarriage [09:30] Male Partner Workup: Seminal Microbiome and Sperm Health [11:00] Night Sweats, Sleep Disruption, and the Nervous System [12:30] Constipation, Liver Function, and Hormone Clearance [14:00] Pregnant Naturally at 43: The 18-Month Timeline Take action: If you have been told donor eggs are your only option and you want a structured review of your timeline, your labs, and your IVF history before the next decision, the Functional Fertility Second Opinion is where that review happens. 👉 Apply for a Functional Fertility Second Opinion: https://fabfertile.com/pages/book Not sure what has been fully evaluated in your workup? Download the free Embryo Audit Checklist to map your past cycles and labs and see what may have been missed. 👉 Download the Embryo Audit Checklist: https://fabfertile.com/pages/embryo-audit-checklist Or message the team directly: hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE to apply for a second opinion or CHECKLIST for the audit. About the Host Sarah Clark is the founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally: A Functional Fertility Second Opinion, a podcast with over one million downloads. For over a decade, Sarah and her functional fertility team have worked with couples navigating low AMH, high FSH, diminished ovarian reserve, failed IVF, embryo arrest, implantation failure, and recurrent pregnancy loss, reviewing functional labs and patterns that standard care often misses. This episode is a re-aired case study originally shared in 2025. Client details have been anonymized.
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  Why Iron Could Be Behind Your Low AMH, Failed IVF and Miscarriage 04.05.2026 37min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com Most women with low AMH and high FSH get one of two answers about their iron: "it's fine," or "it's low, here's a supplement." Both leave the real problem untouched. Failed transfers, failed IVF cycles, miscarriage, irregular cycles, exhaustion that won't lift, and nobody asking why the iron is low in the first place. This episode shows you what the full iron panel actually reveals. In this episode, Sarah Clark sits down with Fab Fertile clinical advisor Katy Bradbury (registered nurse and nutritional therapist) to break down the iron panel every woman trying to conceive should be looking at. Not just the one number your doctor checked, but the full picture. They get into why the standard iron prescription is one of the worst forms you can take, why high dose iron can actually make things worse, and why symptoms you've been told are unrelated (brittle nails, cold hands, hair loss, ice cravings, exhaustion) could all be pointing at the same thing. What you'll learn: The full iron panel every woman trying to conceive should request, and what the numbers actually mean Why being told "your iron is fine" off one number is missing the picture The link between low iron and failed transfers, miscarriage, irregular periods, and pregnancy complications Why low iron is so common with low AMH, high FSH, DOR, and POI The thyroid and iron connection most doctors miss, especially with Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism Hidden reasons your iron is low even when you're eating well: gut infections, H. pylori, SIBO, low stomach acid, celiac, heavy periods Why the standard iron prescription often makes you constipated, nauseous, and no better off What to take instead, and why every other day often works better than every day Iron rich foods that actually move the needle, plus the foods and drinks blocking your absorption without you knowing The thyroid medication timing rule nobody tells you about This conversation is for women navigating low AMH, high FSH, DOR, or POI who have been told their iron is fine without anyone running the full panel. It's also for women who have been on iron supplements for years without anyone asking why the iron got low to begin with, and for anyone who has had a failed transfer, a miscarriage, or a failed IVF cycle and is trying to figure out what was missed. Not sure what's been fully evaluated? Download the free Embryo Audit Checklist to map your past cycles and labs so you can see what's been looked at and what may have been missed. 👉 Download the Embryo Audit Checklist here. Ready to go deeper? If you want an expert review of your labs, IVF history, and full health picture before your next cycle, this is where we start. 👉 Apply for a Functional Fertility Second Opinion here. About the host: I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over 1 million downloads. My team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results including gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork, alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Originally aired October 22, 2022. Rebroadcast for our growing community navigating low AMH, high FSH, and DOR. Keywords: iron and fertility, low iron and miscarriage, iron and failed IVF, iron and failed transfer, anemia trying to conceive, low AMH iron, high FSH iron, DOR iron deficiency, POI iron, iron and pregnancy loss, iron and Hashimoto's, iron and hypothyroidism, why is my iron low, ferritin trying to conceive, Sarah Clark, Fab Fertile, Get Pregnant Naturally Timestamps: 00:00 Why this episode matters if you have low AMH, high FSH, DOR, POI, or have had a failed transfer or miscarriage 02:00 Why iron matters for getting and staying pregnant: ovulation, miscarriage, and pregnancy complications 03:00 Why the standard "you're anemic, take this supplement" approach misses the bigger picture 06:00 Hereditary anemia and why some women look fine on paper but aren't 07:00 Symptoms of low iron most women don't connect: fatigue, hair loss, cold hands, brittle nails, ice cravings 11:00 The full iron panel every woman trying to conceive should request 15:00 The thyroid and iron connection: why Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism almost always need iron checked 17:00 Heavy periods, blood loss, and ruling out internal bleeding before anything else 19:00 Why your gut decides whether iron actually gets absorbed: H. pylori, SIBO, low stomach acid, celiac, Crohn's 23:00 When pregnancy, breastfeeding, endurance training, and even turmeric can drain your iron stores 26:00 The thyroid medication timing rule, plus the foods and drinks blocking your absorption 28:00 Iron rich foods that actually work: grass fed red meat, organ meats, salmon, dark leafy greens, blackstrap molasses 33:00 What to take instead of the standard iron prescription, and why every other day often works better 35:00 The vitamin C piece, and why store bought orange juice doesn't count 36:00 Final thoughts: get the full iron panel as part of your fertility workup
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  Told Donor Eggs Were Your Only Option? Sarah's POI Story and What Her REI Never Tested For 27.04.2026 47min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com Sarah Clark was told donor eggs were her only option. No second opinion. No workup. Just an IVF brochure pulled off the shelf. This is the story of what was actually going on, and what nobody looked for. At 28, Sarah was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure (now called premature ovarian insufficiency). Her OB/GYN handed her an IVF brochure during the appointment. She went to the REI, got on the donor egg list, and had both her kids through IVF with donor eggs. It took another decade before she discovered the underlying imbalances her REI never screened for: food sensitivities to dairy, gluten, and corn, plus a gut infection with H. pylori, streptococcus, fungal overgrowth and nervous system dysregulation (stressed out but didn;t even know it). In this rebroadcast episode, Monica Cox interviews Sarah about the clues her body was giving her for years before the POI diagnosis, and what she wishes someone had told her in her twenties. What you'll learn: The seemingly unrelated symptoms that were early signals (irregular periods twice a year, cystic acne, fungal rashes, chronic yeast infections, dark circles since age 12) Why a POI diagnosis at 28 doesn't automatically mean donor eggs, and why a second opinion matters The post-pregnancy health collapse that exposed the underlying gut and immune dysfunction Food sensitivities beyond digestion: mood, joint pain, skin, brain fog, autoimmune flares Why partners have to be in the protocol from day one, because infections pass back and forth The four foundational tests: food sensitivity, DUTCH hormone, GI-MAP stool, HTMA hair Why IVF should be the last choice, not the first, given the $60K average spend and three-cycle average Where to actually start: just diagnosed vs. one failed cycle vs. multiple failures behind you Timestamps: 00:00 Why this episode is for you if you have low AMH, high FSH, DOR, or POI 02:00 Diagnosed at 28 with premature ovarian failure, handed an IVF brochure, no second opinion 03:00 The clues in her twenties: irregular periods, acne, fungal rash, yeast infections 07:00 Post-kids health crash: chronic sinus infections, bladder infections, vertigo, antibiotic damage 08:00 Discovering food sensitivities (dairy, gluten, corn) and gut infections (H. pylori, strep, fungal overgrowth) 13:00 Connecting the dots: why every "unrelated" symptom was related 15:00 Why partners must be in the protocol, because infections pass between couples 21:00 Multiple failed IUIs and IVFs: burnout, cortisol, and the case for a pause 24:00 The four foundational tests: food sensitivity, DUTCH, GI-MAP, HTMA 35:00 Where to start: just diagnosed vs. one failed cycle vs. multiple failures This conversation is for women who've been told donor eggs are their only option, who are staring down a POI, low AMH, high FSH, or diminished ovarian reserve diagnosis, and who suspect their REI hasn't looked at the full picture. Not sure what's been fully evaluated? Download the free Embryo Audit Checklist to map your past cycles and labs so you can see what's been looked at and what may have been missed. 👉 Download the Embryo Audit Checklist here. Ready to go deeper? If you want an expert review of your labs, IVF history, and full health picture before your next cycle, this is where we start. 👉 Apply for a Functional Fertility Second Opinion here. About the host: I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over 1 million downloads. My team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results including gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork, alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Keywords: premature ovarian insufficiency story, POI diagnosis at 28, donor eggs second opinion, low AMH underlying imbalance, high FSH functional medicine, diminished ovarian reserve, H pylori fertility, gut infection infertility, food sensitivity fertility, Sarah Clark story, Fab Fertile, Get Pregnant Naturally
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  Why "Normal" Labs Aren't Optimized for Fertility | TSH, Ferritin, Glucose & IVF Failure 20.04.2026 10min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com Your TSH is "normal." Your ferritin is "normal." Your glucose is "normal." And IVF still isn't working. Here's why normal lab ranges were never built for fertility and what optimal actually looks like. Most reference ranges are designed to flag disease in the general population, not to optimize egg quality, embryo competence, or implantation. That gap is where a lot of unexplained IVF failure, embryo arrest, and recurrent loss live. In this episode, Sarah Clark walks through the four biomarker categories most often dismissed as "fine" but influence cycle outcomes in women with diminished ovarian reserve, low AMH, high FSH, and failed transfers. What you'll learn: - What "normal" lab ranges actually measure and what they miss - Why fertility-optimized TSH sits closer to 1–2 mIU/L, not 4.0 - Ferritin 80–100 ng/mL and what it means for egg energy and endometrial development - Fasting glucose under 86, insulin stability, and follicular development - Why hsCRP under 1 mg/L matters for implantation and embryo quality - The full thyroid panel most REIs skip: Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, TPO, TBG - Male factor inflammation, sperm DNA fragmentation, and recurring infections - The reframe: normal protects against disease, optimal supports conception Timestamps: 00:00 Why "normal" labs don't mean fertility-optimized 00:30 What conventional reference ranges actually measure 01:30 Why DIY fertility optimization stalls without functional lab review 03:00 TSH "normal" vs optimal and the full thyroid panel REIs skip (Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, TPO, TBG) 04:30 How thyroid signaling affects egg quality, ovulation, and pregnancy loss 05:00 Ferritin 80–100 ng/mL: the iron range for IVF and egg energy 06:00 Fasting glucose under 86, insulin stability, and follicular development 07:00 hsCRP under 1 mg/L: low-grade inflammation, implantation, and embryo development 07:30 Male factor inflammation, sperm DNA fragmentation, and recurring infections 08:30 Embryo Audit Checklist + Functional Fertility Second Opinion: next steps This conversation is for women navigating diminished ovarian reserve, low AMH, high FSH, embryo arrest, implantation failure, or recurrent pregnancy loss who keep being told their bloodwork looks fine. Not sure what's been fully evaluated? Download the free Embryo Audit Checklist to map your past cycles and labs so you can see what's been looked at and what may have been missed. 👉 Download the Embryo Audit Checklist here. Ready to go deeper? If you want an expert review of your labs, IVF history, and full health picture before your next cycle, this is where we start. 👉 Apply for a Functional Fertility Second Opinion here. About the host: I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over 1 million downloads. My team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results including gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork, alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running. Keywords: normal labs IVF failed, fertility-optimized lab ranges, TSH for fertility, ferritin and egg quality, hsCRP fertility, low AMH normal labs, diminished ovarian reserve, IVF failure functional medicine, fertility second opinion, Embryo Audit Checklist, Sarah Clark, Fab Fertile, Get Pregnant Naturally
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  The IVF Mistake That Causes Failed Cycles to Keep Repeating 13.04.2026 11min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com If you're heading into another IVF cycle after a failed transfer, you're probably being told to trust the process and try again. But what if the process is the problem? In this episode, we get into how to tell whether your next cycle is actually different — or whether you're about to repeat the same outcome with a new protocol number. In this episode you'll learn: The three signs your last cycle wasn't fully interpreted, just failed Why changing the protocol doesn't always change the outcome What "unexplained" actually means and why it's often a gap, not a diagnosis How time pressure pushes couples into decisions that don't serve them The specific questions to ask before you commit to another cycle I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over 1 million downloads. My team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results including gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork, alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Not sure what's been fully evaluated? Download the free Embryo Audit Checklist to map your past cycles and labs so you can see what's been looked at and what may have been missed. Access it here Ready to go deeper? If you want an expert review of your labs, IVF history, and full health picture before your next cycle, this is where we start. Learn more and apply for a Functional Fertility Second Opinion here.
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  Normal Semen Analysis but IVF Still Failing? What Wasn't Tested 06.04.2026 10min

  Failed IVF? Low AMH? High FSH? Told donor eggs? Book a free Functional Fertility Second Opinion before your next fertility decision.→ fabfertile.com Failed IVF with normal sperm? You're not alone, and the answer may be in what wasn't tested. DNA fragmentation and oxidative stress don't show up on a standard semen analysis. But they can drive fertilization failure, embryo arrest, and poor blastocyst development. If the male side was cleared after the basic parameters were evaluated, it may not have been fully evaluated. In this episode, you'll learn: What a semen analysis actually measures and what it leaves out Why normal parameters don't always translate to embryo development How DNA fragmentation and oxidative stress affect fertilization and blastocyst outcomes The patterns we see in recurrent IVF failure when male factor hasn't been fully assessed Why embryo development is a shared biological process, not an egg quality issue I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over 1 million downloads. My team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results including gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork, alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them. Not sure what's been fully evaluated? Download the free Embryo Audit Checklist to map your past cycles and labs so you can see what's been looked at and what may have been missed. Access it here Ready to go deeper? If you want an expert review of your labs, IVF history, and full health picture before your next cycle, this is where we start. Learn more and apply for a Functional Fertility Second Opinion here.   Timestamps 00:00 Why a "normal" semen analysis doesn't rule out male factor 01:00 What a standard semen analysis actually measures: count, motility, morphology 01:45 What semen analysis misses: DNA integrity, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function 02:30 Why couples with "normal" sperm still see embryo arrest and failed IVF 03:00 DNA fragmentation: what it is and why it matters for embryo development 04:00 Oxidative stress drivers: lifestyle, toxins, inflammation and metabolic health 05:15 The 70–80 day sperm lifecycle and why timing matters 06:00 Embryo development is shared biology, not just egg quality 07:15 Environmental and occupational factors impacting sperm health 08:30 When to revisit male testing before another IVF cycle