Episode 41: Whole Person Fertility Care

The Whole Pineapple

Scheduling to record with this guest was a bit of a journey of its own, but the end result was totally worth it!

Registered Nurse, nutritional therapist, and former fertility patient Katy Bradbury understands the fertility journey as thoroughly as anyone can. But her own difficult experience had a genuine bright side: it led her into her career in fertility-centered nutrition.

As nutrition often isn’t included in fertility advice or treatment in many places (looking at YOU, USA), this episode can be particularly useful for those who want to optimize their health and physical condition to support a healthy pregnancy.

Fertility treatment in the UK is, as Katy says, a bit of a “postcode lottery” meaning that where you live can determine the level of treatment you receive, and there’s not a national level of service. Some people may wait a year or longer to start, which can be really tough when age is such a factor.

Fortunately, improving nutrition can start (and ideally should start) well in advance of that first round of IVF or before treatment begins.

Here are some tips to keep in mind!

• Those first 1000 days — conception to age 2 — are so important to a child’s development and health.
• It’s best to work with all partners to fully understand the issues and be proactive about health and nutrition.
• Get ready to work on your gut! Gut health is so important and often so ignored.
• “Bespoke” nutritional guidance is best: bodies, lifestyles, tastes, etc. are all different. A fertility nutritionist can help you learn the foods that work best for you.

Ready to learn more? Listen up!

More about Katy Bradbury: Katy is founding member of the Fertility Nutrition Centre, a clinical advisor at Fab Fertile, a content provider for women’s health platform Xena, and a clinical supervisor for nutritional therapy students at the University of West London. You can find her at Katy Bradbury.com and be sure to check out the robust back catalog of episodes from her podcast Fertility and the First 1000 Days.

To hear more from Anne and Ruby, find all their episodes at thewholepineapple.com.

Resources:

Fertility Nutrition Centre: fertilitynutritioncentre.org

Xena: xena.life

Katy’s website: katybradbury.com

Fertility and the First 1000 Days podcast: katybradbury.com/podcast