e006 – Moving Through Infertility – with Justine Dowd PhD, Hillary Smith and Leisha Laird

Today’s episode might be a trigger for some. October is Infertility and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month and we thought it was important to talk about this topic that is very real for so many. There are so many people that struggle with this on so many levels. Today we have three very special guests. Not only are they all upcoming contributors in the YGTMAMA series, but they all study and practice different kinds of medicine specializing in fertility. It’s incredible how little resources and education are available and how unspoken these issues actually are. The incredible struggles, the massive percentages, the undiagnosed reasons. Today we are going to get super raw and real about infertility and pregnancy loss and hopefully help and empower a lot of mamas. Justine is a CIHR funded post-doctoral fellow working in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. Her research is in the area of health behaviour change and she is specifically using evidence-based strategies, such as self-compassion, to help people feel great – whether it is dealing with the multiple demands that come with being a mother or coping with chronic illnesses. As a new mother herself, she is well versed in the ups and downs of motherhood, and the importance of self-care so that you can be the best YOU possible. Justine explains in this episode that she battled with what Canadian doctors diagnosis of “unexplained infertility”, she and her husband struggled for over two years to get pregnant with no real justification as to why they could not. It was only when they went to see an autoimmune infertility doctor in Las Vegas, that they got some answers. He explained to them: “There’s no such thing as unexplained infertility, it's just undiagnosed and it’s just finding the right healthcare professional who can figure out what's going on.” Justine wishes that she didn’t feel so alone while she was going through her infertility struggles. She advises women if you don’t feel supported with the healthcare professionals who you’re working with, don’t give up, keep searching. She assures us that there are people out there who can help you, so pull them together, there are people who are out there who will believe in you. Hillary is a naturopathic doctor focused specifically on the areas of fertility, prenatal, postpartum and children. Puzzling cases put fire in her belly and she is passionate about helping women. She has aspirations of becoming Prime Minister however, she takes it as a major accomplishment when her kiddos give her an award for the best tummy tickler. Hillary thrives in chaos, is obsessed with chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and loves to belly laugh! Hillary explains that in the naturopathic field they are always trying to look for the root cause as to what issue is going on and treat it from a holistic standpoint. Instead of using pharmaceuticals they treat with homeopathy, high dose nutritional supplements and herbal medications. She describes the field’s main purpose as: “Helping the body shift back to its own normal healthy template again versus band-aiding the situations.” She feels very strongly about working side by side with Western medicine doctors to help support their work with naturopathic medicine. Leisha loves skiing in the mountains, floating in the ocean and Bananagrams. She values connection, especially family game night with her kids. She has a daughter who is 10 and a toddler whom she has decided inspired the movie boss baby. She is a Chinese medicine doctor and acupuncturist. Her practice focuses on fertility, prenatal, postpartum and being well. She is inspired by the resilient women she has the privilege of walking beside. Leisha delves into what Chinese medicine is and explains that it works along the same principle as naturopathic medicine in that they look to the root cause of the issue.