Ep 16: What’s Really Affecting Fertility? Chinese Medicine, Stress & the Modern World with Kristin Hauser

What is modern life doing to our fertility- and what might our bodies be trying to tell us?In this episode of Homestead & Heal, Lindsay and Scott sit down with women’s health practitioner Kristin Hauser for a wide-ranging conversation about fertility, Chinese medicine, motherhood, grief, and our relationship with the natural world.Kristin has spent nearly two decades working in women’s health, beginning in birth work and prenatal yoga before moving into acupuncture, Chinese medicine, functional medicine, and somatic sex education. Today, much of her work focuses on supporting women who want to conceive naturally and training practitioners to bring a more holistic approach to women’s health and fertility. Together, they explore why fertility challenges seem to be becoming more common, how quickly our environment and lifestyles have changed, and why fertility isn’t solely a women’s health issue. Kristin shares her perspective on stress, environmental exposures, declining sperm health, and the ways our bodies are continually trying to adapt to the modern world. They also go much deeper than fertility alone.Kristin shares how growing up with horses helped shape her relationship with her body, power, and the natural world; what she’s learned from splitting her family’s time between Kansas and Costa Rica; and how motherhood has influenced the way she approaches both life and work. The conversation eventually turns toward something we don’t talk about nearly enough in women’s health: grief.Kristin shares how Chinese medicine understands the connection between the heart and womb, why she believes grief needs space to move through the body, and some of the somatic practices she uses to help women be with grief without becoming completely overwhelmed by it. In this episode, we talk about fertility in the modern world, Chinese medicine and women’s health, environmental and lifestyle factors affecting fertility, male fertility and sperm health, grief and the nervous system, somatic healing, motherhood, our connection to nature, and learning to trust the path you’re on.This is a beautiful conversation about fertility, yes—but also about what it looks like to live, heal, mother, and work in deeper relationship with our bodies and the world around us.CONNECT WITH KRISTINCONNECT WITH KRISTIN:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinhauser Website: wombmedicine.comConnect with Lindsay & Scott: To learn more about our retreats: www.homesteadandheal.netFollow Homestead & Heal:  https://www.instagram.com/homestead.andheal/ Connected with Lindsay: https://www.instagram.com/lindsaycourcelle/Connect with Scott: https://www.instagram.com/alchemygardens/If you loved this episode - it would mean so much to leave us a review!