Whole Body Fertility Coaching with WOVA and Gabie Peytchev

She went through infertility twice. The first time, she learned the cause was male factor — and nobody talked about what could be done about it. The second time, “unexplained” — which, as Dr. Susan pointed out, is less a non-diagnosis. Both times, Gabie Peytchev found herself piecing together support from different corners, not knowing who to trust, spending money on the wrong things, and making decisions from fear.

She built Wova Health to help others avoid the same trials..

Gabie is the founder of Wova — the name drawn from the Italian word for egg, uova, reframed to center the woman and the ovum at the heart of the fertility journey. Today she joins Dr. Susan Fox for a conversation about what coordinated, whole-body fertility support looks like — and why the IVF clinic, for all its excellence, was never designed to provide it.

You'll learn how Wova Health’s multidisciplinary model differs from seeing a nutritionist or a therapist in isolation. You’ll understand why the IVF doctor can only work with what you give them — the egg quality, the sperm quality, the uterine environment — and what that means for what whole body fertility care covers.  Beyond nutrition, there’s oral health, sleep disorders, EMF exposure, environmental toxins, smart technology, movement, and mental health to consider.  And you’ll learn that  unexplained infertility, which affects one in three couples can be helped in the 3 to 4 month window of egg development and the 74 day sperm window, and why ChatGPT can be a starting point, but is not a reliable source of action to take.

This episode is for you if you've been told you have been given a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, if you're heading into IVF and haven't yet addressed your whole-body health; if you've been piecing together your support team and they are not talking to each other; if you’ve been carrying the emotional weight of your fertility journey alone.  And if  you want to know what whole-body fertility coaching looks like.

💻 About Susan Fox: https://www.healthyouniversity.co/about

Take your 5-Element Fertility Quiz:  http://yourfertilityquiz.com/

Detox to De-Stress:  View the FREE Masterclass on the importance of detoxification to prepare for a healthy pregnancy:  https://susanfox1.easywebinar.live/gentle-detox

Learn about our program entitled Your Fertile Health: https://www.healthyouniversity.co/programs

Schedule a Fertile Health Assessment: https://www.healthyouniversity.co/your-fertile-health-call

Let us journey with you as you navigate your fertile health. Connect with me:

🎧 iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/health-youniversity-with-dr-susan-fox/id1592763186 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to today's episode of Health University, where we talk all things fertility, pregnancy and postpartum, and the prep for perimenopause, the steps across the bridge of life of a woman's reproductive health. And today we are going to focus on fertility and especially fertility struggles insofar as it needs assistance in perhaps in the IVF world or elsewhere. And I'm delighted to have with me today Gabby Pagef of WOVA. She's the founder of WOVA Health, and I will want to know more about that name. It is an integrated fertility support platform designed to help women and couples navigate the preconception journey with greater clarity, support, and confidence. Drawing from both lived experience, and I'll want to delve into that more, and evidence-informed approach, WOVA focuses on the physical, emotional, and lifestyle factors that influence reproductive health. Through personalized coaching, education, and collaboration with multidisciplinary network of licensed professionals, here, Wova supports individuals alongside their existing medical care, helping them better understand their options and feel less alone in the process. So welcome, Gabby. I'm delighted to have you here. Thank you. It's a pleasure being here.

SPEAKER_02 1:15

And no, you gave a really good introduction.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Thank you. Excellent. Well, let's just do a little bit of an origin story, if we can, before we get into questions. Tell us what does how did WOVA Health come to be WOVA Health? And what does it mean? And um and what does the audience uh also need to know about you?

SPEAKER_02 1:32

Yeah, I love this question. And not many people ask what Wova means, but there is a meaning behind it. Um, it took me over three months of research, day and night. I was trying to find the best name that is meaningful, that is short, and it sounds great for the company I was building. And everything I could think of was taken. Um, all the great ideas I had. And I kept searching and I kept searching, and then right before New Year's Eve, I was looking at a cake recipe that my sister-in-law had sent me a long time ago that I've done multiple times. It's an Italian recipe, so I usually just watch the video and I can just guess what the ingredients are just from watching. This time I decided to look at the ingredient list. The first ingredient was wova, spelt with a U versus W. That means eggs. Yes, I figured I figured why don't we spell it with W? Because when you pronounce it in English, we think it's spelled with W, but also it could represent the woman and ovum, which is basically the egg, the female reproductive cell. Because as much as I talk about how both partners' health matters, if you're in a heterosexual relationship, and really in any relationship, you still need sperm and sperm health matters. I still think the woman is really at the center of it all because you also will be nurturing this life during pregnancy and hopefully breastfeeding. And you are really playing such a key role, and I wanted this name to represent that.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

That's beautiful. I I wondered if there was something about world ova or something like that. I was trying to, you know, trying to piece it together myself. But of course, I yes, we know that the the the genesis of the word egg is ova, and so I I love that. That's a finally you found the perfect word, and so so glad all the others were taken, because this was this was the perfect description for your company.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

Yeah, 100%. And you asked about my journey. Yes, and how I really came up with this idea. Um, so I struggled with infracilture twice in my life, back in the 20s with my partner at the time, when we were trying to get pregnant, we couldn't uh for like over a year. We kept trying. I was still young and I was thinking, okay, what is going on? Like, why is this not happening? It should be so easy, right? I mean, our whole lives we're told how not to get pregnant. And now that you're ready to have a baby, it's not happening.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

This is this is this is such a common comment, right? That we all hear. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

We know much better on what to do to prevent pregnancy and versus how to optimize our chances of getting pregnant, which is so ironic. And then um back then we got some tests done. I what happened is that we my partner at the time was diagnosed with severe malefactor infertility, and uh we were directed to basically do an IVF as our next best step. And I I don't want to feel about I don't want to feel guilty about what I experienced because I'm sure a lot of women experience this as well, and a lot of people really. Um it's it's just triggered all kinds of feelings in me. Like, first of all, if there's something with sperm health, how come nobody talks about what we can improve about it? That's my first question. And back then, really nobody talked much about this. There's more about nutrition and lifestyle modifications you can do today.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Like oxidant therapy, how environmental factors, all of those things, yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Back then, not as much information was available, and I wasn't really even told that we could even have other options. And secondly, why should I be going through all the fertility treatments and the medications? Why is the woman's body the one going through all of this if the problem wasn't really sitting with me? And I was just so mad and I frustrated and I wanted to do something about it. We started with some IUI cycles, um, those didn't succeed. Our relationship was kind of strained in so many different ways at this point, and this only added more on top of it, and the relationship ended, so we never really proceeded with IVF, but we did some natural IUI cycles, and it was just a very difficult journey.

unknown 6:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

Well, it does make sense, right? I mean, if it's male factor, an IUI is not also addressing the problem, it's just bypassing, you know, it's just bypassing the vagina. So the male factor isn't being addressed. But so that was almost a a miss on the on the IVF doc's part to just say try some IUIs.

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Yes, and it could sometimes help if motility, if like they're not moving fast enough, is shortened the distance and help there. And because it was also a little bit on my side, I wasn't ready to an IVF, and I really wanted to try something else. Got it, got it. That's more natural. So I maybe also participated in that decision a little.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

And maybe Divine Providence had a had a hand in it as well, since the relationship didn't continue. So, but it taught you a lot.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

It taught me a lot. Um, also here it is the time to mention that sometimes you are not in the right relationship, but you're so focused on getting pregnant that you forget about this or you just try to ignore it. And this is not helpful. So make sure you're also in the right relationship. And that doesn't mean that your relationship might not have an effect after struggling to get pregnant, of course it's gonna have an impact. But you need to be you need to feel supported and you need to be with the right partner in trying to grow your family.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Yes, yes. So then fast forward because you said it's happened twice. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Uh the second time I was in my mid-30s, I was approaching 35 with my husband in the time who is with my husband, my current husband, who is 12 years older than me. But again, the focus was mostly on the woman's age and what might be going on on my side. We were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Probably trading exactly diagnosis out there, especially a non-diagnosis, frankly. Yes, and how how is it possible one-third of couples are diagnosed with unexplained infertility? There should be way more research into this. Way and there is, but well, exactly. Enter you and I. Yes, but usually you don't get that kind of information when you call to your doctor, unfortunately. Um, and yeah, I mean, it was just a very frustrating diagnosis to receive, especially if you are one of those people who like to have some control and do something about it.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

You had the the first case of um male factor, and then you had your second relationship, your husband um was older than you are, and the diagnosis was unexplained infertility. And so, what did you do about that?

SPEAKER_02 9:11

Well, first of all, um, even though my professional experiences in finance and business, um uh I for the past decade have this passion of mine of reading books and studies on whole body health, even before even digging deeper into reproductive health. I've always wanted to see how I can live better, how I can live longer. I was always curious and to understand how the body works, how nutrition and lifestyle can impact us. Uh epigenetics, really, like is how we can influence the our uh gene expression and we can pass this on to our next generations. All this has been so fascinating to me. And for the longest time, I wanted to do something with all of this knowledge, and here we go, here I am. But I started connecting the dots myself because I started wondering okay, there's something going on. Let me look at the research. Everything I've read over the years should not be working in isolation from the reproductive health. If one of us, for example, has high cholesterol or blood pressure issues or sleep disorder, or maybe chronic infections, or unresolved trauma. All of these things are impacting fertility. And I looked into the research, and yes, all these things matter. Your whole body health matter, the inflammation, the metabolic health, how you feel, what do you experience. Um, there's so many uh factors, factors that are overlooked and not addressed or even captured in the fertility tests.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Yes. Oh, of course. I mean the fertility tests, the standard ones, right, are are testing how many eggs do you have, and therefore we, and or how many follicles rather, and therefore we interpret how you know the quality of them and what's the sperm parameters. Um, it doesn't take into account any of this this whole body. And in and in their defense, this is this is what they can offer, right? You know, when you walk into the fertility center, you're pretty much saying, okay, I'm I'm gonna consider IVF, and so then they've got their you know their proven protocols. But there is a big miss, I would agree, if if that is all you're doing, because, and I've said this to patients and clients and from the rooftops, that that doctor can only stimulate those eggs and sperm, or stimulate the eggs and the quality that it's in, the health that it's in, make embryos in the quality that the egg and the sperm are in, and transfer that embryo, if there's even an embryo at the end of that, into the quality and health of a uterine environment that it is in. So you are spot on that that it is a whole body health that is reproductive, that is reflective of our reproductive health. So, what did you do?

SPEAKER_02 12:08

So, well, first I looked into the books, I tried to come up with some ideas of how we can both optimize our health. But sometimes that's really hard. You know, when you're trying to coach yourself, you can make gaps. Also, when you're trying to coach your partner, oftentimes one thing comes in one year and the other and it comes out the other year. It's hard, you know, in a relationship. Now you also have to figure out how you are responsible even for the other person's health, and that's too much to handle. And I also try to look for support, and I wasn't really sure sometimes what kind of expert I need. A nutritionist was one obvious one, but in terms of, for example, supporting mental health and the whole process of this whole emotional raw or cluster that you are on during the journey. Like, who do you talk to? How do you know what's the right expert? I found a hypnotherapist, an acupuncturist, uh, both amazing. Um, I there were some other conditions that I didn't know who I need to approach, and or I was approaching experts that they weren't giving me the right answers. So I was trying to piece things together. We did a lot of improvements with lifestyle, nutrition, environmental health. Um, and there were some that we were already doing, but I started really looking into okay, what else we can optimize, especially on both sides, and what kind of support we can get. And uh the one thing that we didn't do is we didn't take enough time just to sit with those changes. I felt rushed to do one IVF after another because I was really scared. I was afraid I was running out of time. This was the message I was getting. Yeah, my AMH all of a sudden dropped. It was fine, and then it dropped. And for me, that was oh my goodness, like my IVF is my only chance, and uh now my my I have diminished very in reserve. What is going on? Why all of a sudden there were so many things that I didn't know. Yeah, and there's so much lack of knowledge and awareness in the space.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Yeah, um, we we deserve better, yes. And and and now you've created better for others so that they don't have to go through this sort of solo journey trying to find the resources as you did. They're they're able to kind of do a one-stop shop and you've done the investigation for them. So you have vetted true professionals who are true fertility professionals. And I'm going to really highlight that because there are a lot of well-intentioned people who say that they're fertility experts or coaches or whatever, and it's out of the goodness of their heart, but they don't have the body of knowledge. And that is a potential setup for real disappointment and a loss of time, because time really is a factor. I mean, it's not the factor, but it should not be overlooked by spending years with someone who's really not the expert that they, you know, claim to be or wish that they were.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Yeah, yeah. And something like you mentioned, you're right, the clinics, your IVF doctor, OBJN. You're not, you cannot expect them to know everything about you. They cannot really uh they don't really study much around nutritional lifestyle.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

I think they get something like mere hours of nutrition uh testing in all of their what nine to eleven years of of training. So we what we don't know what we don't know, and so um again, that you know, and then you know, they they have their data that says, you know, we our our stats will show that we can get you, you know, uh a healthy embryo with three or four retrievals, which is what $120,000 plus all the time, plus all of the emotional um, you know, uh expense, if you will.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

So yeah, yeah. And and here I just wanted to add that you even when you go to a nutritionist, a fertility nutritionist, they will focus on their area of expertise. They will talk about uh things that they know from their background, from their experience, but again, it will be limited. So when you have a team of experts, is what I provide here, a coordinated team of experts who talk to each other, then you get a way different basically approach to your fertility journey because they can all look at the different pieces of the puzzle and together put the put it all together, basically, put the puzzle together. So that's what I find unique. Um, and this is what I thought was missing.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

Yes. So someone uh calls you and we'll have you we'll have the information in the show notes so people know where to reach you and and so who will do like an initial intake? Do you have it? Is there a lead? Is it a medical doctor? Is it or or how how does how does the approach go?

SPEAKER_02 17:04

Yeah, it so we do a detailed assessment, we do a conversation, a live conversation, just to get an idea of where people are at, and also diff offer different programs on your situation, where you might need a coordinated team of experts, or you might need uh one certified frigidity culture, a lot of experience, who can also connect with the experts and get some guidance and information anytime. But they could also guide you if you're starting out and if you don't have a complex diagnosis or if you don't need the support of multiple experts. So there's different ways. Um, we do have doctors, nurses, therapists. However, we do provide coaching and guidance, not medical advice. But we have a network of professionals, and because the coaches are basically seasoned, credentialed professionals, a lot of experience with master's and doctorate degrees, they can identify if someone needs a deeper kind of conversation and more medical advice, and then we have the people in the network to invite them and have them refer them out basically, but still, still everything is within the program. But in certain situations, we can refer people out and we still talk to those experts. So you're not piecing it out together by yourself or relying on just one expert.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Right. You are giving the comprehensive report, if you will, of next steps in order to improve one's outcome. Does that is that would that be great? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

And I I help so I act as a is their as their private advocate, make sure they get the support they need to connect the dots, to uh coordinate like everything, the team, the care. We have also uh lessons of uh a library of educational material that can support the journey as well. Um so I'm there advocating for them and making sure they're getting what they need. Got it.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

So just to just to repeat so that the the listening audience is clear, a person calling may only be speaking with one coach through through the journey, but that coach is going to get um you know a sort of a deeper dive of information and knowledge and response from the the multidisciplinary team. Or that person may be may be seeing various people in the team, depending upon what the needs are. Is that is that accurate?

SPEAKER_02 19:38

Uh yes. Um so depending, yes, depending on the needs and your budget, of course, and what what you're going through. The best program we offer is the one where you have a coordinated team of coaches. Now we don't overburden you and meet you with tons of coaches. You do have a lot of knowledge that you gain from top fertility experts in the library of educational material. And we and then uh on a weekly basis, you get live coaching with one of the routinely coaches, usually two at a minimum, a nutritionist and a mental health, emotional well-being coach. I also provide guidance uh in terms of uh are you getting what you need from the program? What can we improve? Are you getting what you need from the from the team? Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Please connect with us for a fertility assessment call at the link below. We'd love to learn a bit about you and share our resources. And make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel so that you never miss an episode. And I want I want to, if I may, uh kind of just hone in on the mental health, the emotional well-being, because I think that that that can be a piece that is either overlooked or the resource is so far removed from the IVF process that it almost feels that it's in conflict with each other. So, how does Wova use its experts, either you know, psychotherapists or um or otherwise, to support this this individual or this couple?

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Yes. Um, well, the emotional aspect is huge. It's overlooked and ignored, even from patients themselves. Oftentimes I think we can handle it. We can we can figure it out. We can, I mean, if I'm gonna spend money, I'd rather spend it on a nutritionist or maybe even an IVF doctor. I wouldn't really spend it on my mental health because I can do it, I can do it. And that's why I don't want people to choose. Here, you don't have to choose. You always gonna have, especially in the premium program, you're gonna have the specialist who is a psychotherapist or psychologist with a lot of clinical experience coaching you on how you can navigate your relationships at home, outside, how to deal with the grief. The loss, the shame, the blame, the guilt, all these things. What is normal, common to kind of normalize the feelings, but also explain why we're feeling what we're feeling and what we can do to basically improve our state of emotional well-being. What's the science behind? Why it matters? So, yes, the coaches are um giving you this kind of guidance and information. I find this extremely, extremely helpful, even for people who think they don't need it.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

True. I mean, we know that that the emotional toll of an infertility challenge has been equated to that of being given a life-threatening diagnosis. So it and and yes, of course, we it is it is normal and common to say, okay, I can I can take this on and not realize that toll until it's almost I won't want to say too late, but until there's there's been an unnecessary burden that has been um, you know, that has been a noose around a person or a couple's neck. Yeah. So so in WOVA, I mean, so the listening viewing audience is is from around the country, possibly around the world. Um, in terms of time timelines, uh, do you have uh professionals who are from different time zones or um how do you accommodate that kind of you know sort of change in in time zone?

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Yeah, we do. Good question. Um, we do have um experts from different time zones across the United States. Um, most of the coaching happens in small groups or intimate groups, so you can also connect with other women because I think the vibe is very different, and when you see you're not alone and you can talk to someone who is there, right, with you to do the same thing, and you can share the wins and the losses and all the struggles, it makes a huge difference, but you also get one-on-one support. Um, and um, I forgot the question.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

That's no, I I was actually talking about in terms of access. Yeah, it had to do with access because again, if oftentimes you know a fertility struggle, it not oftentimes, it is always happening inside of one's whole life. So there's work, there might be other children, there's the relationship, there might be other commitments, parents and so forth, school. Um, so somebody can't necessarily commit to like, okay, I can be there on Mondays at 9 a.m. Eastern, because that would be 6 a.m. Pacific. So I that's why I was asking so that people, the listeners and viewers could say, oh, good, that you know, this is accessible to me.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

Yes, so all the calls are virtual, which at least uh helps a lot with being able to connect from different parts of the country or the world. Uh, the library can is self-paced, structured, uh, but still we have we can access at any point in time. We do make sure that we um all of these small groups we make sure we can accommodate and get on the same time zones. For example, I've started partnering and talking with some IVF clinics, and we can get a small group, a cohort from just their location, for example, and accommodate specifically for that time zone. And we can the experts some of us can work to make sure we can accommodate it. So we do try to align.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Perfect. So I just heard you say that you're working with some IVF clinics. Is that is that correct? Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 25:31

I started some conversations um uh and started uh working with some IVF clinics, hoping also to eventually approach OBGIN practices because uh I feel that there's so much we can do um even before IVF is an option, but even at the clinic level. During my experience, I've seen two very different types of clinics. Some are privately hedged-owned, which is more than 30% of the IVF clinics in the United States that provide over 50% IVF. But there's also so many private small clinics where doctors are not influenced or pressured by corporates to make profits. They really care about you, they want to help their patients, they realize whole body care matters and they want to provide the best support possible. So they've expressed interest to actually work together. Uh, and yes, I'm hoping to also go one step back and look and work with OBJ and practices because but that's usually when the first question comes up.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

I'm struggling. Rarely is someone phoning or making an appointment immediately with um a reproductive endocrinologist. They're they're talking to their OBG Obigen. So I think that's really, really smart. And so, and so um it would, I wonder if it would it would be helpful to have like another library that was for the obigen folks or another, or you know, an opportunity, another course for what the obigen should be looking, listening for, or or or having be a flag that would say, let's get these people over to some whole health support experts. Yeah. Necessarily first, but certainly in it, it doesn't have to be a prerequisite, but it should be a co-requisite, is what I would argue. Yes, yes. This past year we've had a little bit of a return to a division, if you will, of uh of care where because of some of the politics that's that have been happening, uh, and that that the the uh reproductive endocrinologists, the IVF docs, you know, have a have a fear of holistic health care wasting the time of the woman and couple. So I really want to advocate for, and so that's why I'm saying it aloud here, and I write blogs on and you know, again, shout from the mountaintops if I can, that we really need to, you know, kind of link arms and and demonstrate that we really are working together for the sake of this client and patient, that we're not, we're not, you know, uh, well, we are not, you and I and so and other experts are not wasting the time of these of these people.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

Um, so 100% not in whoever is saying that they're just not up to the latest research.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Yes, exactly. Well, again, and I think I don't even know if it's a if it's research. Well, people that's the the dilemma of research, right? You can find research to support whatever your assertions are. But but I I I think it's actually more um politically driven and reactionary, if you will. So I'm hoping that we can you know make a change in that. Is there anything that I haven't asked about? Because I kind of have gone off on a little, my own little tangent here with you because I'm enjoying the conversation, but I do want to make sure that we're not missing any key components of what you'd like to make sure that the listening and view viewing audience has it as a takeaway.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

Yes, uh, a couple of things. I we also invite expert guests depending on the needs. Uh so even if you have your coaching team, you will have an opportunity to speak to another professional if the group needs it or you need it. Um, there is an AI tool that's currently under development. Think let's say you go to Chat GPT today and you ask a question, and it draws information from Google, from everywhere online, that's not always accurate. This is gonna be an AI tool that draws information from expert evidence-based insights that we basically put together and uh at Ulva, and you're not gonna be worrying whether the information is accurate or not. But for example, you could ask it to help you with planning your nutrition meals for the week. Or this is what I plan to have breakfast. Can we can you give me a few ideas of what I could potentially swap or add to make it more fertility nutritious?

SPEAKER_00 29:55

So and so that this AI is drawn from experts in fertility nutrition, not from nutrition around the universe. Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 30:06

Only if I'm based uh fertility nutritious and nutrition, and um it's not following trends, it's not following things that are not proven to work.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

I have to wonder what's going on. And the last thing I wanted to share is a lot of people wonder what is really whole body care. If you you sometimes you think, okay, nutrition, I get it, it's lifestyle, but what does it really mean? Now, um what I think we cover is a very comprehensive view, but again, depending on your journey, we're not here to overwhelm you with more information. We will personalize the plan, and the plan evolves with you. So basically, as we go along and we learn more about you, and the experts continue to help you. We can adjust and we can give you workbooks and guides and support you throughout the journey. Now, um, what that support looks like as we cover nutrition for both partners. If you are in a heterosexual relationship, we cover lifestyle. That means sleep quality. A lot of people have sleep disorders, insomnia, sleep apnea, mouth breathing. Way more people than than we realize. Lots of people are undiagnosed. There's simple symptoms and things that you can do. Oral health. Not many people talk about oral health and how the oral microbiome is affecting your fertility, your pregnancy, it could lead to pregnancy complications and so many things.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

Well, and I would even say with oral health, for instance, your your oral hygiene care could be the very contributing factor. If you are flossing with something that is uh that is easily gliding, what's making that floss easily gliding is petroleum. If you are brushing with something that is where you couldn't pronounce the ingredients list, that is making its way straight across your gum line into your bloodstream. So, really, you know, really important to pay attention to your oral hygiene.

SPEAKER_02 32:14

Yeah, yeah. I mean, just like you said, you you have an amazing program too, and you know so much. And I'm so happy that more and more experts covered all these different things. But not many. A lot of people, even dentists, a lot of dentists don't really care about.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

I know they're still handing out that that toxic stuff uh because they get it free from the from the uh distributor. So yeah, but yeah, I agree. So yes, so nutrition, oral health, sleep cycles, environmental, I would say. Yes, environmental exposures from all the different chemicals, whether it's plastic, phenostalates, formaldehyde, I mean, all of the fragrances, you know, the the your your fragrant candles, throw them away.

SPEAKER_02 32:58

Yeah, yeah, and again, like what is sustainable, what you can swap, are there certain things that you really want to stick to? And can you maybe pause for a little bit while you're trying to conceive? Uh, we also address when we talk about lifestyle movements, there's so much confusion about um, and I keep hearing this from women. I I don't exercise that much anymore. I do some walking, I stop strength training, I stop playing certain sports. So, again, we should obviously be careful about over-exercising, but most people don't over-exercise. And some people are on this journey for a long time and they're making way too many changes that they shouldn't do their lifestyle. So, again, evidence-based clarity on this. Um, when we cover environmental toxins, we also talk about smart technology.

SPEAKER_00 33:51

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_02 33:53

If you go online and you're not gonna find the information you need, uh, you have to really be into this specific research space or connect to these researchers who study exactly this, and there is enough research of how you don't have to eliminate smart technology from your life, of course, that's impossible. But how you can safely use it and how it's impacting your fertility from both sides, how it impacts the egg health, sperm health, and simple tips that you can apply starting today.

SPEAKER_00 34:27

Could you give the speaking of starting today? Could you give a giveaway? Like, for example, something you can start today would be fill in the blank.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

My biggest takeaway for sperm health do not wear your phone in the front pocket.

SPEAKER_00 34:43

Absolutely, absolutely. Distance is key. Yeah, I would even say don't wear it in your back pocket because you know it's that's close enough. So that's a good one. That that's actually a very good one. And then frankly, you know, don't sit, don't have your laptop be on your lap. It's the reason it's called a laptop, I i I don't know why, but it does not belong on your lap. It belongs, you know, on a stand, ideally on a stand that can that can deflect some of the uh electromagnetic um you know uh EMFs uh so that you're not so that you're not you know heating up your own pelvis. Um so yeah, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 35:23

And a lot of a lot of people talk about heat and how heat is not a good idea for in the reproductive area. It's not just heat, like you mentioned, environment the the EMFs, the electromagnetic fields, the radiation is definitely making changes to your DNA integrity, and they're doing so much damage. And there's recent research uh uh how they also create blood clotting and how this can lead to chronic conditions. Um yeah, causes oxidative stress. I mean, oxidative stress is one of the main reasons for male infertility.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

So exactly. So men or or women who or or people who who want to help a man make sure he's on a really good antioxidant therapy. Um we I'm sure we each have our favorites. Um, and so you reach out to either one of us and we'll let you know what our favorites are. Yes, it's not just vitamin A, C, E, zinc, selenium. There's a lot more that can be helpful for male health. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:22

And I will always prioritize foods first, supplements.

SPEAKER_00 36:26

Exactly. How that, yes, of course. And again, when you're working with a a margin of infertility during fertile health time span, um, I think it's a both and. I think it's you know, absolutely your supplements aren't replacing your healthy food. And yet, you know, as things stand, you probably need more than just your healthy food to derive the changes that you want to make so that you're improving, um, you know, reducing reactive oxidative species and improving your sperm health or your egg health and so forth. Yeah. I agree.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

And this is where I see a lot of women also oversupplementing. So important to reach out to a dietitian or nutritionist, get the support from someone who really understands and potentially run tests and find out okay, what really fit should be included as a supplement.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

I wouldn't say just potentially run run tests. I think it's imperative. Again, if you're in this paradigm where you're struggling to conceive, this is not the time to throw spaghetti against the wall and take what worked for your friend because it could be the very thing that would work against you. So test, don't guess, and then supplement accordingly.

SPEAKER_02 37:42

Yeah, I love it. And that's what we do also. Like at WOVA, we don't provide actual testing, but the experts and the coaches can do the testing and analysis, and then they can still coach you through the program. So I agree. It's also ideal to do a sperm test at the beginning and at least three months later or longer. So because on sperm tests, it's easier to see the changes. Yeah. Um, so that is also like a very good way to find out what's working and yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Yeah. No, I will always um I have, you know, I have labs that I think that I'll always recommend or order, depending upon, you know, whether or not if the person can get them through her um, you know, her primary care or her obigine and have it paid insurance because minor minor not through insurance, or I have even online I've got accounts that people that I can say these, if you've got a diagnosis or if symptoms that are, you know, that look like PCOS or diminished ovarian reserve or endometriosis, these are the tests that you want to see at these times in your cycle. So beautiful. Yeah. So I think I uh you and I are on the same team of don't just come in with you know bags of supplements because um certainly in my office I'm I'm likely to whittle it down to you know from the 20 to four or five max.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

Yeah, and uh like this is not to really create shame or blame. I my personal experience, I knew so much, I've always hated supplements unless you have to really take them. And I took so many when I was trying to see because I was again driven by fear, which is very common in this community. You make a lot of decisions based on fear, and uh it took me a long time to really understand like, okay, this is not the right approach. Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 39:25

Well, this and again, now someone listening or viewing does not have to take that time. You've done it for them. So I really am very grateful. I want to be my speaking of time, I want to be mindful of time. I'm seeing we're at the 45-minute mark, and I always try to be um you know gracious with everybody else's time. You've given me your time, and I'm very thankful, viewers, listeners, you've given us your time. We know it could be it could be used anywhere. So thanks for spending the time with us. Share this information with someone you know because one in six people, and this is right now we're we're we're talking and recording in April, and April is National Infertility Awareness Month. Uh, there is a National Infertility Awareness Week, the week of the 19th to the 25th. So I say that only to say it is a big enough deal and a big enough conversation that likely someone you know needs to hear this information. So please like, share, comment, you know, don't, don't, don't feel shy to to share it because you could be the very person who is saving someone else from from years of of heartache and struggle. Thank you, Dr. Fox. Oh, it has been my pleasure. Before we close, is again, I is there anything else that you want to make sure, any other pearls that you want to say, oh, before we go, here's here's one last thing.

SPEAKER_02 40:42

Yes, um, I I do I do see this all the time, and I I hope that people are a little more proactive. A lot of times, women, especially who are struggling to get pregnant, would do their own research, and and which is great, but they get overwhelmed. And again, like the advice is often conflicting and confusing. And then sometimes they just decide, okay, my next best step, my best next step is probably to do a procedure. If that fails, then maybe I'm gonna look at other things, then maybe I'm gonna look for the support. Why? Like you're gonna be wasting valuable time. You can still do a procedure if you're in the patient, but if you combine uh the whole body support at least three months before conception, because we know eggs takes about three to four months to fully develop and mature, sperm takes about 74 days. Yes, we are born with all of our eggs. However, the last that key window right before conception matters quite a bit and can really move the needle. So I wouldn't really advise anyone to wait. I'd rather have you spend some time optimizing your health. And oftentimes clinics have a waiting period of three months, anyways. So you can optimize that window instead of being worried, okay, there's nothing I can do, I just need to wait.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. And even if they don't have a waiting, a waiting time, the actual process takes at least a couple of months. So you can improve your whole health and your fertile health by the time you begin your STEM cycle. If IVF is going to be, you know, the the method that you use, uh why not do this concurrently? Um, so that you're not just, as I said earlier, you know, you're not just giving them, you know, the eggs in the health that they are right now, which could be improved, or the sperm that is in the health that it is right now, which could be improved, or the embryo into the uterine health, which could be improved. Like let's improve now.

SPEAKER_02 42:43

So yeah, and and don't forget, you are influencing not just your fertility, you are influencing the health of your future child.

SPEAKER_00 42:52

Exactly. Yeah, and your future self, you know, not just baby making.

SPEAKER_02 42:56

Longer and be closer to them. You're building the foundations of healthy habits. So once you're busy with a little baby, you don't have to also do all the research about okay, what are they supposed to be eating?

SPEAKER_00 43:05

What am I supposed to be eating to be able to take care of this human being? Exactly. And I'll and I'll just put one more pin in because here I am saying we need to wrap it up, but um, research. Chat GPT is not research. A Google AI search is not research. It's a great start, perhaps, but you know, the these these vehicles hallucinate and can and they will and and they will give their disclaimer right there saying, here's the research, it might not be true. So so um, you know, I'm not saying don't use it, I'm just saying don't adhere to it as though it is vetted research because it may not be. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, Gabby, I could chat I obviously I could keep chatting with you, but uh, but I'm going to adhere to my own my own suggestion and say let let's wrap it up so that we can all uh move on with our day. We'll probably have another conversation at some future time. So I'm really grateful for your time today. Listeners, viewers, the information will be in the show notes. Please make sure you like, subscribe, and and click through. So until we we meet again, I will say have a wonderful day. And as we say at the end of every health university class, class dismissed.