Trying to conceive can feel like living in a quiet ‘in-between’ space filled with hope, waiting, questions, and often, a lot of silent Googling at 2am. You might be doing everything ‘right’ and still wondering if you're missing something, if you could be doing more?
You might be feeling the emotional weight of tracking cycles, navigating appointments, or just holding onto belief month after month and picking yourself up when you don’t get the news you have hoped and prayed for. I see you, and I’m with you too, not just as a practitioner, but as someone walking this path with you.
As a naturopathic nutritionist and hormone health specialist, I’ve spent years supporting women through every stage of their fertility journey, it's one of my favourite areas of women’s health and in fact it was my own fertility journey that sparked my interest in natural healing and health optimisation. And if there's one thing I’ve learned, both professionally and personally, it’s that fertility isn’t just about doing more and doing everything ‘right’. It’s about doing what’s right for your unique body and nourishing and protecting not just your body but your mind and headspace too.
Supporting yourself gently, consistently, and holistically is what’s going to help you navigate this season of your life with more intention, more grace and presence. It’s also what will help you lean into the side of your fertility journey that creates space for you to reconnect with your body and truly honour its needs, allowing space for your healthiest self to become a reality.
But in addition to this fertility journey reframe, I do want to share some practical ways to proactively help your body with the things I know can make a profound impact- and these things mean you don’t have to overhaul your entire life. There are small, meaningful shifts that can have a powerful impact and I’m doing them too alongside you! So here are 6 of the most important things I’m personally doing to support my own fertility and that I recommend my clients who come to me wanting to support their bodies to create the nourished internal environment to encourage new life.
Here are 6 things I’m doing to optimise my fertility - and that you can do too:
1. Down-regulating your nervous system daily
Chronic stress is one of the quietest disruptors of our hormones, often overlooked, but deeply impactful. Supporting your nervous system doesn’t need to look like a big shift. For me, it’s been about consistent, small rituals: daily walks outside, warm nourishing drinks to warm you from the inside-out (even in summery evenings) like cacao or bone broth, and weekly baths with calming salts and essential oils (Olverum is my current favourite).
These practices bring me back into my body and remind me: I’m safe, I’m supported, I can exhale. And that in itself, is so grounding.
2. Seed cycling & using food as medicine
Hormones are in balance and actually able to thrive when they’re well-consistently well fed. I focus on whole foods, colourful plant focused meals and building my plate around quality animal protein, healthy fats, and fibre-rich carbs to fuel me from one meal to the next . This reassures my body there is enough fuel and nourishment to prevent the down regulation of the reproductive system (which can happen when we are under eating and overexercising). I’m also a huge advocate of seed cycling to support the optimal ration of oestrogen to progesterone for regular cycles and healthy monthly ovulation, which should be the aim of every cycle. Seed cycling is one of my most recommended ways to use food as medicine to give your body the targeted nourishment your fertility will benefit from and a powerful yet gentle way to work in sync with your hormonal rhythm. A full guide can be found in my book The Hormone Balance Handbook.
Some of my go-to fertility-supportive foods include eggs, leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, legumes, root veggies like beets and sweet potato, salmon, avocado, and bone broth. I plan my meals from a place of nourishment, not restriction asking myself ‘how can this meal nourish me’- this is a great place to start and to continue to nourish yourself in your fertility journey.
3. Take nutritionist- approved targeted supplements, tailored to you
While food is foundational and supplements should be exactly that, supplementary to a healthy wholefood diet- I am very routine with taking my targeted supplements to help fill any gaps and support specific functions (which is hugely important in your fertiliser and mustn’t be overlooked) like egg quality, hormone production, and thyroid health. The supplements I personally take can be found in my W-Wellness’ Fertility Edit some of my go-to’s and that I recommend my fertility clients to take are Wild Nutrition Fertility Support, these nutrients are made from real food, so your body absorbs them more effectively - supporting reproductive health at a deeper level. I also recommend Bare Biology Omegas as they help keep inflammation at bay, promote hormone balance, improve egg and (and sperm quality for men), and enhance uterine health for implantation.
I also organise my supplements using the W-Wellness compartmentalised wellness organiser - it helps keep things simple and consistent, especially if motivation can feel low.
Working with a practitioner is essential for a tailored protocol, and at W-Wellness, our nutritionist-led team is here to personalise your supplements- ensuring a seamless experience, with every product on the site carefully selected and approved by a registered nutritionist.
4. Prioritise sleep because more sleep time = more healing time
Probably THE most underrated free tool available to us to help our hormonal system and therefore our fertility too. Sleep is when our bodies repair, reset, and produce key fertility-supporting hormones like melatonin (which also protects egg quality). I’ve stopped saying yes to late nights (which I found very challenging at first but has made the biggest impact to how I feel mentally and physically), and instead focus on creating a wind-down ritual: herbal tea with GABA supportive herbs in such as lavender valerian chamomile (GABA is our anti-anxiety neurotransmitter), dim lighting, phone detox at least 30 mins before sleep time, and in bed by 10 to carve out enough time to actually allow restorative sleep to take place. Because more sleep time = more healing time. You will never regret going to bed early enough to get good sleep and rest is productive, especially in this path.
5. Swap high-intensity exercise for restorative grounded movement that sparks joy!
For a long time, I thought pushing myself physically was a sign of strength. But when you’re trying to conceive, too much stress on the body (including over-exercising) can backfire hormonally and can be too much of an upregulated stressor on the body. Now, I choose low-impact movement like walking and Pilates, I move to feel good, to feel energised and connected to my body, not to burn out.
Gentle, intentional consistent movement supports circulation, mood, and hormonal balance - without the cortisol spike. There’s advice on which exercise to prioritise during your cycle within the cycle syncing chapter of my book.
6. Limit alcohol and choose nourishing alternatives
Alcohol can affect hormone balance, sleep quality, mental wellbeing and nutrient absorption all things we want to protect when supporting fertility. I’ve limited alcohol consumption but still do have the odd glass when I fancy it and when its ‘worth it’ (this reframe has been a game-changer for me) and swapped alcohol for alcohol-free alternatives that still feel celebratory and fancy, without the hormonal downside. Think sparkling adaptogenic drinks, kombucha, or an alcohol alternative made of apple cider such as mother root.
It’s less about restriction, and more about conscious choices that serve the bigger picture.
Final Thoughts
This journey asks a lot of you. And it’s easy to fall into the mindset of ‘what more can I do?’ And to forge to live your life and be whilst you are also trying for a baby.
But I’ve learned that it’s not just about the doing, it’s about how the being and how I treat and nourish myself while I’m doing it.
Every walk, every supplement, every nourishing home-cooked meal, they’re small daily acts of self-respect. And they add up and they all make a difference to how you feel and how you show up.
Support your body. Honour your nervous system. And hold space for the belief that it will happen.
You’re doing more than enough.
