The Resilient Fertility Podcast

Katherine’s story is a beautiful example of resilient fertility and embracing a growth mindset on the motherhood journey. In this episode, she shares her story about her challenging conception and pregnancy journeys with her first child and how they motivated her to take her preconception preparation up a notch for her second baby.

She shares her experience of medical sabotage with her first pregnancy that led to an induction and resulting C-section and why she’s choosing to do a wild pregnancy and sovereign birth this second go-around.

We get into what kinds of lifestyle changes, made the biggest impact for Katherine’s fertility this time around, what she loved most about my online program Resilient Motherhood, and how she was shocked that she was able to conceive on the first go, especially after her first conception journey.

In this episode you’ll learn about the importance of deepening your knowledge and leaning on wisdom from women who have walked this path before you, intentional planning, and unconventional prenatal care choices is discussed, showcasing personal growth and a journey towards resilient motherhood.

We are hoping you’ll feel inspired from her story to take action - whether you are already trying to conceive or you want to have your ideal motherhood experience the first time (without going through all the trial and error).

If you're preparing to conceive or are pregnant for the first time and are committed to making breastfeeding work but you're concerned about whether or not you'll be able to successfully breastfeed, join in on this episode where you'll find inspiration to align your motherhood journey with physiological needs, have foresight on potential challenges, equip yourself to handle these challenges, and prioritize intuitive parenting for a resilient journey.

Explore the symbiosis of mother-baby dyad and prepare for motherhood with insights on breastfeeding success, holistic preparation, and intuitive parenting. There is so much more power in your hands than you've been led to believe.

This episode of the Resilient Fertility Podcast delves into the intricate links between histamine levels, estrogen dominance, and fertility issues, especially during the spring season when allergies are rampant.

I share insights from my recent Resilience from Estrogen Dominance workshop, explaining how allergens can exacerbate period pains, heaviness of bleeding and fertility problems by affecting histamine and estrogen levels. By drawing the connection between these elements, the episode explores the root causes of histamine intolerance and offers practical strategies for mitigating symptoms through diet, gut health optimization, and improving estrogen metabolism.

If you're struggling with period problems, allergies, or trying to conceive, this episode provides valuable insights into using your diet and lifestyle changes to support your fertility journey. If you’re interested in using food as a means to address estrogen dominance and histamine intolerance, to finally experience relief from period pain and improving your chances of conceiving, then I’ll share next steps for doing so!

Have you ever wondered what the true effect of skipping meals was on your hormones or why sometimes you TTC around day 14 but you’re still not pregnant?

In this episode of the Resilient Fertility Podcast, you’ll learn:

• How I conceived my first child despite ovulating later in my cycle
• How skipping meals may be impacting your ovulation
• How to know if fasting will harm or help your fertility journey
• Why fasting can be beneficial for some women’s hormones (and not others)
• What types of cleanses or detoxes will support your fertility and motherhood journey
• How you can safely detox in pregnancy

Have you been trying to conceive and you’re either in your two week wait (TWW) or you’re newly pregnant and you’re just feeling like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop? Are you afraid to get excited, to allow yourself to experience the joy of being pregnant because you may have had a short luteal phase or a history of pregnancy loss? You wake up every morning to check your BBT or do another pregnancy test- “am I pregnant yet?” “am I still pregnant??” The anxiety can feel overwhelming. I created this episode to help you navigate this mysterious period of the unknown.

In this episode we’ll explore:

• How your luteal phase length can be an important sign that you need to optimize nutrition on your preconception journey
• The necessary role of worry and fear on your conception journey
• How to set boundaries with your fear
• Positive affirmations to say during your TWW or early pregnancy
• Whether you should you share the news with your friends and family in early pregnancy
• How to start reframing your mindset from distrust to recognizing your body’s wisdom

If you’re wondering... 

• Is it safe to use the sauna when trying to conceive?
• How does sauna use affect hormone balance and fertility?
• Can I continue using the sauna once I get pregnant?
• Are there specific precautions or guidelines for sauna use during preconception/pregnancy?
• Are the benefits worth the risks?

then this episode is a must-listen.

Join me in this episode as we uncover the fascinating ways that sauna bathing can support you on your journey towardsoptimizing hormone health, fertility, and pregnancy. I'll be sharing not only the science-backed benefits but also sharing my own personal experience of using the sauna throughout both my preconception and pregnancy experiences whileaddressing popular questions and concerns about sauna use throughout the motherhood transition.

Today on the podcast we're exploring a lesser-known self-care practice in the world of women's health and wellness with a special guest, Kit Maloney.

With over two decades of experience in the field, Kit Maloney is a true authority in women's health. She's a scholar, entrepreneur, victim advocate, and pleasure activist. Kit holds a Master's degree in Gender and Social Policy from the prestigious London School of Economics and has been featured in prominent publications like Glamour, Self, and Bustle. Marie Claire even recognized her as an "Amazing Woman" for her groundbreaking work celebrating women's sexuality.

But Kit's journey doesn't stop there. She discovered the profound healing power of vaginal steaming firsthand and decided to share this wisdom with the world. That's why she has traveled the world studying a wide variety of healing modalitiesand chose to become certified as an advanced practitioner in vaginal steaming. All of this has led her to founding Kitara, a platform dedicated to offering beautifully designed and expertly crafted products and services for safe, easy, and effective yoni steaming at home. She now resides in Maine with her husband and their 1-year-old son.

Here are some Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• Discovering the multi-cultural practice of yoni steaming as part of the my own ancestry, and how fertility work runs in my bloodline
• Simple yet effective ways to restore your womb health
• Utilizing yoni steaming for various benefits including improved fertility, relief from period pain, regulating menstrual cycles (long or short), eliminating uterine fibroids, managing endometriosis symptoms, and naturally treating infections such as yeast and bacterial vaginosis (BV)
• How to adjust and plan your steaming practice timing while you’re trying to conceive (TTC)
• Understanding the different types of herbs and dosages necessary for specific steaming goals
• Why uterine fibroids occur predominantly in african-american women
• Why you shouldn’t steam during your period but you can during your postpartum bleeding and Insights into Kit’s personal journey with natural conception in her 40s. And here's the exciting part for our listeners: Visit Kitara's website at www.kitaralove.com, where you can explore a world of women’s wellness. Plus, Kitara is generously offering our listeners an exclusive discount. Use the code "ResilientLove" for $22 off any Kitara yoni steam seat, including savings bundles! Be sure to also connect with Kit on Instagram at @bykitara. 

In episode 18, Dr. Mark and Anisa join Alexia Allen on Hawthorn Farm in Woodinville, WA. In this inspriing conversation, we explore the concepts of true nutrient density, creating vitality from the Earth and its creatures, and what it can look like to be a steward of the land.

Alexia Allen has lived at Hawthorn Farm since 2003, crafting a vision of the world she wants to live in.  This includes beautiful and productive gardens, ample wild space and creatures, happy farm animals, and vibrant, loving human relationships.  Studying nature for the past 20 years has brought her a deep appreciation of the threads that weave ecological and human communities together.  She is indebted to her many years of work at Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, WA. Creativity guides her life, whether in making a stylish felt vest or a tasty goat cheese (and we can attest that that, it’s delicious).  After many years of being vegan, she went on to become a YouTube sensation with a video on humane butchering.

After a year of eating all hand-harvested food in 2017, Alexia got passionately interested in growing nutrient-dense, year-round food for herself and the 10-person household she lives in.  As a suburban homesteader, they eat well and diversely from the sunshine that falls in Woodinville, WA.  She  loves sharing the joy and possibilities to encourage others to grow and forage food.  Her motto is "Good food within walking distance for everyone.”

Welcome to episode 11 of the Woodall Wellness podcast! Today you’ll be joining us for a conversation with Joe and Serenity Carr, the founders of Serenity Kids Baby Food. Serenity and Joe are on a mission to change the baby food industry.

Browsing the aisles of the grocery store as a new parent with a new eater, you might struggle to find healthy baby foods that fit your expectations.  Just like you, when Joe and Serenity began looking for baby foods, they were outraged by how much sugar and how little nutrition was available, so they made their own! Created to mimic the nutrients of breast milk, Serenity Kids baby food is made from pasture raised meats sourced from small American family farms and high-quality organic vegetables and oils. Serenity Kids’ purees are balanced blended savory meals that contain the most nutrition per bite for your little one.

In this conversation, we learn about the optimal macronutrient breakdown for babies, how fruit purees can interrupt their natural flavor palate development, and how you can vote with your dollar to give your baby the food it needs to be healthy while also supporting small family farms practicing sustainable, regenerative agriculture.

You can learn more and order at their website (and use code ANISA for 15% off) at

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Eric Yarnell ND, RH. This episode touches on herbal medicine, sustainability and the doctor-patient relationship. We highly recommend it for holistic health practitioners as well as those who wants to learn more about using herbs (and herbal supplements) medicinally.

Dr. Yarnell was one of Dr. Woodall’s professors at Bastyr University and has been a valuable mentor in his journey as a Naturopathic Doctor.

Eric Yarnell, ND, RH is a researcher and professor at Bastyr University. He has been in practice for 24 years, primarily in the fields of men’s health, urology, and nephrology, with a heavy emphasis on using botanical medicines. Dr. Yarnell is chief creative officer of Wild Brillance Press, a provider of natural medicine textbooks, and president of Heron Botanicals. He is a co-founder of the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in Vancouver, BC. He previously served as chair of the department of botanical medicine at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and helped edit the Journal of Naturopathic Medicine. His published works include Clinical Botanical Medicine 2nd ed, Natural Approach to Urology 2nd ed, Natural Approach to Prostate Conditions 2nd ed, Natural Approach to Gastroenterology 2nd ed, The A-Z Guide to Drug-Herb-Vitamin Interactions, and The Natural Pharmacy.

Today on the podcast, we are joined by Nate Summers for a conversation spanning topics including sharpening your senses to nature’s bio-rhythms, developing appreciation for the cycles of life, and how connecting with a part of our primal spirit can help heal our planet and ourselves.

Nate Summers, author of "Primal: Why We Long to be Wild and Free" and soon to be released, "Awakening Fire: The Essential Guide to an Ancient Art", has been a survival skills instructor for over 20 years with a background in anthropology, Asian studies, and natural medicine. He taught and directed at the Wilderness Awareness School for over 15 years, and has served as faculty for the Desert Institute of Healing Arts, the Asian Institute of Medical Studies, and as adjunct faculty for Prescott College. Nate's passions include ethnobotany, natural mentoring, hunter-gatherer childhoods, natural movement, herbal medicine, internal martial arts, mentoring, and leadership.

Join us as we interview Ayla Barmmer, MS, RD, LDN, a Registered Dietitian trained in integrative and functional medicine, who specializes in women's health and infertility. Ayla owns and operates Boston Functional Nutrition, an integrative and functional nutrition practice. She is the co-founder of the Women's Health Nutrition Academy, an online academy delivering cutting edge, evidence-based continuing education for healthcare practitioners. She is also the owner and creator of FullWell Prenatal which includes their Prenatal Multivitamin, a high-quality prenatal multivitamin delivering optimal nutrients before, during and after pregnancy and now also, Full Circle Fish Oil with highly concentrated DHA.

Episode 2 of our podcast scratched the surface on the importance of preconception nutrition but with Ayla, we take a deeper dive into some of the key nutrients for fertility, compromises made in common prenatal supplements and why she decided to take the leap into starting her own prenatal supplement company.

You can find Ayla on Instagram as Aylabarmmer_RD or @Fullcircleprenatal   bostonfunctionalnutrition.com   & fullwellfertility.com (Use code ANISAW10 for 10% off)

Show notes can be found at woodallwellness.com/show-notes/prenatal.

Join us on episode 1 as Dr. Mark and Anisa introduce their back stories, their philosophies and what attracted them to the world of natural medicine and nutrition.

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