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We spend so many of our cycling years trying NOT to get pregnant - whether that's on hormonal contraception, non-hormonal IUD's, using barrier methods or with Fertility Awareness Method.

So, when we finally decide that we want to try to conceive, we just assume it will be easy -- particularly if we're younger, healthy and have no obvious conditions that would get in the way of pregnancy.

But more and more we're seeing fertility challenges. And unfortunately, it's something that many people feel embarrassment or shame around so it's not widely talked about (except in TTC communities).

I've talked to a friend and a client recently who are both currently TTC. One is 27, overall healthy and has an uncomplicated picture (but doesn't have much fertile cervical fluid and her cycles are longer than optimal). The other is 40 and has a current partner whose sperm count and motility is sub-optimal.

Everyone has a different story, and while there's no guarantee, there is so much that is possible to support optimizing fertility.

But where do you get good information to determine what actually works and what doesn't? How does stress actually impact fertility? What are the MOST important nutritional considerations to encourage egg and sperm health?

Liane Moccia, author of The Herbal Fertility Handbook, shares about all this and more on today's episode.

She experienced her own fertility journey while TTC which ended up in failed IVF cycles and eventually, after some nutritional and lifestyle tweaking, a successful cycle and her now 17 year old twin daughters!

And now she's written a book blending her embodied experience, years of fertility-focused clinical practice and current research to offer insights into what works and what doesn't to support fertility holistically.

Whether you're interested in getting pregnant someday, just curious about how to support your hormones overall or exploring assisted fertility, this conversation is perfect for you!

Resources:

• Today's shownotes: Get links to Liane's book and website
• Free - Start tracking your cycle with FAM guide
• Episode 35: A fertility story: from endo to pregnancy with Sarah Shapiro
• Episode 80: Cultivating receptivity
• Interested in Natural Contraception? Sign up for the Fall 2025 VIP list here

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

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It's so easy to overlook the power of pleasure, especially in challenging times.

But it is SUCH an essential part of how we can bring our best selves to the world.

When we feel better, we are better able to weather the ever-changing terrain of our lives, and we have more capacity to share our gifts, too.

In today's medley episode, I combine three episode snippets to support your pathways to pleasure:

1) the importance and practice of cultivating receptivity, and some ideas on how to encourage this in your life

2) Laura Rowan (an occupational therapist) shares about how linked the brain, nervous system, pelvic pain and pleasure are

3) how milky oats can support libido, pleasure and overall hormonal health

It's the final in this medley series from the past few weeks, honoring the solstice, and I hope it brings you some insights and tools to help you embody your pleasure in this season of buoyancy and radiance (amidst all the uncertainties in the world).

Resources:

• Grab the free guide: Track your cycle with FAM (and symptom tracking)
• Today's shownotes: Pathways to pleasure
• Episode 17: How stress messes with your hormones
• Episode 64: Vagus nerve and arousal
• Episode 68: Herbal spotlight on milky oats
• Episode 80: Cultivating receptivity
• Episode 87: From pelvic pain to sexual pleasure w Laura Rowan

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Support the show

Click here to send me a quick message :)

We're all navigating so much right now. Collectively, relationally, personally.

This week's episode explores three different frames for understanding and tending your nervous system when it's stretched, strained, burnt out or plain dysregulated.

In addition to the collective unrest so many of us are feeling, this week I learned about the loss of John Gallagher (founder of Learning Herbs).

What has struck me most about the loss (aside from honoring his immense legacy in modern herbalism) was that he was struggling. With insomnia, anxiety, and depression.

And that the current political climate, including the potential for immense ecological loss, was part of what may have tipped his mental health struggles over the edge.

It's just so big, all of it. And so many of us are feeling it.

And whatever we're struggling with - collectively, relationally, personally - we're all navigating something right now.

I want to acknowledge that, rather than gloss over it, and offer some resources and tools that may perhaps be useful for you in these tumultuous times.

We all have to find our way, and we don't have to do it alone.

Which reminds me of Alexandra Blakely's song:

"you do not carry this all alone
no you do not carry this all alone
this is way too big for you
to carry this on your own
so, you do not carry this all alone"

It's not a song, or an herb, or a practice that will heal us. It's a collective practice that is ongoing.

But if you're interested in some powerful ways to tend your nervous system in these times, listen to the wisdom from Efan Hsieh, Kristen Timchak and myself in this week's medley episode for some inspiration.

** dedicating this episode to the memory of John Gallagher **

Resources:

• Grab the free guide: Track your cycle with FAM (and symptom tracking)
• Today's shownotes: 3 paths to nervous system tending in tumultuous times
• Episode 41: How nature connection can calm burnout w Efan Hsieh
• Episode 50: Adaptogens + hormonal health
  Episode 97: Nourish your nervous system with Ayurveda w Kristen Timchak

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend, or take a screenshot and share on social media and tag me @herbalwombwisdom

And if you love this podcast, leave a rating & write a review! It's really helpful to get the show to more amazing humans like you. ❤️

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only, I am not providing any medical advice, I am not a medical practitioner, I’m an herbalist and in the US, there is no path to licensure for herbalists, so my role is as an herbal educator. Please do your own research and consult your healthcare provider for any personal concerns.

Support the show