Ep 362 Could Your Uterine Lining Be Blocking Pregnancy?
On today’s episode of The Wholesome Fertility Podcast, Michelle dives into one of the most emotionally challenging topics on the fertility journey, repeated miscarriages and failed embryo transfers. While these experiences can feel devastating, Michelle explains that they’re not always inevitable. With the right testing and deeper understanding of hidden factors like thyroid health, uterine microbiome, immune responses, and even sperm compatibility, many pregnancy losses and failed transfers can actually be prevented.
This episode sheds light on overlooked tests, lifestyle changes, and integrative approaches that can make all the difference in achieving a healthy pregnancy. If you’ve been through multiple losses or are preparing for a transfer, this conversation is filled with empowering insights and practical next steps that could change your path forward.
Key Takeaways:
Discover why thyroid imbalances and undiagnosed autoimmune issues can silently sabotage implantation.
Learn how the uterine microbiome and inflammation might be the missing piece in your fertility journey.
Find out which antioxidant-rich supplements and lifestyle shifts can boost egg and sperm quality.
Understand how immune or clotting factors can interfere with pregnancy — and what tests can uncover them.
Explore how emotional healing and nervous system regulation can prepare your body to receive new life.
Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your health or fertility care.
Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your health or fertility care.
Join me inside The Wholesome Fertility Collective. https://www.michelleoravitz.com/thewholesomefertilitycollective
Vaginal Microbiome test: https://www.fertilysis.com Use coupon code WHOLESOMEFERTILITY
Ready to discover what your body needs most on your fertility journey?
Take the personalized quiz inside The Wholesome Fertility Journey and get tailored resources to meet you exactly where you are:
https://www.michelleoravitz.com/the-wholesome-fertility-journey
For more about my work and offerings, visit: www.michelleoravitz.com
Curious about ancient wisdom for fertility? Grab my book The Way of Fertility:
https://www.michelleoravitz.com/thewayoffertility
Join the Wholesome Fertility Facebook Group for free resources & community support:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2149554308396504/
Connect with me on social:
Instagram: @thewholesomelotusfertility
Facebook: The Wholesome Lotus
Disclaimer: Some of the links shared are affiliates but this is at no cost to you and can even get you discounted prices!
-
# TWF: 362
Speaker 2: [00:00:00] Episode number 360 2 of the Wholesome Fertility Podcast. Welcome to the Wholesome Fertility Podcast. I'm your host, Michelle Orvi, and today I wanna talk about a topic that weighs heavily on so many hearts, repeated miscarriages and transfer failures. These are some of the most painful experiences on the fertility journey.
In many cases, these outcomes are not inevitable because with the right testing. Many miscarriages and transfer failures can actually be prevented. There are tests that can reveal hidden factors and things that standard fertility workups may overlook. And I've seen many times where my patients have gone through so many transfers and finally pushed to get more tests done, and that changed everything.
So if you've been through multiple losses, multiple failed transfers, or. If you are preparing for a transfer, you won't wanna miss this episode, so stay [00:01:00] tuned.
Speaker: So when it comes to repeated miscarriages or even transfer failures, I'm going to kind of take different parts of it because I can't really take a whole thick brush around it because if it is a natural pregnancy that is not with a RT or IVF. Where the embryo is tested, and then in that case you would rule out the quality and the genetics because you're testing them.
But if you have repeated miscarriages, that could be attributed to either genetic factors or other factors that can also impact uterine transfers. So first I'm gonna cover that there is definitely a big. [00:02:00] Aspect to natural pregnancy and miscarriages that is attributed to the egg quality and also the sperm quality.
So it could be the genetic makeup of either the sperm or the egg. So in this case, it's really important to understand what's going on when it comes to the woman and the man. And typically this can also happen as women and men. Age, and really the mitochondria and the egg cells and the mitochondria that impact sperm quality and also the genetics can really be impacted.
But also the mitochondria of the egg is incredibly important because an egg cell has hundreds of thousands more mitochondria, and in case you don't know what that means, the mitochondria is an organelle in the cell in each cell of the body, which produces, and it's considered the powerhouse. Of the cells.
So it's kind of like the energy factory of the cell. And as we know, in order for new life and new growth, there [00:03:00] needs to be a lot of really efficient energy, and this is why it's important for men and women to take about at least three to four months to allow whatever changes they're making in their lifestyle.
Diet and also eliminating as much as possible exposure to toxins, endocrine disruptors for both men and women because that can really impact also the genetic makeup of the sperm and the egg. So many things that people can do in order to support egg quality and sperm quality. The different factors are supplementation, so there are certain supplements.
That are high in antioxidants. That's important for men and women. Coq 10 has been shown to help both men and women, so egg and sperm health, and it also supports the mitochondrial health. And then asai E has been shown to be really great 'cause it's a very potent antioxidant, and Omega threes lowers inflammation can also be very supportive.
Acupuncture for both men [00:04:00] and women could be really, really supportive, helping both egg and sperm nervous system regulation. So that your body is not exerting too much energy, and that is one of the reasons why acupuncture can help so much is because it regulates the nervous system and it also allows the body to get into a more healing state, getting lots of good rest and also exercising, balanced, exercising.
So not too much because too much exercise has been shown to have an adverse effect on reproductive health for both men and women. And then too little exercise and not moving enough can also cause harm. So it's important to have enough movement where your body is producing more energy but not de pleading.
So it's kind of like getting into that sweet spot so that you're getting a good amount of energy, but not expending too much breath work is really. Important as well. So breathing exercises can really help the body produce more energy. So you're really supporting the body to create more energy and reserves.
Now, diet is [00:05:00] incredibly important, so making sure that you're having enough proteins, fats, less of antioxidant rich vegetables and greens, berries, antioxidant rich fruits. These are all really important. And also having a lot of fiber and getting that gut health in check. So this is the aspect where we're really looking at the embryo quality.
So going back to other things that can cause natural miscarriages. Let's talk about the thyroid. So the thyroid is incredibly important when it comes to fertility health. And most of the time, hypothyroid or hyperthyroid tends to be a little bit more common in women. And so you wanna make sure that your thyroid is functioning optimally.
And one of the most common things that I see is that the first line of inquiry that people have is they go to their ob, and that is who they talk to first. And they have a lot of information. However, they're a little bit more generalized in women's health, and that [00:06:00] means that they're not as focused as you'd find at a reproductive endocrinologist, which is an endocrinologist and also an OB that specializes in fertility health.
And so they look at everything when it comes to fertility health. So when a woman goes to her ob. She could range over two on TSH, which is thyroid stimulating hormone, and typically if it's under four, in the general population, it's considered normal, so that won't be really raising too much of a red flag because it's considered a normal range.
However, an ideal amount of TSH would be two or under, and typically what they do is once they find out, especially if it's a doctor who's specialized in fertility medicine, like a reproductive endocrinologist, they will look at it. And of course, they also look at endocrinology, which is all about your hormones.
So they will look at the TSH and say, oh, it's above and it's [00:07:00] not ideal for fertility health. So let's look further. And then they'll typically do a full thyroid panel, which includes T four, T three, reverse T three, or antibodies. And that's really to understand why the thyroid might be. Under functioning.
And once they realize, is this an autoimmune condition like Hashimoto's, where your body's immune system is attacking your thyroid, and that can contribute to the thyroid being more inflamed and it can cause the thyroid to under function, or could it be that your thyroid is just not functioning as well?
Or is it that your cells are not responding to the thyroid hormones? So clearly there are many different ways to look at the thyroid, and this is why it's really important to get a full thyroid panel and also to have a pair of eyes that is a lot more familiar in this specific type of field. And this could be a very quick fix.
Many women can go on thyroid medication and easily get pregnant if that is the only issue they're they're [00:08:00] dealing with. Or they can also shift their diet if it is an autoimmune condition. Oftentimes what I do is I really address the gut. And then I suggest to remove gluten entirely because I see a lot of people do a lot better on a gluten-free diet, and some people even opt to do autoimmune paleo when they have any kind of autoimmune condition, and many people do really well on that kind of diet.
Three things that should be avoided when it comes to hushing. Motos is gluten, soy, and corn. Between addressing that and also supporting gut health and lowering inflammation. I've seen a lot of people do really well, but always talk to your doctor because you wanna make sure to address any underlying medical conditions, and they will be the ones that are testing and they'll know what the best course of action would be.
Other things that you might wanna look into is immune or cladding factors. Those things would be impacting both transfers or natural pregnancies. So if your body is clotting too much or not clotting enough, [00:09:00] these are clotting factors that can impact how the pregnancy plays out or if the pregnancy can sustain itself.
So conditions such as antiphospholipid. Syndrome, thrombophilias or autoimmune conditions, which is your body attacking itself. And this can also impact how your body responds, not just to itself, but also how it responds to new life coming in, because that is actually a foreign entity. So sperm is a foreign entity for a woman's body.
And also fertilized egg, which is an embryo, could also be seen as a foreign entity. And I've even had a patient. Where she had a high sensitivity and resistance to her husband's sperm, and it took years to figure that out with a bunch of testing, and we finally realized and figured it out. So now she's on a course of treatments that suppresses her immune system as she went into her transfer, and she's now in her third trimester, so she's doing great.
[00:10:00] Sometimes this immune condition or immune response or high inflammation in the uterus. Can be caused by something called endometritis, which is the inflammation of the endometrial lining, which is your uterus, and many times it be addressed by a simple dose of antibiotics by the doctor. And I've had another patient that for years has been asking for this to be tested.
Has not gotten it tested, and she got really frustrated because when she finally did get it tested, they found that she had fluid in her uterus and that she also had endometritis. She went ahead and got a course of antibiotics and recovered. And now tested it again and it was fine. And then finally did actually get pregnant with her last transfer.
So other tests that could be done at the doctor's is an ERA, which is an endometrial receptivity analysis. This is a great test to see if your lining is receptive [00:11:00] at the time of transfer. Other tests can also look to see if there's inflammation in the uterine lining. And something else that has not been addressed as much but is starting to now is the endometrial microbiome.
So studies show that the balance of the bacteria in the vagina and uterus. Directly impacts implantation and pregnancy success. And in the uterus there are a lot less of a variety of bacteria, so it doesn't have as many strains as the gut microbiome. So if they don't have a protective lactobacillus strain, this can actually make the uterine lining less hospitable to the embryo.
And a lack of this strain can also cause a growth in harmful bacteria, which again, creates more inflammation and more chances of possible future miscarriages, or can contribute to unexplained infertility or uterine transfer failures. So this is one of the things that a lot of times you'll [00:12:00] find in.
Spain, they always look into, and one of the things that I often suggest is just use a vaginal suppository because it doesn't hurt. It uses a strain that is very beneficial for the vagina and the uterine lining. And so the way I see it is why not? So, something I also wanna mention is if you get frequent uterine tract infections or frequent yeast infections, these are things you wanna look into because those are red flags for possible dysbiosis in the vagina and the uterus.
So in that case, you could actually get this tested. I personally love something called lysis. And it's an at-home testing kit, which looks at the uterine microbiome through period blood. So there's no pricking, there's no probing. All you do is really take your period blood, send over a sample, and then they test to see through that what your microbiome looks like.
To me, this is a game changer and it makes it [00:13:00] super easy at home. And if you're interested in finding out more, you can find the link in the description. And if you use the code wholesome fertility, you can get a discount, and I will link all of this in the comments, but I highly recommend it. It's one of the few things that I'm actually very excited about that is new and I think is really going to be one of the key factors that is often overlooked, but can be a complete game changer.
So far, I've listed a couple of different things that you can do, but for sure look into gut health because that really makes a huge difference. I personally love. Microbiome Labs, they have a supplement called MegaSpore Biotic. But for some people that might be too strong and they might wanna go with one strain, but it's a spore based probiotic, and I found it to be tremendous for so many of my patients.
But let's not forget emotional support. If you are going through these many losses or transfer failures, this could be extremely emotionally exhausting, and it's really [00:14:00] important to understand that this could be a very traumatic thing. And many couples don't realize that getting emotional support like therapy can really be a game changer, and it's something that they need often, and sometimes just taking a little break so that you can regroup yourself before trying another transfer.
And getting yourself and your mind ready for it could be extremely valuable. So make sure to always have compassion with yourself and allow yourself the time to process and rebuild. And if you're finding that your doctors or your team are not really supporting or responding to you about doing tests.
Look into getting another opinion. 'cause again, those are game changers. If you can find somebody who's really ready to uncover and look into everything, this can save you so much time and so much money. That to me, it's worth taking that little break and figuring it out before continuing and doing more rounds of transfers.
And I'm also gonna link my membership rooted where I have. Audios and which [00:15:00] includes suggestions for uterine lining and receptivity, and also have lots of tools on how to get yourself in a better state so that you can regulate your nervous system and support your wellbeing. So thank you so much for tuning in today.
I hope you found this information useful. I'm wishing you the best on your journey. So thank you so much and I will see you next time.
[00:16:00]