Ep 364 Misconceptions I See Daily as a Fertility Acupuncturist
In this solo episode of The Wholesome Fertility Podcast, Michelle Oravitz, fertility acupuncturist and holistic fertility coach, breaks down the most common misconceptions she encounters in her clinic. Drawing on nearly a decade of experience supporting couples on their fertility journey, Michelle sheds light on the myths that can hold people back from conceiving, from misunderstanding the fertile window and fearing healthy fats, to overdoing green juices and neglecting stress management.
You’ll learn why fertility is about more than just timing or diet, how mindset and nervous system health play a pivotal role, and why it’s essential to approach conception as a shared journey between partners. Whether you’re just beginning your fertility path or seeking to fine-tune your approach, this episode will empower you with knowledge and clarity to support your reproductive health naturally.
Key Takeaways:
Many women miscalculate ovulation and the fertile window, it’s not always mid-cycle.
Healthy fats like avocado, ghee, and full-fat dairy support hormone production.
Too much raw food and cold drinks can create a “cold womb,” affecting fertility.
Over-focusing on “doing all the right things” can increase stress and hinder conception.
Fertility is a shared responsibility, sperm health is just as crucial as egg health.
Seeking professional and emotional support can make the journey smoother and less isolating.
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.
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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Wholesome Fertility Channel. I'm Michelle Orbit, a fertility acupuncturist and host of the Wholesome Fertility Podcast, and today I'm going to cover five of the most common misconceptions I see when it comes to fertility health. In my close to 10 years of practicing acupuncture and specializing in fertility, I often see many people come in.
Speaker 2: And upon our first call we always discuss what my patients have done thus far. And here are many common misconceptions I see. And I thought about making a video because I'm sure if I see that in my practice that there's a lot of people out there that are also feeling the same way. But before we get started, make sure that you hit like and subscribe so that you don't miss any other episodes in the future when it comes to boosting your fertility health.
Speaker 2: So stay tuned.
Speaker 2: So one of the most [00:01:00] common misconceptions I get surround the time of ovulation and the fertile window. Many women believe that because they have a 28 day or even a 30 32 day cycle that they ovulate right in the middle. Many people also come to really trust their apps. So that is one of the most common misconceptions that I see is that just because your period is regular, that ovulation or your fertile window should be right in the middle.
Speaker 2: And also a lot of people don't realize that they have a fertile window that happens five days before ovulation. And this is because it's not something that we're really taught in school. And a lot of people don't really know this. So this is one of the common things that I see. A lot of people do know this, but some people are just starting their fertility journey and don't really realize that not only do we not know exactly when ovulation occurs, but the fertile window happens five days before.
Speaker 2: And that also, there are many tracking systems that they would need in order to really understand month to month [00:02:00] what their fertile window would be. And I've talked about this in many other podcasts. But this is just one aspect of what I see often. So I thought it would be important to cover this because it's just not taught enough.
Speaker 2: Another thing is that something that is considered healthy or thought to be healthy, which is low fat diets. So this is something that has been taught a long time ago, and right now it is actually being challenged. Because having high fats of healthy fats can really support hormone production. So people have been taught for so many years to be afraid of fats, but fats are actually really supportive to your fertility.
Speaker 2: In fact, there's studies that show that having dairy products that are whole based and not fat free or even skim tend to support fertility health. Versus skim milk or skim dairy products have been shown to have an adverse effect in supporting fertility health. So when it comes to healthy [00:03:00] fats, it's important to really find ones that are not things like trans fats or unhealthy fats that cause more inflammation.
Speaker 2: So you wanna think about things like nuts, seeds, as long as you're not allergic to 'em. And then also full fat dairy and things like yogurt are really supportive. As long again as you're not allergic to them. And avocados are amazing and even salmon is really healthy and it's optimal to avoid farmed salmon and go for wild caught salmon.
Speaker 2: And also cooking with coconut oil or even ghee, which is clarified butter, is really supportive. And making sure to couple that with proteins and healthy greens that are cooked and supportive starches like. Sweet potato or plantains. But most importantly, do not be afraid of fats because fats are the backbones of hormone production and they're very necessary in order to support our reproductive health.
Speaker 2: So number three, this is another [00:04:00] misconception. That I often hear is juicing all the time. Lots of green juices, lots of smoothies, really, really eating all raw vegetables, not so great. Not that it's bad to completely have any raw vegetables at all. It's just that you might wanna consider a 2080 rule. So 20% could be raw, but 80% of your vegetable intake should be cooked.
Speaker 2: And the reason for this is that. Too much raw, according to Chinese medicine, contributes to cold in your system. And when you have a cold womb, it is not really compatible or supportive for conception. So Chinese medicine, we often do a lot of things to warm the wound. We even have something called ion, which we do in office and.
Speaker 2: This is safely burning a certain type of herb, and this herb creates more warmth in your womb. And the reason for this is because when you think about anything that is warm, it helps things to flow. So if [00:05:00] something's too cold, it becomes stuck, stagnant, and slower to move. And we want a lot of movement in the womb and think about blood flow, blood movement, qi movement.
Speaker 2: We really wanna support that healthy vitality in the womb area. And so it's really important not to have too much cold. And this is also to avoid anything that is like cold drinks, ice cream or ice cold smoothies. So you might be eating like really, really healthy vegetables and fruits, but having it ice cold that.
Speaker 2: Really impacts your digestive system and the stagnation in your stomach as well. And think about your stomach very similar to that of an oven or a stove top. It needs to be warm in order to cook the food. And this is why we have acid. So Chinese medicine, we see that. And also Ayurvedic medicine where they talk about Agni is that it's important that it has a warm environment in order to digest the food.
Speaker 2: And so we have something called. [00:06:00] Triple burners. And so we have three different burners and one of them is our stomach, and this is one of the areas that we're cooking our food basically, so that we're supporting the whole digestive process. And I've talked a lot about this on the show, is that the digestive process is incredibly supportive and necessary in order to have a good, healthy reproductive system.
Speaker 2: So consider a cold womb like freezing soil, and you don't wanna plant a seed in cold soil. You want something that is warm. Nourishing and supportive. So another misconception that I often find is people feel that they have to address every single thing possible. And this could be really doing all the right things.
Speaker 2: And sometimes when you're doing all the right things and you're completely ignoring. The stress that that can cause. Then it almost erases everything that you're doing because if you're increasing the stress and not realizing that the cortisol is rising, or your nervous system is misregulated, or it's impacting your sleep [00:07:00] and causing so much stress, that stress can weigh so heavy on your reproductive health.
Speaker 2: And this is something that I often see is ignored because many times we don't really pay attention to what are we're thinking about because that feels like something we can't really control. We feel like we can only control something that's in front of us or things that we see in our material world.
Speaker 2: However, our state of minds are really, really important, and really, really impactful when it comes to reproductive health. Our nervous system being in fight or flight can cause a host of problems. It can impact your digestive system. Which can increase inflammation, it can impact your sleep and ability for your body to restore itself.
Speaker 2: And it also takes you into survival and outside of a creative state of your body, which is reproduction. So it's really important to pay attention to that. And there's been studies that have shown that IVF has been more successful when women are reducing their stress loads. [00:08:00] And not only that, when you are able to do that and get into a mindfulness practice, you're going to improve your quality of life and you're gonna feel better when you need it most.
Speaker 2: So you're gonna be able to fill your cup when you need it at a very stressful time, like the fertility journey. So one of the things that I often suggest is try to remember things that made you happy before you started your fertility journey. Some of the things that you used to do with your partner, which really brought you joy, and also things that tend to bring you into the present moment.
Speaker 2: What are those? Maybe sit down and write a list. All the things that you used to do that you kind of felt, and this is kind of like another micro misconception that we have to put those things on hold. Think about those things and maybe bring them back to your life. So even once a day, doing something, like listening to a song that just made you happy when you were in your teenage years.
Speaker 2: Something that really brings you back to a happy place. If you could do that at least once a day, and it could be [00:09:00] even walking, taking a walk outside or singing around the house, anything, anything that really brings you some joy. And if you start to do that little by little, you can add little breaks in your consciousness so that you're bringing yourself to a.
Speaker 2: Of joy and who doesn't want joy. Another common misconception that I see is that it's all on the woman, and that's completely not the case. And many miscarriages happen because of the sperm quality and not just the egg quality. So it's really important to address both partner's health and make sure to go to a physician that is going to be considering the sperm health just as much as they consider the egg health.
Speaker 2: And also know that everything that you're doing for egg quality. Your partner should be doing as well for sperm quality so that this is a partnership and this is not just one piece of the puzzle. And some of the things that you can do in order to increase both sperm and egg quality are eating healthy fats like mentioned before, [00:10:00] omega threes, lowering inflammation, nervous system reset.
Speaker 2: Is great for both partners and also increasing antioxidants in foods. And the part about the joy could be applied to both partners as well. And lastly, the last thing that I often see is that many couples try to go through this alone and they don't really seek the proper help. And this could be even after losses where they need more emotional support.
Speaker 2: And this can make it really difficult, and sometimes in many cases, not getting the proper support. Can make the journey longer than it needs to be. Whereas if they do get the support and not just the support, the proper support, maybe getting multiple consultations and opinions so that they know that they're working with the right person so that they're not feeling like they have to figure it out alone.
Speaker 2: And luckily, there are a lot of great resources. Resolve is a great organization that you can take a look at. And even having a fertility coach who can guide you and your partner through the journey, because fertility coaches really understand the whole [00:11:00] process and they can shed some light on things that you might not realize.
Speaker 2: But most importantly, really finding whoever you feel aligned with and really knowing that there is support out there and that a lot of people are going through this. There's a lot more support than people realize. So if you heard me talking about nervous system reset and you're like, what even is that?
Speaker 2: I have a great ebook that you can find in the description called Be Calm, and I talk about how to stimulate the vagus nerve in order to regulate your nervous system and it's completely free. So definitely check it out. So I hope you enjoyed this episode and I hope you got some good information from this.
Speaker 2: So thank you so much for tuning in today, and I'll see you next time.