The Juna Women Podcast is a weekly discussion where Juna Founder, Sarah Kuhn, talks to Moms about their health, work, parenting, and all the different ways they’re keeping it together.
This is Episode 020, How To Get Pregnant with Elizabeth Kane, PhD.
In this episode, Sarah talks with reformed lab scientist heading up the R&D at Natalist Co, Elizabeth Kane, BA, NYU. PhD, Harvard.
On the show, Sarah and Elizabeth talk about all things “trying to conceive” and Elizabeth walks us through all the steps to take to find your ovulation window, as well as debunking many of the the myths around getting pregnant.
They talk about birth control cleanses, fertility teas, and other products that are not evidence based, but exist in the marketplace. This episode is an absolute must listen for anyone trying to conceive.
Listen To This Episode
Show Notes
03:30 – Elizabeth’s journey from college to grad school and how she co-founded Natalist.
04:00 – How trying to conceive can be very isolating, lots of anti-science content exists, and how the products felt inadequate.
05:16 – The fallacies around fertility. One that sticks out to Elizabeth is the “birth control cleanse”. There’s no data to support these cleanses. There’s a huge market for birth control cleanses and people who are looking to take advantage of vulnerable women during this time.
07:48 – The philosophy behind Natalist.
10:14 – The guarantee from Natalist is science-backed products.
11:02 – Trying to get pregnant is really all about timing. When we’re young we’re taught that we are all incredibly fertile and that you’re all but guaranteed to get pregnant from having sex on one random night.
In fact, the odds are really not that much in our favor. So what do you do?
- Figure out how long your cycle is
- Find out when to test
- Pee on the ovulation test
- If your hormones are high, you’re going to ovulate within 12-24 hours.
- Have sex and get pregnant.
14:00 – Cervical mucus is totally normal and we need to dispel myths that it’s anything other than normal. The cervical mucus changes in consistency and should look like an egg white. If you find a positive ovulation test and find your cervical mucus.
15:01 – Some women cycles are not regular which means you may have to track.
15:48 – Basal Body Temperature Tracking. Not recommended due to high degree of user error. Up to 20% can’t actually detect fluctuation in basal body temperatures.
18:02 – Only 1/6 women receive preconception care. Most women are sort of doing the trying to conceive thing on your own and there’s really no one to guide you.
21:18 – There are rumors that birth control increases your risk of infertility, but most are untrue.
22:23 – Why you may not get a period after stopping birth control.
23:23 – When should you start taking prenatals? The recommendation is 3 months before trying to conceive. The second you think you might want to get pregnant, you should start taking prenatals, mainly for ensuring you have adequate folate for your baby.
29:15 – What’s the difference between ovulation / pregnancy tests on the market.
33:10 – The differences in pregnancy tests.
35:05 – At what point is it necessary to seek help for fertility issues? The guidelines that are set by the medical community. If you’ve been having unprotected sex for 1 year and under 35 then it’s time to go talk to an OBGYN. If you’re over 35, the guideline is six months.
Liz recommends the podcast “Heavyweight” from Gimlet.
About Natalist
Moms, doctors, and scientists giving you what you need—from concept to conception.
No junk science
Products and resources built by doctors and scientists. We back our work with evidence and never dumb things down.
By women, for you
Easy-to-use; delivered like a friend. We respect your time, intelligence, and emotional journey.
Design that delights
TTC should feel like TLC. We think you can have nice things before, during, and after creating a new human.
Judgement-free support
Celebrate the journey and the destination. We think it’s time to lift the covers on all paths to parenthood.
Connect with Natalist.
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