Today, I’m joined by one of my favorite fellow fertility doctors – Dr. Natalie Crawford, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist, co-founder of Fora Fertility in Austin, Texas, host of the As a Woman podcast, and author of the brand-new book The Fertility Formula.
Dr. Crawford’s journey into reproductive medicine is deeply personal: after experiencing four pregnancy losses and feeling dismissed by the medical system, she channeled that pain into a career dedicated to making sure no patient ever feels unheard or uninformed. Her book brings together the science of hormones, inflammation, cycle tracking, lifestyle, and fertility treatment in a way that is truly empowering and accessible.
In our conversation, Natalie and I get honest about what modern fertility medicine often gets wrong, and what we can actually do about it. We explore how chronic inflammation is quietly hijacking fertility, how your menstrual cycle is far more than just a monthly event, and why the “it’s just your age” or “it’s just bad luck” narratives do a real disservice to patients. This is the kind of honest, science-backed, whole-body conversation I wish every fertility patient could have before they ever walked into a clinic.
In this episode, we cover:
- How chronic inflammation affects egg and sperm quality, hormonal signaling, and IVF outcomes, and what you can do to lower your inflammatory burden
- Why your menstrual cycle is a vital sign, and how to track it accurately to detect ovulation disorders before they cost you time
- The connection between fertility and long-term overall health, and why unexplained infertility may be a symptom of deeper metabolic imbalance
- How age impacts fertility and why it’s not the whole story when it comes to egg quality and cellular health
- Myth-busting: diet alone, cannabis use while trying to conceive, and whether fertility is just about luck
- When to seek a problem-focused appointment (not just wait for your annual exam) for irregular, painful, or missing periods
- Why lifestyle optimization and fertility treatment are not either/or, and how to do both without guilt or confusion
Resources:
- The Fertility Formula by Dr. Natalie Crawford – available wherever books are sold
- Dr. Natalie Crawford online: @NatalieCrawfordMD (Instagram/social media)
- As a Woman Podcast, hosted by Dr. Natalie Crawford
- Fora Fertility: Dr. Crawford’s practice in Austin, Texas: forafertility.com
- Natural Cycles app (for BBT-based cycle tracking)
- Oura Ring (wearable for basal body temperature tracking)
- Apple Watch (wearable for BBT/cycle tracking with Natural Cycles)
