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We’re back with another Recommendation Station! This week Charly has a slightly unexpected recommendation involving liver and iron, plus some protein balls that lead us onto making our own. Portia brings us everything from blood tests and fertility consultations to her latest Holland & Barrett drinks. Then it’s onto this week’s listener dilemma. In the middle of IVF, one listener has been invited to her cousin’s baby shower but knows that going could be really difficult for her mental health. We chat about protecting yourself during fertility treatment, the guilt that can come with saying no to things you’d usually attend, and whether sometimes it’s okay to put your own wellbeing first. New bonus episodes every Thursday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Got a recommendation, dilemma or some feedback for our bonus episodes? Send it our way at [email protected]. Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms

It’s officially spooky season at The Fertility Diaries, so this week we’re bringing you a Halloween special filled with fertility horror stories, strange coincidences and a few moments that genuinely gave us goosebumps. 👻 Portia updates us on the latest stage of her Fertilysis testing and the logistics involved in getting all those blood tests done. Meanwhile, Charly updates us on Tony’s at home semen analysis, why he’s decided it can absolutely wait until after their holiday, and we ask the surprisingly complicated question… when is actually a good time to do one?! Then it’s time for the horror stories. We asked you for your funniest, weirdest and creepiest experiences from the world of IVF and fertility, and you delivered. From fertility clinic mishaps and trigger shots in some questionable locations to strange intuitions, spooky toddlers and stories we’re still not entirely sure how to explain. Portia also takes us back to Turkey to share a fertility horror story of her own. In Between the Lines, we talk about an exciting development in male fertility preservation involving testicular tissue that was frozen before childhood cancer treatment and later transplanted back in an attempt to restore fertility. And in Closing the Page, we’re talking sperm DNA fragmentation testing, the HFEA’s latest information around it and where the evidence currently stands. As always, we’re sharing our own thoughts and experiences and are not medical professionals. Please speak to a qualified healthcare professional or fertility specialist for advice specific to you. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms We want to hear from you! Send us your dilemmas, questions or fertility stories to [email protected]

We’re back with another Recommendation Station! This week Charly shares some recipes from her new anti-inflammatory cookbook, another book recommendation and her latest reformer Pilates experience, while Portia has a new bed, a very fancy pillow, a cleaning-spray obsession and a TV recommendation to add to the list. Then it’s onto this week’s listener dilemma. After three failed embryo transfers, one listener is wondering whether it’s time to start asking for more tests and investigations before trying again. We share our thoughts on wanting answers after repeated failed transfers, knowing when to ask more questions and navigating that difficult decision of what to do next. New bonus episodes every Thursday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Got a recommendation, dilemma or some feedback for our bonus episodes? Send it our way at [email protected]. Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms

This week, we’re talking all things endometriosis: our own thoughts and experiences, what our listeners have shared with us, and why sometimes everyone seems to have an opinion on what you should be doing with your fertility. But first, Dear Diary. Portia’s Fertilysis testing kit has arrived and she talks us through what’s inside, what she’s completed so far and the absolute fiasco of trying to collect period blood! Meanwhile, Charly has survived her first reformer Pilates class and is slightly shocked by just how much of an effect it seemed to have on her body and nervous system. Then we dive into endometriosis. Charly shares why she’s previously wondered whether she could have it and some of the symptoms she’s experienced, while Portia talks about the advice she’s received to investigate endometriosis and why, for now, she’s made the personal decision not to go down that route. We also chat about inflammation, diet and exercise, share some of your experiences of living with endometriosis and what you’ve found helpful, and look at the social media conversation around creatine and endometriosis. As always, we’re not medical professionals and this conversation is based on our own experiences, thoughts and what our community has shared with us. If you’re concerned about symptoms or endometriosis, please speak to a qualified healthcare professional. In Between the Lines, we discuss the latest developments around pregnancy-loss leave and what greater support for people experiencing loss could look like in the workplace. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms We want to hear from you. Send us your dilemmas, questions or fertility thoughts of the week to [email protected].

We’re back with another Recommendation Station, and this week we’ve got everything from documentaries and podcasts to gut drinks, pillow spray, and Charly’s latest Holland & Barrett haul. Plus, We also have a listener recommendation for Access Fertility before moving onto this week’s dilemma. After two failed embryo transfers, one listener has found herself repeatedly turning to psychic readings for reassurance and hope about her fertility journey. We chat about searching for answers when so much feels out of your control, finding comfort in predictions and when something that initially gives you hope can start becoming something you rely on a little too much. New bonus episodes every Thursday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Got a recommendation, dilemma or some feedback for our bonus episodes? Send it our way at [email protected]. Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms

Things get a little spiritual on The Fertility Diaries this week as we dive into psychics, mediums, fertility predictions and even a few spells…  But first, Portia has officially booked her Fertilysis testing and talks us through what’s involved, the logistical challenge of finding somewhere to get her blood drawn and how she plans to share the process. She also updates us on some pretty intense ovulation pain this month. Charly is back from Rome after completing HYROX with her sister and shares an update on the dizziness she experienced during the race,  which somehow leads us to question whether her sleeping earplugs could have anything to do with it. Then we get into this week’s main topic. After asking our community about their experiences with psychics and mediums, we share some of your stories, predictions and experiences and discuss what we actually believe ourselves. We ventured down the TikTok rabbit hole and discovered the world of fertility spells, including the VERY varied prices people are willing to pay for them! In Between the Lines, we talk women’s sport and fertility again as Red Roses captain Meg Jones calls for greater fertility support for professional rugby players, including access to egg freezing. Jones has also spoken openly about exploring her own fertility options with her fiancée.  New episodes every Tuesday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms We want to hear from you. Send us your dilemmas, questions or fertility thoughts of the week to [email protected].

We’re back with another Recommendation Station, and this week we’re talking slow cooker favourites, magnesium before bed, compression boots, reading, and a few slightly more random recommendations! Then it’s onto this week’s listener dilemma. After experiencing multiple pregnancy losses, one listener asks how she should explain to her cousin why she was late RSVPing to an event. We chat about how much you actually owe people an explanation when you’re going through something so difficult, protecting your boundaries, and whether sometimes simply saying “I’m sorry, I’ve had a lot going on” is more than enough. New bonus episodes every Thursday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Got a recommendation, dilemma or some feedback for our bonus episodes? Send it our way at [email protected]. Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms

This week, we’re opening up a conversation around pregnancy and baby loss, a subject neither of us has personally experienced, but one we know touches so many people within the fertility community. After finding out she doesn’t have PMOS, Portia shares what comes next, the further testing she’s decided to explore and what’s involved with Fertilysis. Charly has some questions about changes to her periods, which naturally results in Dr Portia attempting a diagnosis. Our main conversation is about pregnancy and baby loss. We talk about the anxiety that can come with finally getting pregnant after infertility, embryo transfers that don’t result in pregnancy, and the different experiences of loss that can happen during and after fertility treatment and pregnancy. We also discuss some of the ways miscarriage can be managed, and the emotional impact that can come with each experience. We’re very conscious that we haven’t lived through pregnancy loss ourselves, so this episode is about opening up the conversation, learning and signposting to people and organisations who can offer proper support. In Between the Lines, we focus on where to turn for help following pregnancy loss, as well as the support available when trying or becoming pregnant again after loss. And in Closing the Page, we’re closing it firmly on telling someone struggling to have a baby to “just adopt.” Pregnancy & baby loss support Tommy’s Baby Loss Support⁠: information and support covering miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death and other forms of pregnancy and baby loss.  Tommy’s Midwives Helpline: 0800 0147 800, Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm. You can also email [email protected].  Black & Black Mixed-Heritage Midwife Helpline⁠ — a specialist service run by Tommy’s midwives in partnership with Five X More.  Tommy’s Miscarriage Support Tool & Wellbeing After Miscarriage⁠ - including personalised information for people considering another pregnancy after miscarriage, mental health support, physiotherapist-led sessions and movement sessions.  Tommy’s also runs Baby Loss and Pregnancy and Parenting After Loss Facebook support groups for peer-to-peer support.  We also discuss the early-pregnancy support available through Plan Your Baby New episodes every Tuesday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms We want to hear from you. Send us your dilemmas, questions or fertility thoughts of the week to [email protected].

We’re back with another Recommendation Station, and this week Portia has us talking functional drinks, our favourite coffee alternatives and a little daily positivity courtesy of her acupuncturist. We also answer a listener looking for recommendations around losing weight ahead of IVF, and Charly shares some unflavoured electrolytes she’s been testing. Then we move onto this week’s listener question… or at least the part Instagram actually let her send us! After three failed embryo transfers and a diagnosis of adenomyosis, we unpack what we can from her message, share our thoughts and talk about the realities of facing repeated failed transfers when there may be another piece of the fertility puzzle involved. New bonus episodes every Thursday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Got a recommendation, dilemma or some feedback for our bonus episodes? Send it our way at [email protected]. Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms

This week, we’re joined by Marija Skujina, founder of Plan Your Baby, for a refreshingly different conversation about fertility care, second opinions and what it really means to put the patient first. But first, Dear Diary. Portia has her PMOS results and takes us through what she’s learnt, while Charly shares a HYROX update and some of the complicated feelings that can come with continuing to train, race and make plans while also navigating TTC. Then Marija joins us to share her background, why she created Plan Your Baby and her perspective on how fertility care could be done differently. Marija is an ESHRE-certified fertility nurse specialist who founded Plan Your Baby after more than a decade working in fertility care.  We talk about when IVF might be the right next step, the importance of second opinions, overlooked investigations and treatments, affordable IVF and what truly personalised care looks like in practice. We also hear what Marija wishes every patient knew before walking through a fertility clinic’s doors and why going into appointments equipped with the right questions can help you advocate for yourself. We loved hearing Marija’s perspective as a professional working within the fertility world, so of course we had to ask her: if she had a magic wand and could change just ONE thing about fertility care, what would it be? In Closing the Page, we head into the world of women’s football, egg freezing and fertility support for professional athletes, including the recent programme launched in Spain offering female players and referees access to fertility preservation and treatment.  Find out more about Plan Your Baby: https://planyourbaby.co.uk/ Plan Your Baby offers fertility assessment and treatment across the UK, with virtual appointments and a network of partner locations designed to make monitoring and treatment more accessible.  New episodes every Tuesday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms We want to hear from you. Send us your dilemmas, questions or fertility thoughts of the week to [email protected].

We’re back with another Thursday bonus and another Recommendation Station! This week we’ve got a listener recommendation involving Jamaican tea, Portia recommends a day out with her bestie, and we chat about some fertility support groups that might be worth knowing about. Then it’s onto this week’s dilemma: what happens when one of your closest friends gives her baby the name you’ve always dreamed of using for yours, knowing exactly how much that name meant to you? We chat about whether anyone can really claim a baby name, why names can hit surprisingly hard when you’re going through infertility, whether we’d still use it anyway and, naturally, share a few baby-name stories of our own. Tallulahgate included. New bonus episodes every Thursday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Got a recommendation, dilemma or some feedback for our bonus episodes? Send it our way at [email protected]. Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms

This week, we’re taking you to London with us as we finally get to catch up in person for a very special Zita West event celebrating 25 years of Zita West supplements. But first, Portia updates us on her PMOS testing with Randox Health, including what was tested, what the fasted appointment involved and how she got on. Meanwhile, after putting it off since May, Charly has FINALLY put on the heart monitor she was prescribed and now has 14 days of wearing it to look forward to. Then it’s off to London! We take you behind the scenes of the Zita West event, share some of the people we met, what we learnt about Zita herself and, obviously, have a rummage through our goodie bags. The day also sparks a much deeper conversation about our own fertility journeys and how being surrounded by so many conversations about fertility made us feel about what might come next for both of us. And because no London trip is complete without rooftop Aperols at Selfridges… we obviously made time for those too. In Between the Lines, Embryogate is BACK. This time, we’re talking sperm donors withdrawing consent and what that can mean when embryos have already been created.  Portia’s PMOS test: Randox Health PMOS Screen⁠ - measuring more than 45 biomarkers across areas including reproductive hormones, AMH, metabolic health, thyroid health and nutritional health.  http://www.randoxhealth.com/ Listener discount: stacieC25 New episodes every Tuesday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms We want to hear from you. Send us your dilemmas, questions or fertility thoughts of the week to [email protected].

We’re back with another Thursday bonus, and this week’s recommendations take us from natural skincare and collagen coffee to a woman Charly has become slightly obsessed with following after falling down an endometriosis and anti-inflammatory rabbit hole. Then it’s onto this week’s listener dilemma. After nearly three years of trying for a baby, one listener is struggling with a close friend who constantly complains about her children, including the occasional “you can have one of mine if you want” joke. We chat about the difference between expecting people to walk on eggshells around you and knowing when something has crossed a line, protecting yourself when certain conversations hurt, and whether sometimes you simply need to set boundaries. New bonus episodes every Thursday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Got a recommendation, dilemma or some feedback for our bonus episodes? Send it our way at [email protected]. Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms

It’s PCOS Awareness Week, so this week we’re talking all things PCOS… or should that now be PMOS? But first, our weekly catch-up. Portia shares an update on the testing she’s having, talks us through what’s included, and reveals what she thinks her next steps might be depending on the results. We also discuss what she would do if everything comes back completely normal. Charly shares some exciting Soul Fries news, although it comes with a knock-on effect for fertility treatment plans. She also opens up about some symptoms she’s experienced during intense exercise sessions and asks whether any listeners have experienced something similar. Our main topic this week is all about PCOS/PMOS. We discuss the recent name change, what it means, and why it’s sparked so much conversation. We talk about common symptoms, our own experiences, and some of the things we’ve learned along the way. As always, we’re not medical professionals and this episode isn’t intended as medical advice - we’re simply sharing what we’ve learned through our own journeys and conversations within the fertility community. We also chat about exercise, training and movement with PCOS/PMOS, and some of the myths and misconceptions that still exist around the condition. In Between the Lines, we discuss a new initiative aimed at supporting people living with PCOS/PMOS and what developments like these could mean for the future. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms We want to hear from you. Send us your dilemmas, questions or fertility thoughts of the week to thefertilitydiariespod@gmail.

We’re back with another Thursday bonus, and this week our recommendations take us from tomatoes and clinical trials to fizzy drinks and a rather unexpected book that somehow we’re both reading… Then it’s onto this week’s listener dilemma. She loves being the fun auntie to her friends’ children, but as more of her friendships move into the world of babies and children, she’s starting to worry about being left behind and no longer being in the same phase of life as the people closest to her. We chat about navigating friendships when your lives are moving on different timelines, the complicated feelings that can come with it, and Portia has a trigger point to get off her chest too! New bonus episodes every Thursday. Follow along: @thefertilitydiariespod @charlyhoencoach @portia_christina_ Got a recommendation, dilemma or some feedback for our bonus episodes? Send it our way at [email protected]. Use code FDP10 for 10% off Zita West supplements. 10% off valid once per customer. Applies to one-time or subscription purchase. Subscription discount applies to first month only; standard price applies thereafter. Full T&Cs at zitawest.com/terms