Healthy Life Lessons

I have another book review for you today and I am really excited about this one! You Are What Your Grandparents Ate: What You Need to Know About Nutrition, Experience, Epigenetics & the Origins of Chronic Disease is written by author, and fellow Toronto resident, Judith Finlayson and it is absolutely fascinating. Finlayson has previously written many cookbooks and has a long standing interest in nutrition, but she is not a scientist or researcher, nevertheless, she does a great job of using published data to back up her claims. Perhaps because she is not a scientist, she is able to present the information in a very accessible way to readers. Finlayson provides definitions to many of the scientific terms within chapters and also in a comprehensive glossary at the back. The topic of this book is of great interest to me, not just because I too have a long standing interest in health and nutrition, but because genetics and epigenetics are things that are critical in my profes...

Before becoming an infertility counsellor, I knew almost nothing about endometriosis. I am now, unfortunately, all to aware of this horrible disease because so many of my clients suffer from it. And suffer they do. Endo is typically characterized by unbearable pelvic pain from anywhere from several days to several weeks per month, and extremely heavy menstrual bleeding. Women with endo are often incapacitated for at least several days per month, often experiencing dizziness, depression and vomiting as accompanying side effects. When not caught early on, endo can do severe damage to a woman's reproductive organs and cause permanent infertility. What upsets me so much about endo is that most of my clients with it spend years going from one doctor to another looking for help and are usually brushed off and told to suck it up, that their symptoms are just typical menstrual cycle symptoms. They are not! This is just pure sexism and misogyny. The tragedy is that most of my cli...

Though this blog is mostly about health, fitness and nutrition, my career is focused primarily on infertility. About 80% of my counselling clients come for infertility support. My passion for my work comes from my own experience with infertility and pregnancy loss, and from witnessing the pain and suffering of friends, family and my clients who have been through it. So, of course, I eagerly agreed to read the memoir of Nadine Kenney Johnstone , which describes her experiences with infertility. Johnstone is a college English teacher and writing coach in the Chicago area. Her husband has compromized sperm quality due to cancer treatment he received prior to their meeting. They underwent IVF and Johnstone experienced a rare, life-threatening complication to the treatment. After doing one failed embryo transfer they managed to spontaneously conceive. In utero, it appeared their son may have a serious kidney malfunction, but he was eventually born healthy. The book is well written,...

Many of my infertility patients have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). It is a hormonal condition that affects around 15% of women across the world. Aside from infertility, it also causes weight gain, irregular menstrual cycles and anovulation, hair growth on face, back and chest, and increased risk of Type II diabetes. Because of the prevalence, and emotional suffering caused by PCOS, I was happy to agree to review, Naturopathic Doctor, Fiona McCulloch's new book, 8 Steps to Reverse Your PCOS . McCulloch is an ND located in North Toronto.  Given my work, I am surprised I hadn't previously heard of her! The book's introduction gives a brief description of the 8 steps and includes a number of quizzes so readers can determine if they likely have PCOS. Her 8 steps to reversing PCOS are: 1. Addressing inflammation 2. Treating insulin resistance 3. Balancing Adrenals 4. Treat excess androgens 5. Addressing hormonal imbalances 6. Balancing the thyroid 7. Crea...

Today I'd like to talk to you about sexually transmitted diseases (STI).  Sounds fun, huh? Perhaps not, but its so important we do so.      People tend to think of STIs as something only young people are at risk of, this isn't the case. Apparently, seniors in North America have the fastest growing rates of STIs! Behavioural trends among young children are also concerning.  Researchers have found that oral sex is common among kids as young as aged 11-12, and that they don't consider it sex, nor are aware that it puts you at risk of STIs!  This is super scary stuff, especially as a mom of 2 girls! Its also concerning to me from a professional perspective since untreated STIs can cause infertility. In addition HPV can cause cervical cancer! Basically, it is important to practice safe sex regardless of your age, gender or sexual orientation. No glove, no love baby! Unfortunately, there is so much stigma around STIs that many people avoid gett...

  I can't tell you how many times I've thought I should write a book.  A cookbook. A novel. A diet book. A book about infertility.  But I know how much work goes into writing a book and I've never really had the guts to really try it.  However, that's just what my friend did and I want to share with you all her hard work! One of the most amazing things in my life is the incredible network of women I met through my infertility experiences.  Only a handful I have met in person, but Nicola Rinaldi, the first author of this book, is one of them! She has just published, No Period. Now What? We met up in Boston when Adam and I visited a while back.  One of her co-authors, Stephanie Buckley, I met there too!! Nicola is actually the founder of the online support network I am a part of and she is one seriously impressive woman! She has a PhD and is mom to 3 adorable boys. The book is on hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA) and may be the only book ...

  It's Friday, but this one means the end of March Break and back to rushed stressful mornings with the kids Monday. Ah well, at least we have a quiet weekend with no plans to look forward to.  I have a book review for you this morning! Not sure if its a coincidence or not, but in the same week that I received the request to review Dear Thing , I got one to review this book, In Her Own Sweet Time, which also focuses on my professional work in infertility. This is not a novel, however, but both a memoir, as well as an informative compilation of qualitative and quantitative research about age-related infertility and the choice more and more women are making now to become single parents by choice. Her experience mirrors that of many of my clients.  She simply has not found a partner to settle down with in a committed relationship, and becomes aware of her biological clock.  She ends of freezing some eggs, but then later on opts to conceive via insemination w...

  Although I receive tons of requests, I don't often agree to review fiction.  My fiction reading time is my sacred relaxation time (my form of meditation) before bed every night, and I'm not willing to waste it on a potentially crappy book.  But when the request for me to review Dear Thing arrived in my inbox, I agreed immediately.  Its not every day I find a novel written about infertility, the area of psychotherapy I work in, and which I am passionate about. The book is about a couple who have been struggling with infertility for many years and at the point of giving up trying to have a family.  It is suspected that the wife has poor quality eggs and potentially issues that will make it difficult for her to carry a pregnancy.  The husband's best friend, a single mom of one child, offers to be their surrogate.  The only problem is, she is secretly in love with him and always has been. I am pleased to tell you that I loved this book.  I...

  Hello and good morning! Today I am excited to share a podcast I did with journalist and writer, Brandie Weikle as part of her The New Family blog about all things parenting and family related. I am very passionate about my work as an infertility counsellor, so I hope you will give it a listen: Podcast Episode 25: The Secret World of Infertility

I do counselling for all sorts of issues but probably 80% of my practice is related to infertility/family building using Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).  I am passionate about supporting and advocating for individuals dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss because I know how devastating it is. One of the things that makes it so tough is that others, who have not experienced infertility, don't know how to support someone going through it.  There are so many myths and misconceptions out there about fertility and infertility and a lack of awareness about what dealing with infertility is like.  In addition, there is still significant stigma, so few people talk about it, which just perpetuates the myths, misconceptions and lack of awareness. There are many books out there for individuals going through infertility that talk about how to cope, what you can expect with various treatments, etc. But there are few geared towards the loved ones of individuals deal...

Sorry for the bummer blog post on Friday but man, the day just got worse from there.  One of my favorite clients got a negative on her IVF cycle...I think I took it as hard as she did.  Some times I just feel like raging about how unfair the world is.  But that's kind of pointless, because it just is.  I try to focus on making it a little less unfair, if I can, in some small way.  I guess that's why I love, love, love my job.  I can't do magic, but if I can at least support someone through a difficult time, I guess that's something, no? I didn't work on Saturday, for a change, and even though it was cold and rainy, it was nice to have some family time.  We got new portraits done of the four of us, and they turned out pretty good!  I have to acknowledge just how lucky I am to have these guys: The grey weather continues, but am pretty pumped about some work-related stuff happening this week.  I can't give any details yet until I know mo...

Good Morning! Please check out my latest article in the Huffington Post about secondary infertility .

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is generally one of the first treatments fertility clinics offer to patients.  It is less invasive and less expensive than IVF.  But it is still expensive and has a very low success rate relative to the cost.   So I was intrigued when I was recently sent information about a new product called The Stork, that basically allows you to do an IUI yourself in the comfort of your own home. This is also an interesting option for same sex couples using a known donor! One thing I will caution you of, however, is that it is important to get fertility screening done first if you have been struggling to conceive.  Because if the issue is low ovarian reserve/poor egg quality, blocked fallopian tubes, severe endometriosis and/or uterine abnormalities, than this won't likely help.  You'd be wasting your money on this.  Similarly, if there is a serious sperm issue, something like IVF and ICSI would likely be required.  This i...

I have great news! We have been running support groups at Lifequest for patients and they are now open to anyone, even non-Lifequest patients.  So if you live in the GTA and are either: 1. A woman without children who has had 2+ miscarriages, or 2. Are embarking on the journey to become a sole parent, ...than you are welcome to join us! Here are the details: $20/session, non-refundable. Payment is due by credit card when they sign up. Individuals must sign up by calling 416.506.0804 ext. 0 or by emailing  reception@lifequestivf.com .

Given that I work in the field of mental health, and infertility, I am confronted by the issue of stigma all the time.  There is stigma attached to infertility, there is stigma attached to mental illness, heck there is stigma attached to simply going to see a counsellor like myself! One of my goals is go try and erase the stigma, eliminate the fallacy that one is weak or damaged if facing one of these struggles, or needs to reach out for help.  No matter how it may 'seem', nobody's life is perfect.  Not even the richest, most beautiful, successful people in the world are perfect or have perfect lives. On this note, I ask you to please read my latest article on infertility for the Huffington Post . Also, please check out this excellent piece on parenting with cancer by writer Aviva Rubin . So go and have a great weekend and enjoy the messiness and imperfection of life!

Good morning! I hope you had a nice weekend.  Ours was lovely.  Suddenly we are having summer weather...I'll spare you my whining and complaining about this heat and humidity that usually doesn't arrive for another few weeks... It is Infertility Awareness Week, and today I am giving a talk on the Surrogacy Journey.  The whole roster of events can be found here .    Thanks to the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada for helping us put together this presentation! Tonight is also the first meeting of a support group I am running for women who have had multiple miscarriages.  I am so thankful to have the opportunity to do what I do.  I love helping those going through this difficult journey, but there is so much more that needs to be done: greater awareness, more available support; less stigma.

Are you a new mom in the Toronto area? If so, sign up now for my upcoming Post-Partum Wellness course!!

Check out my latest Huffington Post article !

Not only is it Victoria Day here in Canada, but it's Infertility Awareness Week! To kick things off, I've got information on how to maximize your fertility provided by Dr. Victoria Maizes , who has just published a new book: Be Fruitful . Simple Ways to Increase Fertility Seven Tips from Victoria Maizes MD   Age matters! Today many women are putting off child bearing until later in life, and it is affecting their fertility when they do finally start trying to conceive.   Women in their 20s have a 25% chance of conceiving each month while women in their early 40s have only a 5% chance.     Don’t stop eating fish!   While women should avoid fish that contain high levels of mercury, like shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish, other fish are safe and very important to the pregnant woman’s diet.   Fish is the best source of omega 3 fatty acids, which are critical to a baby’s brain development and can even help prevent post-par...

Happy Friday (the 13th)!  Here is some weekend reading for you.  I welcome your feedback.