Fertility Support
Does this sound like you?
You're trying to conceive, and it feels like every appointment opens with a number, your age, your AMH, your cycle day, before it opens with you. You've done the maths on your own test results more times than you'd like to admit.
Maybe you've started keeping a spreadsheet. Maybe you've read more about follicle counts and cycle phases than you ever expected to know. Maybe you've had to become the one holding the whole picture together, because nobody else in the room seems to be looking at all of it at once.
Maybe you're navigating this without the support of family and friends nearby. Maybe you're just starting this journey, or maybe you've been at it a while and are tired, tired of hoping, tired of waiting, tired of being told your options are limited or it'll probably be fine when nobody actually knows.
Whatever prompted you to click on this page, this is a journey you don't have to take alone.
The bigger picture
Age is often what defines your fertility status medically, but it isn't the whole story. AMH, for instance, reflects egg quantity, not quality: a lower AMH at 38 doesn't mean you won't be able to get pregnant, and a "normal" AMH at 42 doesn't guarantee you will.
When age becomes the entire explanation, it can shut down further investigation and options worth exploring, including hormonal conditions that may be sitting alongside, or entirely separate from, any age-related decline:
• PMOS (formerly known as PCOS)
The most common cause of ovulation-related infertility, sometimes only diagnosed later in life if symptoms were mild or dismissed earlier.
• Endometriosis
Frequently undiagnosed for seven to ten years, and can affect fertility independently of age.
[See also Endometriosis page →]
• Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's
Closely linked to menstrual irregularity, implantation difficulty, and early loss, and becomes more common with age.
[See also Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s page →]
• Perimenopause
Can begin years before your final period, meaning some women trying to conceive are also navigating early perimenopausal hormone shifts without realising it.
[See our Perimenopause page →]
• Metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance
Influence ovulation and egg quality regardless of age, and often go unsupported until markers are already abnormal.
[See our Metabolic Health page →]
In practice, this means many women are sent away with an age-based prognosis and little support for what else might be going on, left to figure out what they're missing on their own.
Common signs and symptoms
Difficulty conceiving: Not becoming pregnant after 12 months of trying if you're under 35, or after 6 months if you're 35 or older
Irregular or unpredictable ovulation: May make it difficult to identify your fertile window, and can sometimes occur alongside changes in cycle length or period flow, even when your periods appear regular
Very painful periods or pain with sex: Can sometimes be associated with conditions such as endometriosis
Irregular, or very long, short or absent periods: Can sometimes be a sign that you're not ovulating regularly
Recurrent pregnancy loss: Experiencing repeated early pregnancy losses
Hormone conditions that can affect fertility: Such as PCOS and endometriosis
Some fertility changes are subtle, and sometimes there are no outward signs at all.
Signs that often go unrecognised or underexplored
A short luteal phase or premenstrual spotting. Under ten days from ovulation to your period can affect implantation, whatever your age.
AMH out of step with how you feel. A low AMH doesn't guarantee difficulty, and a "normal" AMH doesn't guarantee ease. It's one data point, not an absolute verdict.
Regular periods and ovulation tracking that don't tell the full story. A period-like bleed doesn't always mean you ovulated, and a negative ovulation test doesn't always mean you didn't; the surge can come earlier, later, or too faint to register. Tracking your hormones across a few full cycles, not just the days you think matter, can help you spot a pattern a few days of OPK sticks was never going to show you (see Mira tracking below).
Modifiable gene variants. Some genes affect how well your body processes things like folate, oxidative stress, and hormone metabolism, and when they're not working efficiently, that can show up as unexplained infertility or recurrent loss. MTHFR (which affects folate and homocysteine) is the best known of these, but there are others too. COMT affects how you clear oestrogen and stress hormones. GST and GPX genes affect how well you handle oxidative stress and detoxification; studies have linked GSTM1/GSTT1 and GPX1 variants to a higher risk of pregnancy loss too. None of these sit on the radar of mainstream genetic testing bodies, largely because they're not used diagnostically the way a chromosomal test is. But they are modifiable through diet, nutrients, and lifestyle, which is exactly why they're worth a look when the picture is otherwise unexplained.
Thyroid antibodies (TPO or TG). Thyroid autoimmunity is present in five to twenty percent of women of reproductive age and is linked to a higher risk of miscarriage even when thyroid hormone levels themselves are completely normal.
A personal or family history of autoimmune disease. Hashimoto's, coeliac disease, lupus, antiphospholipid syndrome.
How is fertility tested?
If you haven't already explored fertility testing, your GP or gynaecologist can test your AMH, FSH, and antral follicle count to assess ovarian reserve, and refer you to a fertility specialist if needed.
If you're based in Belgium: the reimbursement landscape here is unusually generous by European standards. RIZIV/INAMI-affiliated health insurance covers part of the cost of up to six cycles of ovarian stimulation, six cycles of insemination, and six cycles of IVF/ICSI, with lab and medication costs reimbursed up to age 43 (embryo transfer itself is legally possible up to age 47). By comparison, neighbouring countries typically reimburse two to three cycles.
IVF success using your own eggs is highest under 35 and declines with each subsequent age bracket, particularly from the late 30s.
Fertility treatments and support for women over 35
If you're over 35, the testing conversation often moves faster and the "it's your age" framing tends to show up sooner, sometimes before other possibilities have been properly explored. The same testing and whole-body principles apply, just with a shorter runway, which is exactly why ruling out (or catching) the conditions above matters as much here as it does at any other age.
DID YOU KNOW?
A whole-body approach
Nutrition, sleep, and stress physiology all influence cellular health, hormonal signalling, and the follicular environment eggs mature in. Because follicle development takes place over months, what you do in the 3 months leading up to trying for a baby, or before a treatment cycle, can be relevant to the environment in which eggs develop, including the nutritional and metabolic support available to them.
A whole-body approach means looking at your baseline nutrient status, stress levels, lifestyle factors and hormone patterns, alongside lab work to understand what you need now. Using functional testing, coaching sessions and therapeutic nutrition, we then tailor the approach to your individual needs, exploring any and all factors that may be relevant to ovulation and conception, within the wider picture of your fertility.
Personalised support, without the overwhelm
I understand first hand what an emotional and financial toll trying, and struggling, to get pregnant can take. My own fertility journey was a large part of the reason I left my previous career, retrained, and have spent more than ten years building and refining my knowledge, resources, referrals, and programme suite to meet the needs of women considering, or actively undergoing, medical interventions to get pregnant.
If you don't want to navigate any more of your journey alone, you don't have to. I can help you make sense of the bigger picture, understand what may be relevant to your individual circumstances, and feel more supported as you navigate the rest of your fertility journey.
How I work
I can't promise you an outcome - but I can offer something that is often missing when fertility care becomes fragmented: time, context, and someone looking at the whole picture with you.
I'll take the time to understand your health history, your fertility journey, your symptoms, your lifestyle and your goals. We'll look at your nutritional status and, where appropriate, use functional testing to explore areas that may not have been fully investigated, building a more complete picture of what may be relevant to you.
But perhaps more importantly, I'm someone who will:
Share your goals, so we're working towards what matters to you, not a generic protocol.
Listen without judgement, leaving space for the parts of this that are hard to put into words, the grief, the waiting, the hope you're almost afraid to keep having.
Look at the whole picture, bringing together holistic thinking with evidence-based insight into your history, your body, and your circumstances.
Offer reassurance, accountability, and encouragement, every step of the way, whether that step feels like progress or not.
Help you feel more at home in your body again, building understanding and trust rather than fear or more rules.
IN HER WORDS
Nia
"Working with Gráinne definitely helped me prepare my body for a healthy pregnancy the second time round. I had complications with my only other pregnancy ten years ago, which so far haven't made an appearance this time. My OB is pretty surprised and impressed with how well this pregnancy is going, especially considering my age. I'm 44.
I was already eating relatively healthily when we started, but addressing my specific nutrient deficiencies, and supporting my microbiome and digestion, must have contributed to me being able to support a strong, healthy pregnancy so far. I'm 16 weeks now, and this already feels different from my first. I'm looking forward to a smoother ride through to labour, birth, breastfeeding, and beyond."
Nia
(Nia went on to deliver a full-term, healthy, happy baby boy without any signs of the complications she encountered the first time around.)
A programme built for fertility support
The Hormone Harmony Programme is for women who want more than another appointment, another test result, or another list of things they should be doing.
Over six months, we'll take the time to understand your health history, your hormones, your nutritional status, your lifestyle and your fertility goals - bringing the pieces together to create a personalised plan that works alongside your medical care.
You'll have ongoing practitioner support, personalised recommendations, targeted testing where appropriate, and someone to help you make sense of what you're finding along the way.
Not another protocol to follow. Not another thing to navigate alone. A thoughtful, personalised approach to understanding your body and supporting your fertility so you can build the healthiest possible foundation for conceiving and sustaining a pregnancy.
Your first step can start here
Free Cycle Syncing Guide and 20% off the MIRA Hormone Monitor
You don't need to overhaul your whole life to start feeling better. You need a place to start, and either of the options below is a good one.
Download your free Cycle Syncing Guide here to get well-researched nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle tips to help improve cycle regularity and ease cycle-related symptoms, one manageable step at a time.
Track what your hormones are doing each day of your cycle, from the comfort of your home
When you're trying to conceive, it can be frustrating not knowing exactly what's happening inside your cycle - particularly when your periods or ovulation aren't completely predictable.
Mira gives you a way to follow your hormone patterns at home, day by day. Its urine tests measure LH, oestrogen, progesterone and FSH throughout the cycle, giving quantitative data rather than a single snapshot. Mira’s hormone monitor can also help to determine when women are least fertile as well as most fertile, meaning that over time, you can see how your hormones shift, identify patterns around your fertile window and potential ovulation, and better understand your individual cycle.
Get 20% off your Mira purchase when you use 2HOLISTICHORMONES20 (using this supports my practice at no extra cost to you