Fertility from the Soul Programs

Fertility From the Soul provides resources for those who are longing for a child, struggling to conceive, and are interested in exploring natural ways to boost fertility.  What’s on our minds and in our hearts can affect what is going on in our bodies. We can approach fertility from a whole person view, including body, mind and spirit. 

Traditional medical science looks primarily at the body and how interventions can influence what’s going on inside from the outside.  The Fertility from the Soul approach draws from many philosophies and healing modalities.  Eastern and Western philosophies are blended.  Many mind-body techniques are incorporated.  Thoughtfully-designed roadmaps for how to navigate the myriad of options are offered to help you on your TTC  journey.

My Story:  Against the Odds

 

Hi, I’m Natalie Masson, Ph.D. – psychotherapist and fertility coach. My credentials include a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern California and a pre-doctoral internship from Yale University.  I’ve worked in Integrative Medicine with cardiac patients, and I’ve maintained a private psychotherapy practice for over 20 years.

If you’re on your fertility path though, what may be more important to you than my resume is my own fertility story.  

This begins a few years back….2014 to be precise….

I knew the statistics.  Age 45, low AMH (0.07), high FSH (as high as 33), back-to-back miscarriages due to “old eggs”….Chances of conceiving a healthy pregnancy naturally?  About the same as a snowball’s chance in a hot oven.  Chances of conceiving with IVF?  About the same as a snowball’s chance in a hot oven.

My response?  The statistics apply to groups, not to me as an individual.  I’d had a healthy pregnancy at age 42, and I’d had recent pregnancies that didn’t last, so getting pregnant didn’t seem to be the problem at this time. But I didn’t know if I could do anything about my declining egg quality.

I decided to take everything I knew and believed about health and the mind-body connection…everything I had learned in my years as a psychotherapist specializing in the mind-body connection, all the tools I had learned in my own personal growth and had developed to pass on to my clients…everything I could learn from Dr. Google about possible ways to influence egg quality….all the personal stories I watched unfolding in online fertility forums….everything I could glean from various Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners I visited. 

I took all this information and  consulted my own intuition about my body and my fertility.

Just 4 months away from my 46th birthday, I did what many women in my shoes would consider unthinkable.  I took a three month break from trying to conceive–letting three precious eggs go down the drain.  During that time I focused on nurturing my eggs.

Over the three month period, I went from feeling beaten down, desperate, and depleted (a result of hoping, trying and losing over and over), to feeling energetic, optimistic, empowered and ready to handle whatever my fertility future had in store for me.

No, I wasn’t pregnant yet.  I was still aware of the potential for complications and had an understandable apprehension about all that.  But I was feeling strong, whole, and resilient.  I honestly felt 10 years younger.  And even more significant than all that, I felt that I was going to be okay, regardless of whether I was able to bring a second child into our family.

After that three-month egg nurturing break, it was time to find out if my Hail Mary shot was going to make it into the basket.  I’m not a sports fan, so I don’t even know why I’m making basketball analogies.  But it was like I was shooting the ball from way past half court, maybe 3/4 court….backwards….blindfolded….with one hand behind my back.  It would appear that the odds were against me, but I simply went all in because …perhaps I’m just an optimist.

That very next cycle, I got pregnant!  My pregnancy progressed without complications and my my little girls is a healthy happy kiddo.  

Just thinking back on it now, I can still remember that feeling, as if I’d thrown the Hail Mary shot, the ball went “whoosh” and the whole stadium jumped to their feet and shrieking with glee and disbelief.  By that time I had become part of a large community of women in an online forum who were “over 40 TTC,” and we rode the treacherous waves together of hope, heartache and joy together.  So there really were hundreds of women cheering and cyber-hugging me. 

And to all my former TTC sisters out there, I am eternally grateful.

Not everyone’s fertility journey ended with the “happy ending” of a take home baby.  And the sorrow of those who quietly dropped away always set heavy in my heart.  My wish after all of this is that I can help other women who are in the TTC trenches, especially those who are racing against time nearing the end of their reproductive window.

Was my pregnancy success a fluke?  Was it a super lucky roll of the dice?  I may never know, and the research isn’t far enough along to tell us how much egg quality can be improved or exactly how to influence it.  But based on all I have learned, I do believe there is a very good chance that my outcome wasn’t just random luck and there are many things we can do to shift the odds in our favor.

I am passionate about sharing perspectives and developing tools to help you on your fertility journey.  Whether you are having difficulty getting pregnant or are experiencing pregnancy losses…whether you are committed to doing things all naturally or you are incorporating medical technology….you may find many resources here that can help you along your way.

If I can help you get your Hail Mary shot through the hoop, you will hear me hollering across cyberspace.  If I can help you find peace, vitality and wholeness regardless of where your fertility journey takes you, I will deeply value the time we have spent.  I believe that life’s challenges create opportunities that we often can’t fully recognize and appreciate until farther down the road. 

I wish you courage, strength, and self-compassion as you travel this sacred road toward motherhood.

Warmly,
Natalie Masson, Ph.D
Psychotherapist & Fertility Coach

Move forward with confidence and grace

The resources at Fertility From the Soul are designed to help you navigate your fertility journey with confidence, grace and wisdom.  Combining scientific knowledge with artful intuition, I aim to empower you find your way to fulfilling your dreams of being a parent.   Sign up for the newsletter to stay in touch and be notified of the latest mind-body resources for optimal fertility.

Sign up for newsletter