The Connection Between Mental Health Diagnosis and Infertility

I'm excited to welcome Dr. Sara DeFrancscto to the podcast.

We’re digging into the gut brain connection, getting stuck on a mental health diagnosis and why this matters for fertility.

Dr. Sara DeFrancesco is a holistic, root cause Naturopathic Doctor, Licensed Acupuncturist, and the founder of Thriving Force – an investigative medicine clinic that specializes in digestive, immune, and brain health problems. Dr. DeFrancesco helps people turn their brain and health back on by healing root cause metabolic problems (like overlooked inflammatory triggers, stealth infections, and nutritional deficiencies) combined with holistic neuroscience so you can heal the cause of what is preventing you from being well.

Using the synergy of holistic medicine, functional medicine testing, neuroscience, and mind-body medicine Dr. DeFrancesco partners with patients to heal digestive problems, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, brain fog, memory problems, and autoimmune-neurological conditions. This approach focuses on investigating and identifying the root cause of your health problems to remove obstacles to healing and correct imbalances, allowing dysfunctional systems to heal. Check out her website at: https://thrivingforce.com/

So many couples that come to us who are dealing with infertility are also dealing with mood problems such as (anxiety, ADHD, ADD, depression, brain fog and irritability).

We begin to identify with these labels.

For years I thought I was an irritable person! Not the case…as I improved my gut health my mood improved too! Although when I’ve done too much – irritability is a sign that I’m out of alignment.

We’ve seen this over and over again with our clients. If you think your only option is a lifetime of prescription medication that numbs out your feelings…the functional approach provides another path forward.

Similar to our infertility diagnosis, we get hyper focused on our mental health diagnosis and don't consider the root cause.

If you have a mental health diagnosis and infertility this episode is for you.

In this episode you'll learn:

1) Why the gut brain connection matters for someone struggling with infertility and why the gut is referred to as the second brain.

2) The most common root causes of mental health issues (i.e. anxiety, depression, ADHD and more). We discuss factors that influence brain health such as digestion (IBS, IBD), microbiome imbalances/infections, blood sugar imbalance, adrenal dysfunction, thyroid problems, hormone imbalance and nutrient deficiencies (i.e. folate, B12) and why this matters if you are trying to get pregnant naturally.

3) The different types of brain symptoms such as - Fatigue (Especially when reading, driving, trying to focus, Poor Focus, Brain Fog, Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Moodiness, Poor performance at school or work) and what you can do to improve these symptoms.

4) Why addressing gut infections such as unhealthy bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, or worms is important for both mental health AND infertility.

Resources from this episode:

GI MAP (stool test) - this test is shipped worldwide and included in our Couples Coaching Program.

The 3 Step Strategy To Heal Digestive, Mood, & Memory Problems: https://thrivingforce.com/gut-brain-guide

Book your free Supercharge Your Fertility Discovery call. We’ll come up with a simple plan to help you move forward…towards your dream of having your baby. Don't forget to check out my Resources page for more information and products that will help you on your fertility journey.