Secondary infertility, what can you do about it?

These days, it seems like I am hearing from a lot of folks that are experiencing some form of fertility issue. Chances are, someone who is close to you is struggling with infertility right now, too. You may have had an easy time getting pregnancy the first time around, but your fertility (as well as the fertility of your husband) can change from one pregnancy to the next resulting is what’s called secondary infertility.

We still live in a time where the topic seems to be taboo – women don’t openly talk about their struggles, or their losses. They may feel shame, guilt or pressure… so much so that they keep their struggles to themselves. I hope to change that narrative by sharing a little more about my journey with you today and what I might be looking for to help myself and my clients. Generally speaking, these same principals can be applied to you, to help you on your journey.

I want you to know that no matter where you are in your fertility journey, you are not alone. I am here for you.

(Edited: Aug 6, 2024) I should also add that since first writing this blog, I too have had my moments of “uncertainty”. While my husband and I have not been actively trying to get pregnant, we were not abstaining from trying, either. There are a few months where I very well could have and “should-have” gotten pregnant and I didn’t. I knew my body and my mind wasn’t in the right place, but this is where we are. Fast forward to now, and I think the seed has finally landed. In any case, no two fertility journey’s are the same and this was certainly the case for us, too. For my current situation, I attribute it to living in a city that I did not enjoy, the stress of moving and acclimatizing, but who knows! So like I said before, I am here for you, every step of the way! Let’s go back in time a little and continue on with this blog.

I thought I would have a hard time trying to conceive for my first

Before I became a mother, I had very little faith in my body. I had terrible digestive issues, debilitating menstrual cycles and hormonal imbalances to go with it. Can your menstrual cycle affect your fertility? Absolutely! I thought it would take me years to become pregnant, yet I remained hopeful. After a year of pretty strict fertility preparations, I had given my body and mind the best support I could and I managed to get my hormones and digestion in order. All my hard work helped me to easily conceive and sustain my pregnancy. It also helps me bring a perfectly healthy baby into this world. If this is something you need support with, these fertility nutrition packages may be of interest to you. Looking back, I am so thankful that I had stopped the birth control pill years before trying to conceive in order to give my body and my hormones time to balance out after stopping the pill!

Not every fertility journey goes as planned

Two has always been our magic number – 2 kids of our own. We thought since we had such an easy time with the conception of our first child, we’d be ready to conceive our second child 1 year post-partum. Well, we are currently 18+ months postpartum and we have yet to see any signs of ovulation. I feel ready to have another baby, but my body is not there yet. 

While it can be normal for a breastfeeding, responsive mother to not see her cycle return until 18 months, we really did not expect it to be the case for ourselves. I see mothers who have younger babies than mine, well on their way to having baby number two and I can’t help but have feelings of longing and sometimes jealousy.

I keep thinking to myself: When will I get to bring my second baby into this world? Why me? Why is my body taking so long to recalibrate after my first child? Do I even have the right to feel this way when so many other women don’t even have one child? Am I just being impatient? Am I being unreasonable in feeling this way? Is something actually wrong with me? Is this what they call secondary infertility?

This is my journey, and these are my feelings. They are mine to feel and they are all valid.
They do not belittle any one else’s feelings and experiences.

I believe that these questions are important to ask. What’s great about asking these types of questions is that they all have answers. In one way or another, there is are answers to your fertility struggle. What’s important to note is that those answers are going to be different from person to person.

So… why am I sharing my story? Because I want you to know that you are not alone.
And I want you to know that there are answers to your questions, we just may have to dig a little to find those solutions!

I attribute the delay of my menstrual cycle returning due to the stress that had been put on my body from lack of sleep and insufficient nourishment. It’s really easy to lose yourself in your postpartum era, it’s easy to lose sleep and honestly, to eat enough! I think this played a large role – so ladies, make sure you’re eating enough and getting the support you need! 

Does your fertility journey have you falling into any of these categories:

– You are just starting to plan for a future pregnancy,
– You have been trying naturally for quite some time with no success,
– You are going through fertility treatments and you’re looking for extra support,
– You are going through fertility treatments with no success…

I want you to know that there are many avenues that can be explored, many questions that can be asked and many factors that need to be considered when it comes to fertility. Some of those questions can be asked by scheduling a free discovery call with me! During our time together, we would address diet, lifestyle and supplements to help balance hormones and support fertility!

Questions to ask when dealing with first time or secondary infertility:

– Are my hormones balanced? If not, which ones need support?
– Are my menstrual cycles healthy? If not, what can we do to support them?
– Am I ovulating? If not, let’s address this! Understanding your menstrual cycle can help you identify this!
– Are my blood-sugar levels balanced? If not, let’s have a look at your diet and lifestyle! Maybe you need tips to help you start a new diet?
– Is stress being managed healthily? If not, let’s find solutions.
– Am I eating a diet that is rich in nutrients? If not, check out these tips to sticking to a new diet and, let’s talk. I offer 6 week nutrition programs, too!
– Have I been on birth control? While the pill is effective, maybe we need to support your natural hormones to support fertility?
– Was my first pregnancy easy and am now dealing with secondary infertility? What changed?

All of these questions matter – they all play a role in our fertility, our ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy and in the delivery of a healthy baby. That last question has a lot to do with the state of your postpartum health and ties right back into the questions I asked above!

A quick glance at what secondary infertility can be caused by

– A lack of ovulation. Sometimes, secondary infertility can be due to the fact that it’s still too soon after birth!
– It could be caused by a nutrient deficit caused by lack of nutrition in combination to breastfeeding.
– Maybe your toxin and chemical exposure has changed between your first and second, suddenly you need some extra support in detoxing? Live blood analysis is a really cool way to dive into that a little further! More here about live blood analysis and what it can tell us!
– Perhaps your husbands sperm quality has changed due to diet, lifestyle, stress?
– There is also something to be said about the fact that even though our brains and hearts might be in the right place in wanting to conceive at a certain time, it could be that our bodies are simply not ready yet.

These are just some of the reasons why we might be experiencing secondary infertility. There are many avenues to explore, and I dive into this in great detail with my fertility clients. In my practice, my core focus is on supporting women in their pregnancy journey. This involves making sure mom is well nourished, is feeling good and has all the nutrients she needs to support both herself and baby.

For all fertility related support, schedule a free consultation or check out my other fertility nutrition services to see what’s involved in my care.

I am here for you