In this latest episode of The Fertility Podcast, we continue to focus on 'The Later Years'.
We're in conversation with Lucy Lines, an embryologist based in Australia. Lucy worked as a clinical embryologist for many years and following redundancy made the decision to take a different path and founded Two Lines Fertility.
It's always fascinating hearing from an embryologist and Lucy explained how early on in her career, she had to sit a personality test to see if she was the right person to take on the role. She explains how it takes a certain type of person to become an embryologist.
Just as we are, Lucy is also passionate about fertility education and talked about a recent patient that had been trying to conceive naturally and with IVF for over a year with no success. She explained how it became evident that this couple had very little knowledge of their cycle and when the woman ovulated.
Lucy was shocked that no one, had anyone talked to her about the signs of ovulation!
This is something that frustrates both Kate and Lucy - that women and couples aren’t given this vital information, especially as research shows fertility awareness education reduces time to conception.
Lucy uses her years of experience to advise patients on the ins and outs of embryology and what it really means when an embryo is 3 cells on day 2 or 6 cells on day 3.
She helps couples understand the science behind it so they can make informed decisions. Lucy also explains the importance of carefully searching for information and guidance on the internet and always using Google Scholar for evidence-based information.
If you've ever wanted to understand the differences between egg quality and egg health, then Lucy does it perfectly.
'Egg quality is the genetic stuff and the things we can’t change like eye color, height, etc. Egg health, on the other hand, is the stuff we can change – such as improving egg health by healthy lifestyle choices and the right supplementation for you. '
Lucy recommends spending 90-120 days before conception by concentrating on these aspects to give yourself the best chances.
Like our recent guest Professor Joyce Harper, Lucy is passionate about raising awareness of your future fertile self with children and their parents. She shares an example of young people seeing their parents use synthetic fragrances and beauty products, or heating food in plastic containers, and how these chemicals are endocrine disrupters and disrupt the fine balance of both male and female hormones.
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