Shownotes
I am so thrilled to connect with my mentor Dr. Leah Hechtman on my podcast today. She is a phenomenal clinician, a researcher and an incredible human being. We explored so many different topics within the fertility space - from preconception care, to achieving a natural pregnancy to using ART to support your family goals. I hope you enjoy this episode just as much as I did.
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Every month, Dr. Jane takes on 2 couples where she works with them 1:1 to identify and overcome the root cause of their infertility.
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Key Takeways
5:07 Dr. Leah's personal health journey
15:37 Increasing complexity of fertility cases
25:21 Oldest patient with spontaneous pregnancy
30:00 When to consider assisted reproduction
35:49 Importance of thorough pre-IVF investigations
41:13 Gut microbiome's connection to fertility
46:54 Complexity of treating chronic infections
55:17 Changing landscape of women's fertility choices
Memorable Quotes
"So much of how we practice and the benefit of how we practice is the creation of the path for them to get there. It's connecting them to the right people, doing all the things we need to do so that if it becomes a 52 or 55 year old woman, you help them navigate how to create what they're wanting to achieve."
"I strongly believe that the body will bring us things and it's a privilege to be able to try and understand how and why. I have this tenacity, stubbornness, whichever way you want to look at it. This part of me doesn't stop until I find the paper that explains it."
"Find the right care team. Find the people that believe that you can, and find the healthcare team that are there to support you to achieve it in whatever way that you want. Entertain the idea that you may not have a child exactly the way that you thought that you would, but you'll still have your family."
Connect with Dr. Leah
Website - https://drleahhechtman.com/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-leah-hechtman-phd-7828607/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LeahHechtman
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR07U_vqfe8Haa7GO7AEDpA/playlists
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drleahhechtman/
Connect With Dr. Jane Levesque
Click Here To Sign Up For Dr. Jane’s Hormones Masterclass
Website - https://www.drjanelevesque.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drjanelevesque/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DrJaneLevesque/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@dr.janelevesque7319
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Transcripts
You having a baby is what's really important. If we need to do different things, then we'll make it happen. And then if he's done or anything, we've created it. But it's, you know, so much of, I think how we practice and the benefit of how we practice is the creation of the path for them to get there. And so then it's us connecting them to the right people. It's it like it's doing all the things that we need to do so that then if it becomes a 52 or a 55 year old woman, you help them navigate how to create the thing of what they're wanting to achieve. And so I think it's 55, was.
Dr. Jane Levesque:The oldest and I had clinicians go.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:To me, is that ethical, you know, support or something like that. And my attitude is it's their journey, it's their choice. And they were certainly as they would sit down, mind and you know, all that sort of stuff and they'd be able to do it.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Pregnancy is a natural process, so if it's not happening or if it's not sticking, something is missing. After having a family member go through infertility and experiencing a miscarriage myself, I realized how little support and education women have around infertility. I want to Change that. I'm Dr. Jane Levesque. I'm a naturopathic doctor and a natural fertility expert. Tune in every Tuesday at 9am for insightful case studies, expert interviews and practical tips on how you can optimize fertility naturally. If you've been struggling with infertility, pregnancy loss, women's health issues, or you just want to be proactive and prepare yourself for the next big chapter in your life. This show is for you. You guys, today's the day you're going to get to meet my mentor, Dr. Leah Hechman. I've been talking her for probably about a year now, ever since I started taking her courses. What she teaches, how she practices is nothing short of amazing. And I'm so excited to share her brilliance with you on this podcast. We covered absolutely everything when it comes to fertility, what she's seeing, what's possible. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode just as much as I did. Hi, Leah. I'm so excited to have you here today for so many different reasons. My listeners are so excited to meet you. I've been talking about you for the last year and you have changed my practice, you have changed me and you've changed my practice. So it's an honor. The first thing that I'd love for you to start with is like, how did you get to be Dr. Leah, the naturopathic doctor that's blending this science and giving us a hundred papers, each module to. Let's talk about the energetics and let's talk about the spiritual component of this. I love that you do that, and I love how you blend the two things. And I've always wondered, like, how did you get to this place to be able to blend it so beautifully?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Okay. Firstly, thank you for having me. It's definitely my honor as well. And yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing where we go, because remember that, you know, you've learned from me, I've learned from you. Yeah. So every student that I teach, you expand my mind. And one of the reasons I love teaching so much is because I can have an idea about something, but I have to work out how to explain it in every way so that everyone can understand. And you always challenging the different ways to think of that. So the idea of me. So, I mean, let's go everywhere. So I'm a Gemini. Yeah. I've got this whole way where my brain goes and I think about everything and I think and I am scared, and I have to try and understand it. And for me, I'm very not. There's not a duality to me, but there's a dual experience for me. So I'm very spiritual in my existence, but I like thinking, I like understanding, I like explaining. But the directive for me with respect to the science is that I'd find the science to explain my knowing as opposed to the there. And then I try and understand it through a spiritual lens. And for me, the primary driver where that knowing comes from, it's the patient that I work with or my own self, let's say. So it, you know, a patient is with me, and I have the privilege to work with it, and I need to know what the hell is going on. And their body will give me the information. Then I map it to this science. And I have a pretty good napkin runaway's jokes with me. Like, my research assistants are like, where did you find this paper? And I'm like, I don't know. Something greater than you just attract it.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Now at this point, you just attracted.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I took it, but I find the paper that explains it. I have this tenacity, stubbornness, whichever way you want to look at it. And this part of me that doesn't stop until I find paper. Yeah. Or I then go into the research, try and find it is of my nature.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Pros and cons. There was such an aha moment for me when you said that. I remember I'm like, I need to do more research. I need to get more into. And it was like, no, no. The patient sitting in front of me tells me what's going on and then I find the research to prove it as opposed to the other way around. And it's like the body knows we're trying to study the body as opposed to the other way around. Do you have your own personal journey? And I'm going to talk. I want you to talk a little bit about the different cases that you have in a minute. But I don't. I've heard you speak on podcasts and it's like, I have endometriosis. I had endometriosis in past tense where I think most people do not understand that it is a possibility. And when we meet you now and you're glowing and we have no idea how old you are because your skin is so beautiful, it's. Do you know, like, there was a time that you were not in this situation? And so can you tell us a little bit more about the actual journey?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah.
Dr. Jane Levesque:And like, do you still have endometriosis? Is this still something that's part of you? And. Yeah. Let's open up some minds over here. Let's go back.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I was really sick as a kid, so I was really psychic as a kid. So I was the 23 year old that would feel everybody's pain and put my hands on them and take it away. But then I'd go into the corner with the pain in my body and have no idea what to do with it. So that was my experience as a child and just really aware and knowing stuff that I didn't know. And it was just too much as a kid. And I think having that kind of shattered me and made me really wide open. But then I just kept getting sick and sick and sicker and sicker and sicker with all sorts of things ending up in hospital with like 20 doctors looking at me going, they don't know what's going on. And then eventually it resolving. I just had multiple things and missed years of school and you name it, it was all these sorts of things. And then I was medicine, like for as I could talk, I was like, I'm going to be a doctor. And then I couldn't study medicine because I couldn't finish school. So I couldn't finish my last year. So I started studying some natural subjects because I could do that basic from my bed. You Know, like if we're really honest. And so I started that and then I just went little by little by little and then I just. Off I went. But for me, it was just this idea of knew that there was always reason behind why there was something that was out of alignment or why there was an illness or whatever it was that it was. And again, that stubborn part of my personality, I was going to find the answer. And so I put. And then by finding the answer, then you attract people as patients and then find the answers for them. And I mean, this stubborn part of me, I think it makes me the type of clinician that I am because people know I never give up on that because I never gave up on myself and I never would because I do strongly believe that the body will bring us things and it's a privilege to be able to try and understand how and why.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. And did you have somebody who was like, helped you through your healing journey in terms of the actual development of the, let's say the endometriosis. Did the endometriosis come just as a reproductive or is that something that you feel like was part of you before the reproductive years?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I think it was part of me before the reproductive years because I had so many other infections and the endo only really fled when I had an appendectomy. And then I got so much scarring that I was vomiting every day and they had to try and work out what was going on because I couldn't get any food down. And I was like, how old was I at that point? 11?
Dr. Jane Levesque: Dr. Leah Hechtman:Well.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Oh, wow, okay.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah. Like young. Yeah. And, you know, and it was that classic endo of, you know, fetal position in the bathroom, vomiting and all that sort of stuff and fainting and all that. And so it was the idea that, I mean, I had an amazing mum and she just wouldn't put up with it. You know, she was like, we're just going to finance it. And she was open minded to. I'm sorry, every animal that was joining us is open minded to. You know, like, I was getting healings when I was 13 or I was seeing amazing specialists or I was like, she was. She would go anywhere along the spectrum. And then I had some incredible people that were really a big part of it. You know, like, my old drama teacher taught me about energetic healing and would give me healing when I would babysit her daughter when I was like 13, 14, you know, like. And then I had an amazing. I say the German pat only because his training, he was originally a naturopath a German naturopath. And then he became a doctor and he treated me from 14 years of age. And then he became my mentor as a naturopath and then took me under his wing when I was 19 and let me sit in on his consults and explained how to work and how the body worked. And like, you know, it was the team, you know, that I understood. He, he would let me spin his chalation IV clinic and he would really guide me and educate me. But, you know, and then I had an amazing homeopath that took me under his wing, and I was part of his homeopathic proving group from the age of 17 or an energetic teacher that let me student teach from the age of 16. Or like just incredible people. And I think about them so many ways, but I mean, so remarkable that these people took Yang Ti me under their wing and not only believed a. That I could get well, that they could show me the path, but also believed that they saw something in me was worth guiding and supporting. And they didn't treat me like a kid. I mean, that in its own, like, what a blessing, Such a blessing. I've got so many people like that that have come into my life, which is also why I'm so passionate about teaching. Because my attitude is if I can help other people the way that I've been helped, even just a little bit like Jenny's, you got to give, well.
Dr. Jane Levesque:A huge ripple effect. And I think, like, what I want to unpack for people is when we get stuck with the diagnosis that is the diagnosis, like one of the most common questions, like, well, can you cure this? Is there a cure for this? I don't think that there is a cure. And whether that's endometriosis or PCOS and autoimmune disease. And then you meet someone like yourself who I don't like. How do you answer that question when someone asks you, is there a cure for this?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I guess it depends on what it is and why. But I am also, you know, like, I can sit here and I, I can go. I don't have any materials, but I'm vegan, you know, I'm totally organic, you know, like, I do like, so many different things that people may or may not be able to bring into their life because that's part of their value set. And so I do think that we're born with whatever genetics we're born with. We're born with our journey. We're born with all sorts of different aspects. And then it comes down to, what are you willing to do to bring your body into harmony and balance. And some people aren't willing to do all of it. Some people are like, I'm not going to give up. X, Y, Z. And then, okay, then this is how your body interfaces with reality and this world. If you choose to continue drinking alcohol or smoking, whatever it is. But a lot of the things that people experience there is generally like that German naturopath doctor, he would always say to me, people will have genetics and they will have one thing in particular that will be it, what's not quite right for them. And if you identify that they can generally, you know, they can generally overcome a lot of different things provided they stay on a nutrient or make that diet, co change or whatever that one thing is. You know, like for me, if I go off glutathione, which is why I always have on it, if I go off, my whole body just starts to just go like this, you know, and it's just. You feel the resilience in me just waning. It's not worth it. So I'm willing to do that.
Dr. Jane Levesque: Dr. Leah Hechtman:I'm going to go a little bit out there. I mean, I look at it in the context that the people that I'm privileged to work with have come into my life for a dual purpose. They've come into my life because of what I can offer them and how I can help them. But so there is an exchange in what they offer me. And so in those situations, I really go into myself and look at what is it that I'm not seeing in myself. Because there's generally something else that's not quite right. Because they're coming, you know, that real Buddhist equation. They're coming to me for guidance to navigate how to get out of a situation. And if I can't see it, then I'm not seeing something. So then I try and work out what is it that I'm not seeing. And there's generally something reflected in me, or there's some learning or growth that I do and that will have a reciprocal. Do I need to go and drown myself in the data and find if there's something else that I'm missing that way in as much as do I need to meditate and work at. Is there something emotionally going on in me? Or however, you know, it's. Am I not reading the signs? Am I not seeing what's actually indicated here? But I generally will always look first in myself. Because I do think when we sit with someone, as a clinician, I know you know this as a clinician, we have to be able to get a sense of what's the path in front of them and what are the steps that are going to be required for them, and then help guide them so that they can walk along it. Because if we don't have clarity about what the path is, no one's going anywhere.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Totally. And I think it's. So for us, I do have some practitioners obviously following me as well. And so I think as practitioners, is it. It's a reflection of anything physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, is what you're saying, versus, like. Right. Like any of those things. Yeah.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:In the diet, though, you know, so in the diet, I'll be exchanged in the diet of what they trigger enough in the dyad of our own physicality and the things that we're not willing to be responsible about. Like, you know, are we not willing to give up Shuka? Or if we need to, you know, something like that. Like, anything can be anything. But I generally always look to myself. And then I think it's also occasionally there'll be, you know, the need to be humble and have humility and respect and recognize that maybe your part in this person's journey to connect with a different person, maybe that's part of the equation, but it's generally not. It's generally more about just trying to identify.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. Because then I think as a clinician, you tend to then almost attract the same person just in a different body, just until you.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Until you work it out. It's gotta look quite deep until you find it. Yeah. But when you do, then you're like. And what I love most about practicing for a long time is you see the rhythms and the patterns of what is and you start to see the types. Not that people are limited to a type, but you start to go, oh, that's right. I remember that. That type of person before. I remember that body frequency. And that's what that person needed. And that's when you go, you get quicker. But the luli. We've got a crackle poke.
Dr. Jane Levesque:How many years have you been in practice now?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:If I include all the energy work in the massage and everything, which I started seeing patients at 16, then I'm at 30 years.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. That's not.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I've been working on bodies for 30 years.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. It's the fact, the way that you described your childhood and just like it. I totally now like, oh, that I get it. Like, this isn't a one or two or three year journey. This is like your calling.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:This is odd.
Dr. Jane Levesque:This is. Yeah. This is your life. Yeah. Will you tell me what are the things that you're seeing now that you didn't see 10 years ago or even 20 years ago? I think in the health space we're seeing some things shift. In the fertility space, specifically, we're seeing some things shift. So what are you seeing now that you didn't see 10 years ago?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Good things or bad things or irreversible disease? Both.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. I think we can start with the bad and then we can go to the good.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah. Yeah. Always nicer to end on the good. Things are more complicated. Yeah. So things are a lot more complicated and they're less simple and I never know if that's. I just know more so I can see more. And the types of patients are more complicated maybe. But I'm seeing like with you, as. I'm seeing more complications in colleagues in their experience as well. So I don't think it's just limited to me. I, you know, I'm really seeing a lot of. There's a lot of genetic changes, there's a lot of environmental impact, there's a lot of changes in the physical body that defy usual progression of diseases and states or states of dis. Ease. You know, I do think that the, the progression is getting not only more complicated but more problematic for the person and more difficult to shift because of the overload of the environment and different things that we're doing. And I'm seeing a lot of extreme scenarios that I would never imagine to have seen. They're like incidents and miscarriage. You know, a woman can present at 15 miscarriages.
Dr. Jane Levesque:You know, like, like five used to be a lot. Yeah, like five used to be a lot.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Forget the medical part of it, but just the impact to that woman, that couple, it's human beings to go through that amount of loss and still be standing and still be fighting for the cause of wanting to give things. Remarkable. Devastating, but remarkable. The fact. It's just everything's bigger, you know, And I think it just the sense of the world now, everything's bigger, everything's a little bit more complicated and nuanced and all that sort of stuff.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. I think I used to. I remember, I start, I've been practicing for 10 years and I remember thinking, like telling patients, like, hey, once we fix the thing, you don't really need supplements. Like, you can take a multivitamin or you can do a couple of things and then be good. Where now I'm like, minimum 10 things, you know, Like, I don't know how to give you just five. Like, I don't know what to pick. You need the inflammation and you need support and you need the minerals and you need the drainage and you need the mitochondria and you need. You know. So I definitely feel you on the complexity.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah.
Dr. Jane Levesque:I think you see more extreme things, though, like, just because of who you are.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah. My wait list. Yes. If they're going to wait the year, it's got to be a prepublicant situation, which is privileged on my end. And also sad, because I'd love to, which is why I want to try and preview, like, I want to refer to more people, because people need help quicker. No one wants to just get some.
Dr. Jane Levesque:No, yeah.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah. But I do think as well, you know, the reliance on the supplements piece, it's getting more and more complicated to acquire the information from the earth, but also to trust what we're getting through food or supplements, you know, so everything's just getting more nuanced.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. It's funny you say that, because I was going to ask you. You're one of those practitioners that. I don't know if I want to use the word extreme in terms of some of your recommendations, but you have a very good reason for it. And it's made me more cautious about, like, fish oil is something I used to prescribe all the time. And then, you know, you listen to your environmental toxic lecture and you look at the state of the oceans and you go, huh, that kind of makes sense.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I really want that. Yeah.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Don't then.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Funny.
Dr. Jane Levesque:What are some of the. So fish oil is one. Is there any other extreme things that you. Extreme in our world, if you will, but because there's still a lot Of I see so many people still recommending fish oils. Like that's not in.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:The data is also pogn on fish oils and it logically would be indicated. But me, the vegan, my kids eat meat stuff and I'm only vegan because I feel better on it. I'm not against eating animal products, but it's like I sit there with a pregnant woman and I go, please go and eat meat fat. I don't want you taking your fish oil. I want you to get DHA from lamb. Let's say please cuddle and make some tallow at home and spread it on everything. Because I trust the stability of that and the safety of that more than I do from the ocean capsulation, breathing. And we're in an interesting time as well, which is where we're getting supplements which are basically food in origin or organ supplements and things like that. And that opens up a whole other question mark as well. You know, the idea of, yes, nature is best. Yes, historically we would have eaten animal liver after a faster. At the end of winter hibernation period. Yes, it would be better. But we're also then consuming a pill from an organ of an animal where we don't know if it's been organic, we don't know what toxins that liver is eliminating, we don't know what that animal's been exposed to. And are we actually ingesting basically a soup cocktail of toxins from that little extract product? And so we're in that space where the naturalist in me goes, I would love to just get fruit extracts with everybody, but that's another type of supplement that I'm a bit like, I don't know. I don't know if that's the way to do it.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. And I mean the other. I've heard you. Oh, my goodness. What was it that you said that I was like, oh, that's interesting because I think then the question is like, well, where do we get these? And are we at a place where we can't even get anything good quality, Are we there yet? Or who do we trust? How do we know? There's just so much things that are changing around, you know, who do we trust in terms of the sources?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, I think it's a really valid question and I think it's really important. I'm very privileged in Australia, where we do have a government body called the TGA and they do all that scrutiny, you know, in each product that is listed in Australia has gone through a rigorous process to ensure that what's on the Bottle is in the bottle, but they're not factoring in things like fish oils. And you know, we're always in this challenge of the level of testing versus when you actually formulate something and release it. Like, we don't have testing to the level of some of the polluters that are in ocean. So most of the bottles on the market, they wouldn't know. Yes. But you know, around the world, access to product, you can't just buy things on like IV and stuff like that because half the stuff is, you know, even just adulterated of these. So you've just got to be careful with making sure that you get a reputable source and you have proper guidance from a clinician that really knows what is and isn't safe. But I mean, God, it's so easy to get a price on the market now all around the world and get a social media following and then off you go. But we don't actually know that the quality is actually there, but it is what it says it is.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. And even there was another. I remember I had raw milk is a big thing right now. And I remember I was like, why do you feel about raw milk? And then you're always. I say, I'm like, I hate that I'm coming to leah with these $2 questions because I'm like, that's all I have. I just need to ask them. But you know, the first, this is where I'm like, oh, she really individualized everything because then you're like, well, it depends where it's coming from. Is it in the States? Is it in Canada? Is it in, like, what is the person? Do they have endometriosis? How are they? And it's like, oh my God, I don't even think about those questions. Versus raw milk is great. We should be drinking it, so everyone should be having it. And you know, there's opposing opinions.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah. And then in fact, during the environmental stuff, like where I am right now, there's a lot of flooding in sort of different areas. And the water from those cows after the flooding would have all the environmental runoff that they'd be drinking in the water in the ground, like. And you just got to really be thinking about the exposure and it just gets really broad. It's really bad.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. Fluidity. Tell us about the. Let's bring it to the good stuff though, because I know you've seen some magic happen.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yes.
Dr. Jane Levesque:And I'd love to hear a little bit about some of the magic. And you're so casual about it and I know it's because you're so humble. But I remember, I'm like, did she just say she reverses menopause? And you just like casually mentioned it. I'm like, did she just say she has a 49 year old that she's helping to family plan? Like not just one. And I'm like, hold on, hold on. Like, can you just unpack that for a second and you'll go on and keep going.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Like, it's not anything where I'll have.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Women at 35 who are writing them off in writing themselves off because their doctor obviously have written them off. And I know everybody's different, but I'd love to hear a little bit more about the magic that you have seen in your practice and what it took to get there. You know, like, let's be honest, it wasn't easy.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:No, look, I mean the magic stuff is very dependent on both myself. The perspiration. Yeah. And it's about them and where they want to go to and how far they're willing to stretch their mind and really going to the quantum if they believe in all of it. All of it. You know, like I always find that dance of science versus quantum or science versus spirit or whichever way you want to look at it. Not that quantum isn't sounds that you get me. You know, like just with collective cy, data points and parameters versus the flexibility of it all. It's limitless to the extent of the equation of how we're working together. Yeah. So it might be someone where they've been told that they're completely infertile. Or it might be someone with severe endometriosis and then getting pilot clears. Might be someone who's much older that has a spontaneous pregnancy. Or there's so many cases of so many scenarios. What would be helpful?
Dr. Jane Levesque:What's the oldest? I think.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Or with other eggs?
Dr. Jane Levesque:Both. So I think I want to stretch. One of the things that I really liked and why I've gravitated towards you is that like if you want to have a baby, I'll hope you have a baby. But it might be not how you want to have a baby. And it might take longer, it might be more expensive. But like if you want to have a baby, I'm not going to give up on you. I'm not. And I'm very much that person as well. It's like my patients give up before I give up on them. I was like, no, keep going. We're so close. And so to see like what is the oldest patient with spontaneous natural Pregnancy versus IVF versus, you know, not their own eggs. What's possible?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Okay, so let's say, let's look at spontaneous or natural. 49 is the oldest and this woman had genetics where her mum went to menopause late 50 and everyone had like 14, 15, 16 kids for generations. So there's a definitive Africa genetic for this woman that both of us felt tremendous confidence that it was her first.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Child at 49 then.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yep, yeah, it was her first. Yeah. And so we both had a lot of confidence around that it was probably going to be possible. And then we did all the things that you would do to support that scenario for being created. But I've certainly had a lot of people over the years where I've said to them, you having a baby is what's really important. If we need to do different things, then we'll make it happen. And then if you don't arrangement we've created it. But it's, you know, so much of, I think how we practice and the benefit of how we practice is the creation of the path for them to get there. And so then it's us connecting them to the right people. It's it like it's doing all the things that we need to do so that then if it becomes a 52 or a 55 year old woman, you help them navigate how to create the thing of what we're wanting to achieve. And so I think it's 55 was the oldest and I had clinicians go to me, is that ethical, you know, support or something like that? And my attitude is it's their journey, it's their choice. And they were certainly as they would say mind and you know, all that sort of stuff and they'd be able to do it. And it's their journey. And you know, they had a lot of this particular book and they had a very abusive relationship for 15 years before and very violent and they didn't want to have conceived with them. And it was her saying I'd only give up on life and I really want to have what I'd miss out on. And my heart still goes to her and thinks of her bondly, you know, that it's such a beautiful thing that she was able to create seven. So I think, you know, well, and.
Dr. Jane Levesque:You also support her through the pregnancy. It's not like you get them pregnant and you're like, no, no, see you later. Like you're testing her probably what, every six weeks, right? Six to three, six to 12?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, yeah, depending. And to make sure she's healthy and the child's healthy. And to make sure that, you know, like, one of the trickiest things is someone where they're in their late 40s, early 50s does have a donor embryo. Let's say a single woman gets pregnant by an IVF clinic, and then they're just dropped, and then they're navigating the process, and they're navigating a newborn. And, you know, there's a lot of.
Dr. Jane Levesque:People that are in menopause, like perimenopause and postpartum depression at the same time. Yeah, it's full on.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, it's full on. And I've always had this thing with my patients, you know, like, everyone has my mobile number, because people only reach out when they really need you. And if they really need you, they really need you, you know, And I've got my checklist every week of the people that are going through something that I just send them the quick weekly kits. Checking up on you. You still okay?
Dr. Jane Levesque:You're good.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:And then we navigate if any funding withstood because, you know, life is tricky for people.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Life is really full life for some, that's fascinating.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:But I just. I really think that it's so much about, like, I'm thinking about this woman that flew to it yesterday. Yeah. And she's about to take a really courageous process, transferring some frozen embryos there. Her own but convoluted story, which I won't go into. And she just needs me on her team to be able to have the confidence to be able to achieve it. So whether or not there's this willingness for me, that contributes to it, I certainly think energetically it helps. You know, emotionally it helps. But having the support from someone who helps us achieve what we're wanting is that.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Oh, I think it's. I don't want to say it's most of it, but, like, I'll see women relax. So, like, I, in practice, require the male to be there. And I don't know if that's just. I had just a couple earlier this week, and I'm like, there's no way I could have gotten to what the root cause of the issue without him there. Like, there's no way. And it was like, the next day she shows up because I'll do the assessment. And we do a quick call the following day. And her energy is different and she's lighter and she feels better. And it's like, oh, my God. Just having someone on her side saying, like, hey, you know what? This isn't right. Or this Isn't. I think it's a really big deal. So will you tell one of the things you really taught me about? Because I was very. When I first got into the fertility space, I was like, natural. It has to like, it's a natural process. And if it's not happening, something is missing and we need to figure out in like, do it naturally, you know, and then it's complicated and it's, you know, it's messy. And then you're like, I just want to help these people have a baby. And so maybe they do need some art. How do you decide when and how? I know there's a lot of practice, obviously that's involved, but when the couple needs to sit, we need to go, hey, maybe there is another opportunity. Like, there's something else that we're going to have to explore this.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:It's fascinating. I mean, there are the obvious scenarios. Yeah. So there's the physical impediment, or someone doesn't have fallopian tubes, or there's some sort of obstruction. There's all the base physical things, or there's the base genetic issue where maybe they're wanting to genetically collect an embryo. There's that sort of stuff. But there's this, you know, I guess the privilege of working for as long as I have. There's a type of couple that I'll meet periodically. And you just know that it's almost as though the body doesn't remember had to be pregnant. You listen to their story and you work with them. And I'm thinking of a few couples that have hurt.
Dr. Jane Levesque:And how would you remember to be pregnant if it doesn't know to be if it never been pregnant?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Okay, so the apt person that we.
Dr. Jane Levesque:See, this is one of those things you'll see. And I'm like, hold on, hold on. I don't understand.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:But I know totally, totally. And I should say my caveat is that I'm really privileged that I get to work on people physical bodies for some of the patients that I work with. And when you have that physical connection with the body, it really tells you a lot and really goes back to what we said earlier. It tells you what could be that you couldn't even imagine. But definitely. So there are these people that you work with and the average person that walked in the door, their body has a natural ability and a natural awareness of, okay, if I do this, I can kick or pregnant. And it knows the steps that it will naturally go into and you'll get inclinations of what the uterine, what's the oocyte help or the sperm hill or whatever it is that sells you that that natural rhythm of how it would actually work will be achievable. And you'll have that hunch and you'll be like, it's that's missing. And Matthewsy, if we do that, we're good. And then sometimes you have these patients and I look at them and I'm like, you've got great eggs, you great sperm. Your looks healthy. The combination is not happening. Something just is not coming together. And you can almost feel like when you work on the body, the female body is like, we don't want to make this work, but I'm getting stuck. It's like redness. There's like a book that they miss and they just lost that information. And those sorts of couples. It's fascinating because I've learned how to pick it really quickly so that I don't make them feel like I'm wasting their time or that we're never going to get to a goal. And I do know as a clinician that the earlier we name something, the more of respect, but definitely more trust we build. Because if we know it, they know something. Not all we've got to name it quickly. So we go stuff and I name it quite early. They're the ones that they do ivf. It's a super simple scenario. They get enormous amounts of eggs and embryos in the freezer and everything is textbook perfect. Yeah. No reactions, low dose drug, easy, easy transfer the embryo, little bit of extra help and the body goes, this is pregnancy. Cool. And then they're the ones that concede their second, which is six months postpartum, and they'll say really quickly and everything just worked. But it's like there was this missing step in the equation. That's where AATMI is brilliant. Because sometimes that happens. And there's nothing that I've ever been saying that I could do to bypass it. And that's where it kicks in and it works.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Do you think it's like a trigenerational effect where you say like the body doesn't remember where it's like this, the female essence or something just doesn't pass. Didn't pass along.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dr. Jane Levesque: Dr. Leah Hechtman:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess.
Dr. Jane Levesque:And then it just gets so complicated because now they're like, do I need these injections? And I need to be on Lupron and I need to be on the growth hormone. I need to be. And they're just kind of getting further and further and further away from themselves and from it.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Then they're also. You've got a body that's trying to find its balance after 16 earlier cycles. You know what I mean? So it's not just the idea of cycles that are increasing complexity and drug intervention. You've then got a body that's so far away from its balance when here at cycle one, they weren't investigated fully. You know what I mean? And then they probably didn't need it. There are definitely a lot of clinics around the world that use IVF as a diagnostic strategy as opposed to a treatment strategy. Let's just throw you into an IVF cycle and see what. And then we'll understand your fertility. And I get the logic behind it, because you see what their egg were doing. You see, they make embryo. They get it. But the very active IVF bypasses the natural rhythm. Powerful minds are secreted and gametes and, you know, matured and all that sort of stuff. So then they set them up for. Actually, they had more dysfunction often. But when you meet them and they've done 16 cycles or whatever it is. 22 episodes, the top I've ever seen.
Dr. Jane Levesque:That's crazy.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I don't even know how someone emotionally goes through 22 cycles. They're just.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I'm so numbed. They're so, like, just formulaic about the process and so disconnected from their body.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. That poor woman.
Dr. Leah Hechtman: Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. And so in your opinion, how many. Or like, even in your expertise, how many cycles should it be if it's not just going to be one? Let's say there were some mistakes or maybe you didn't track things properly.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:think it's about setting yourself up for success with ivf, though. So doing the legwork before you even enter the IVF world so that IVF doesn't become a discovery process in as much as you to cover something. But the objective isn't about discovery, it's about outcome. So, you know, if you do all the legwork in the early stages, which is why I always say to patients, we can do it two ways. We can do the mainstream and then see what's what, or we can do the biggest cycle straight away. Sorry about this, cat. We can do a cycle.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Okay, he's just came and she wants to participate.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, he's involving. What was I saying? We can do the bigger cycle, but you need to really do the bigger investigations. And so when I meet patients, I really take them through investigations very thoroughly. Even things that be remote possibilities, because the last thing everyone wants someone to do is to go to ivf, get pregnant and miscarry, or go to IVF and not have any success, because if they're going to do ivf, I need to make sure it works.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yep. Yeah. And this kind of leans me into the immunology because I think there are certain things that IVF can override, and then there's certain things that can't. And the immune system feels like, in my little experience that I started, because this is where I realized I'm like, oh, my God, they're not personalizing this. They're just putting women through Ivy up. That's why I was. When I took your advanced fertility certification, that was one of my kind of favorite. Like, it just opened up my world. It's not just natural. Oh, we can support women, but we can do it well, as opposed to, like, you're gonna be on 22 cycles, like, my God, you know, can you talk about the immunology aspect of it and why, you know, what's really at the roots there and what we need to treat and figure out? Yeah.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:So There's a lot there. I just want to say one thing. So, I mean, I'm really privileged to work with clinics and the collaborative work that we do together, they know that the outcomes are better. I mean, I've got one clinician, you know, the average IVF cycle is 37% success rate per cycle. He and I, when we work together, we're sitting at around 81 or 82% success rate.
Dr. Jane Levesque:That's crazy.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:When we combined, and these are really complicated cases, so where it is really beneficial to work collaboratively. But the I process, they sort of look at it and they go, okay, let's throw someone into the cycle and do all these sorts of things. And they just throw drugs to basically just control and suppress the body. In some situations, there might be an indication for some of these meds that say there's a blood coagulation disorder and they need a blood phenolactoxane. Okay? But putting women on steroids and, you know, basically chemotherapeutic agents and all these sorts of things that are known internationally as notes, the Bondo Protocol or the Braverman protocol or, you know, all the different names that they do. The fundamental of the uterus is really being lost in that equation because the collective mainstream fertility grew. You have enormous respect for and work with collaboratively in a patient and a research sense. We're not linking the importance of the immunology in the uterus in the way that we need to. The uterus is the womb of the body, but it's also the center. It's the heart of the female reproductive system. And the signaling that the uterus sends to the other reproductive organs, as well as the totality of the woman determines the success rates so significantly. And it's not necessarily just about identification and suppression or just suppression. Forget about trying to work out what's going on. It's about really bringing that hapony back to the immunology within the uterus, because that determines the secrete ducta related to the oocyte. It determines if things fertilize. Like everything comes back to the uterus and its stability. Where we're at with research at the moment is the idea of the uterine microbiome or the endometrial microbiome being very important. The research around it is definitely earlier than, let's say, the gut microbiome that.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Would burn or even the vaginal microbiome. Right.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Vaginal is much, much richer in an understanding of it. But what we understand is giving us lhymetogen and an understanding of the microbial spheres and how that correlates with immunology. But the immune system within the endometrium or within the uterus itself, we've got to remember that the uterus is tri layered and we're pointing now is that there are different microbial species within each of the layers. And the immune system and its part of the immune cells are very different depending on which layer you go into. Reading the actual unit itself and the importance of all three layers will govern whether or not the egg quality is good. Sort of. More. Topmost, whether implantation is achievable, top, middle and bottom, whether or not there's a coagulation disorder. More. The peritium, the bottom one. All of the different things still keep coming back to the uterus and how efficient it works and how it links in with everything. And then the uterus comes back, you know, through the immune system and directs nutrient uptake and nutrient movements and blood flow through the body. And then it influences neurotransmitter release and it influences the neurotransmitters that are secreted after an orgasm. Like it's just so multifactorial, but it keeps coming back to the immune system within the uterus, being balanced and being stable. So the idea of I'm just going to put someone on IVF and then maybe I'll put them on a really heavy duty steroid and just suppress the whole process. So then this foreign DNA from this baby can implant is. It's quite blunt medicine, you know, like it's a bit youthfully minded. It's not in keeping with the harmony of where the body's at. And I think if we can find where the true harmony is and bring back into that state, we can generally not require those for these.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. And I mean, how much is it connected to the gut microbiome?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:100%. 100%. And everything keeps coming back to the gut microbiome because it's our main eliminatory channel and you know, the main site of generation and neurodegeneration, hormones and the alcoholine migrates and all that sort of stuff as well. But, you know, this is where we go. I know, me as a clinician, I go, so all the simple things that I spoke about 30 years ago is still relevant. Yes. Does it make. I can fix everything with just those simple things. You know, if someone wants to wait five years, they could just have a clean diet and they might be able to get to the goal. But generally in our fertility space, you know, people want A baby yesterday, let alone in us. So, yeah. Time to. Obviously a guidance.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. And I mean, talk to us. The simplicity. Because you just explained such a. So beautifully, this complex process. Because, like, I understand this, but I know the listeners are like, oh my God, what, like immune system and three different layers and. But I got antibiotic flush. I took amoxicillin for seven days. I have these infections. And again, like something that I've learned from you is you can't take 10 days of antibiotic and expect everything to come back and then maybe a probiotic. So can you wean us a little bit into the complexity of the treatment and like, why it's important to see it all the way through and what to actually expect of shifting your microbiome in a big way?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, but if we think about the microbiome as the totality of our makeup.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:So current research, they're thinking that it's more like a 5 to 1 cell ratio as opposed to a 10 to 1 cell ratio that they've built before. So we have so many more bugs in our body. Yeah, they're thinking that, you know, the idea is that the orchestration. So if you imagine that microbes basically like instruments in an orchestra and all the different instruments come together to create the orchestra, that is your physiology. And all the different instruments have different functions. Some of the instruments will generate chords, hormones. Some of the instruments will generate immune factors. Some of the instruments will assist in nutrient absorption, whatever. And if all of a sudden the brass section gets blown out because you get an infection, then the absence of the brass section needs to be repaired. And you can't just go, I'm going to go and take a probiotic to rebuild the brass section. You've got to work out, well, how did it get blown out? This is a weird analogy, and I don't know what it came from. But anyway, I love it.
Dr. Jane Levesque:We're going with it.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:We'll come to the stream in a minute. You know, you've got to rebuild where it came from. And what we're understanding now is this idea of, okay, I take antibody, it's okay, I take probiotic. Actually doesn't work because I take antibiotic, takes out the microbe that's, you know, this thing that's come into the environment that shouldn't be there. It does take out the good stuff, but it can also damage how we repair and how we rebuild. And a lot of these athletics. One of the things that they do really successfully is they damage mitochondria. The mitochondria are the powerhouse energy centers in all of our cells. But they are our anti antigen pathway. They're our ability, all of our cells to recover and usify and function optimally. And if you take the antibiotic but you go, it's okay, I'll just give you a probiotic, you're missing all of the other steps that go with it. So we need to really de optimize the whole environment and the space for species to grow and survive and proliferate into all the things that I know you know all about. The thing that we're sort of getting to now, when I'm really looking at the research around it, is the synergy of all of the complexity. So it's like we can't just go, it's okay, A plus B to fine, cool. But equally it's the process that we have to go through. So the process of if that brass section is gone, we can't just put instruments in that area. We've got to really make sure that the floor is okay and the chairs are okay and stands are okay and we've got to make sure that the people that are playing the instruments can do their job. Yeah. So we got to do the same sort of thing. And that's where we all would say to our patients, what are the nutrients in the environment? What are the electrolytes to make sure the blood's building? What is the prebiotic foods that you should be eating? What are the nutrients that will keep the survival of the good species? Where can we get those feed these from? You know, and onwards we go. So we've just got to look at it as a process and what dogma is that? Particularly if we go back to the uterus, let's say the uterus. It's really, really interesting. So let's say we look at the gut. The gut, because the transit of the gut is so much swifter. Yeah. We eat food, we evacuate it. Yeah. 24 hours, 36 hours easy. The uterus. Oh. The cyclicity of it is a menstrual cycle month for a woman. So there's a lot of time that's going to accurately properly reboot itself. And because of the duration of how that all works and because the cellular changes are very different, you've got on average at 28 day cycle cellular changes. In the gut, we're gut lining seven days. The seven days we can do a lot. Yeah. But in the uterus we need to take our time to really change it. And particularly for women, they often need two menstrual cyclists to really rebuild that uterus in a really holistic way. And I mean coming back to the gut and not to get too complicated. I hope it's okay. If we don't have an optimal gut, then the uterus isn't going to repair anyway. So we need to make sure that's working to be able to come back to rebuild the uterus. Yeah.
Dr. Jane Levesque: Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dr. Jane Levesque:But like when we're talking about something ureoplasma or let's say mold or any bacterial or viral infection, like we can't even go down that rabbit hole. It's been part of them for so long, you know, like, and this is where I think I'd love to have people shift and understand like certain bugs have been part of them for so long they don't even know what it's like to be without them. And the oversimplification of I'm just going to take the, you know, do the seven day liver, not the liver, the full moon cleanse or it's not, it's oversimplifying a process that's actually much more complex and includes a big energetic component of it.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:And then that's where we get into that conversation of depending on the type of pathogen and how embedded it is within the body cells. You know, is it something that's very large that just moves on like a worm? Or is it something that's merging with your DNA like a virus or a molecule?
Dr. Jane Levesque:Are you willing to stretch your mind and go that way and see if we can help and shift this? Because it really does change you when you are doing it, when you're intentional with it, you know, like the more that I learned your stuff and the more intentional I can now watch for those changes in the facial expressions, in the boundaries that they're able to set to how they connect to how they, you know, the partner, the boundaries that they set at work or the friends or family connections, like, to me, that's the work. You know, you're transforming, you're changing, you're letting this bug go as opposed to just do the antibiotic or the whatever and then it's out of your system.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Because it often comes back when you just adapt. Like you've got to do the change to really make it work.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:You know, the idea of stubborn cases, it just means that you probably haven't mounted properly.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. Is this where you dive in? Because I've been diving a lot into energetic and like homeopathy. Do you try to shift or is there a sense where sometimes you're like, this person isn't ready and if they're not ready, like as a listener, if they feel like they're getting stuck, is there something that you can cue them to get that subconscious to move, you know?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, for sure. I mean, it fundamentally comes down to a choice. So let's say if we stay in the fertility space and it's a woman and she's got an infection, or a man and they've got an infection and it's not moving, it will be indicating that there's something that's unresolved and it's their journey and it's their choice. And this is the much you willing to push yourself to move through things to achieve your goal versus no, actually I'm not up for that right now and I'll come back to you in six months. You know, there are plenty of situations where people's relationships explode because, you know, the presence of the bug is reflective of some deep seated stuff. And it doesn't mean that the relationship is over, it means that it explodes and they build something else. And then you really get into the spiritual side of it, which is the idea of, I really believe that our children choose us before we conceive them. And, you know, this child, future child, is wanting them to be in a different place, to be able to be the parents and create the family unit that is really supportive for everyone involved. So it ends up being a really beautiful thing, but it's a courageous thing and it takes a lot of, you know, I was thinking about it yesterday, it takes a lot of your lioness mum to kick in, for a lot of your protective mana to kick in, to go, I am going to create this space in my relationship that creates a space for this child, but is the space that this child can come in because the child usually doesn't want to come in if that father is still present and that infusion, the hindrance and the block of what's going on. So I really try and take it out of A, the medicalization of it, but also B, take it into the empowerment growth space as opposed to go into your subconscious. You've got to deal with your own or whatever the thing is, because that's just, it just comes circular.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah, totally. Yeah, it's funny. The lioness, I've been talking a lot there. I have a small like group program as well and there's these two women that joined and I'm like, you're too nice. Like you're too nice to get pregnant. And I don't know how to say that, but it's just like, you're too nice. You're too nice. You let your husband show up whenever he wants to. He can work 12 hour days and not show and that you're not bothered by it. You doctor doesn't want to test anything and you are just like, I guess I can't get that testing done. It's like, that's not. We need to find that lionesse. Yeah, it's not how it works. And it's like literally watching these women learning how to advocate for themselves and of course there's a lot more to unpack there, but it was just like, you're too nice. And I know it sounds crazy, but like you're just too nice. You can't look, I mean, I'm all this thing.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:And it's not that we're against other people or that we're fighting against other people, but it's that we really need to take ownership of our existence and ownership of the experience that we want to create. I'm not against the idea of fatal death and all that sort of stuff, but we create our lives and do you want to create a family and you want to create a child? There's an element of a shift that happens in us before we bring them in. And you know those women, hopefully with your guidance, they're of course going to fall pregnant and have beautiful families, but they're going to need to tap into that part of them that can lift a car off their child. You know, that part of them that will do anything for that child. And I always say, you know, bring that part out now because that's what gets you pregnant. It's not just going to come out and as they pop out of your body.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Totally. I do, I know you don't really tend to see that because you have this, you know, one year waiting list. But I tend to see women are like, they still want to wait and see what happens instead of having and feeling like I'm just going to wait and start trying naturally and then I'll see what happens. I don't want to optimize things ahead of time or well, we just started trying and it's only been six months or it's only been a year and I'll wait to get some testing done and I'm not sure how to break. Like I feel that there's. You have no time. Like yesterday you needed to start preparing yourself as opposed to like, well, I'll just try this and see that sense of urgency isn't quite there for in their perspective. But if I look at it, I'm like, oh my God, there's so much urgency, you know, do you see that? Do you. Is there a shift that. Do you know what I mean? Like, why is that happening?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Well, there's a fear reflex usually in women like that. So I try and find an oh man. Like depending on who's sure my dude. There's usually a fear and it's either a fear that it won't happen or it's a fear of she do I don't I want it. So I usually name that. I rarely have this conversation, cut them my wait list just for the obvious reason. But I will always name it and I will always ask them the question that they're too scared to voice. And so in a situation might have been if I've ever seen someone like that, I'm like, you're here, you want a baby. Yeah, like you wouldn't have met.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Oh man, you wouldn't have waited a year.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yeah, you wouldn't have waited. You're insisting and yes, I'm getting a no from you. So let's give some voice to that no. What's the no about? Is it the know about that you feel unworthy that you're scared of it? Is it, you know, invariably they break crying in the next 30 seconds and then something comes out that relates to it. We make space for it and we talk it through really properly. And I've heard every version of actually I want a baby. I just don't want it with aadna to I'm scared that I'm going to be an awful mother to I was actually abused as a child and I'm really scared I'm going to do that to my child. I've heard everything but the fact that they're in the room with You. Yeah, like you're having the consultation. There's a yes. And we all have yeses and nos when we present ourselves with change. And it's about looking at it and providing the space as a clinician so that they feel safe enough. And I always joke with my patients and swear with them. I joke about my own shortcomings. I always normalize it because we've all got our own. Yeah. And we've all got stuff that we're working through and we really. I use the yes as the guidance of. That's how we're going to use it to get through this. So let's look at all the no's and get them sorted for you.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah. And I mean, with the younger women, this is something as the integrative gynecology course that I'm taking in the, you know, the premature ovarian insufficiency, the brain changes, the contraceptives, the environmental toxic load. It's. I see more women who don't want to have children and I'm not sure if that's a change that's just in the environment or they don't feel safe in their bodies. And then of course, I see a lot younger women as well, as I'm sure you are seeing too, that are struggling with some things that we just didn't expect.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yep.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Any essence in terms of like, what you think is happening?
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Oh, it's so big. I think that it's. We just think about women for a bit. You know, women are in a very different place now. All the research and all the statistics are suggesting, you know, the amount of women that are single, that can't fight partners that earn as much of them or more than that, can't financially, emotionally take care of them if they ever needed it, that, you know, like all these different things, let alone the health implications, let alone the blunting that women have experienced from having various hormonal surgical procedures that they all cut off from themselves. But it's very, very multifactorial and women have so much choice that I think that a lot of women are disconnected from what they really want. And then we also have women that have so much choice that are actually like, you know what, kid? Just not for me. And that's cool too, like whatever makes them happy and whatever they want. But, you know, the idea of conceiving is very much, again, it's the theme of the week, environment around dropping into greater and greater levels of safety and letting go of more and more of your ego. And so for a woman to want to have a child, let alone be pregnant with a child and drop into the stages of pregnancy, he has to drop into surrendering in so many layers. And she may not have the environment around her to drop into that surrender for practical, financial, emotional, spiritual reasons, whatever it might be. I mean, women are in a really different place now. You know, there's not that classic, it's okay, I know we're 22. I'll make the love of my life. I'll be over 24, have my first baby at 26. We're not there anymore. Some people have that experience, but most don't because of that. The maturity that happens in the brain. And then they're looking at this in their 30s and 40s, potentially, they often saying no because they haven't seen that environment that enables them to drop into that safety quite the same way. But, you know, pregnancies, fascinating in so many ways that literally. And why I see women when they're pregnant every six weeks is because every six weeks there's a physiological, embryological, placental change that is coupled with a spiritual and emotional change that is all about, am I safe at this point? Can I do the next overhaul, the next transformative process?
Dr. Jane Levesque:Yeah, I can't wait to take your obstruction course. I'm really glad you pushed it back because I'm not here to get out of information. I was like, me, in a minute. I will still take it, and I will watch it at midnight if I have to, but on YouTube. I'm excited.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Yes, I'm.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Well, like, this is what I have a really hard time with. And I think you wrote this in your newsletter. You're like, I should postpone this course. But then the Yang part of you was like, I should just make both of them. And I'm like, I'm the same way. I was like, I have access to this information, but I need to wait a year. I can't do it. Like, I just. I need it now itself. I'm glad that you're toning it down because it just allows me to not.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Only say, yeah, we were all good.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Thank you, Leah, so much. I'm wondering if you have any piece of advice for a woman out there that is struggling to conceive, to build a family, you know, complex case. Because that's what the listeners. Those are the people that are going to listen. I think the most, if you have any advice or closing words for that.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Woman, first and foremost is find the right care team. Find the people that believe that you can, and find the care team. And healthcare team that are there to support you to achieve it in whatever way that you want. Entertain the idea that you may not have a child exactly the way that you thought that you would, but you'll still have your family, but hopefully you'll be able to have it the standard way. But most importantly, particularly when it's been a big journey for people, I always ask them to def a bows the experience and really connect to it on a more spiritual level so that they can feel a sense of, is there someone around that is wanting me to be their parent? And they ask that soul, if you want to use that language, can they ask them if there's anything that they need to do to be that person of service, to be the parent, to bring them into the world, because then it takes us out of our own ego, it takes us out of our own fears, and it really brings it back to that place of service, which really is what parenting is all about. Will I serve and will I provide this service to give you an experience that is better than I had? And it's general. General that way.
Dr. Jane Levesque:I love it. I had a patient who wrote to her baby every day. Like, she. And she just started, and then it's eight years, unexplained nothing. And, you know, five months. And she was pregnant naturally. And she actually, she was like, we were reviewing her partner sperm analysis, and he had zero sperm. It just said, like, he had zero morphology. And the doctor called two weeks later because they're so late, like, hey, sorry. Like, he has no sperm. I don't think you can get pregnant. She's like, actually, I'm pregnant. And she's like, how is that possible? I'm like, it only takes one. Like, it just.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:I took off, like, yeah, dip it.
Dr. Jane Levesque:And apparently that's all it happened. But thank you, thank you for that. Thank you for. Your brains are full. I know, but I just love and appreciate everything that you do and I hope to spread that more because we need this integration between the science and the spiritual and the energetic. Because it's truly what changed me with my practice, like, with my. As a patient when I was struggling with my stuff. And like, the changes that I see in my patients, it's like, this is it, you know, this is how we do it.
Dr. Leah Hechtman:Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you, thank you.
Dr. Jane Levesque:Thank you so much for listening. To read the full show notes of this episode, including summary, timestamps, guest quotes and any resources that were mentioned on the episode, visit drjanelevesque.com forward slash podcast. And if you're getting value from these episodes. I'd love it if you took 2 minutes to share it with a friend. Rate and leave me a review at ratethispodcast.com forward slash Dr. Jane. The reviews will help with the discoverability of the show. Show and who knows, I might share your review on my next episode. Thank you so much for tuning in and let's make your fertility journey your healing journey.
