Dr. Olivia Watkins, ND, shares a comprehensive, whole-body approach to preparing for conception that goes beyond basic fertility advice. She emphasizes building a strong foundation through personalized assessment of thyroid function, gut health, inflammation levels, and lifestyle factors rather than rushing into treatments.
Naturopathic medicine with focus on women's health and fertility
Key Insights
Actionable Advice
Dr. Olivia Watkins shares how a childhood experience helping her grandfather with circulation issues and witnessing dramatic sinus healing through acupuncture led her to discover naturopathic medicine. Her story illustrates the power of looking beyond conventional approaches to find root causes and natural solutions.
Rather than rushing into treatments, Dr. Watkins emphasizes comprehensive assessment of thyroid function, gut health, inflammation levels, and nutritional status. She explains how conventional 'normal' lab ranges often miss optimal health markers needed for conception and healthy pregnancy.
Many women are told their thyroid is normal when only TSH is tested, missing Hashimoto's thyroiditis detected through antibody testing. Dr. Watkins explains how this autoimmune condition, largely triggered by environmental factors like gluten and toxins, creates inflammation that impacts fertility.
Leaky gut allows food particles into the bloodstream, triggering autoimmune responses that affect fertility. Dr. Watkins assesses every patient's gut health because symptoms can manifest as brain fog, joint pain, weight issues, and fertility challenges rather than obvious digestive symptoms.
Fertility requires receptive feminine energy, not masculine doing energy, yet many women tie self-worth to constant action. Dr. Watkins explains how this disconnect prevents the receptivity needed for conception and healing.
Dr. Watkins approaches fertility with spiritual reverence, recognizing each woman's divine power to create life. She encourages adopting curiosity instead of blame when challenges arise, and emphasizes coming from fullness rather than deficiency when preparing for pregnancy.
“I can't tell you how many patients I've seen where not only have they been told that their thyroid is normal and they're only looking at TSH, the thyroid stimulating hormone. It could be high normal. It could be low normal. And that's a big difference with naturopathic doctors is we're really looking at what's optimal.”
— Dr. Olivia Watkins▶ 13:19
Many doctors only test TSH and use wide reference ranges based on sick populations. A comprehensive thyroid panel should include antibodies to check for Hashimoto's, which can cause inflammation affecting fertility even when TSH appears normal.
“If you think about it, the whole reason we have that lining is to create a difference between the space in the gut and outside of the gut. Once that impermeability is there, that barrier is broken. Now we have food particles and proteins in the bloodstream where they're not supposed to be.”
— Dr. Olivia Watkins▶ 28:04
Leaky gut occurs when the intestinal barrier breaks down, allowing food particles into the bloodstream where they trigger immune responses. This chronic inflammation can affect hormone production and overall fertility health through the same pathways involved in autoimmune conditions.
“Sometimes it isn't the job or the relationship or the woman's working out too hard or she's not sleeping. Sometimes it really is something as simple as not eating breakfast for the last fifteen years.”
— Dr. Olivia Watkins▶ 35:38
Yes, chronically skipping breakfast creates daily stress on your adrenal glands as they release glucose to fuel your brain and heart. After years of this pattern, it can cause adrenal burnout that manifests as unexplained fatigue and affects hormone production needed for fertility.
“I always tell my patients, it's nice to know what your timeline is, definitely. But I need to create some space before that timeline to just give your body the time to do what it needs to do to prep for this baby.”
— Dr. Olivia Watkins▶ 23:59
Ideally 3-6 months of preparation focusing on optimizing nutrition, addressing any inflammation, supporting detox pathways, and creating a strong foundation. The timeline varies based on your starting point - someone with autoimmune issues may need longer than someone who's already healthy.
“You can't just look at this being in this body who's going through this experience and deduce them down to their separate parts. It's like this is a whole entity. This is a whole entity that's working together to do this magical thing.”
— Dr. Olivia Watkins▶ 6:30
Naturopathic medicine looks at the whole person and optimal health ranges, while conventional medicine often focuses on separate body parts and normal ranges based on sick populations. Naturopathic doctors emphasize prevention and root cause healing rather than just treating symptoms.
“Sometimes there's resistance there because they have a fear that if she gets all of the work up and she's doing all of these things and it still doesn't work, when is she gonna look at me and say, maybe it's you?”
— Dr. Olivia Watkins▶ 44:08
Partner resistance often stems from fear they might be the fertility problem, not just stubbornness. Many partners worry that if their female partner does all the work and it still doesn't work, attention will turn to male factor issues they're not ready to face.
Dr. Olivia Watkins' comprehensive approach to preparing your body for fertility success
Assess Lifestyle Patterns
Evaluate daily eating patterns, sleep quality, stress sources, bowel movements, and overall energy levels to identify areas for improvement.
Get Comprehensive Lab Testing
Test thyroid function including antibodies, vitamin D, iron panel with ferritin, blood sugar markers, lipid profile, and inflammatory markers beyond basic fertility panels.
Address Gut Health
Use food diary to identify inflammatory foods, consider food allergy testing, heal intestinal permeability, and rebuild healthy microbiome.
Clean Up Environment
Gradually replace toxic cleaning products, personal care items, and assess occupational exposures without creating overwhelm or fear.
Support Detox Pathways
Ensure liver function is optimal, support elimination through proper nutrition and bowel health, plan 3-6 months before active conception attempts.
Create Receptive Energy
Balance masculine doing energy with feminine receptivity through mindfulness, stress reduction, and trusting your body's wisdom.
Conventional 'normal' lab ranges are based on sick populations and miss optimal health markers needed for fertility
Dr. Watkins explains TSH reference range is 0.45-4.5, but someone at 0.057 is 'one bad stressful situation from bottoming out' despite being technically normal. She's seen patients told their thyroid is normal when only TSH was tested, missing Hashimoto's detected through antibody testing.
Hashimoto's thyroiditis is largely environmental, driven by gluten inflammation, pesticides, and gut permeability
Dr. Watkins notes strong scientific evidence linking gluten to thyroid inflammation, plus environmental toxins from food, water, cleaning products, and occupational exposures. She sees genetic predisposition triggered by environmental burden in her practice.
Leaky gut allows food particles into bloodstream where they trigger autoimmune responses affecting fertility
Dr. Watkins explains when intestinal barrier breaks down, food proteins enter bloodstream as foreign pathogens, causing inflammatory immune response through same cell signaling pathways that trigger autoimmunity. She assesses every patient's gut regardless of symptoms because it can cause joint pain, brain fog, weight gain, depression.
Skipping breakfast for years can cause adrenal burnout that mimics other fertility issues
Dr. Watkins sees patients eating one meal daily, living on caffeine, starting each day with insulin spikes that stress adrenals for 15+ years. She explains this causes women to say 'everything in my life is perfect, but I'm so tired' when the real issue is chronic nutritional stress.
Fertility is the most feminine process requiring receptive energy, not masculine doing energy
Dr. Watkins explains fertility 'requires us to do nothing' and create receptive space, but women tie self-worth to doing everything. She notes when obstacles like infertility arise, women want to 'drive through it, get solution, get baby' but healing requires letting information in.
Detox should happen 3-6 months before trying to conceive, not during conception attempts
Dr. Watkins warns that heavy metals like aluminum can stay in bones and teeth for years, so you don't want to start leaching process right when conceiving. She prefers calling it 'cleanup' and ensuring proper drainage and elimination before going through cycle or two.
Each person needs individualized approach based on their complete story, not cookie-cutter protocols
Dr. Watkins gives example of patient with Hashimoto's, recent parent loss, accident trauma requiring longer healing time versus healthy 32-year-old athlete with good sleep routine ready in 2-3 months. She emphasizes getting to know the whole person to find their specific obstacles to cure.
Partner resistance often stems from fear they might be the fertility problem, not just ignorance
Dr. Watkins invites partners to appointments and observes that resistance sometimes comes from male partners' fear that 'if she gets all workup and does all these things and it still doesn't work, when is she gonna look at me and say maybe it's you?'
Conventional medicine reduces women to separate parts instead of seeing whole person working together
Rosanne notes women immediately get 'bombarded with statistics, with what has worked for other people, rigidity in approach' while Dr. Watkins emphasizes 'you can't just look at this being in this body and deduce them down to their separate parts.'
Adopt spirit of curiosity instead of blame and shame when fertility challenges arise
Dr. Watkins recommends asking 'are there things my body could be trying to tell me? What's that symptom mean? How do I feel during different parts of month?' She explains when reframed as curiosity, 'there's no blame and there's no shame' allowing women to get answers that help change mindset.
Conventional 'normal' lab ranges are based on sick populations and miss optimal health markers needed for fertility
▶ 13:19Hashimoto's thyroiditis is largely environmental, driven by gluten inflammation, pesticides, and gut permeability
▶ 23:24Leaky gut allows food particles into bloodstream where they trigger autoimmune responses affecting fertility
▶ 28:04Skipping breakfast for years can cause adrenal burnout that mimics other fertility issues
▶ 35:38Fertility is the most feminine process requiring receptive energy, not masculine doing energy
▶ 19:38Detox should happen 3-6 months before trying to conceive, not during conception attempts
▶ 31:59Each person needs individualized approach based on their complete story, not cookie-cutter protocols
▶ 23:00Partner resistance often stems from fear they might be the fertility problem, not just ignorance
▶ 44:08Conventional medicine reduces women to separate parts instead of seeing whole person working together
▶ 9:25Adopt spirit of curiosity instead of blame and shame when fertility challenges arise
▶ 48:41“Normal lab results mean your thyroid is fine for fertility”
CONSIDER: Normal ranges are based on sick populations and miss optimal levels needed for conception and healthy pregnancy
“Fertility problems require medical intervention to fix”
CONSIDER: Fertility is about creating receptive feminine energy and addressing root causes through whole-body approach
“Stress only comes from external factors like job or relationship”
CONSIDER: Chronic nutritional stress from poor eating patterns can cause adrenal burnout mimicking fertility issues
“You can't just look at this being in this body who's going through this experience and deduce them down to their separate parts. It's like this is a whole entity. This is a whole entity that's working together to do this magical thing.”
“Fertility is literally the most feminine thing that can happen. And it's just so feminine in every way and impossible, you know, way that it can manifest. That's the ultimate. So we have to create that energy to receive, and that requires us to do nothing.”
“I can't tell you how many patients I've seen where not only have they been told that their thyroid is normal and they're only looking at TSH, the thyroid stimulating hormone.”
“Each person has a god within them. We all have this god spirit that should be revered, and that has to start with us first before we can expect it from anyone else.”
“When we change it and we flip the script and we make it more about curiosity, are there things that my body could be trying to tell me? What's that symptom mean? Why do I feel that?”
“Sometimes it isn't the job or the relationship or the woman's working out too hard or she's not sleeping. Sometimes it really is something as simple as not eating breakfast for the last fifteen years.”
“When we're trying to grow a baby or trying to start that process, our demands are different. You're gonna need more. Your body's gonna need more energy.”
EP 353: A NOT Hella Boring Conversation About Functional Nutrition with Katie Keen
What happens when an expert dismisses your symptoms as 'all in your head' — and how functional nutrition can transform your fertility journey in ways traditional medicine never could.
EP367: 10 Years to Healthy Baby Girl: Lavinia's Story
How a Romanian woman overcame 10 years of fertility struggles, multiple IVF failures, and autoimmune issues to hold her baby girl at 43 by shifting from victim to victor.
EP124 From London Lawyer To Dublin Miracle Mama
How a London lawyer went from devastating IVF failure with perfect embryos to natural conception the very next month.
Frameworks & Methods
Common Beliefs
Traditional medicine often dismisses women's health symptoms as psychological, even when serious conditions are present
Katie Keen went to her OBGYN multiple times with weight gain, fatigue, and menstrual problems. After blood tests showed 'normal' results, the doctor told her 'it's all in your head' and gave her a therapist's card, despite Katie having undiagnosed PCOS, insulin resistance, hypothyroidism, leaky gut, and severe inflammation.
Functional nutrition goes beyond general dietary advice to address root causes through personalized protocols based on individual health history and testing
Katie Keen explains functional nutrition as 'deep diving into the root causes behind what's causing the imbalances in somebody's body and then fixing those imbalances by different protocols or tailored nutritional plans and lifestyle strategies' - not just telling someone to 'go paleo' or 'eat healthy.'
The fertility journey can be a catalyst for complete life transformation if you allow it to wake you up to an entirely different way of living
Lavinia spent 10 years on her fertility journey from age 33-43, transforming from someone living in victim mentality to an empowered woman who now coaches other women through fertility struggles.
You can meditate all day, but if you don't change the underlying belief system that's causing you to be stuck in worst-case scenario thinking, meditation alone won't create the transformation you need
Lavinia tried meditation and felt better physically but still had racing thoughts about 'what if I transfer and it doesn't work' until she addressed her limiting beliefs through mindset work.
