May 6, 2024 • 11 mins
In this quick episode, host Kelly discusses the crucial topic of preconception testing for women in any childbearing phase, emphasizing its importance in planning for a healthy pregnancy. She highlights the lack of conversation around this topic by most care providers and offers detailed insight into five essential tests:
-a complete thyroid panel
-complete blood count (CBC)
-comprehensive metabolic panel
-hemoglobin A1C
-vitamin D levels
00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Quick Listens
00:52 The Importance of Preconception Testing
05:23 Comprehensive Guide to Preconception Tests
10:05 Resources and Next Steps for Preconception Planning
Links to all the extra good stuff:
What you need to know before you get pregnant Episode: HERE
30 Dar Hormone Reset: HERE
Prep for Pregnancy Checklist: HERE
Functional Thyroid Management Protocols: HERE
Iron Building Protocol: HERE
Holistic Fertility Handbook: HERE
Hormone Health Bundle: HERE
Join our email community: HERE
Submit your answer-on-the-show questions: HERE
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to catch every episode. Follow us on Instagram for extra education and antics between episodes at: @beautifulonemidwifery
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to At Home with Kellyand Tiffany, where naturally
minded women gather together aswe pursue simplicity and
confidence in healthalternatives, so we can show up
better in our busy lives andfeel more at home in our bodies.
Join your favorite home birthmidwife duo for conversation,
candor, and community.
Hey ladies, welcome to episode157 of at home with Kelly and
(00:24):
Tiffany.
I am your host Kelly.
I am flying solo today with aquick episode.
These episodes we're callingquick listens.
They're just little episodes.
You can hop in on, get some goodeducation, check out the
episode, links and descriptionstuff.
And kind of get more informationthere and just simply go about
your lady life.
We figure sometimes it's justnice to hop in, give yourself a
(00:46):
handful of minutes and go aboutyour life rather than listening
to us.
Chatting about random aspects ofour life.
So we have a totally importanttopic today.
It gets a lot of kind offeedback, attention, at least on
our end, because most careproviders aren't actually
talking about it with theirclients or really aren't giving
their clients a lot ofinformation or options.
(01:08):
So just like the episode titlesuggests, we are talking today
about preconception testing.
So any woman in any phase of herchildbearing kind of phase of
life, right.
Which can.
Span from like, I don't know,about 12 years old to maybe
about 50 years old, who issexually active, should be
(01:29):
prepared for the possibility ofpregnancy.
Right.
We've talked so many times aboutwhat your cycle is doing.
Your body wants to get pregnant,right.
When it is firing on allcylinders, when it is
functioning well, So even birthcontrol with a very high
efficacy rates can fail rightwith perfect use because your
(01:49):
body is really desiring andlonging for that outcome.
So if you're listening here,Most likely you're doing so
because you fall somewhere inthe continuum, right.
Of wanting to be pregnant.
Of planning to be pregnant ofworking, to become pregnant.
Potentially you are, that's faroff for you, but you want to be
(02:11):
prepared.
Maybe you're deep in the thickof it right now.
But hopefully this is an episodethat just reminds you of how
your body is desiring tofunction and ways that you can
kind of check in on what isactually going on with that
function.
So as a baseline, really, wetruly believe that fertility is
(02:32):
a beautiful aspect of womanhood,but because of what I just
mentioned, your body, alwayswanting to get pregnant.
It's also a responsibility,right?
And we need to steward thatreally well.
I feel like when I look aroundin modern culture, it's just, we
get sent some really confusingmessages, right.
Regarding what a healthy respectof our female biology really
(02:56):
looks like.
But here on this podcast andkind of what we're desiring to
do and put out into the world,we want to support the beauty
and just the normalcy andvitality of this aspect of.
Our female health and reallyjust kind of provide some
scaffolding on how to supportthat process as you work towards
(03:17):
ideally in this situation,right?
The healthiest pregnancypossible.
So many women view preconceptionas those few months that lead up
to a future pregnancy.
But I honestly would kind of,insert a bit of an argument
there that there's so much to begained from a lifetime
perspective of fertility, right.
(03:38):
For many of us that can actuallybegin today, even if it's not
necessarily on your radar or inthe very near future for you
looking towards the entirety ofour lady life and thinking about
where fertility kind of playsinto that and where it falls.
Into that.
So no matter where you are kindof on that continuum of
(04:00):
planning, desiring, or even ifyou're preventing, right.
There's something ideally herefor you.
So.
Obviously weren't talking aboutpreconception, addressing
nutrient deficiency is metabolicdisease and disorders prior to
pregnancy is going to be animportant aspect.
Of setting you up for healthy orjust future pregnancy and an
(04:22):
easier time conceiving.
But it's possible to avoid manycomplications in pregnancy.
We've had a ton of episodes,especially this season about it,
because we're just reallyfocusing on the fact that
nobody's really talking aboutthis for women.
But it is possible to avoid manycomplications in pregnancy with
some awareness, some education,a little bit of planning.
(04:42):
And that's kind of what we'rechatting about here.
Well-woman checkup which is justlike you know, sort of like a
physical right idea.
It can provide access to andcounseling on the testing
options that really are a bestfit for you, depending on which,
what provider you're going to.
Right.
But here is our list for ladieswe know who are either desiring
(05:04):
sort of a baseline beforeplanning to conceive.
Or who are struggling toconceive.
Right.
And anywhere else on thatcontinuum, generally speaking.
So we have five tests.
That I'll just go over today.
In terms of what we generallysuggest in those situations.
The first step, a completethyroid panel.
(05:26):
So treating fibroid dysfunctionbefore getting pregnant.
Can lead to a million, muchbetter outcomes, right?
Easier time, conceiving, lesscomplicated pregnancy, less
complicated postpartum recovery.
So lab assessment, I feel likeis the most important aspect of
this as well.
It should be an entire panel.
If you are just quick, justgetting TSH tested.
(05:49):
That is not enough.
We have an entire episode aboutthat.
And it should be assessed froman optimal and functional lab
range result perspective, andnot just kind of like what a
lab, similar to lab core orsomething like that has deemed.
What is normal, right.
And so we're looking for optimalversus just normal, right?
(06:10):
We're looking for full bodyvitality and health, rather than
just run of the mill stuff.
The next one up is a completeblood count.
So a complete blood count alsoknown as a CBC.
It's going to show an accuratepicture of like, what's going on
with your red blood cellfunction.
It can reveal prepregnancy bloodinfections.
It can reveal anemia.
(06:31):
A vast majority of women will beanemic at some point in their
lives.
And so this is a huge way tosupport your body's baseline
functioning as well as just kindof feeling better also in this
season.
So those are the first two.
The third up is a comprehensivemetabolic panel.
That is going to show reallyimportant markers.
(06:53):
For a fluid electrolyte healthliver function, kidney function.
This is an incredibly important.
Lab range that we run for almostall women.
And especially if you have anyhistory of any complications in
your pregnancy.
Absolutely.
Get this run.
Because that can help you lookforward and look ahead in terms
(07:16):
of planning for a complicationfree pregnancy.
This is a fasting lab.
And it's going to give you somuch information about what's
going on.
In like those major organsystems that absolutely can give
insight into what's going onwith your fertility.
What's going on with conceptionissues.
What's going on.
With a potential futurepregnancy health in general.
(07:38):
So a definitely a vital one toget there.
The next one up hemoglobin A1C,ultra also known as H A1C.
So that's going to show youraverage blood sugar level over
the past, like few months, thenthe last, like two to three
months or so.
And if you've ever listened.
To any of our content anywhere,you will not be surprised to
(08:00):
know that we find thisincredibly important.
So your blood sugar balance isgoing to impact so many other
bodily functions, so muchhormone communication.
What's going on with yourovulation, your ministration,
your fertility, just in general.
So balancing this aspect,understanding what your baseline
(08:21):
is seeing, if there's anythingthat you need to work towards,
right.
Balancing that aspect, it'sgoing to help you.
Not only feel better, but it isabsolutely going to set you up
for the healthiest pregnancypossible.
So that is another one of thosethat we are testing on everybody
at this point.
And the last one up is a vitaminD.
So this one is a really helpfulvalue.
(08:43):
We see because most women aredeficient, right.
And even though like Tiffany arein San Diego, very sunny
throughout the here, most womeneven here are deficient.
And there's a risk for kind ofrelated complications of vitamin
D deficiency and those with astronger baseline of vitamin D
(09:05):
with like the functionalmedicine, stronger baseline,
that kind of assesses in thefifties rather than the.
Thirties, which is like what labCorp would say would be normal.
They have higher rates offertility and full-term
pregnancies.
So again, a stronger baseline ofvitamin D the correlation is
higher rates of fertility andfull-term pregnancies.
(09:25):
Yes, please.
This is something thatabsolutely can impact how
everything kind of plays outfrom here.
Right.
And so absolutely worthunderstanding what is going on
in your body.
In this particular way.
And I really do believe thatunderstanding that particular
aspect of your health what'sgoing on with your vitamin D is
going to impact so much fromfertility.
(09:46):
Like we're talking about to men.
Mental health and like, farbeyond that.
So those are the five pieces.
That if you have not gotten anypreconception testing and you
are considering pregnancy, youare struggling getting pregnant.
These are like really greatbaseline places to start.
So.
If you're interested in any moreinformation about these tests or
(10:09):
what to do about assessingresults of those tests.
Kind of what to do from here.
We have a ton of resources inthe show notes here.
Like I was saying, these quicklistens are like hop in, listen
to the information.
And then this is like thestarting off point for you to
kind of go do your research fromhere.
So in those show notes, you'regoing to find our functional
(10:30):
thyroid handbook, which is goingto include all of the lab ranges
that I was talking about how toassess them, what to do about
those results.
Especially if you are findingyourself on the lower end or the
higher end of any of those.
You will find an iron buildingsupport protocol in there as
well.
So if your results from thatcomplete blood count are less
(10:52):
than stellar, you will find someinformation there.
You're going to find blood sugarbalancing support.
As well as our completepreconception and fertility
handbook.
And are preparing for pregnancychecklist and timeline for more
support.
So if you do one thing afterlistening to this, it is check
(11:13):
out our episode description, ourshow notes below.
Because it is an absolutetreasure trove in there this
week for more research and moresupport for you.
And hopefully this is a feelinglike a really tangible place for
you to start and jump jump intomore research.
Jump into more encouragement andjust confidence as you go in to
(11:35):
this next season.
So again, this is midwife Kellythis week flying solo.
I hope you enjoyed this littlequick listen here and we will be
back next week.
With a, another installment ofour birth story series.
We'll catch you then.
Welcome to At Home with Kellyand Tiffany, where naturally
minded women gather together aswe pursue simplicity and
confidence in healthalternatives, so we can show up
better in our busy lives andfeel more at home in our bodies.
Join your favorite home birthmidwife duo for conversation,
candor, and community.
Hey ladies, welcome to episode157 of at home with Kelly and
(00:24):
Tiffany.
I am your host Kelly.
I am flying solo today with aquick episode.
These episodes we're callingquick listens.
They're just little episodes.
You can hop in on, get some goodeducation, check out the
episode, links and descriptionstuff.
And kind of get more informationthere and just simply go about
your lady life.
We figure sometimes it's justnice to hop in, give yourself a
(00:46):
handful of minutes and go aboutyour life rather than listening
to us.
Chatting about random aspects ofour life.
So we have a totally importanttopic today.
It gets a lot of kind offeedback, attention, at least on
our end, because most careproviders aren't actually
talking about it with theirclients or really aren't giving
their clients a lot ofinformation or options.
(01:08):
So just like the episode titlesuggests, we are talking today
about preconception testing.
So any woman in any phase of herchildbearing kind of phase of
life, right.
Which can.
Span from like, I don't know,about 12 years old to maybe
about 50 years old, who issexually active, should be
(01:29):
prepared for the possibility ofpregnancy.
Right.
We've talked so many times aboutwhat your cycle is doing.
Your body wants to get pregnant,right.
When it is firing on allcylinders, when it is
functioning well, So even birthcontrol with a very high
efficacy rates can fail rightwith perfect use because your
(01:49):
body is really desiring andlonging for that outcome.
So if you're listening here,Most likely you're doing so
because you fall somewhere inthe continuum, right.
Of wanting to be pregnant.
Of planning to be pregnant ofworking, to become pregnant.
Potentially you are, that's faroff for you, but you want to be
(02:11):
prepared.
Maybe you're deep in the thickof it right now.
But hopefully this is an episodethat just reminds you of how
your body is desiring tofunction and ways that you can
kind of check in on what isactually going on with that
function.
So as a baseline, really, wetruly believe that fertility is
(02:32):
a beautiful aspect of womanhood,but because of what I just
mentioned, your body, alwayswanting to get pregnant.
It's also a responsibility,right?
And we need to steward thatreally well.
I feel like when I look aroundin modern culture, it's just, we
get sent some really confusingmessages, right.
Regarding what a healthy respectof our female biology really
(02:56):
looks like.
But here on this podcast andkind of what we're desiring to
do and put out into the world,we want to support the beauty
and just the normalcy andvitality of this aspect of.
Our female health and reallyjust kind of provide some
scaffolding on how to supportthat process as you work towards
(03:17):
ideally in this situation,right?
The healthiest pregnancypossible.
So many women view preconceptionas those few months that lead up
to a future pregnancy.
But I honestly would kind of,insert a bit of an argument
there that there's so much to begained from a lifetime
perspective of fertility, right.
(03:38):
For many of us that can actuallybegin today, even if it's not
necessarily on your radar or inthe very near future for you
looking towards the entirety ofour lady life and thinking about
where fertility kind of playsinto that and where it falls.
Into that.
So no matter where you are kindof on that continuum of
(04:00):
planning, desiring, or even ifyou're preventing, right.
There's something ideally herefor you.
So.
Obviously weren't talking aboutpreconception, addressing
nutrient deficiency is metabolicdisease and disorders prior to
pregnancy is going to be animportant aspect.
Of setting you up for healthy orjust future pregnancy and an
(04:22):
easier time conceiving.
But it's possible to avoid manycomplications in pregnancy.
We've had a ton of episodes,especially this season about it,
because we're just reallyfocusing on the fact that
nobody's really talking aboutthis for women.
But it is possible to avoid manycomplications in pregnancy with
some awareness, some education,a little bit of planning.
(04:42):
And that's kind of what we'rechatting about here.
Well-woman checkup which is justlike you know, sort of like a
physical right idea.
It can provide access to andcounseling on the testing
options that really are a bestfit for you, depending on which,
what provider you're going to.
Right.
But here is our list for ladieswe know who are either desiring
(05:04):
sort of a baseline beforeplanning to conceive.
Or who are struggling toconceive.
Right.
And anywhere else on thatcontinuum, generally speaking.
So we have five tests.
That I'll just go over today.
In terms of what we generallysuggest in those situations.
The first step, a completethyroid panel.
(05:26):
So treating fibroid dysfunctionbefore getting pregnant.
Can lead to a million, muchbetter outcomes, right?
Easier time, conceiving, lesscomplicated pregnancy, less
complicated postpartum recovery.
So lab assessment, I feel likeis the most important aspect of
this as well.
It should be an entire panel.
If you are just quick, justgetting TSH tested.
(05:49):
That is not enough.
We have an entire episode aboutthat.
And it should be assessed froman optimal and functional lab
range result perspective, andnot just kind of like what a
lab, similar to lab core orsomething like that has deemed.
What is normal, right.
And so we're looking for optimalversus just normal, right?
(06:10):
We're looking for full bodyvitality and health, rather than
just run of the mill stuff.
The next one up is a completeblood count.
So a complete blood count alsoknown as a CBC.
It's going to show an accuratepicture of like, what's going on
with your red blood cellfunction.
It can reveal prepregnancy bloodinfections.
It can reveal anemia.
(06:31):
A vast majority of women will beanemic at some point in their
lives.
And so this is a huge way tosupport your body's baseline
functioning as well as just kindof feeling better also in this
season.
So those are the first two.
The third up is a comprehensivemetabolic panel.
That is going to show reallyimportant markers.
(06:53):
For a fluid electrolyte healthliver function, kidney function.
This is an incredibly important.
Lab range that we run for almostall women.
And especially if you have anyhistory of any complications in
your pregnancy.
Absolutely.
Get this run.
Because that can help you lookforward and look ahead in terms
(07:16):
of planning for a complicationfree pregnancy.
This is a fasting lab.
And it's going to give you somuch information about what's
going on.
In like those major organsystems that absolutely can give
insight into what's going onwith your fertility.
What's going on with conceptionissues.
What's going on.
With a potential futurepregnancy health in general.
(07:38):
So a definitely a vital one toget there.
The next one up hemoglobin A1C,ultra also known as H A1C.
So that's going to show youraverage blood sugar level over
the past, like few months, thenthe last, like two to three
months or so.
And if you've ever listened.
To any of our content anywhere,you will not be surprised to
(08:00):
know that we find thisincredibly important.
So your blood sugar balance isgoing to impact so many other
bodily functions, so muchhormone communication.
What's going on with yourovulation, your ministration,
your fertility, just in general.
So balancing this aspect,understanding what your baseline
(08:21):
is seeing, if there's anythingthat you need to work towards,
right.
Balancing that aspect, it'sgoing to help you.
Not only feel better, but it isabsolutely going to set you up
for the healthiest pregnancypossible.
So that is another one of thosethat we are testing on everybody
at this point.
And the last one up is a vitaminD.
So this one is a really helpfulvalue.
(08:43):
We see because most women aredeficient, right.
And even though like Tiffany arein San Diego, very sunny
throughout the here, most womeneven here are deficient.
And there's a risk for kind ofrelated complications of vitamin
D deficiency and those with astronger baseline of vitamin D
(09:05):
with like the functionalmedicine, stronger baseline,
that kind of assesses in thefifties rather than the.
Thirties, which is like what labCorp would say would be normal.
They have higher rates offertility and full-term
pregnancies.
So again, a stronger baseline ofvitamin D the correlation is
higher rates of fertility andfull-term pregnancies.
(09:25):
Yes, please.
This is something thatabsolutely can impact how
everything kind of plays outfrom here.
Right.
And so absolutely worthunderstanding what is going on
in your body.
In this particular way.
And I really do believe thatunderstanding that particular
aspect of your health what'sgoing on with your vitamin D is
going to impact so much fromfertility.
(09:46):
Like we're talking about to men.
Mental health and like, farbeyond that.
So those are the five pieces.
That if you have not gotten anypreconception testing and you
are considering pregnancy, youare struggling getting pregnant.
These are like really greatbaseline places to start.
So.
If you're interested in any moreinformation about these tests or
(10:09):
what to do about assessingresults of those tests.
Kind of what to do from here.
We have a ton of resources inthe show notes here.
Like I was saying, these quicklistens are like hop in, listen
to the information.
And then this is like thestarting off point for you to
kind of go do your research fromhere.
So in those show notes, you'regoing to find our functional
(10:30):
thyroid handbook, which is goingto include all of the lab ranges
that I was talking about how toassess them, what to do about
those results.
Especially if you are findingyourself on the lower end or the
higher end of any of those.
You will find an iron buildingsupport protocol in there as
well.
So if your results from thatcomplete blood count are less
(10:52):
than stellar, you will find someinformation there.
You're going to find blood sugarbalancing support.
As well as our completepreconception and fertility
handbook.
And are preparing for pregnancychecklist and timeline for more
support.
So if you do one thing afterlistening to this, it is check
(11:13):
out our episode description, ourshow notes below.
Because it is an absolutetreasure trove in there this
week for more research and moresupport for you.
And hopefully this is a feelinglike a really tangible place for
you to start and jump jump intomore research.
Jump into more encouragement andjust confidence as you go in to
(11:35):
this next season.
So again, this is midwife Kellythis week flying solo.
I hope you enjoyed this littlequick listen here and we will be
back next week.
With a, another installment ofour birth story series.
We'll catch you then.
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