đ Welcome to Fertility Rules
Subscriber FAQ, new book sneak peek, and the return of midwives
đ§ Newsletter tl;dr
đââď¸ Who am I: 2x author, 2x boy mom, angel investor, recovering entrepreneur, straight-talking research wonk
đ Who should read: Fertility/pregnancy enthusiasts and startup fans
đ How often will it hit my inbox? 1x/week
đŹ What will it feature: Reproductive health hacks and facts, interviews with experts, startup features, things I love, weird gifs
đ Why, hello there
If youâre new to me, authoring two books was personal. I wrote Bumpinâ while pregnant with son #1 as nothing spoke to me as a working parent, nor did any books go deep on hard yet common aspects of pregnancy (miscarriage! diastasis recti! depression!) After a decade+ investing in and advising health companies, if I was confused, what was it like for everyone else?
Three miscarriages later, I have two sons, 18 months and 3.5 going on 30, but no diagnosis. After Bumpinâs release, I heard from many readers who encountered similar challenges and, like me, spent long hours analyzing what they could have done differently. So I went on a quest to assemble everything I wish Iâd known before trying to conceive. The culmination of that pursuit is my new book, Fertility Rules, coming June 6.
đ Fertility Rules sneak peek: itâs not just for women
Male factor is the cause of around half of fertility issues. Yet 25% of men arenât even examined during an infertility exploration. Weâll go into the myriad reasons why in a future edition, but the result is that women act as treatment surrogates for men, undergoing lengthy, invasive, expensive, and in some cases, unnecessary procedures when all that may be required is for their partner to get a semen analysis and physical exam then make basic lifestyle tweaks.
Beyond giving men a nudge toward their doctorâs office, Fertility Rules provides the sex ed you never got, evidence-backed ways to improve your fertility, and how to take action, whether thatâs making a baby, fertility testing and preservation, or infertility treatment. Edited by reproductive health and subject matter experts across exercise, supplements, mental health, and nutrition, it provides holistic, practical advice that anyone can follow.
In the coming months, Iâll preview content from the book and feature interviews with experts. If there are topics youâd like to explore, email me with questions or comments anytime: lesliezschrock@gmail.com.
đ What Iâm reading Â
𧍠 Choice of genetics lab may impact euploid blastocyst and live birth rates Fertility & Sterility
đ Average age of first-time parents over the past 250,000 years Science AdvancesÂ
đ§ Parental leave benefits parentsâ mental health The LancetÂ
đ Can you become a morning person? Inverse
đś Born that way: how infant temperament influences our lives Aeon
đŻ How our microbiome is shaped by family, friends, and neighbors Nature
đ˝ How Americans got everything about food entirely backward The Ringer
đ Midwives making a comeback
Midwifery goes back to 40,000 B.C. During the Middle Ages, things took a not-so-stellar turn, as midwives were deemed heretics and witches and sometimes burned for their perceived transgressions. This reputation unfairly tainted the profession for centuries, and itâs only in the past 100 years that weâve seen a resurgence in western countries. In the UK, all planned births are attended by midwives. In the US, theyâre present at just 8%. But this may be changing.
Oula raised a $19.1M Series A (for those not in startup land, thatâs typically a second round of venture capital funding) to redesign maternity care in their beautiful clinics. Pertinent here, midwives are at the center of care teams, and work together with an ob-gyn. In the US, midwives have a Master of Science in Nursing, or are Registered Nurses and focus mostly on low-risk pregnancies and births. They provide more holistic care and longer appointments, and the positive effects of a midwifeâs presenceâfrom fewer interventions and tearing during birth to improved breastfeeding outcomesâare proven. Oulaâs clinics are only in NYC right now, but hopefully, this marks the return of midwivesâand a move toward more patient-centered prenatal care.
đ§ A thing that makes my life better
Not an ad, just a product I like
I love to cook and I love garlic (some studies suggest garlic boosts male fertility). Sometimes I buy the pre-chopped varietal (donât come at me, culinary enthusiasts). Other times I use this hack for peeling and this garlic zoomer which minces in approximately 2.5 seconds. My older son digs it too as itâs as fun as it looks.
