Is Inflammation Hijacking Your Fertility? Answers from Natalie Crawford, MD

Written By Lora Shahine, MD

What if inflammation is quietly affecting your fertility? What if the key to improving egg quality and hormonal balance isn’t just medical treatment, but the everyday choices you make? And what if understanding your body earlier could change your entire fertility journey? 

In this episode of Brave & Curious, Dr. Lora Shahine welcomes fertility specialist Dr. Natalie Crawford to explore how inflammation influences reproductive health and what women can do to support fertility from the inside out.

Dr. Natalie Crawford is the author of The Fertility Formula, and she is here to share how her own experience with infertility and pregnancy loss shaped her passion for empowering patients with science-based fertility education. 

Together, she and Dr. Shahine discuss the growing role of chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, environmental exposures, and lifestyle factors in fertility challenges. Dr. Crawford explains why fertility medicine often reacts too late in the process and why understanding hormones, ovarian reserve, and reproductive health earlier can help people advocate for themselves and make informed decisions.

In this episode you’ll hear:

  • [2:32] Dr. Natalie Crawford’s fertility journey

  • [7:00] Chronic inflammation and fertility

  • [20:59] Insulin resistance impacts hormones, ovulation, & egg quality

  • [26:34] The connection between stress, cortisol, and fertility outcomes

  • [28:09] Sleep is an important fertility-supporting habit

  • [32:41] Strength training to improve hormone health

  • [41:23] Nutrition basics that work

  • [48:25] Dr. Crawford’s framework: Educate, Advocate, Optimize

  • [54:26] Connecting with Natalie

Resources Mentioned:

nataliecrawfordmd.com

As A Woman Podcast 

@nataliecrawfordmd Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | YouTube

Ep 157 Why Sleep is the Most Powerful Habit You Can’t Ignore with Dr. Meredith Broderick

Dr. Shahine’s Newsletter on Fertility News and Recommendations

Follow @drlorashahine Instagram | YouTube | Tiktok | Her Books

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Lora Shahine, MD

Dr. Lora Shahine, reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, completed her residency in OBGYN at the University of California in San Francisco and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Stanford University. She is dedicated to educating and advocating for increased awareness of infertility, miscarriage, and the impact on environmental toxins on health through an active social media presence, teaching, clinical research, and authoring multiple blogs and books including best selling, ‘Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.’

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