Get Pregnant Naturally

For most people, donor eggs is at the bottom of the list. It is not where you wanted to land. And if your clinic is recommending it, something in you is saying there has to be more to look at first.
Here is what we see every week. The donor egg recommendation rarely arrives after a complete workup. It arrives after looking at the AMH, the FSH, the follicle count, maybe a basic semen analysis, and maybe being told your TSH is normal.
Those numbers are real. The diagnosis is real. What gets called complete is the question.
This episode is the 11 specific things we most often find skipped before the recommendation gets made. Pull it up. Take notes. Bring it to your next appointment.
The 11 patterns:
1. Thyroid, the full panel, not just TSH
2. The gut, including H. pylori
3. Hidden food sensitivities
4. Medications you are already on that affect fertility
5. The vaginal microbiome
6. The seminal microbiome
7. The male partner's full bloodwork
8. Sperm DNA fragmentation
9. Vaginal and seminal cross-contamination between partners
10. The nervous system and HPA axis
11. Liver function and hormone clearance
These are the tests that sit outside the standard fertility workup. A 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that ovarian reserve markers like AMH do not significantly predict natural conception in women with regular cycles. The donor egg recommendation comes from one snapshot, not the full investigation.
If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First," then "How Long Should I Try With My Own Eggs Before Donor Eggs?" then "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For," and "Multiple Failed IVF And Told Donor Eggs?" This episode brings all of it together.
WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED
The companion guide walks through all 11 of these patterns in more detail, so you can take it to your next appointment and ask the questions.
Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide.
FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION
A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be.
Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here.
ABOUT THE HOST
I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them.
Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.
If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation and What Gets Called Complete
01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile
02:00 Thyroid: The Full Panel, Not Just TSH
03:00 The Gut and H. pylori
04:00 Hidden Food Sensitivities
05:00 Medications That Affect Fertility
06:30 The Vaginal Microbiome
08:00 The Seminal Microbiome
08:30 The Male Partner's Full Bloodwork
09:00 Sperm DNA Fragmentation
09:30 Cross-Contamination Between Partners
11:00 The Nervous System and HPA Axis
11:30 Liver Function and Hormone Clearance
13:00 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion

You have done IVF more than once. Maybe twice. Maybe three times. Maybe more.
Each cycle they tweaked the protocol. Higher dose. Lower dose. Different stimulation drug. Different trigger. Added growth hormone. Added DHEA. Mini IVF. Dual stim.
Each cycle the protocol changed.
And now they are telling you donor eggs.
Here is the question this episode is about. They changed the protocol every time. Did anyone look at what was already in your body when each of those protocols arrived?
That is what this episode is about. The layer underneath every protocol.
In this episode:
- Protocol vs system: what your clinic was trained to adjust, and what nobody adjusted across any of your cycles
- Why the donor egg conversation arrives after the only variable your clinic was trained to address has been exhausted, not after a full review of your body
- The thyroid, iron, B12, vitamin D, inflammation, gut, cortisol, mineral, vaginal microbiome, and blood sugar markers that did not change between cycle 1 and cycle 5
- Why we look at ferritin against 80 to 100 going into IVF, not the lab reference of 15
- What a 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found about ovarian reserve markers and natural conception — and why donor eggs gets recommended on markers the literature itself does not support
If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First," then "How Long Should I Try With My Own Eggs Before Donor Eggs?" and "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For." This episode builds on all three.
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WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED
The full thyroid panel, not just a TSH. The iron panel that flags ferritin against the fertility target. The gut microbiome testing your REI does not order. The inflammatory markers they tell you are normal. And the male side that almost nobody investigates.
Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide.
———
FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION
A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be.
Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here.
———
ABOUT THE HOST
I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them.
Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.
———
If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
———
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 The Protocol Changed Every Time. Did Anyone Change You?
01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile
02:00 Protocol vs System: The Layer Underneath Every IVF
03:00 What Your Body Brought to Every Cycle
04:30 What the 2024 Research Says About AMH
06:00 The Markers That Did Not Change Between Cycles
07:30 Why Multiple Tests Are Not One Test
09:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation With Half the Data
10:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion

Your clinic told you donor eggs. You walked out wondering how much time you actually have left. Whether waiting six months means missing your window. Whether trying with your own eggs one more time is brave or stupid.
The honest answer is longer than your clinic implied. And the window is not your AMH number.
In this episode:
- Why a 2024 study in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics found that ovarian reserve markers like AMH do not significantly predict natural conception in women with regular cycles
- What the 90-day window before ovulation actually is, and why the eggs you work with six months from now are not the eggs you are working with today
- The inputs your clinic's timeline assumed would not change: mitochondrial function, inflammation, iron, B12, zinc, vitamin D, cortisol patterns, toxic load
- The clinical pattern we see over more than a decade of cases: month zero to six is where the picture comes into view, twelve to eighteen months is where it can start to move substantially
- Why some pictures do not move, and why that is still a reason to look before you decide
If this is the first episode you have landed on in this series, go back and listen to "Told Donor Eggs Are Your Only Option? Ask This First" and then "The Gut Findings Your Clinic Did Not Look For." This episode builds on both.
———
WHAT YOUR CLINIC MISSED
The full thyroid panel, not just a TSH. The iron panel that flags ferritin. The gut microbiome testing that your REI does not order. The inflammatory markers no one notices. The male side that almost no one investigates.
Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED, and we will send you the guide.
———
FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY SECOND OPINION
A free 45-minute call where I review your labs, your history, and your partner's results with you. You leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision could be.
Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here.
———
ABOUT THE HOST
Now in its eighth year, Get Pregnant Naturally was one of the first podcasts dedicated to the functional fertility approach for low AMH and failed IVF. Hosted by Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, author of Fabulously Fertile, and host of a podcast with over one million downloads. Fab Fertile is a functional fertility team that works with couples to review the lab work most fertility clinics do not run: gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, full thyroid panel, the iron panel, and inflammation markers, alongside nervous system work. Each week Sarah brings you what the team sees across more than a decade of cases.
Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile, host of Get Pregnant Naturally (1M+ downloads), and author of Fabulously Fertile.
———

If this episode helped, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It is how other women find this work.
———
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 The Donor Egg Recommendation and the Real Question
01:00 Who's Reviewing Your Case at Fab Fertile
01:30 AMH Is Not the Countdown Clock
03:00 The 90-Day Window Before Ovulation
04:30 What Actually Changes In 90 Days
07:00 The Fab Fertile Method: What We Investigate
08:30 Why Some Cases Do Not Shift
09:30 The Functional Fertility Second Opinion

Told donor eggs after failed IVF? There is a category of testing that your fertility clinic does not run. We rarely run a stool test and find nothing.
The IVF cycle did not work. Maybe it was poor response. Maybe it was canceled before retrieval. Maybe you got embryos and they arrested. Maybe the transfer failed. Your clinic looked at your numbers and told you donor eggs.
In this episode, Sarah Clark walks through the gut pattern the Fab Fertile team sees in women who come to us after failed IVF with a donor egg recommendation, and why this pattern changes the picture before the next decision.
What this episode covers:
H. pylori. One of the most common findings in the women who come to us after failed IVF. It impairs absorption of iron, vitamin B12, and zinc, the nutrients that affect egg quality, thyroid function, and hormone production. It is passed back and forth between partners through saliva. If you have it, there is a strong chance your partner has it too.
Parasites, giardia, blastocystis. Common findings. Rarely tested at the fertility clinic.
Bacterial overgrowth, including streptococcus. Fungal overgrowth and dysbiosis. The reason chasing an anti-candida diet without testing moves you in circles.
Elevated calprotectin. A signal of gut inflammation, often present in women with IBD, Crohn's, colitis, and women with no formal diagnosis.
Elevated zonulin. A marker of intestinal permeability. The pattern we see after rounds of antibiotics, sinus infections, UTIs, birth control, and high stress.
Why this matters before a donor egg decision:
H. pylori impairs iron absorption. Ferritin reads low or low-normal. The clinic says iron is fine because the lab range starts around 15. The fertility-optimized range is closer to 50. Iron is foundational to egg quality. The oxygen carrying capacity to your follicles depends on it.
B12 affects methylation, the process your body uses to produce the co-factors needed for egg maturation.
Zinc affects ovulation and progesterone production.
Chronic gut inflammation affects ovarian response to stimulation, implantation, and miscarriage risk.
When your clinic looks at a canceled cycle, arrested embryos, or a failed transfer and recommends donor eggs, they are responding to the outcome. They are not asking what is driving the outcome.
This episode is for the woman sitting with a donor egg recommendation who is not ready to agree before she understands what was actually evaluated.
Next steps:
Access the free guide: What Your Clinic Missed. It walks through the markers we review before a donor egg recommendation, including the thyroid panel, the iron panel with the fertility target, the gut testing your REI does not order, the inflammatory markers, and the male side.
Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED.
Book a Functional Fertility Second Opinion. We will review your labs, your history, your full picture, and your partner's picture together. You will leave knowing what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision should be informed by.
Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE. Or apply here.
About the Host
I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and 
bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them.
Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running.
Timestamps
[00:00] Told Donor Eggs After Failed IVF
[01:00] Why the Fab Fertile Team Reviews Your Picture
[02:00] H. pylori: The Most Common Gut Finding We See
[03:00] Parasites, Streptococcus, and the Bacteria Most REIs Do Not Test
[04:00] Why a Single Gut Test Without Fertility Context Misses the Picture
[05:00] Iron, Ferritin, and the Fertility Range vs the Lab Range
[06:00] B12, Methylation, and Egg Maturation
[07:00] Zinc, Ovulation, and Progesterone
[08:00] What Your Clinic Missed: The Markers Before a Donor Egg Recommendation
[09:00] Why a Donor Egg Recommendation Responds to the Outcome, Not the Cause
[10:00] The Functional Fertility Second Opinion: What the Call Covers

The donor egg recommendation rarely comes after a complete workup. It comes after AMH, FSH, and an antral follicle count. That is usually where the investigation stops.
In this episode, Sarah Clark walks through what is missing from the workup before women are told donor eggs are their only path: the full thyroid panel, not just TSH. Stool DNA testing for H. pylori, parasites, and food sensitivities. The vaginal microbiome. The male partner's blood work, which most clinics do not run. The nervous system patterns most REIs do not connect to fertility.
Sarah shares Rebecca's case as a proof point. Rebecca was 27. Her AMH was 0.04 ng/mL. POI diagnosis. Told donor eggs were her only option. Her stool DNA testing revealed H. pylori and a parasite. Her food sensitivity testing showed gluten, dairy, and egg intolerance. She had adrenal insufficiency, thyroid imbalance, mineral depletion, and toxic load on her workup. Her eczema, migraines, and asthma were not separate issues. After targeted work, she conceived naturally in month five. Outcomes vary. Rebecca's case is one of many we use to illustrate what completing the workup can look like.
This episode is for the woman sitting with a donor egg recommendation who is not ready to agree before she understands what was actually evaluated. The goal is clarity. Not opposition to your clinic. Not a guarantee of any outcome. Clarity on what your workup did not include, so that whatever you decide next gets made on the full picture.
What this episode covers:
The diagnosis is real. The investigation is incomplete. Why TSH alone is not a thyroid panel. H. pylori, hidden food sensitivities, and the gut inflammation driver. Eczema, migraines, and asthma as fertility signals. The male partner's workup should include beyond a semen analysis. Nervous system patterns most REIs do not connect to fertility.
Next steps:
Access the free guide: What Your Clinic Missed. The guide walks through the markers that the Fab Fertile team reviews before a donor egg recommendation. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line MISSED.
Book a Functional Fertility Second Opinion. We'll review your labs, your history, your full picture, and your partner's picture together, so you know what your biology has been telling you and what your next decision should be informed by. Email hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line FERTILE, or book here.
About the Host
I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fab Fertile and host of Get Pregnant Naturally, a podcast with over one million downloads. My functional fertility team works with couples navigating low AMH and failed IVF, reviewing functional lab results, gut microbiome, food sensitivity, vaginal microbiome, nutrigenomics, HTMA, DUTCH, toxin testing, and bloodwork alongside nervous system work, to help identify patterns that may not have been considered. We work alongside your medical team, not instead of them.
Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for weekly episodes on fertility optimization, IVF preparation, and the lab work your doctor probably isn't running.
Timestamps
[00:00] The Donor Egg Recommendation and the Investigation Underneath It
[01:00] The Diagnosis Is Real. The Investigation Is Incomplete.
[02:00] Sarah's POI Story and Why Fab Fertile Exists
[03:00] Rebecca's Case: POI at 27, AMH 0.04, ng/mL Told Donor Eggs Were Her Only Option
[04:00] Functional Lab Testing Before a Donor Egg Decision
[05:00] What We Found: H. pylori, Parasites, Food Sensitivities, Adrenal Insufficiency, Thyroid
[06:00] Eczema, Migraines, Asthma: Not Separate Issues From Fertility
[07:00] Rebecca Conceived Naturally in Month Five
[08:00] What Your Clinic Missed: The Markers Before a Donor Egg Recommendation
[09:00] Why a Standard REI Workup Cannot Answer Why Your Numbers Are What They Are
[10:00] Medical Gaslighting and the Permission to Investigate Further
[11:00] The Functional Fertility Second Opinion: How It Works