TWIU Episode 19: What It Takes PT. 1

REE: What's up, Warriors? I hope that you are well. I am one of your hosts, Renee, and I want to thank you so much for listening, for viewing, however you're consuming. I want to thank you so much. In today's episode, I am gonna try to make this as entertaining as possible, but it might be a little bit boring, okay? Because we're gonna be talking about a lot of factual things, and it relates to what it actually takes in the natural to actually become a parent with no medical intervention and we're gonna talk about what the science say is required for conception and a healthy pregnancy and the purpose is to give facts and understanding into an area that not many people really understand. And you know, when you're on the journey, there are some things that we don't even understand, right? But the hope is that this episode will get us some more understanding. Alright, so without delay, let's get into it. Okay, so there are three primary ways to get to Parenthood, all right. And the first way is naturally, right? That means the body just doing what the great, wonderful, amazing, majestic Lord created it to do. To participate in the creation of life. All right. and the second way is through medical intervention. Right. God allowed for technology and medicine to evolve to the point to where people can get some help where they need to get help. And then the third way, of course, is adoption. And today we're gonna focus primarily on what is required for conception to even be possible and then for a healthy pregnancy to occur so that couples can step into parenthood in that way. so we're gonna start first of all with the female's body okay I'm gonna list everywhere that I got these statistics from in the notes okay I'm gonna I'm gonna just put them in there alright and then some of this it's just even what you learn when you go to the doctor. I don't know about you but I remember in the early stages when I was going to the doctor the number one thing that the doctors would try to tell me about is or was my weight okay It's the number one thing, right? You gotta be at a healthy weight. If you're overweight, that's a problem. And if you're underweight, that's also a problem. and so we're just gonna stay there, what contributes to a healthy weight? A number of things, right? What are you eating? What are you putting into your body? Right? are you exercising? Are you moving? Are you doing something to contribute to a healthy a healthy weight, right? and then there's the there are these social things like alcohol and smoking and other things that can contribute to whether we have or are living a healthy lifestyle or not, right? Okay. So, there is a study, I'm gonna link it, okay, and it gave the stat or the fact that overweight women have a higher incidence of menstrual dysfunction and inovulation. meaning Your fertility is not optimal, thank you, Lord, when you're overweight. And then the opposite is also true, okay? Your fertility is not optimal, according to science now, when you're underweight, okay. the study reported that overweight women have poor reproductive outcomes naturally and when you go for medical intervention. And we're gonna talk about that likely in another episode, right? and I just wanna pause because I'm sitting here and this and and this will likely be a three part series. I don't know. but it'll be more than one episode, okay? And and and one of the one of the reasons why I believe this episode is so so so so so necessary or this series anyway is because we have people in the world who just do not understand fertility Or what impacts fertility? In fertility, I don't like that word, but people just don't understand. Like, I remember having a conversation with someone, and they said, Well, doesn't infertility happen when your parents had issues with fertility? And I'm like, That don't even make no sense. That that what? That's me in my head, right? And it's like, no, that is not how that works. Alright? I I think about My parents and my my husband's parents and none of them had any issues conceiving, right? They all had kids. They're all parents, okay? And yet and still you still have Joshua and I walking out this journey, right? Yes. So your parents, there are some things that are hereditary and we'll talk about them if it comes, right? Like, well, we'll talk about one of them right now I think about some of the the warriors that I've talked to in this journey and they'll tell me about how the women okay the women warriors they'll tell me about how their mothers struggled or not struggled with fertility fertility but they struggled with women's health issues right like for example endometriosis where they're they learned that their mom had endometriosis and because their mom didn't struggle to conceive their mom just never mentioned it right there are some other health challenges chromosomal things, that can also be hereditary, right? So anyway, this is just for informational purposes so that we could have a bare basic understanding Of just what it takes for conception to happen in the natural, right? And then as I mentioned, the flip side of being overweight is underweight, right? And there's a study that shows being underweight was linked to reduced implantation rates compared to normal weight. What is implantation? Implantation, as simply as I can put it, is when the sperm has met the egg and traveled through the fallopian tubes, that little egg has to attach in the uterus. To grow right and for conception to occur for pregnancy to be so And without implantation, it's just not no way in the world that we're gonna get to a pregnancy. Not not it's not no way in the natural, not no way in science facts, right, that we can get to a pregnancy without implantation. Alright. So going a going on a little bit further, I'll talk about I'll I'll I think about my own self. In the beginning, one of the things that the doctors also wanted to do was they wanted to check my hormones and you know why does that matter? Well, according to science, right, according to the doctors, balance hormones. are required for different steps and stages in the menstrual cycle which is scientifically required for pregnancy parenthood right And then for different stages and phases after implantation occurs, healthy hormones, stable hormones are also required. The first hormone is estradol or estrogen estrogen, right? And for women, estrogen acts as a primary growth hormone for reproductive for our reproductive organs, right? And it is necessary for Creating a healthy optimal environment in the reproductive system or the womb for ovulation, implantation, conception, for a healthy pregnancy. Okay? And with women, they also look at testosterone, the luthanizing hormone, progesterone, Many different things, that I did not list that contribute or are necessary for conception, implantation, healthy pregnancy, right? And third requirement that women have to have is a menstrual cycle science says you cannot conceive without a menstrual cycle okay a menstrual cycle it's a monthly occurrence. The whole month is a part of the menstrual cycle, right? And menstrual cycles vary from twenty-four, twenty-one to thirty something days. The beginning of the menstrual cycle is the menses phase. And that is when okay, this may be a little bit graphic, alright. The menc phase is when you actually see blood, alright. It's normal, it's natural. And that occurs when the when there was no implantation and the uterine lining begins to shed. Now, I didn't go to medical school. I'm not a doctor. Anyway, so uterine lining sheds, there's the blood. After that is the follicular phase. And during the follicular phase, this is where estrogen rises. and ideally in this time is when your follicles literally are growing and the hormones necessary for this growth are stable to enable that growth and enable when the time comes for an ovum or an egg one or however many to be released from Your ovaries. Thank you, Lord. From your ovaries, right? And to be to travel down through the fallopian tubes, okay. During this time, the FSH hormone is also necessary to ensure that the follicles grow, right? and around day 10 to 14, The eggs are typically matured and they're preparing to the mature ones and the most viable ones prepare to be released from the ovaries. Okay. All right. And so right here, this tells us that what? We need to have open fallopian tubes in order For the egg to be fertilized. Alright. For the egg to get back up to that uterus to implant in the uterine lining, okay? And for pregnancy at the end of the day. We that's what science says we need open filopian tubes. But I'm so I just think about testimonies of the people that are gonna come. And we just have to give glory to God because God does miraculous things. Okay. All right, back, back, back. The follicular phase is also where ovulation happens, right? And ovulation is where the egg is the process of where the egg is released and it's traveling, right? An egg lives for about twelve to twenty-four hours And what has to happen in those twelve to twenty-four hours is the sperm has to meet the egg. where the sperm and the egg meet and then make their way back down this is called the luteal phase okay and this is where we're really wrapping up because at the end of this phase either there will be a there will be a fertilized meaning the spermetic egg that has traveled back to the uterus and implanted in the lining which will prevent the lining from shedding right or None of that will ever occur and the lining will shed and we'll get back to the the cycle will start all the way over again to the menses phases. Okay? Now so many other things required for women. In order for that sperm to to get where it needs to go, the cervical mucus has to be optimal. And this is not a gross thing. This is just the body, right? The the the the magnificence of the body. The sperm the the the sperm can't swim if the environment is not right. So the the proper cervical mucus is necessary, right? During ovulation, the body temperature rises, and that is again to create the right environment for implantation and and and conception, right? And then there's this other thing called the ovarian reserve, right? Which dictates also according to science whether a healthy egg will release, and whether a s a successful the the likelihood of a successful pregnancy. I hope that makes sense. and the ovarian reserve it measures the quality and quantity of the egg. Okay. The more eggs you have, the better. The better the quality of the eggs, the the greater the likelihood that conception will occur. the uterine lining has to thicken properly, right? All of this stuff occurs and happens with the hormones. And so if the uterine the uterine lining isn't according to science in the state that it should be for implantation to occur, then it doesn't even matter what happened, you know, if everything else went well with the fertilization and it traveled back down to where it needs to be. The problem comes in where When all of that has happened, the environment is not what it needs to be for implantation to occur. And then what what happens? Pregnancy conception doesn't occur. and one of the hormones that contribute significantly here in this time is progesterone so if your progesterone levels off then that can contribute and hinder the natural path to pregnancy okay now we went a little bit in on the women what we're gonna look at next is the male contribution to pregnancy and conception, So the mail contribution. Just like women, you may not have known this, but just like women. A male's lifestyle is also critically important for the conception, for the pregnancy, for the implantation, for the sperm to go where they need to go. Everybody has a critical role and position that they play in this whole thing, right? Because that's how the Lord created the body now. Of course what you're doing, men, is just as important as what we women are doing as well. Okay? So Your weight matters, men. at least it matters according to science, right? In the natural. That stuff matters, okay? So it's not just not just overweight or underweight women who may experience some challenges with conception. It's also overweight and underweight men who could contribute to the challenges of conception and pregnancy. Okay. I'm gonna leave again everywhere that I found this information, I'm gonna leave it there, right? You go look it up. You continue to increase your knowledge because I'm not even touching on half of the things that I could be touching on here because it's just way too much way too vast so many things go into conception that you know I think even science doesn't even know all of it but anyway studies suggest that overweight men have issues with the sperm quality just like I told you the egg quality matters right the sperm quality matters because if the sperm is not quality right or if a low quality sperm meets a high quality egg, it's a likelihood that conception won't happen because the quality of the sperm, right? And there's also studies that suggests when men are overweight, right, you have a lower sex drive. And I know this is like too much. Okay, just just listen. You have a lower sex drive than typical. So maybe you're not having sex as often as you might need to be having sex to see conception happen. And it is true it only takes one time but according to science now it's gotta happen at the right time and everything else because got to be working and operating in alignment for conception. All the things, okay. And then on the other end of that is underweight men, right? but before I I even move there, the same things: smoking and alcohol men contribute to what kind of sperm quality you're going to have. And I know that's a lot to hear because you may not have known that your body contributes 50% of what it takes, okay. What you're putting in matters. So, underweight men. There is a study that shows underweight men have an issue with sperm production, right? another factor that impacts male fertility in overweight men is where there is a difficulty in keeping an erection for ejaculation. Y'all don't come for me, okay? We are talking some married people here, right? We're talking some married men and women, and so you know all of this stuff. You should not be listening to this episode with your kids, alright? Okay. Moving on. There's a study that says being underweight has been associated with lower testone testosterone levels, okay? Testosterone levels is for men what estrogen is for women, okay? men's hormones have to also be balanced in order for optimal sperm. that will lead to pregnancy naturally okay estrogen is critical in men but it's not it it's not like it is for women right so too much estrogen for men can lead to a number of things right too much estrogen will create an imbalance in hormones and again hormonal imbalance is not good for women or men who are trying to be in a optimal place in their health for conception too high estrogen can lead to erectile dysfunction and if you know anything about that you know that that interferes with sperm getting to where it needs to go Okay. and then for men, they have other hormones and some of them I'm gonna try to pronounce, but gonototropin releasing hormone. this is in the hypothalamus, and it signals the pituitary gland to release follicle stimulation hormones or FSH and LH. So those similar things, right? Those things that are similar to the female's body is also necessary for the men's body. Right. And the follicle stimulation hormone, stimulating hormone or FSH is also is is in the pituit in the pituitary gland and it is essential for sperm production and it works with the luteinizing hormone to stimulate sperm production in the testicles and to mature the sperm. Okay. It's a it's a lot. Relax. And the luthanizing hormone is also in the pituitar part of the pituitary gland or it it sources the pituitary gland. And then the ding ding ding for men is testosterone, right? testosterone is produced in the testicles, the testicles are also important for optimal sperm. Quality, okay, and testosterone plays a major role in the development of the male reproductive system, okay? And then there's also prolactin, it's another hormone that's associated with men's health, okay, and high levels of this pituitary hormone can interfere with a number of things and that could ultimately negatively affect sperm production okay and again Without sperm in the natural, okay, there cannot be conception, implantation, a fertilized egg, okay, all of those things. You just can't have them without the sperm, all right? And then more about the testicles, the testicles are another critical factor in the male's contribution to Fertility, conception, pregnancy. I know we've all heard these, heard this men should not use laptops on their laps, right? And they should not sit in the hot tub for for long time, long periods of time. Why is that? Because these things can negatively impact the testicles, which is the area of the male body where sperm is created, right? in an overweight man, there's there's research that says that this excess fat in the growing area can increase the temperature of the testicles in the scroll region and there are there is research or studies that say that this kind of increase in temperature continuously right can lead to decreased sperm counts and sperm quality and so again the male body critical to one of the things that men have to go through at the initial phases of when like when when when everybody's doing their testing in the beginning, if you've done that and if you're gonna get there, right? Men have to do a test, right? And it's called a semen analysis. And it is where the men will give a sperm sample, okay? And then you'll have the lab and th the lab will take a look at this. We'll take a look at your sample and they'll see. They'll see, first of all, How many sperm you got? Right? And that's your sperm count. how many of those sperm are moving actually, right? Because the sperm has to move to meet the egg for fertilization, remember? And that is motility. And then they also look at the morphology of the sperm, and that is, is the sperm in the optimal shape, or are there defects that could hinder or interfere with the ability of the sperm to swim and/or successfully fertilize and I would imagine that if there are sperm defects, then this could lead to some complications, even if there is implantation in conception as a result, right? So my gosh. So many things contribute to this natural process and especially according to science now, I don't know if you are Like me and after all of this information you believe that the only way a natural healthy conception and pregnancy is gonna occur is by the grace of the Lord, then believe we're right. and like I mentioned in the beginning, right? So many factors that go into a healthy, conception, implantation, pregnancy, right? And there are a number of things that I didn't even touch on or even go that deep into. but if we didn't learn nothing else, we should have learned that it takes a lot. Okay, there are a number of things that have to align for a natural pregnancy to occur. And I know that in the society we live in, it seems like it doesn't take all that. And and again, we haven't even touched on everything that it does take for the natural, but we touched on the the main contributing factors to a successful fertilization implantation conception pregnancy okay we touched on the on the major ones but because this happens and we have a lot of people who don't have an issue we think you know it's just easy you know like I recall somebody saying you're just not doing it right if that were the case, you know my brain is like, You giving glasses? What am I doing wrong? But anyway, so many things that contribute to a successful pregnancy in the natural and we all know those people and circumstances and situations that none of this stuff adds up, right? We know people who are underweight who have conceived and had healthy pregnancies. We know people who are overweight who are who have conceived and had successful pregnancies without medical intervention, right? I'm gonna go there. We know drug addicts, okay? and they had healthy pregnancies. Healthy conceptions. We we know these people. we know the people who they smoke three packs of cigarettes a day, right? And they drink three bottles of wine or three bottles of vodka in a week, you know, and For me, that is why I strongly am rooted in the truth that Number one. Babies are a gift from God. Okay. and then also No matter where you are in your journey or what it's been looking like or what it's been coming to, the Lord still has to bless it, right? The Lord still has to say yes. So just thinking about the the testimonies of the women that we're going to hear from the the the couples that we're gonna hear from and we hear their stories and we hear how God worked when it just was in no way in the natural, right? But they naturally conceived. Okay? When we're on this journey to parenthood, I will say it is critical for us to stay there, right? And this makes me think about our initial episodes, the first series we did titled The Burden is the Lord. And in that series we looked at multiple testimonies from the Bible and how those journeys went and came about and at the end of the end of the day everybody had to give glory, praise, credit, honor to God because only God could do it. And My mind is bringing me to we have people who are at a optimal weight. Okay. Both both of them. Okay. Hormones are balanced. Okay. Both of them. And There's no fertilization implantation conception And so that leads me to the second point here is God has to bless it. This whole natural path to parenthood requires God. And then God has to also bless it. God has also it it has to be His will for this thing to go forward in the natural, in the way that we desire it to go. If you're on the journey, if I could give you one thing, it would be for you to hope in the Lord, it would be for you to have faith and to trust Him. It would be for you to get to a place of childlike faith, and that's been coming up for me. for this journey to to parenthood. We've got to get to a place of childlike faith for this thing because weariness sets in, darkness sets in, heaviness. sets in hope goes away, expectation goes away, and the Lord wants us to Wait expectantly for him. The Lord wants us to be giddish about this thing. Okay. And I will share in my last in the last week. I kid you not. It started off okay, last week. Not this week we're in, but the the the last one. Monday. I went to sit I went to this prayer and I was sat next to a pregnant lady. I'm like, okay. I was like, hi, you know, and then the Friday of that week I went to this event and I sat down not knowing anything about the person that I was sitting next to and we got to talking and then I learned a little bit into our conversation she's pregnant. I'm like, okay. getting closer and closer okay childlike faith believing god to do any and everything because He can right and then that same week on sunday I was at church and you know how You you wonder if somebody is pregnant, but you don't want to say anything because you don't want a f you don't want to offend anybody. I don't know if you're like that, but I'm like that. So anyway, somebody I thought that was pregnant, I learned that they were actually pregnant and you could tell just based on what they had on, and they came in sat just randomly next to me because of what was going on in the service, and I'm like, Alright, that's three times That's three times, Lord. I'm I'm like, okay, this is g it's getting closer and closer to me. And yes, these are little things, but you have to find these little things to get you and keep you giddy about the Lord moving. in your journey to parenthood, okay? Because he's faithful. Okay warriors. In the next episode we'll be moving into the second and or third path paths to parenthood. I would like for you to leave me some comments or send me some emails. Leave me some comments, right? What did you learn from this episode that you did not previously know? What was new to you? What was a surprise to you? And yeah, if you're not a warrior, but you are a support to a Warrior, I hope this was helpful. I hope that you learned something. thank you for taking the time and expanding your knowledge for the Warriors in your life. Okay. until next time, I pray that you are well and I love ya.