you are not alone.
I did not wake up one day & suddenly know everything there is to know about hormones & fertility education. I got to this place of knowing through very personal experiences. I want you to know today, and always, that you are not alone. For as long as I can remember- I have been very aware of and sometimes overly concerned with my reproductive organs. I think back to my first period, at the ripe young age of 11, just having swam at my favorite beach all day and rolling in the sand. I got home, went to the bathroom and saw drips of brown in my bathing suit. * Insert Panic * “It’s just sand!!” I remember yelling, in complete confusion and disbelief. I wonder now, as I sometimes still see this sad, brown spotting in my cycle variations and oftentimes feel triggered… How could it have been different? Could I have been more prepared, more educated, more excited even? More accepting and kind to my changing body. More knowing of what hormones are developing and rising and falling in my small self. How these hormones fuel a bigger process later in life; how they constantly change and support me. How they are there to help me - EMPOWER ME - not hurt me.
A fertility educator does not have a perfect period. She wishes she did, so she did the work and studied hours into the night, reading books about hormones and how doctors use birth control as a band aid for much larger diagnoses such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, and more. Your very own neighborhood fertility educator is still a human, doing human things like planning a wedding, launching a full time small business, and planning for her future. She does not always rest. In fact, sometimes it is hard for her to remember to put down her phone, stop working & just rest. She has held space for your worries, your questions and concerns, your painful stories of not getting answers or being dismissed by your doctors. Your losses, long journeys, and your success stories. She holds this space, and she feels it too - so deeply. She goes to her gynecologist, explains that she is a fertility educator - shows her chart that she used to collect data with and explains why she is seeing what she is seeing and advocates so clearly for herself and the doctor says “pretty! that could be a piece of art” but does not order the tests she requested for her health. She calls her doctor, confused about what she sees in her chart - the doctor’s first recommendation is birth control. She wants children soon; why would birth control be the answer?
Enter: Fertility Charting. The reason I have confidently gone without my hormonal birth control for 6 years. The reason I understand my cycle so well. The information I love to share with you so you feel empowered too! When I started charting… I really did feel like I knew myself in the most intimate way. I had a newfound trust that everything really was going to be ok - even if my hormones were a bit unbalanced after going on the nuva ring for 5 years. Even though I was not sure if I ovulated. Even though, at 25, I actually did not know what ovulation meant or what hormones were involved. I just remember feeling like, I was not going to let someone that was not IN my body dictate what was really going on or tell me what would be the ‘fix all.’ With charting, even now, I may not have all the answers but what I do have is DATA & TRUST. I have a dedicated team of support people. When you work with me, you get access to them too! I believe in this community of holistic care and support so deeply. I also believe in getting to the root and being open to what you find. This charting stuff, this fertility education stuff man is it eye opening sometimes - it is revealing. Each time, I get closer to myself and I know myself deeper. I would not want it any other way.
So, you are not alone, dear ones. When you sit with me in a session and you explain your rage, your frustration, your confusion, your sadness - I have felt it too. I am right there with you. This is my WHY. I am not trying to prove anything at all by doing this work. I am simply trying to show up, to hold space, to guide you in the right direction. To help you get answers, to show you how to advocate for your needs, to help you see you have OPTIONS when it comes to your care - for your health, hormones, fertility & vitality. There will be times where nothing makes sense in your cycle. There will be times where it feels like you are broken and you will never reach your goals or feel balanced. And then there is hope - when you know there is a different way. I hope to hold your hand through it all & I hope to do the same for myself.
x
Kenz
*disclaimer: i am not ‘anti-birth control’ but i am pro-getting to the root of your symptoms. if you are currently on HBC and do not feel well, feel like yourself or have symptoms like PMS or bloating or insomnia… i encourage you to get curious about it. Charting your cycle CAN be a positive first step in getting the care you deserve.