A Modern Conversation About Fertility
with Kirsten Karchmer
Rethinking conception, hormones, and the power of listening to your body
“Your menstrual cycle is the most powerful diagnostic tool we have — and it’s free.” – Kirsten Karchmer
🌱 Rethinking Fertility: More Than Trying Harder
When it comes to fertility, the conversation often jumps straight to high-cost medical interventions. But what if the real key lies in understanding the body’s fundamental needs first?
In this episode of the Australian Weight Loss Surgery Podcast, host Jacqui Lewis speaks with Kirsten Karchmer, a women’s health expert and tech innovator who has spent over 25 years helping thousands of couples conceive. Her story blends personal resilience, clinical insight, and cutting-edge technology — all rooted in a belief that fertility is not just about getting pregnant, but preparing for a healthy pregnancy and baby.
💤 Why Sleep May Matter More Than Hormone Levels
Kirsten challenges some of the most common assumptions in reproductive health. For example, while many focus on hormone tests, she emphasizes that quality sleep has a more direct impact on fertility outcomes.
📌 Fact Check: Studies confirm that sleep disruption can affect reproductive hormones, menstrual cycles, and conception success rates (Zhou et al., 2018). Chronic poor sleep is associated with increased risk of irregular cycles and difficulty conceiving.
“We may be starting backwards. Before hormone levels, we should be asking: are women sleeping well, restoring energy, and reducing stress?”
🔋 Energy Levels as the True Fertility Metric
Kirsten has worked with over 10,000 women and consistently found that energy levels are the most reliable marker of fertility readiness. Exhaustion — often caused by over-exercising, stress, or under-eating — pushes the body into survival mode, where reproductive functions are de-prioritized.
📌 Fact Check: High cortisol (stress hormone) suppresses progesterone, a hormone critical for maintaining pregnancy (Miller et al., 2007). This explains why chronic stress and fatigue often lead to irregular cycles or difficulty staying pregnant.
🩸 Your Period as a Monthly Health Report Card
One of Kirsten’s most compelling insights is that the menstrual cycle is a free, built-in diagnostic tool. Rather than being seen as a “curse,” the cycle provides monthly updates on systemic health, including hormone balance, nutrient status, and stress load.
📌 Fact Check: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2015) recommends considering the menstrual cycle as a “vital sign” alongside blood pressure and heart rate. Patterns in flow, length, and pain can reveal underlying issues long before lab tests do.
🧠 The Fertility Stress Paradox
Ironically, many couples trying to conceive fall into the trap of “doing everything right” — overtracking, overexercising, and over-supplementing — which can raise stress and backfire. Kirsten calls this the fertility stress paradox: when effort becomes the very thing that prevents conception.
Her advice? Focus on the right intervention at the right time — whether it’s improving sleep, building energy, or supporting hormonal balance — instead of exhausting the body with all possible strategies at once.
🤖 From Acupuncture to AI: A New Era of Fertility Support
Kirsten’s work bridges traditional wisdom and modern innovation. Starting as a reproductive acupuncturist, she later founded Conceivable Technologies, developing an AI-driven platform that outperformed her own clinic results. The app evaluates five categories — energy, blood, temperature, stress, and hormones — and recommends holistic, personalized interventions.
📌 Fact Check: Precision and personalized medicine are rapidly reshaping women’s health. A 2021 review (Comizzoli et al.) highlights how AI is already improving reproductive diagnostics and patient-tailored care.
👩⚕️ About Kirsten Karchmer
Founder & CEO of Conceivable Technologies
Former President of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine
25 years of clinical practice, supporting 10,000+ women
Speaker at SXSW, Health 2.0, Fertility PlanIt
Featured in TechCrunch, Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Goop
300k+ followers on TikTok as @yourfertilityexpert
Her mission is to make fertility care accessible, affordable, and effective by combining ancient insights with modern science.
🎧 Listen to the Full Episode
“A Modern Conversation About Fertility with Kirsten Karchmer”
🎙️ Hosted by Jacqui Lewis on the Australian Weight Loss Surgery Podcast
👉 Listen Now: Spotify
👉 Check Kirsten Karchmer here:
✨ Final Takeaway
Fertility isn’t just about conception—it’s about building a body that can sustain a healthy pregnancy and thrive long-term. By listening to our cycles, prioritizing energy, and respecting stress and sleep, we gain not only better fertility outcomes but better overall health.
“The key to fertility is not trying harder—it’s listening more closely.”
Sources:
- Zhou, E. S., et al. (2018). Sleep and fertility: Impacts on reproductive hormones and conception. Journal of Women’s Health.
Miller, G. E., et al. (2007). Cortisol and progesterone interactions in reproductive health. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2015). Menstruation in girls and adolescents: Using the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Committee Opinion No. 651.
Comizzoli, P., et al. (2021). AI and precision medicine in fertility care. Reproductive Biomedicine Online.
