In this episode, Lisa sits down with Stuart James Fischbein, MD — obstetrician, homebirth physician, and host of the Birthing Instincts Podcast — to examine one of the most consequential questions in modern maternity care: is hospital birth actually safer? Dr. Fischbein draws on more than 40 years of obstetric experience to trace how the medical model came to frame pregnancy as a high-risk condition requiring active management, and how that framing has shaped the interventions women encounter today. The conversation explores the steep rise in cesarean section rates, induction rates, and NICU admissions since the 1970s — alongside the sobering reality that maternal and neonatal outcomes have not improved commensurately.

Follow this link to view the full show notes page!

This episode is sponsored by Lisa's new book, Real Food for Fertility, co-authored with Lily Nichols! Grab your copy here!

🎧 Would you prefer to listen to the audiobook version of Real Food for Fertility instead? 🎧 Listen here!

💥This episode is also sponsored by FAMM, the Fertility Awareness Mastery MentorshipTM program! Apply now to join our next class! We start on May 12th!

📚Have you grabbed your copy of the Fertility Awareness Mastery Charting Workbook? It is the first fully customizable paper charting workbook of its kind, available in both Fahrenheit and Celsius editions. Click here to grab your copy today!

📚 If you haven't grabbed your copy of The Fifth Vital Sign, grab it here!

🎧Would you rather listen to the audiobook version of The Fifth Vital Sign? 🎧 Listen here!

In Episode 623 of the Fertility Friday Podcast, Lisa sits down with Harriet Thorn, a Switzerland-based midwife and recent graduate of the Fertility Awareness Mastery Mentorship (FAMM) program, for a wide-ranging conversation about cycle charting in midwifery practice. Harriet shares her personal journey from biotechnology PhD to midwife — including her own experience navigating heavy and painful periods, hormonal contraception, and eventually discovering fertility awareness charting as a tool for both personal and professional use. The conversation explores why midwives, despite being primary caregivers for women across the full reproductive lifespan, receive minimal training in fertility awareness — and how the FAMM certification has helped Harriet build the structure, confidence, and clinical protocols to support her clients more comprehensively. Lisa and Harriet also dive into a thoughtful discussion on research literacy, including the importance of reading full study texts, understanding researcher bias, and the challenges of accessing fertility awareness research in non-English-speaking countries. Harriet reflects on how her FAMM training has expanded her practice beyond prenatal and postnatal care to include menstrual health support — and why she views cycle charting as a foundational skill for any midwife committed to truly holistic, women-centred care.

Follow this link to view the full show notes page!

This episode is sponsored by Lisa's new book, Real Food for Fertility, co-authored with Lily Nichols! Grab your copy here!

🎧 Would you prefer to listen to the audiobook version of Real Food for Fertility instead? 🎧 Listen here!

💥This episode is also sponsored by FAMM, the Fertility Awareness Mastery MentorshipTM program! Apply now to join our next class! We start on May 12th!

📚Have you grabbed your copy of the Fertility Awareness Mastery Charting Workbook? It is the first fully customizable paper charting workbook of its kind, available in both Fahrenheit and Celsius editions. Click here to grab your copy today!

📚 If you haven't grabbed your copy of The Fifth Vital Sign, grab it here!

🎧Would you rather listen to the audiobook version of The Fifth Vital Sign? 🎧 Listen here!

In this episode of the Fertility Friday Podcast, Lisa sits down with Carol da Selva — founder of Sacred Womb Rites and a practitioner completing her Fertility Awareness Mastery Mentorship (FAMM) certification — for a candid conversation about spiritual approaches to menstrual cycle health and where they intersect with evidence-based practice. Carol shares her personal journey with irregular cycles, painful periods, and the role that ancestral and spiritual practices played in her early healing path, alongside the limitations she encountered when those approaches alone were not enough. Together, Lisa and Carol explore why grounding spiritual and intuitive frameworks in peer-reviewed research may lead to more consistent, predictable results for both practitioners and their clients. Carol reflects on how foundational factors — including nutrition, blood sugar stability, and addressing environmental contributors such as mold and histamine — supported meaningful improvements in her own cycle over time. This episode is part of the ongoing FAM Practitioner Series, offering insights for women's health professionals who are looking to integrate fertility awareness and menstrual cycle literacy into their existing practice with greater confidence and clinical depth.

Follow this link to view the full show notes page!

This episode is sponsored by Lisa's new book, Real Food for Fertility, co-authored with Lily Nichols! Grab your copy here!

🎧 Would you prefer to listen to the audiobook version of Real Food for Fertility instead? 🎧 Listen here!

💥This episode is also sponsored by FAMM, the Fertility Awareness Mastery MentorshipTM program! Apply now to join our next class! We start on May 12th!

📚Have you grabbed your copy of the Fertility Awareness Mastery Charting Workbook? It is the first fully customizable paper charting workbook of its kind, available in both Fahrenheit and Celsius editions. Click here to grab your copy today!

📚 If you haven't grabbed your copy of The Fifth Vital Sign, grab it here!

🎧Would you rather listen to the audiobook version of The Fifth Vital Sign? 🎧 Listen here!