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Krupa's fertility journey spans 12 years, four rounds of IVF, two countries, endometriosis diagnosis that finally came through fertility investigations, a near-fatal surgical complication, a pandemic, and ultimately — twins, born at 32 weeks, at 43 years old.

But it also spans something else: 20 years of painful, heavy periods dismissed as normal in a South Asian community where menstruation was a secret and fertility struggles were unspoken.

She then had to build her own support network from scratch — anonymously on Instagram and in a secret Facebook group — because nowhere else felt safe enough to ask the questions she needed answered.

This is nothing short of remarkable!

🩸 Heavy, painful periods dismissed for 20 years — and the endometriosis diagnosis that finally came through fertility investigations, not GP care

🏥 The NHS fertility system — IUI as a precursor to IVF, how funding works, and why IUI was the wrong treatment for Krupa's diagnosis from the start

💉 Four rounds of IVF — across NHS, private London clinics, and ultimately Athens — and what drove the decision to keep going (and to stop)

🚨 Ovarian torsion: the near-fatal complication — a surgical error during egg retrieval that left Krupa unable to walk for months and changed everything

✈️ IVF abroad — why Krupa went to Athens, what to look for in an international clinic, and why regulation matters more than location

🧠 The mental health reality of IVF — anxiety, withdrawal from friends, the trauma of a 12-year journey, and why she was placed under perinatal mental health care during pregnancy

💑 Sustaining a relationship through fertility treatment — couples counselling, fertility counsellors, and staying on the same page through the hardest years

🌸 Endometriosis, diet and lifestyle — how changing her diet had more impact on her pain than surgery did

🤫 The South Asian community and fertility taboo — periods as shameful secrets, counselling as a cultural taboo, and the anonymous Facebook group she built for 200 Indian women who had nowhere else to go

📱 Building community when there is none — the TTC Instagram community, anonymous Facebook groups, and why connection with strangers became her lifeline

👶 Twin boys at 43, born at 32 weeks — the NICU journey, the emergency C-section under general anaesthetic, and the PTSD that arrived after

💛 Life on the other side — her role as a Bliss trustee, her advisory work in women's health, and the calls she still gets from South Asian women who need someone safe to talk to

💛 Resources Mentioned

• Bliss — charity for babies born premature or sick; Krupa is now a trustee: bliss.org.uk
• Peanut App — fertility and motherhood community app: peanut-app.io
• NHS Subfertility Units — your GP can refer you; ask specifically about the subfertility unit in your local trust
• NHS GUM Clinics — anonymous STI testing in every postcode; ask your GP
• HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority) — UK fertility regulator; clinic ratings, evidence ratings for add-ons: hfea.gov.uk
• Fertility counsellors — available through most IVF clinics, NHS and private; ask your unit about access
• Perinatal Mental Health Teams — available through NHS for those with significant anxiety or trauma during pregnancy; ask your midwife or consultant to refer you
• Endometriosis UK — patient support and information: endometriosis-uk.org

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When we talk about IVF, we tend to talk about the basics. Most people know there are injections and the egg collections involved, but we talk far less about the detail on how it actually works and everything that happens around it - including how you maintain a relationship, and how you can manage hearing a friend's happy pregnancy news whilst still in the middle of your own journey.

This week, Jo sits down with Ami for a conversation about the parts of IVF that nobody prepares you for.

Ami and her partner dealt with male infertility, three rounds of IVF, a pregnancy loss at nine weeks, developing postpartum depression and anxiety, and then PMDD, the guilt of providing a sibling for her son and then a final decision to close that chapter.

What We Cover in This Episode

• 💊 Twelve years on the pill — and how Ami's body felt when she came off it
• 🔬 The test results: male factor infertility, type of IVF they went for, and what that cost them
• 🏥 The NHS IVF postcode lottery — what disqualified them entirely from receiving funding
• 💉 What ICSI actually involves — explained honestly and clearly
• 🧠 The psychological weight of IVF
• 💑 What IVF does to a relationship — the conversations, the fractures, and the things that held them together
• 😔 Postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and PMDD — and the GP who told her to "wait two weeks"
• 🎄 A Christmas Day egg collection, a chest infection, and round two that felt nothing like round one
• 💔 The nine-week scan she went to alone — and what happened next
• 🌿 Choosing to stop — and how Ami and her partner decided to stop, and built a life they genuinely love
• 👦 The guilt of the sibling that never came — and how she holds that grief alongside genuine gratitude
• 💬 What Ami wishes she had known at the start

💛 Resources & Support

• Fertility Network UK — UK's leading patient fertility charity, including support for those who stop treatment: fertilitynetworkuk.org
• The Miscarriage Association — support for pregnancy loss at any stage: miscarriageassociation.org.uk
• More to Life — support network specifically for people living without children after infertility: moretolife.co.uk
• IAPMD — International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (PMDD): iapmd.org
• Mind UK — mental health support including postpartum depression: mind.org.uk
• NHS IVF information — eligibility and funding guidance: nhs.uk/conditions/ivf

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If this episode resonated with you — or if it helped you feel less alone in something you're carrying — please share it with someone who needs to hear it. 💛

Following Living Hellth on your podcast platform is the biggest thing you can do to help us keep making episodes like this one.

🎧 Available on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | All major platforms

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*I would highly encourage you to watch the video version on YouTube or Spotify as there are definitions and important disclaimers on screen that will help listeners understand the more complex discussion points*

🎙️ This time on Living Hellth Jo Doyle sits down with Dr. Anu Chawla — one of London's leading fertility specialists — for a comprehensive, no-nonsense conversation about fertility.

Whether you're in your twenties and not thinking about it yet, navigating a diagnosis of PCOS or endometriosis, considering IVF or egg freezing, or trying to understand what your male partner might need to think about themselves — this episode is for you.

🔬 What We Cover in This Episode

📊 Why global fertility rates are at an all-time low

🧪 How fertility is tested: AMH, Antral follicle count, and 3D ultrasounds

👩‍⚕️ What every woman in her 20s should know about fertility

💊 Hormonal birth control and fertility — what the science actually says, coming off contraception and thinking about fertility

🧫 PCOS and endometriosis: how they affect fertility and what your options are

🏥 IVF vs natural IVF — what's the difference and which is right for you?

🥚 Egg freezing: is it really biological insurance? An honest answer

🌿 Environmental toxins, fragrance, carpets, and plastic — do they really affect fertility?

🚹 Male fertility: the 50% factor no one talks about enough

🩺 Abortion and fertility — the truth behind the myths and long term impacts

💛 Advice for women about to start their fertility or IVF journey

Dr. Chawla's areas of expertise span PCOS, endometriosis, repeated IVF failures, egg freezing, reproductive immunology, fibroids, and male infertility. She's a globally recognised voice in fertility medicine, regularly invited to speak at OBGYN and fertility conferences worldwide.

Resources Mentioned:

NHS GUM Clinics — anonymous STI testing in every postcode; ask your GP

RCOG Patient Information Leaflets — rcog.org.uk

Daisy Network — support group for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)

HFEA — UK fertility regulator; FAQs, clinic ratings, add-on evidence ratings — hfea.gov.uk

You can find Dr Chawla and more information here: https://www.dranuchawla.co.uk/

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5 million women in the UK and 1 in 4 eligible women in the US are not up to date with their cervical screening.

In this episode, we sit down with one of the UK's leading cervical cancer experts, Professor Adeola Olaitan, a gynaecological oncology surgeon with over 20 years of experience in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of cervical cancer.

We cover the science, the stigmas, the screening, and the solutions — from what HPV actually is, to the cutting-edge innovations that could completely change how we approach cervical cancer prevention.

Key take aways

• 4 in 5 women will have HPV at some point. It is not a reflection of sexual behaviour.
• HPV can lie dormant for years — which is why you must keep going for screening even if you've been negative before.
• Vaccination + screening = the most powerful combination for eliminating cervical cancer.
• Symptoms should never be ignored — even with a recent clear cervical screening / smear result.
• If you've had a LLETZ, tell your obstetrician at your first pregnancy booking.
• The Eve Appeal is the go-to resource for accurate, non-alarmist information on all five gynaecological cancers.

What we cover:

- HPV & Cervical Cancer: The Basics

- HPV Dormancy, Transmission & Relationships

- Symptoms & Warning Signs

- The HPV Vaccine: is it's still worth getting vaccinated in your 30s or 40s

- Cervical Screening: Smear Tests, HPV testing and cervical cancer diagnostics

- Lifestyle, Immune Health & Clearing HPV

- The "Menopause Spike" in HPV

- Cultural Stigma, Ethnicity & Closing the Screening Gap

- HPV Myths & Misconceptions

- Adenocarcinoma: When Symptoms Are Dismissed

- Can endometriosis or adenomyosis mask cervical cancer symptoms?

- Pregnancy, Fertility following HPV or cervical cancer

- Innovation & the Future of Cervical Screening

- Treatment, Survival & Life After Cervical Cancer

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In this episode, we sit down with Vijaya Varilly, now an Eve Appeal Ambassador, who faced a life-changing diagnosis at the age of 31, just before the start of the 2020 pandemic.

V shares her private and honest journey—from her heavy periods and pain being dismissed by doctors, which was later discovered to be endometriosis and adenomyosis, to then receiving the news regarding a rare cervical cancer diagnosis, threatening her life as she knew it and dreams of becoming a mother.

We dive deep into the stigmas surrounding HPV, especially within the Southeast Asian communities, the complexities of a rare cancer that smear tests often miss, and her incredible resilience she used to navigate treatment, IVF and a high-risk pregnancy.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, claiming 350,000 lives every year. However the HPV vaccine and regular screenings could mean it is a disease that could be eradicated within our lifetime.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• The Warning Signs: Why you shouldn’t ignore heavy bleeding, even if your smear test comes back clear.
• The Rare Detection: Understanding adenocarcinoma, a type of cervical cancer that develops in the canal and is harder to detect.
• Breaking the Stigma: Confronting the shame associated with HPV and the cultural barriers within the South Asian community.
• The Path to Dylan: V’s fertility journey, including unexplained infertility, successful IVF, and the "emergency stitch" that saved her pregnancy.
• Advocacy in Action: How V turned her trauma into the award-winning "Don't Miss Your Pap" campaign to help bridge the gap between the 5 million women who have missed their screenings.

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We've reached 1.2 million views across all platforms, proudly covering some of the most chronic and confusing conditions and diseases that disproportionately affect women.

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Send us Fan Mail

Dr. Clare Nieland joins the Living Hellth podcast to break down the science of staying fitter, healthier and,inevitably younger, for longer. And how lifestyle medicine can be used to prevent chronic disease and conditions - with a special focus on women's health.

Whether you're navigating pre-pregnancy tips, managing PCOS, or simply want to ensure your "Second Spring" menopause phase is your strongest yet, this episode provides the data-backed roadmap you’ve been looking for!

In this episode of Living Hellth, host Johanna Doyle sits down with Dr. Clare Nieland to discuss how we’re moving past "reactive" healthcare and into preventive, personalised lifestyle medicine.

In this episode, we cover:

🩸 The #1 test to determine a woman's lifespan
👯‍♀️ How lack of social connection could be draining your health
🏋️ Why grip strength and muscle mass are non-negotiable as we age
🥗 The 6 pillars of a lifestyle medicine
🩺 The Difference Between Longevity and Lifestyle Medicine
🧬 We discuss how lifestyle medicine can be used to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s, Osteopenia and Osteoporosis, Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes
🧘🏼‍♀️The simple and free lifestyle changes that actually predict our health
💊 The supplements she couldn't live without - and the trends that have no scientific backing!

With women spending 25% more of their lives in poor health than men, Dr. Nieland reveals why we need to start tracking the biomarkers that actually predict our future.

Whether you're navigating pre-pregnancy tips, managing PCOS, or simply want to ensure your "Second Spring" menopause phase is your strongest yet, this episode provides the data-backed roadmap you’ve been looking for.

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We've reached 1.2 million views across all platforms, proudly covering some of the most chronic and confusing conditions and diseases that disproportionately affect women.

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In our 2nd and final bonus episode for season 1, we are covering a topic that affects everyone, but with a special focus on women's health and hormones with expert Dr Clare Nieland.

With over 20 years’ experience of working with patients both in the national health service in the UK (NHS) and private sector, general practitioner Dr Nieland chat withs us about Longevity vs. Lifestyle medicine: and how we can measure, remedy or strengthen our health.

So, is it possible to slow down your biological clock without spending a fortune?

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Clare Nieland, a specialist in the burgeoning field of longevity medicine who also practices at the Hooke Longevity Clinic in London.

We dive into the critical differences between simply living longer and "lifestyle-first" medicine—a grounded approach that uses simple, everyday changes to tackle the mental health struggles and wide-spread chronic diseases.

From the "village" of support every woman needs to the one specific test Dr. Nieland would run to determine a woman's lifespan, this conversation reveals how you can take control of your future health right from your own home.

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We've reached 1.2 million views across all platforms, proudly covering some of the most chronic and confusing conditions and diseases that disproportionately affect women.

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In the information-overload era of AI and social media, "consciousness is our competitive advantage".

This episode of the Living Hellth Podcast features Shona Beats, employee number two and ex-COO at Headspace, who helped move meditation from a niche practice to a global mainstream phenomenon.

Shona shares her powerful journey from a high-adrenaline career and total burnout at age 30 to becoming a neuroscience-backed coach for leaders and founders.

Episode Highlights

• The Moment of "Freeze": Shona details the terrifying day her "autopilot" crashed during a high-stakes pitch, leading to a profound "rock bottom" moment that eventually became her life’s most glorious turning point.
• The Problem with "Cracking On": Discover the difference between burn out and resilience, why resilience isn't about "holding your ground", but instead about the process of being knocked down and learning how to get back up.
• Surviving the AI Era: Shona explores why AI can outsource knowledge but cannot access presence or wisdom. Learn why reclaiming our "human skin" and embodiment is the ultimate mindfulness and leadership strategy.
• The Toxicity of Social Media: Why social platforms are engineered like "Vegas slot machines" to keep you in a state of provocative mindlessness and how to break the addiction.
• Leadership Alchemy: A breakdown of Shona’s framework for founders and leaders: Awareness (seeing your code), Altitude (rising above it), and Alchemy (rewriting it).

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About Shona

Shona Beats teaches CEOs and founders what meditation taught Silicon Valley: consciousness becomes competitive advantage in the AI era. Described as a voice of modern wisdom, she joined Headspace as Employee #2 and COO, building the product, business, and team from the ground up over six years - navigating hypergrowth, multiple funding rounds, and relocating the team to Silicon Beach. Headspace made meditation go mainstream, and has gone on to reach 100M+ users in over 190 countries.

All this - off the back of burnout. At age 30, Shona was signed off work with chronic anxiety. She found her own path through meditation, and within months had not only recovered but joined Headspace's co-founders to build one of the most defining mind health brands in the world.

Grounded in 5,000+ hours of consciousness training and nearly two decades studying elite performance and leadership, Shona developed The Human OS Upgrade - a neuroscience-backed framework for unlocking human potential in the AI era. Today, she's a keynote speaker, executive coach, and board advisor working with CEOs, founders, and C-suite leaders on the internal upgrades that drive external results.

Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shonabeats/

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We've reached 1.2 million views across all platforms, proudly covering some of the most chronic and confusing conditions and diseases that disproportionately affect women.

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