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The IVF Project

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The IVF Project

Improve your chance of conception with Clinical Exercise Physiology, Dietetics and Psychology- scientifically proven strategies that work! Dr Kitic

With the incredible benefits of exercise and eating well, and the desire to get your body baby ready for a healthy pregnancy, there has never been a better time to undertake the right exercise and nutrition program. With personal experience of multiple IVF cycles I understand how stressful and challenging this time can be. Improve your chance of conception (saving expensive cycles of treatment), build your resilience through the roller coaster of assisted reproductive treatments, and get yourself ready for growing a tiny human!

09/10/2025

Your gut might just be the missing link in male fertility.

Emerging research shows that gut microbes don’t just influence digestion. They shape hormone balance, inflammation, nutrient absorption, and even s***m quality and DNA integrity.

It’s time we talk about it.

That’s why we’re proud to join the Fertility4Men Virtual Summit (24–25 Oct), a free two-day online event created by David Ireland, founder of

After navigating his own long fertility journey - through multiple rounds of IVF, shifting diagnoses, and endless uncertainty - David set out to give men what he wished he’d had: clarity, structure, and science-backed support.

Now, he’s bringing together leading fertility experts from around the world (including us at The IVF Project) to help men take charge of their health, hormones, and microbiome, one evidence-based step at a time.

🎟️ Register free: https://www.fertility4men.com/fertility4men-live-summit

Because male fertility isn’t just about s***m count - it’s about the ecosystem that supports it. 🌱

02/10/2025

🌸 Keeping It Simple: Protecting Your Vaginal Microbiome During IVF

Many women preparing for IVF want to do everything possible to support success - from nutrition to hygiene. But one area that often flies under the radar is intimate washing.

A large Danish study of over 1,500 IVF patients (2017–2022) found that:

⚪️Around 1 in 3 women had signs of va**nal dysbiosis (an imbalance in va**nal bacteria).

⚪️Women who used intimate soaps or douches were significantly more likely to have dysbiosis.

⚪️In contrast, those who used water only had the healthiest va**nal microbiota - rich in Lactobacillus, the protective bacteria linked to better IVF outcomes.

🧼 Why this matters:
A balanced va**nal microbiome - dominated by Lactobacillus - is a natural defense system. It helps protect against inflammation and infection, supports endometrial health, and is linked to higher embryo implantation rates.

But soaps and douching can strip away these beneficial bacteria, raising va**nal pH and encouraging less-friendly microbes (like Gardnerella or Streptococcus) to grow.

💧 What to do instead:
✅ Clean the v***a gently with water only - your va**na is self-cleansing.
🚫 Skip douches, soaps (even “pH-balanced” ones), and wipes marketed as “intimate care.”
🩸 If using menstrual products, menstrual cups were associated with a lower rate of dysbiosis in this study - another gentle choice worth considering.

🌿 Bonus tip:
Supporting your gut microbiome - through a fibre-rich diet and prebiotic support - also nurtures your reproductive tract microbiome. The two are connected! A healthy gut supports balanced inflammation, immune function, and microbial cross-talk that benefits the va**nal and uterine environment.

✨ Takeaway:
If you’re preparing for IVF, sometimes less is more.
➡️ Stick to water only for intimate care - no soaps, no douching - and nourish your microbiome from the inside out.

Haahr et al. Vaginal microbiota correlations to gynecological symptoms, intimate hygiene practices, and background parameters of IVF patients: a cross-sectional study. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2025 Sep 1.

14/09/2025

🧬 Did you know your uterus only has a short 24-hour window when it’s receptive to an embryo?

This “window of implantation” happens thanks to genetic shifts in the endometrium. When receptive, genes that regulate adhesion, cell growth, and metabolism are switched on opening the door for an embryo to implant.

But even with high-quality blastocysts, the home they’re placed into matters.

✨ Insulin plays a surprisingly big role here. High insulin levels can disrupt uterine receptors and reduce the chance of implantation. Women with insulin resistance have been shown to have lower implantation and live birth rates, even in IVF cycles with good embryos.

So what can we do to support this critical window?

🔑 Three key regulators of insulin:

1. Exercise
Just one session of exercise can boost insulin sensitivity within 24 hours! But the benefits fade in a few days so consistency matters. The right exercise prescription (moderate, vigorous, or intervals) depends on you.

2. Nurture your gut microbes
Your microbiome produces short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, which improve insulin control and reduce inflammation. Low diversity = higher insulin resistance. Diet is the strongest modulator: think fibre, prebiotics, and polyphenols to feed your microbes.

3. Sleep
Even one night of poor sleep can reduce insulin sensitivity by 20–25%. Chronic disruption raises insulin resistance more than a high-fat diet. Quality, consistent sleep is one of the most underrated fertility tools.

🌱 Fertility isn’t just about the embryo, it’s about creating the most welcoming environment possible. Supporting insulin sensitivity through movement, gut health, and sleep helps you optimise that precious 24-hour window.

👉 How are you supporting your insulin levels? If you are preparing for pregnancy we are here to support you🌱.

10/09/2025

☀️ Did you know 80% of our vitamin D comes from sunlight?

With shorter days, more time indoors, or living further from the equator, it’s no wonder vitamin D deficiency is so common.

And it matters because vitamin D receptors are found in nearly every tissue of the body, including the ovaries, endometrium, fallopian tubes… and even our gut.

✨ Vitamin D + Your Gut Microbiome

Here’s the fascinating part: while vitamin D supports bone, muscle, fertility, and immune health, your gut microbiome helps determine how effectively you can activate and use it.

In turn, vitamin D helps regulate microbial balance, gut barrier integrity, and the production of natural antimicrobials that keep your immune system in check.

🔬 Science highlights:

🌱Females deficient in vitamin D have 26% lower chance of live birth via IVF/ICSI.
🌱In men, vitamin D levels correlate with testosterone, s***m quality, and motility.
🌱67–85% of women with PCOS have low vitamin D.
🌱Among sub-fertile women, up to 91% present with deficiency.

🌿 It’s a two-way street: vitamin D supports your gut, and your gut microbiome supports your vitamin D. Together, they influence fertility, immunity, and whole-body health.

👉 Getting your levels checked before conception (or IVF) is one of the most science-backed steps you can take.

How’s your vitamin D status? Do you have a gut–hormone plan in place to optimise it?

We are here to help you implement the evidenced based steps to optimise your preconception health 💕

18/08/2025

✨ Dreaming of parenthood but finding the IVF journey harder than you imagined? You’re not alone. While IVF is a powerful tool, true success often comes from supporting your body beyond the clinic.

Your gut microbiome plays a surprising role in egg and s***m quality, uterine receptivity, and pregnancy outcomes—and that’s where we come in.

Our online course, Gut Health for Pregnancy and IVF Success (based on our book Create a Fertile Gut), is designed to help you take charge of your fertility from the inside out.

Here’s what you’ll learn:
🧬 Science-backed strategies to strengthen your gut microbiome and its fertility connection.
📒 Step-by-step nutrition and lifestyle guidance to create an optimal environment for conception.
🥚 Practical tools to boost egg and s***m health, support implantation, and improve IVF success rates.

Whether you’re navigating PCOS, endometriosis, diminished ovarian reserve, or unexplained infertility, this course will empower you with knowledge and strategies to build a fertile foundation.

💡 IVF is not just about hope—it’s about preparation. Let’s give your body the best chance possible.

👉 Click the link in bio to enroll in Gut Health for Pregnancy and IVF Success today and start transforming your gut health for your fertility journey.

***mhealth

04/08/2025

The microbes in our va**na, cervix and endometrium make up about 9% of the female microbial network🤯.

These microbes impact our fertility, reproductive potential and gynaecological health, and your partners microbiome may just be having an impact on the composition of your reproductive microbiome.

A healthy reproductive tract microbiome is associated with an increase in species that promote the secretion of antimicrobial peptides to keep pathogenic bacteria at bay.

In conditions such as bacterial vaginosis or trouble conceiving, levels of these protective antimicrobial peptides are significantly lower.

There is also a two way street between male and female reproductive tracts with microbiome mingling that takes place!

For instance, men with leukocytos***mia (high white blood cell count in semen) may have partners with a higher prevalence of Gardnerella va**nalis. This bacteria is associated with bacterial vaginosis and reduced IVF success.

Seminal microbes entering the va**na may influence resident microbial composition by altering the va**nal pH.

Our reproductive tract community helps shape our immune system and inflammatory response so it's no surprise that alterations in this microbiome are associated with pelvic inflammatory disease, implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage, and gynaecological cancers.

Where gut dysbiosis exists, reproductive tract imbalances are present.

The gut and female reproductive tract are in constant communication 📞with each other via microbial metabolites, your immune system and your circulatory system.

How are you nurturing your gut today to support your reproductive health🌱?

Don't know where to start? Access our "Gut health for IVF & Pregnancy Success" resources now and being to nurture your microbiome for conception.
[in bio]

Valore et al, Infect Immun. 2006
Ata et al, Sci Rep 2019

28/05/2025

Trying to conceive? It’s not just the health of our egg and sp3rm that are influenced by our gut microbiome, but also the success of implantation and early pregnancy progression.

In a group of females experiencing recurrent implantation failure or multiple miscarriages, the diversity of their gut microbiome was reduced.

Imbalances in the gut microbiome are also seen with irregular ovulation, unexplained infertility, tubal infertility, endometriosis and PCOS.

This imbalance is often associated with a reduction in the number of beneficial butyrate producing species when compared to cis-females that did have pregnancy success.

When gut dysbiosis is present, live birth following a frozen embryo transfer was 10%. In a group where this gut dysbiosis was addressed prior to embryo transfer, live birth rate was 50%!

Are you creating a Fertile Gut?

Join us in our Online Course where you will cover the foundation for building a fertile gut to enhance egg & sp3rm quality, and uterine receptivity (even if you have undergone multiple rounds of IUI, IVF or experienced recurrent pregnancy loss)✨🌱.

Will your microbiome community look different before your next round of treatment?

We will guide you step by step over three weeks to implement microbiome nurturing strategies to support conception and pregnancy continuation.

Head to the 🔗 in our profile to get started! ✅

Patel et al BMC Womens Hlth 2022
Irollo et al J Siena Acad Sci 2017

25/05/2025

Your gut microbiome provides a foundation for your fertility.🌱

Feeling discouraged after:

⏱ Trying to conceive for over 6 months
❌ Experiencing failed IVF/ICSI cycles
💔 Facing recurrent implantation failure or pregnancy losses
⁉ Receiving an 'unexplained infertility' diagnosis
🦠 Dealing with PCOS, endometriosis, male factor infertility, or chronic inflammation

There's hope!

Our "Gut Health for Pregnancy & IVF Success" online course, designed by leading fertility and gut microbiome experts, can empower you with the knowledge and tools to:

👩‍🔬Uncover the science-backed connection between your gut health and fertility potential.
🧬Implement evidence-based nutritional strategies specifically designed to improve egg and s***m quality.
✅Foster a more receptive uterine lining for optimal implantation success.
☝️Increase your chances of achieving a healthy pregnancy, naturally of with IVF.

This isn't just another fertility program. It's a revolutionary approach that starts from the inside out, nurturing your gut microbiome for optimal fertility.✨

Take charge of your fertility journey today! Join our online course now (link in bio) and unlock the science-backed secret to pregnancy success.

14/05/2025

TTC with endometriosis?

Inflammation 🔥, and the resolution of inflammation, is usually a tightly regulated process. Controlled inflammation is essential for fighting off infection, tissue repair and the process of ovulation and embryo implantation.

While short term inflammation is a normal, healthy response to acute stress, illness or injury, chronic low-grade inflammation can contribute to egg and s***m damage, and promote disruption in hormone production and metabolism.

In individuals with endometriosis, levels of inflammation are higher in the abdominal cavity, ovaries and uterus. This elevated inflammation impacts our egg quality and uterine receptivity, and is one of the reasons it may be more difficult to get pregnant with endometriosis.

Inflammation from an overactive immune system drives the disease process of endometriosis. We may have an increase in mast cell activation and our debris clearing macrophages are not as effective at controlling cell proliferation, which can lead to endometrial lesion growth.

Our gut bacteria and the metabolites they produce shape our immune system. They can light a fire to drive more inflammation, or if we look after them they can help put out the fire. Nurturing the diversity of your gut microbiome is an effective strategy that helps reduce inflammation.

With more beneficial bacterial species in your gut more health loving compounds, like butyrate, are produced that dampen inflammation. Butyrate has also been shown to reduce lesion growth!

A healthy gut microbiome helps tame our immune system to reduce inflammation and dampen the disease process of endometriosis.

Are you ready to nurture your gut for optimal reproductive health? Want to optimise egg and s***m quality, and uterine receptivity?

Start our Gut Health for IVF & Pregnancy Success online - you can have instant access now!

Link in bio.

Lin, Int J Mol Sci, 2018. Azpiroz, Am J Reprod Immunol, 2021. Braun, Fertil Steril, 1994.

04/05/2025

Have you heard of myo-inositol?

Myo-inositol is a natural molecule found in fruits, beans, grains, and nuts and is also made by the body 💪.

Our body makes a small amount of myo-inositol each day but increasing age, antibiotic use 💊, caffeine ☕, sugar and refined carbohydrate 🥐 intake and insulin resistance all increase the need for myo-inositol.

Myo-inositol is involved in many cellular functions that impact our reproductive, hormone and metabolic health.

It is a secondary messenger for insulin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

With positive effects on fertility and menstrual cycle regulation 📅, myo-inositol is also effective in improving reproductive outcomes.

Our uptake of myo-inositol may be impacted by our diet and the health of our gut microbiome. When gut dysbiosis or microbiome disruption is present, the absorption of beneficial myo-inositol is reduced.

So how do you overcome this resistance to absorption?

Pair your myo-inositol with a prebiotic 🙌!

A prebiotic that improves intestinal integrity, reduces inflammation and promotes the growth of beneficial gut microbes will enhance intestinal absorption, further improving the beneficial impacts of myo-inositol on reproductive and metabolic health.

Do you pair your myo-inositol with a proven prebiotic? Gut + Hormone has this covered in combination with:

✔️ Vegan Vitamin D3 - daily dosing of vitamin D has been shown to improve IVF & clinical pregnancy rates
✔️ Quatrefolic® Methylfolate - bioavailable folate to support enhanced absorption
✔️Unique IS-2® clinically studied probiotic to support digestive health, immune health and va**nal health

Nurture your gut microbiome for conception & beyond.
AbdelQadir et al Gastro & Endosc 2024
Cirillo et al Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021
Lepore, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021
Zhou et al Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022

01/05/2025

Your gut microbiome influences your immune system, metabolic health, mitochondrial health, brain health and your reproductive health.

Hot off the press is a study showing that females with a healthier gut microbiome, as measured by higher levels of Bifidobacterium longum and lower levels of certain other bacteria, retrieved more eggs during ovarian stimulation and had a higher chance of pregnancy.

Here's the science breakdown:

• Researchers analysed the gut bacteria of women undergoing IVF and found differences between those who responded well and those who didn't.
• Women with a higher abundance of Bifidobacterium longum, a beneficial gut bacteria, retrieved more eggs.
• Conversely, higher levels of specific bacteria like Prevotella copri were linked to a poorer response.

Nurturing a balanced gut microbiome underpins successful reproductive outcomes (if you want more of the science read our book Create a Fertile Gut).

Ready to take charge? We have an online course packed with practical strategies to support your gut health to optimise egg & s***m quality, and enhance uterine receptivity.

Start today, invest in your gut, and shift your microbiome for IVF success, sooner!

👉
https://www.theivfproject.com/fertilegutmasterclass.html

Fo et al, Sci Rep. 2024

28/04/2025

What happens in the gut does not stay in the gut!

Our gut microbes are busy fermenting prebiotic fibres to optimise our fertility. They extract micronutrients and antioxidant rich polyphenols from the food we eat, produce beneficial compounds to dampen inflammation and provide cofactors for important metabolic functions.

Our microbiome plays a role in nurturing the health of our o***y and developing eggs.

After we ovulate, the follicle that has just released an egg becomes the progesterone producing corpus luteum.

The corpus luteum is very sensitive to the immune stimulating LPS . LPS is found in the cell wall of some bacteria.

When our gut microbiome is disrupted, there is an increase in inflammation that disrupts the tight junctions of our intestinal lining. With this increase in permeability LPS levels in our circulation may rise.

Our body typically does a great job of ‘mopping up’ these immune stimulating bacterial fragments but sometimes our defences may not be working as well as they should, or we have a lot of intestinal damage.

Higher levels of LPS have been shown to shorten the lifespan of the corpus luteum leading to reductions in progesterone.

Lower progesterone levels during the luteal phase have been associated with breakthrough bleeding, a short luteal phase, greater pre-menstrual symptoms, or if conception has taken place these low levels make it difficult to support a pregnancy.

𝓗𝓸𝔀 𝓭𝓸 𝓘 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓰𝓻𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝔂 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓫𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓻?

Nurturing a healthy gut is a proven strategy to strengthen the intestinal barrier.

Promoting the growth of beneficial species:

🌱reduces inflammation
🌱enhances the tight junctions in the gut
🌱limits LPS (endotoxin) translocation

These all lead to healthy ovulation, hormone balance and optimal reproductive health!

Are you ready to dive into evidenced based strategies to nurture your microbiome for pregnancy success?

Join us online and get started NOW (link in bio)
Course access is only $47 (for a limited time).

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