This interview deals with holistic fertility treatments via acupuncture with Hillary Talbott Roland.
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Katelyn Fusco 0:03
Welcome to the happy home birth podcast, your source for positive natural childbirth stories in your community of support, education and encouragement and all things home birth and motherhood.
Hey there everyone and welcome to another episode of the happy home birth podcast. I’m your host Katelyn Fusco. This is Episode 43. Now you guys know that I love to just switch things up sometimes. So today we are not having a home birth story. But we are discussing something incredibly important and very sensitive to many women. So today we are going to be discussing infertility. I am so excited for the guests that we have on who is an acupuncturist and specializes in traditional Chinese medicine. Her name’s Hillary, Talbot Roland, she’s got
some amazing information. So I’m hoping that this can be a very inspiring and encouraging episode and that it’s a great resource for you. Or if you have friends that are struggling with this topic that you can refer them back to this. So before we jump on into the episode, I do want to thank our reviewer of the week and that is Laney Barr, who wrote hooked. I don’t even remember how I found this podcast and I haven’t had any kids or plan to anytime soon. But I love how educational This is. And it has really inspired me to look into becoming a doula. My sister and I both listen and talk about every episode. So glad a podcast like this exists never stopped making episodes. Smiley face. Thank you so much Laney if you will email me at Katelyn my happy home birth calm. I will be sending you a happy home birth podcast sticker and congratulations on wanting to become a doula that is an amazing thing and we need wonderful, wonderful people who are willing to work in that field. So that’s so awesome.
Now I would love to thank everyone who was willing to participate in the fundraiser that I did. I’m excited to announce that I did enter into the digital course Academy. So I am currently working on the happy home birth, home birth childbirth education course I don’t have a name for it yet. We’ll figure that out later. But I’m super excited and that the full course is going to be launching in January. But I am going to be looking for some founding members to go through the program with me earlier than that to help me kind of work it out as we go. So if you are pregnant and interested in that, you are welcome to go ahead and shoot me an email I’ll be sending more information out about that in the coming weeks. Also want to let you guys know that the there is a now a spot on the website that you can go to my happy home birth calm and up in the top right hand corner there is an interview application. So if you are interested in being interviewed for the podcast, I
interviewing and picking 12 stories for right now just doing 12 at a time and then we’ll do that batch of interviews, and then go on to the next batch afterwards. So if you want to submit your story head over there right now and get that taken care of. Please remember that if you’re listening to this episode, I’d love for you to take a screenshot or a selfie posted on Instagram, I will be sure to add you in my stories. I love all of that. And I think that’s it. Let me go ahead and introduce our guests now. She’s incredible. Her name is Hillary Talbot Roland. She’s the CO creator of The Art of acupuncture in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the author of fertile minds radio. She’s a holistic fertility specialist board certified in traditional Chinese medicine and reproductive medicine. She utilizes the modalities of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, herbal ism and meditation as well as coaching and functional medicine to help her clients realize their fullest capacity of health before during and after conception in person as well as virtually her main goal is to elevate the health of the planet two gentlemen
at a time, without further ado, let’s hop on over to the interview with Hillary. Hillary, thank you so much for coming on the happy home birth podcast.
Hillary Talbott Roland 4:09
And thank you for having me and for the work that you’re doing. I think it’s so important.
Katelyn Fusco 4:13
Well back after sister I’m so excited to have you on. I know that you are just a wealth of knowledge when it comes to fertility. So before we get into all of your information, I’d love for you to just start by introducing yourself and your family to the listeners
Hillary Talbott Roland 4:28
. Sure, my name is Hillary Talbot Roland, I am a doctor of oriental medicine which means I am an acupuncturist and herbalist. I also teach meditation and do some fertility coaching virtually is in addition to my Wellness Center here in St. Petersburg, Florida, and I’ve been doing this work for over a decade and I’ve been board certified in reproductive medicine for the last five years now.
I want the child lottery so to speak, and the I actually have four sons. So I ironically did not give birth myself. Although I’ve done a lot of doula work and have witnessed over 20 and think it’s the most magical thing ever. Once I got into the reality of what it was like to parent for boys, I kind of white flag and said, you know, babe, I think I’m good. I think we should just focus on what we
let’s just take care of these.
Yeah, um, you know, you don’t know what you know until you know it. And you can think you know what, it’s like a parent and you know what controlled chaos is, but
Katelyn Fusco 5:41
there is their control at your house.
Hillary Talbott Roland 5:44
controlled chaos. And free falling into surrender, living in a house renovation that is never ending sharing one bathroom with three teenage boys. So
Katelyn Fusco 5:57
hats off to you about them.
Hillary Talbott Roland 6:00
It’s a, it’s a good opportunity to practice mindfulness throughout all parts. I
love that. Just practicing what I preach. Pretty much. Yeah.
Katelyn Fusco 6:10
Oh, well, before we jump into everything, I know that you you just gave me a little bit of an intro. But I’d love to hear the schooling and experiences you had that kind of brought you to this point of focusing on fertility and women’s health in general.
Hillary Talbott Roland 6:26
Sure. I mean, it was definitely not my idea. It was a calling in every sense of the word. And when I look back on it now, it’s kind of like the writing was always on the wall, but I didn’t quite want to see it. I did my undergrad at University of Florida Go Gators. And I was a physiology major. So I was pretty much always just enamored with the human body and how it worked, especially pushing the body to its limits in terms of like athletic engagement. And I really thought I would be a surgeon from the time I was like 11 until I was about 20 Oh, wow. Yeah. And I had a little bit of a catharsis. One day sitting in a chem lab, people around me were talking about why I wanted to be doctors and not a single person, use the word heal, help share, nurture. It was all about the money, basically. And I kind of flashed to this family friend who is a physician, who had begged me not to go to med school when I left for college. And at the time, I was really stubborn, and I just kind of thought like are you don’t think I can do it. And in that moment, it was like time to sell. And I heard his voice and I was like, Oh, this is what he was talking about. Like he kind of said, like you wear your heart on your sleeve. And, you know, you really just want to help people and you know, you’re an out of the box thinker, you’re going to be swimming upstream basically med school the whole time. So kind of took a break and didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. And I had been exposed academic. Sure, actually, at a really young age. My best friend in high school. His mother was an acupuncturist and she practiced out of her home. So I would see people come in and kind of a hot mess and then leave almost as if they had a cocktail. They were so relaxed, right? Right. And I didn’t actually get acupuncture until undergrad. And I went I went to acupuncture because I was really tired of the infirmary telling me all these recurrent, UCI as I had were just, you know, here’s another round of antibiotics. And by the way, we think you’re depressed, would you like some Zoloft? And I was like, No, no, thank you, you there’s really nothing else you can do for me for this. I went to acupuncture and they cleared up almost immediately. And another thing that happened when I went is that I’ve had lifelong digestion problems, which I didn’t even talk to the acupuncturist about. Because you know, like most people steeped in a Western model, we think that we’re there to talk about one thing and the rest of our parts of our body don’t matter. But miraculously enough, like all of a sudden, my digestion, my lifelong constipation was fixed. And it was amazing. And I it started to kind of creep back in and I went back to her and I was like, I don’t know how you do that. But you need to fix it again. Awesome. So that was kind of my introduction into acupuncture.
Katelyn Fusco 9:25
That’s incredible. I, I ended up seeing an acupuncturist after hearing from a midwife how acupuncture can be used to help with the onset of labor. And that’s, that’s not what I saw the acupuncturist for, but that’s kind of how I got my first taste into acupuncture. And since then, you know, for everything, it’s incredible, but this past pregnancy, Holy moly, it helped me so much, especially with kind of helping with varicose veins and keeping them from getting super out of control and things like that. It was, it was seriously unbelievable. I was a believer before, but now it’s like, Okay, everybody go.
Hillary Talbott Roland 10:07
Right side of things you just have to experience for yourself. It’s hard to translate into words. And I feel like every treatment is usually different in terms of what goes on in the treatment room, and how you feel afterwards. Um, but yeah, I actually started backwards, I, again, I thought I would treat athletes. And in school, I actually started I got a couple Pregnant Patients, and nobody wanted to work on them. And I was like, well, I’ll do it. And working on Pregnant Patients is amazing, because they have so much tea and blood from their blood volume being doubled. That it’s like half the amount of needles and extraordinary results because everything is just flowing. And I just thought it was the coolest thing. And then I got to do a labor prep treatment where somebody was overdue and try and help the help labor start on its own. And I was just enamored, I thought it was so cool. And then I actually ended up with a fertility patient which we we didn’t really learn anything. All acupuncturists in school actually don’t learn fertility, they learned guidance, basic gynecology. So I went and I did some CE courses before I had even graduated on fertility. And it really just kind of fit my personality at the time I was running marathons. So it’s definitely like a like a long haul favorite person. So to be able to help somebody have a baby in naturally or through assisted means, you know, as long as that takes it was just, it just it just fit my personality more. So then working with athletes who you know, I was going to fix something and then they are going to go out in the field and do it all over again, mess it up again. And then the first birth I saw was like, the most magical thing I still to this day I think have ever witnessed in this plane. And it was not my idea I had the spaceship who found out she was pregnant with twins after seeing me for a bit and she had PCs didn’t think that she could have a child and she kind of just grabbed me by the scruff color one day and was like, you know, I’ve thought about this and you’re going to be at my birth. Like No, I do not belong in hospitals. Like I’m crunchy granola trail mix. She was like now now my I love my husband. He does not call me down. You call me down? I’m sure there’s a book or course. You’ve got six months to figure it out.
What’s that?
I don’t know. But figure
it out, girl.
Yeah, no, it was awesome. So I didn’t even do acupuncture on her. I just I did acupressure. And because I was like literally too scared, I’d asked the OV and OV was like, Sure, come on in. And I ended up getting describing in the operating room and standing right behind her for the cash because she was delivering twins. So they had her in the OR just in case. But during her labor, I you know, she’s hooked up to monitoring because she’s high risk with twins. And I could see like, oh, if I push on this point, you know, I’m going to get a longer more intense contraction, it’s not just going to be like this little engine that could be you know, contraction trying to do something and not getting us anywhere. And I was, you know, having had a science background, I was very intrigued by the fact that I could use intermittent monitoring to actually prove what I was doing, you know, in labor was helping,
Katelyn Fusco 13:33
that is incredible.
Hillary Talbott Roland 13:34
Yeah, it was really is. I mean, definitely went again, one of those like divine interventions, it was not my idea, but life altering event and really shaped the path that I was on as a as a healer after that. Wow.
Katelyn Fusco 13:50
So after that experience, is that what led you into fertility treatment? Or were you already starting to kind of work with activities.
Hillary Talbott Roland 14:00
patient was my first year practice that was in 2010. And I had kind of declared like, Oh, I’m going to specialize in fertility. But the board that’s offered when you’re an acupuncturist, through the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine, you actually have to be in practice for two years, and go through a certain number of CDs, which is quite extensive before you can even apply to take the board. So I was in that process. And then once I figured out that I was like, This is amazing. I want to do do a little work too. And I did for a while.
Until really up until the point where I
became a stop mo for
there’s like something had to give, right?
That was a little bit of a dragon pill to swallow. That I couldn’t work to the capacity in which I was still be president home and take care of myself like something had to give and I’m definitely I think the number one self care thing that I have and I guard is my sleep. Because if I don’t sleep, I’m a Mahatma. I’m not really human. No, not at all. I mean, I’ve thought about midwifery school, and
I just I couldn’t I couldn’t be a rock star
Katelyn Fusco 15:22
on call life is very difficult, which is why I actually put my midwifery training on hiatus though I will say I’ll give a shout out to my friend Madeline Murray, who is a midwife who’s really advocating for sustainable midwifery, where midwives you know, kind of work in partnerships and pears, small groups, so that everyone has a chance to be off call very frequently. So I feel like that’s the only way that it can work because you are so right, sleep is a necessity.
Hillary Talbott Roland 15:52
Yeah, it’s, I’ve always been that way, like as a kid, I just required more, and I can do it. But especially if you get to be this is what I found. And my 22nd birthday is that if I was present in the room, for the birth, it was such an energetic high, that I was really okay for two days. So I could come back and I could come back to my full patient load and perform to the best of my abilities, and somewhat managed at home too. But if it ended an intervention like a C section, and I wasn’t in there and say in those bursts usually go a long time, right? Like I might have been absent for two days on minimal food and water. Right. It was just making everything else suffer. And so I had to unfortunately make that choice. It’s probably you know, I’ll probably go back to do a little work and acupuncture at some point. After all my kids are off to college and grown. But yeah, it was it was just a choice that had to be made. And like, you know, this is in front of me right now these kids and they’re they’re not going to be here forever. Like I don’t get this time back.
So yeah, that’s one of the things that just deciding
the memo something but you got to push the pause button moment.
Katelyn Fusco 17:09
Yeah, I totally feel you. But look at all of the amazing work that you’re doing. That isn’t that but still so you know, life altering for all of these women, which I’d love to talk about, because I know you’ve got an incredible podcast, you are working with so many moms with fertility. And that brings me to your website, which is lady potions. So how did you recognize a need for this one, and if you wouldn’t mind going further explaining what it is and kind of the things that you offer and talk about?
Hillary Talbott Roland 17:43
Sure. So leaving potions actually came out of a necessity in that. So in my Wellness Center, we have five positions here who are great in it and everybody in like a traditional Chinese model treats everything. But we all have our passion projects and at this point 80% of my patient, Moses gynecological and fertility. And I, you know, the rest of the patients that come through here, don’t want to read a blog every week about uteruses, right? What are the worries? I know right? Like I think it’s amazing, but turns out the rest of the world is not unless they’re having issue right? So I just kind of gave it its own home under lady potions calm. And it was kind of this play because you know, being an herbalist and a lot of times jokingly, people will say like, hey, you’re totally a witch doctor, which I have come to embrace that.
Katelyn Fusco 18:33
My husband was like, are you a witch when we first met? Right? I’m not I’m a good Christian woman.
Hillary Talbott Roland 18:40
Yeah, I had to I had to learn to love the shadow and the light of that archetype.
So that was kind of why I did it. Because I, you know, I just thought that there, there needed to be more emphasis put on natural remedies that are available because I feel like, you know, it’s just been around for so long. You’re talking 3000 years in Eastern medicine as well as the eclectics here in the United States, which were your original herbalists, they were the witches that were burned at the stake. And all of their information was also burned with them, or not all of it, but a large percentage of it. And so I just wanted to really cast the light on the fact that there are other alternatives out there other than just Western medicine. And really, I practice both. I’ve also trained in integrative medicine with Dr. Viva ROM, who is amazing. She’s been one of my mentors since the very beginning. If you don’t know who she is, she’s a, she was a midwife for 20 years, sometimes illegally in some of the southern states, and an herbalist. She was head of American herbal a skill, and then she decided that if she was going to change things up, and really integrate medicine, she had to go to med school. So she went to Yale med school after her kids from Chrome. And then she recently circled back around and said, Hey, I really want to make sure that women, healthcare professionals are not burning out because we are the highest group of people that are burning out kind of like you’re the midwife that you just referenced. And so she started a 10 month integrative medicine program for professionals that really brought Western medicine and herbal ism together with functional medicine. And so I got to study under her for that. And it’s been extraordinary and adding to what I do here in the treatment room, because I really think that a collaborative approach with your, with your providers is necessary for the best outcomes. You know, and not always the best physical outcome, but just the mental emotional, right, like so many people think that they can’t tell their providers. So what they’re doing in terms of acupuncture, and really a lot of obese and midwives here refer to me. But I wanted to provide a place with the blogging and the podcast where there was evidence based medicine. So there was links to the studies that I’m referencing of so that people could go find their own information. And then when they did have these conversations with their providers, they could have, you know, a good conversation that was steeped in evidence, which is the language that most western healthcare providers speak, so that they were taken seriously. And that they weren’t kind of fear mongering into a model or a paradigm that their gut told them wasn’t right for them. I wanted them to be able to advocate for themselves. So that’s really kind of how it came up. And then, you know, after 10 years, in the Treme area, and you find yourself saying the same things over and over. So that was why the podcast started, was really like even if nobody listens to this, I have to have a place where I can refer my patients like, hey, go listen to this episode on PCs. Great idea. And then come back to me with your questions.
Yeah, so that was how it started. And I’ve learned a lot about technology. So
Katelyn Fusco 22:00
Oh, same here. My gosh, it has been quite a roller coaster for someone who doesn’t super love technology to to be doing a podcast and online courses and and you have an online course is
Hillary Talbott Roland 22:14
that correct? I don’t coming out in the fall. Yeah, it’s called the art of conception. And it will be video based DIY. So and then there’s also the availability of additional one on one coaching. So for somebody that thinks that they want a little bit more, and they basically want everything that happens in a treatment room with traditional Chinese medicine minus the needles. They can get that from me on a one on one. That’s amazing. Yeah, I’m super excited. That’s been in my head forever. And it’s like, just trying to get that out in the little snippets of time, like you totally get with having children. It’s like you’ve got 30 minutes to record something
Katelyn Fusco 22:56
nice and quiet. Got 30 minutes, and I haven’t put on any makeup today. And my hair is a mess. So let’s see how this goes. Yeah, podcasting. Right. Oh,
Hillary Talbott Roland 23:07
it’s such an opportunity to explore your perfectionism.
Katelyn Fusco 23:13
That’s a perfect way to put it. And when you were talking about Dr. Viva ROM, she has a podcast as well, doesn’t she?
Hillary Talbott Roland 23:19
Yes, yeah, her. Her podcast is amazing, and just all over women’s health, but really, the huge focus on gynecology. I don’t know how she does it all. And she’s written so many books. And she still has a micro practice. And she teaches these amazing online courses. I mean, and the one that I took with her, it was 10 months. You know, it was my grad school was intense. We did try semesters, for three and a half years. So we did like an average of 20 credits to try semester, which is a you know, so it’s a lot. And I would say that that her 10 month program was equal the first year and a half of my grad school. That is incredible. Yeah, it was, it was so much information. It was so carefully catalogued in terms of evidence based of like, where to go learn more, if you wanted to take a deeper dive. And it wasn’t just fertility it was it was all women’s health. And it was really interesting, because there was about 40 of us. And so mostly MDS. And then there were a couple acupuncturists and health coaches and nutritionist, you had to have a license to be accepted in.
And so it was really interesting to see
the thought patterns of people have, you know, different types of practitioners and, and really kind of understand that holistic medicine, even though I swim in that pond every day is not something that people are necessarily used to, if you’re so right,
Katelyn Fusco 24:53
it’s, it’s really, so hard to take that step back when you’re steeped in something. Because, you know, especially like, so, education about birth, I feel like, oh, everybody knows this, you know, like, Oh, you know what I’m talking about, but so many people don’t. And it’s hard to remember, like, Okay, I need to take a step back and put this on, like, let’s start from the beginning and explain everything so that people can truly understand and grasp it, like I do, because I don’t remember that it took me, you know, five years to get to this point.
Hillary Talbott Roland 25:28
Right? Yeah, it is. Again, yes. You don’t know what you know, until you know it. And that’s, you forget, when that’s where your brain lives all the time. And, and I, you know, I, I think it’s getting better in terms of integrative medicine, especially around birth, I do have a lot of physicians in the area who are totally on board now, if they, if their patients want to do acupuncture, like I said, they’re even referring, and it’s encouraged for things like pain and insomnia, and Najah, even overdue babies. And, you know, that’s something that I didn’t see at the beginning of my career was there was a very, very separate.
So I’m pretty hopeful.
Katelyn Fusco 26:12
That’s amazing. Well, and, and on that note, I would love to hear kind of some of the things that you are doing acupuncture wise, and just traditional Chinese medicine wise, for your, for your female clients, you know, especially those who are possibly struggling with infertility, what does what does treatment with you look like?
Hillary Talbott Roland 26:32
So I think most patients are actually really floored, even at their intake, because the forums that we provide are so extensive, like we asked about everything from digestion, to sleep, to mental health, and then really, really complete history on your gynecological history, as well as your partner’s health, which I think is funny that that throws some people that they have to answer that, right, because men don’t go don’t want to Dr. It’s because of that holistic model, right? And so a lot of patients will show up, and they’ll say, No, no practitioner has ever asked me that breath of questions. And it really got me thinking, and they’ll start pulling stuff out from their childhood or their teenage years, or things that they hadn’t put together in terms of why they may be having reproductive issues now, you know, things from, you know, toxic exposures to Well, I never really got my period. And then I was put on birth control, and didn’t really think about it again until I wanted to have a kid and lo and behold, Look, my periods aren’t normal now, when I’ve come off of it, and like, what was that underlying problem that nobody ever diagnosed, which a lot of times this PC, ALS, or endometriosis is a huge one and terms, especially unexplained infertility, where, you know, I think it’s an average of five years and it takes a woman to get an accurate diagnosis of Indonesia is this, she’s usually diagnosed with IBS or IVD, digestive problems first, and just kind of labeled at that or you have heavy periods take some vital part of the reason for that is that you have to have laparoscopy, so they actually have to surgical procedure where they go in with the camera to see it. But there are a lot of telltale signs that can kind of point to that. So again, it comes back to a very integrated practice of educating the woman on what I think is going on. And then for her how to have a conversation and advocate herself for tests with her Western physicians are writing a letter myself of like, Hey, can you please check out XYZ, and then in the treatment room? A lot of times we’ll do cupping. So you know, thank God for Michael Phelps, people know what camping is now. perfectly circular looking hickeys on your back. And I do that on my fertility patients because they hold so much stress and tension in their back and neck. And then we’ll you know, do it an acupuncture treatment, which, you know, you’ve never experienced, it’s like having a glass of wine minus the wine, you’re super relaxed and leave. And then I would say if you fall for it, I would say, Yeah, you’ve worked a good way to put it. Yeah, like sometimes the colors are just brighter, and things look a little bit CRISPR. And I think the biggest side effects from acupuncture is that you have this increased awareness right after what your body needs, whether that’s more sleep, better food, more water, nurturing relationship, it’s just like your awareness is super heightened. And then I would say about half of my patients, we lead through guided meditations on our table as well. And they’re provided with recorded meditations that are specific to fertility and the chakras so that they can do them on their own. And that really came out of I had a patient say to me One morning, like, something’s defective, I wish you could just wake up with me every day and putting needles in me out my day.
Oh, it’s such a compliment. But I’m also no better than like a Xanax at that point, right.
So you know, I really believe in personal responsibility of health. So a lot of what we’re doing is educating people on how to take care of themselves. And that became kind of my quest. About five years ago, I went and learned how to teach meditation, because I’d had to practice myself for close to 20 years, but I never really formally engaged and how to teach somebody. Because I felt like that was one thing that people could start their day with every day and not necessarily need an appointment with somebody. Right?
Katelyn Fusco 30:44
That’s great. So do you, you’ve created your own meditation tracks or relaxation tracks.
Hillary Talbott Roland 30:50
Yeah. And that’s actually I would say, once to twice a month on fertile minds radio, you’ll find it a lead meditation, there’s a big emphasis and my podcasts on mindfulness, because of the effect that it has on the nervous system, and then then the undercurrent system, it’s a huge way to be able to keep yourself calm is to practice mindfulness, right. And that can be as short as 16 seconds is Bry, a breathing or 30 minutes of, you know, guided meditation. So those are available on the podcast for free. And then we also have different tracks that are like there’s 30 days of shopping meditations that are just fertility base. And another one coming out soon, that is with the cycles of IVF, because the attention can get really high and the cycles and, you know, there’s certain things that women are super focused on during those phases, whether they’re doing a frozen embryo transfer, or retrieval, and just wanting to be able to allow them to have that focus, but to do it in a way that is actually complimentary to the body.
Katelyn Fusco 32:00
So interesting. And I kind of got us off on a tangent there when we were talking about, you know, what you do with your clients or what they’re coming to you for, after you were talking about, you know, what you do in the actual room, the cupping, and then the needles and then the mindfulness. What comes after that? Or is that kind of how you wrap things up.
Hillary Talbott Roland 32:20
They go, they usually get an email within a week that is prescribing or suggesting all of the supplements and Chinese herbs that I think would benefit their particular pattern imbalance. So Chinese medicine works is based on patterns of disharmony. So we prescribe the herbs we actually take sure we have a full Eastern and Western pharmacy here in my practice, and very cool with them. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It’s like my favorite, my favorite place in the entire center. It’s my happy place. But we make them into tinctures which I find is helps people to be super compliant. Because you literally just have to carry a little dropper bottle with you, and a couple days a week, put it under your tongue. And then I also suggest supplements. So based kind of, from a functional medicine perspective, if I think it’s necessary. And I really try and only prescribe what is necessary, because I do have a lot of patients that will hit my door and they will show up with like, you know, 30 supplements, and I’m like, how in God’s name? Are you digesting any of them?
Katelyn Fusco 33:27
Are you eating any food? Or is it all in capsule form?
Hillary Talbott Roland 33:30
Yes, yeah, that’s like, Oh, I would be so bloated, I could take it. So I breakdown in the email, like why I’m prescribing it and a place where they can order it, which is a full script dispensary, which my online coaching Patients have access to as well. And that’s actually pretty cool adaptation of technology that all these different vendors of different supplements, now have one district Peter, and so you know, it’s safe, because there is a problem with buying things on Amazon, right? As much as I love Amazon and Amazon Prime probably comes to my house on today, I would never ever buy supplements on there.
Katelyn Fusco 34:13
Okay, that’s very interesting to hear.
Hillary Talbott Roland 34:15
Yeah, you just don’t know what you’re getting, you don’t know it’s been adulterated. You don’t know if it’s got drywall on it, or if it’s the actual herb that is, says that it’s in the bottle. And you know, when you’re talking about fertility and pregnancy, you’ve got a huge liability there. So I this way, it’s coming direct from the manufacturer, it’s not changing hands. And that also allows me not to have to stock it all. So that comes at a 20% discount to the patient. And then the remaining 15% actually goes to a nonprofit called farmers footprint, which is an amazing organization started by Dr. Zach Bush, who you don’t know him, you should look him up. He’s quite an intelligent individual. He started this movement for Regenerative farming, basically pointing out that non GMOs and organic foods were not enough that it really comes down to the soil. And if we don’t help our farmers break the paradigm that they’re in, where they’re, you know, they’re kind of stuck in this vicious bankroll of genetic modification farming, if we don’t help them, it’s never going to happen. And basically, we’re, you know, we’re turning our Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico here I live, it’s, you know, it’s turning into the world’s biggest conglomerate of like a phosphate pesticide. Because it’s all running down the Mississippi, and there’s this you can see it Airlie, there’s these huge dead zones that are happening. So my thought was, if I’m doing this podcast, and I’m suggesting supplements for certain things, I want people to be able to trust, why I’m suggesting it right, and who need to make money off of it. And I really strongly believe that we wouldn’t have to give people so many supplements if we had destroyed food and our farming practices. It’s not so lovely. Oh, I love that. So yeah, that’s my like, one way that I can give back right now on a small scale. Hopefully, it’ll get bigger later. But
Katelyn Fusco 36:24
yeah, I hope so. That’s incredible. Well, so in relation to your fertility and your treatment?
How do you feel like those natural treatments compared to the more medical approach to infertility, like IVF? And I know that you said that you do work with IVF clients, as well. But do you have a decent amount of success of working with women, and then them not having to go through IVF?
Hillary Talbott Roland 36:51
Absolutely. I mean, I would say I have about an 85% success rate, whether you’re talking Western or all natural. And then at this point, my practice is about 5050. He used to be heavily skewed to just those that you know, wanted something other than IVF. Now I get a pretty fair mix of both. And really what happens in the, the couple that’s looking to do it all naturally, is it’s based around the cycle, we’re trying to regulate the cycle, we’re trying to regulate genetic expression, which as we age, because we carry our ace inside of us, our entire life is exposed to every chemical we’re exposed to, as well as every thought and biochemical reaction that happens as a result of that thought. Yeah, that part’s fascinating, right? You know, we’re trying to, you know, really help in quality, as well as sperm quality, and help the woman feel better and manage it mentally, emotionally as she goes through the process and teach her about her body. Oftentimes, I’ll have one men track their cycles with baseline temperatures or something like an EVA bracelet. And what that does is it actually really allows me to see a whole month worth of hormones, without having to pull blood like pulling blood on day three is great and day 21 to look at progesterone and see you are in fact, oscillating. But I find that the basal body temperatures Tell me so much. They tell me things like there might be subclinical hypothyroidism, you need to test and treat for that, or that you’re oscillating late and that perhaps the DNA of the egg is already in question. By the time the egg finally comes out, or your or your obby lighting way early, which is also common as we age, sometimes we’re oscillating as soon as the period is over, we missed the window. Wow. So yeah, it can be that simple. Or it can also be complex. You know, at this point in my career, I definitely get some complex cases. So like, Hey, I only have one, two, or I had cancer, and we have frozen embryos. And I’m, you know, I don’t have all my intestines, like, can you help rebuild the tissue in my body, so I can actually carry this, this pregnancy to full term. And then I’m seeing more and more males, because they’re finally catching on that infertility is really 5050. And that was even as soon as five years ago with that was not talked about.
Katelyn Fusco 39:30
Right.
Wow. And yeah, the reason I I asked about that is just, you know, on a micro scale, I, I have a friend who was struggling with infertility for, you know, about a year and she had endometriosis. And I had known of an acupuncturist, in our area, who has great success with helping with fertility. And so she started seeing the acupuncturist initial for comfort through her endometriosis, you know, she had gotten off of the birth control pill that she’d always taken that helped with the heavy periods, and the discomfort of endometriosis. And then, working with that acupuncturist, they kind of started managing the pain and those symptoms. And then really, as soon as they started the actual fertility treatment aspect of it, she was pregnant. And, you know, it was just, it was so beautiful. I mean, I cried. It was amazing to see, you know, with just kind of helping your body out and supporting it and, and helping the energy. You’re a lot of times, not all the time, obviously, you’re talking about very complex cases. But a lot of times that might be all that you need.
Hillary Talbott Roland 40:47
Yeah. And it’s that is really my philosophy that life wants to happen. Right? Like, that’s, that’s the Sure thing. And the human body is it wants to procreate, which is also what makes it so difficult, right? Because we have have this genetic imprinting, like, this is what I’m here for I’m here to carry on life, and why why Will my body do it. And so you really have to balance out all of the systems you I mean, you can’t just you can you can just look at the uterus and the ovaries. But I think you’re doing a huge disservice to not only the patient but the unborn potential child too, because you want to get all the systems up and running to optimum levels, because that is going to also influence genetic expression of what’s passed down. not one, but two generations. So you’re talking about your health influencing the health of your unborn grandchild, and potentially the fertility of your child. Gosh,
Katelyn Fusco 41:42
yes. And then, and like you were mentioning, with the mindfulness aspect of things, you know, getting your emotions and your your feelings in a good place. So that that is is affecting your unborn child positively as well.
Hillary Talbott Roland 41:59
Yeah, and is such a huge thing, because more and more people are struggling with it for various reasons, you know, are waiting longer. They’ve been exposed to toxic chemicals when you’re talking about food or air, pesticide think everything right? Yeah, math like it’s in. So yeah, answer a lot of questions in the treatment room about what about this? And what about that? And how should I eat? You know, is sleep really that important? Does Cathy make a difference? Can I have alcohol? Like all of these things that you know, you could? You could Dr. Google yourself to try and and not always know if the answer you’re finding is true. Right? Um, so yeah, I think when you help a couple relax, and you help get them into a place of just optimum functioning. It’s amazing what happens they, they oftentimes go on to create life, I think that’s kind of what happens when people adopt, right, they get into this place of allowance and acceptance in their life, of putting something away. And then the mental emotional strain is not so great on the physiology. And then all of a sudden, they’ve got an adopted baby and a natural baby, right.
Katelyn Fusco 43:11
And then all of a sudden, they’re pregnant.
Hillary Talbott Roland 43:13
Which is like, so maddening. When you’re trying to have a kid and people are telling you, like, just adopt, you’ll be pregnant, and you’re like, shut up.
Oh, wow.
Katelyn Fusco 43:24
Gosh, Hillary, this has been so enlightening. And such an incredible exploration of fertility and acupuncture as a whole. I would love for you to just share with my listeners where they can find more information from you, where they can find your podcast, just anything that you’re willing to throw their way.
Hillary Talbott Roland 43:43
Sure. Um, so fertile minds radio is the podcast, you can find that on everything from iTunes to Android to even Spotify, which is amazing. They’re offering podcasts now. I know. I love that, right? Isn’t that cool? They’re everywhere. You can also find the show notes and the links to a lot of the studies that are referenced in the shows as well as links to the guests on lady potions calm, and a great place to connect with me on social media is Instagram, I am lady potions, the number four and the letter U so lady potions for you. And there’s a bunch of links up in the bio to to find different programs that we offer like self care, seven day resets, and coaching one on one. And then of course, the art of conception program that’s coming out this fall. Oh,
Katelyn Fusco 44:34
I can’t wait to see that I am. I’m really excited for everything that you’re doing. And I’m so grateful for you coming on the podcast and sharing with my listeners. So thank you so much, Hillary,
Hillary Talbott Roland 44:44
thank you so much for having me. Katelyn, I really appreciate it. And it’s an honor to help educate your guests about different ways that they can help with their their homework as well.
Katelyn Fusco 44:54
There you have it, my friends, what an amazing interview, I am so grateful that Hello was able to come on to the podcast and share her knowledge with us, I thought we could just jump really quickly into the episode Roundup. So the first thing I wanted to discuss was Hillary’s mention of mindfulness and its importance with everything. You guys know, I am all about mindfulness, especially in relation to giving birth. But this just shows just how useful it is to be mindful, and very considerate of what is going on in your body at all times. The second thing I wanted to note was how she discussed the importance of regulating and understanding the menstrual cycle. You know, one thing that I feel is an issue in society is that, as women, we’re pretty out of touch with our cycles. And oftentimes getting pregnant can be just as simple as becoming familiar with your cycle. One of the best resources for this is to in charge of your fertility. It’s an oldie but a goodie. It’s a great book that explains menstrual cycle and explains how you can begin charting it. And Hillary also mentioned that Ava bracelet that’s another another way to chart your cycle. But I feel like the kind of hands on approach is really, really good for getting a deep knowing and understanding. And granted, that’s not it’s not always that easy as Oh, well. Let me just check my cycle. Oh, now I’m pregnant. But it’s a great first step. And I also really wanted to share this as an option for women who are struggling with fertility but not comfortable with IVF. You know, we need to recognize that our bodies do need time to detox. That’s another important aspect is that if you’ve been on birth control for years and years, your body’s probably got a lot of regulating that it needs to do. So be sure that you are giving it time, nutrients and extra support with mindfulness, actually acupuncture, and if you’re anything like me prayer. So I hope that this was a positive and encouraging episode for all of you out there, that you’ll be able to use this as a resource to friends and family members who are potentially struggling and don’t know that there are other options beyond just the medical route. So thank you guys so much for this. Be sure to to give me a screenshot if you have you listening to this episode or a selfie posted on Instagram at happy home birth podcast and I will share that in my stories. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I will see you back here next week.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
