Figuring out fertility
A Kiwi fertility coach reveals the missing piece in infertility.
One in four New Zealanders experience infertility during their lifetime, and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) success rates average just 30% per cycle. This leaves couples emotionally and financially drained, and still without answers.
To coincide with World Infertility Month this June, New Zealand-based fertility energetics coach Cara Lennan is urging a shift in focus.
“Fertility challenges aren’t just physical,” says Cara. “They’re emotional, energetic, and deeply tied to how safe and supported our bodies feel. Most women I work with are stuck in chronic states of stress, pressure, and perfectionism. Their nervous systems are in survival mode.”
A recent keynote speaker at one of Fertility New Zealand’s events, Cara says her clients are often high-achievers who have tried everything from strict diets and supplements to multiple rounds of IVF.
“Doing all the right things isn’t always enough. If your mind is on board but your body doesn’t feel safe, fertility won’t click. When we create emotional safety, regulate the nervous system, and shift the inner landscape, the body responds,” Cara says.
“Energetics isn’t woo woo – it’s biology. Your nervous system runs everything from hormone balance to ovulation. If your body is stuck in ‘fight-or-flight,’ it simply won’t prioritise pregnancy.”
Cara understands it firsthand. After being told her egg quality was poor and that egg donation was her best option, Cara beat the odds: conceiving through intrauterine insemination at 35, and naturally at 37 – despite being given just a 1% chance of natural conception. She now helps other women uncover the emotional and nervous system root causes of infertility through her program, Fertile Frequency, and podcast of the same name.
A Harvard study found that women in a mind-body program before IVF more than doubled their chances of pregnancy (52% vs 20%). Another study showed women were four times more likely to conceive when engaging in nervous system-based support.
“I’m not here to tell anyone to ‘just relax,’” Cara says. “I’m here to guide them in actually shifting the internal stress, so the body can relax, receive, and respond. There’s a missing piece in fertility care – and it’s time we started talking about it.”
Did you know?
In 10–30% of infertility cases, no clear cause is identified. Known as unexplained infertility, this diagnosis is frustrating for couples seeking answers.
