🎧 Whole-Body Fertility Support: My Journey & How WOVA Health Can Help You
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Introduction
I’m so excited to share my conversation with Sally Hayes on the Matrikas Podcast, where I talk openly about my personal fertility journey and the inspiration behind WOVA Health, a digital platform created to provide whole-body, integrative fertility support.
In this episode, we explore why fertility care so often feels fragmented, how that fragmentation impacted my own journey, and why I believe a more supportive, evidence-based, and holistic approach is not only possible—but necessary. This conversation is about education, empowerment, and reminding you that you’re not alone.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Why fertility care often feels isolating and overwhelming
How nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, stress, and environment influence fertility
The role of epigenetics and how today’s choices can affect future generations
Why integrative, whole-body support can improve outcomes and reduce unnecessary stress
How coaching and community support can help you feel empowered instead of lost
⏱ Listen time: 21 minutes
🎧 Format: Video & Audio
📍 Best for: Trying to conceive naturally, preparing for IVF, or optimizing reproductive health
👉 Join WOVA Health
👉 Learn more about my story
👉 Connect with our team
Podcast Transcript
Sally Hayes:
Hey everyone, this is Sally Hayes from Maka, and I’m so excited to be here today with Gabby I.V., the founder of WOVA Health — a digital platform for whole-body fertility support.
Thank you so much for joining me, Gabby. How are you?
Gabie:
I’m great. Thank you so much for having me.
Sally:
I’m really excited to talk to you because I think what you’ve built is truly special. I honestly haven’t seen anything quite like this before.
It’s a very integrative platform — Western and Eastern medicine, clinical support and holistic support. This is something I talk about all the time: bridging the gap.
Can you tell us a little more about why you started WOVA and what it includes?
Gabie’s Story
Gabie:
I’d love to — and I want to start with a little story from when I was a child.
You know how, when you’re little, people always ask you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And usually you say things like a doctor, an engineer, or a teacher. I would say one of those things too. But deep down, what I really wanted was to be a mom.
I remember waking up every morning in my grandmother’s house and dreaming about it — dreaming about building my own family, having two children by a certain age, imagining the prince and the fairytale. That vision was always in my head.
When I left my home country to come to the United States, I was 19 years old. I came here to study, to complete my bachelor’s degree and eventually my MBA — all with the goal of creating a secure future for my future family. I wanted to educate myself, build a career, become independent, and one day be able to support my family and give my children more opportunities. The United States truly felt like the land of opportunity.
I always envisioned myself as a mother.
Early Fertility Challenges
In my twenties, when I first tried to get pregnant, my partner and I ran into challenges. We got tested and found that there was a male factor involved — yet I was the one expected to go through fertility treatments: IUI, IVF, medications, hormones, and countless appointments.
Even though the medical issue was related to sperm, no one really talked to us about whether there was anything we could do to improve sperm health. Instead, we were immediately directed toward IUI or IVF — procedures where the woman carries almost all the physical and emotional burden.
That experience really opened my eyes to how confusing and isolating fertility journeys can be. I felt like I had to navigate everything on my own, with no clear guidance or support.
A Second Chapter — and More Questions
Years later, when I met my current partner, now my husband, I was approaching 35. Like many women, I started to panic — thinking that fertility suddenly drops off a cliff at that age. In reality, fertility is very individual and far more complex than that.
Because of my past experience, I started thinking about fertility more intentionally. I had a leadership role at a large company that offered fertility benefits — just in case I needed them. And eventually, we did.
In the U.S., if you go to your OB-GYN and say you want to get pregnant, you’re usually told to try for a year (or six months, depending on age) before they’ll investigate further. I didn’t want to waste time. So I went in and said we had been trying for a year — even though we hadn’t — because I wanted testing done.
Sometimes, you have to play the system so the system doesn’t play you.
We were tested and diagnosed with unexplained infertility. That was a complete shock. There was no clear medical reason for either of us — which was incredibly confusing. We were told the next step was IUI or IVF. We were told we had great insurance and “should get pregnant.”
At the time, it felt very transactional.
Looking Beyond Procedures
We eventually did IVF, but I was deeply frustrated. I knew both of us were dealing with chronic health conditions that weren’t directly reproductive — yet the body is made up of interconnected systems. Everything works together.
If something is off — blood pressure, cholesterol, unresolved trauma, diabetes, chronic inflammation — it can absolutely impact fertility. But no one wanted to look at that.
Once again, I felt like I had to figure it all out on my own.
I started digging into science — something I’ve always loved. Over the past decade, I’ve read hundreds of books and studies on whole-body health. This time, I focused deeply on reproductive health and how it connects to everything else.
Back in 2014, I read about epigenetics — how lifestyle, nutrition, and environment can influence gene expression. You can’t change your genes, but you can turn certain genes on or off — and pass those effects down for generations.
Someone once explained it like this: imagine piano keys. The keys don’t change — but you get to choose what kind of music you play.
Why WOVA Exists
That understanding — combined with my own journey and the journeys I witnessed among friends — is why I built WOVA.
There was so much lack of support, lack of empathy, and lack of education. Fertility can feel incredibly isolating and overwhelming — but it doesn’t have to be this way.
I wanted to change that.
What WOVA Offers
Sally:
On WOVA, you have experts, but also a community. Walk me through what happens when someone joins.
Gabie:
There’s a clear roadmap with a few key components.
First, members get access to a library of interviews with over 20 experts. I don’t believe one person can understand your entire body or story — that’s why experts specialize.
You learn about nutrition from dietitians, hormones from endocrinologists, testing from specialists, and lifestyle, environmental health, and emotional well-being from experts who understand how it all connects to fertility.
Each week, members explore a different topic with actionable steps and the science behind why it matters.
In addition, there’s live weekly coaching — 60-minute sessions in a small group setting. Coaches rotate and include specialists in emotional well-being, nutrition, and fertility care. You also connect with peers who truly understand what you’re going through, which makes the journey feel far less isolating.
A More Complete Model of Care
Sally:
That’s incredibly impressive. You’ve taken such a huge burden off people navigating fertility.
Gabie:
That’s exactly the goal. Fertility care is very fragmented. You might work with one expert at a time, but no one looks at the full picture.
There is space for IVF — I respect fertility doctors deeply. But before rushing into procedures, it’s important to optimize health. Otherwise, you may end up going through multiple cycles, like I did.
IVF success rates are relatively low, and many people need two or three cycles. That’s expensive, emotionally draining, and physically demanding. Often, procedures don’t address root causes — they simply stimulate more follicles in a given cycle.
IVF results can vary dramatically from cycle to cycle because so many factors are involved — including your health during that specific month.
Doctors are experts in hormones and medications, but they aren’t trained in nutrition, sleep, stress, or lifestyle. That’s not a fault — it’s just not their training.
This is where WOVA comes in.
A Final Message
Before we wrap up, I want to share one final message:
Don’t lose hope.
I know there are many different stories, and the journey can be long and challenging. You may have been on this path for months or years, questioning yourself, doubting yourself, or blaming yourself.
Please don’t lose hope.
Leave behind fear, self-blame, and doubt. Start fresh. There is support available — and there is so much you can do.
Just don’t wait. Don’t waste your time. Get the support you need.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and readability.
🌿 Connect with WOVA:
Instagram: @wovahealth
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