Fertility coach and author Erica Hoke talks about conceiving four children after age 35 despite multiple reproductive diagnoses. She covers her holistic approach: diet, lifestyle, traditional Chinese medicine, and therapy. Her book Infertility Success includes QR-linked resources for women navigating fertility challenges.
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She had a 1% chance of conceiving. Now she's a mom of 4. Joining us now is fertility coach Erica Hoke, who is the author of Infertility Success: Stories of Help and Hope for Your Journey. Erica, welcome to Bloom. It's so great to see you again.
Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, I think this is going to resonate with so so many women. I mean, you had a 1% chance of conceiving, yet your outcome, incredible, 4 children. So tell us a little bit about your backstory.
So like you said, I have 4, 4 children, all conceived after the age of 35. I have to say that because a lot of people think that, um, maybe I was younger or maybe I didn't have the problems that I had, which I had 7 diagnosis of different reproductive issues. And so I'm just here to share that information so that people know if they have something going on, if they're over 35, that there's hope for them and that they don't have to give up, that there are options. By the way, I'll have to say to you that all of them were conceived without the help of reproductive medicine, just with diet and lifestyle changes and other natural choices. Yes.
So I was going to ask you, so when So you didn't go for any IVF or anything like that, or did you and then you switched gears?
Yeah, we did not. I was actually not a candidate for IVF. I had diminished ovarian reserve. That was one of my 7 diagnoses. And because I have twins, a lot of people assume that they were conceived via IVF, but I wasn't a candidate. I didn't have enough eggs left, and I was actually told that if I wanted to conceive at all, that I would need donor eggs. That wasn't a direction that we wanted to go without exhausting all other possibilities.
So what did you do?
Yeah, I made a lot— I started addressing everything holistically because honestly, IVF was my plan B. I knew that I might have problems. I had these other diagnosis, but when I hit the brick wall of not being able to do IVF, We chose not to do IUI because the odds are very low with the kind of problems that I had, endometriosis, ovarian cysts, lots of different reproductive problems. And so I might have forgotten what you asked me.
Well, I was going to ask, so what are some of the things, natural, holistic things that you did decide to— you don't have to list all of them, but what were some of the key ones?
So I addressed everything holistically like I do with my clients. Address mental health and past trauma related, which is crucial. If you can't cope, you can't continue in the infertility world. And when you're having negative tests after negative tests, you have to be able to address those, those present things and those present traumas. But I also had some past trauma that I needed to address through talk therapy. I introduced traditional Chinese medicine, and I just had a lot of diet lifestyle changes where I made switches that people don't necessarily think impact infertility, but in some people have a huge impact. Not everyone, but for me and a lot of other women, the hormone and endocrine disruptors that we are exposed to all the time can really mess up your system. Interesting.
So tell me about the book. I love the book because as you— as I've thumbed through it, I see that you've put QR codes next to not only your story, but other women who share their story in the book. And that's a way to connect with them. So the reader's like, you know, I'm not alone. And I think that's part of this is so many women are suffering in silence, not realizing that there are other women that they want to lend a helping hand.
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm here today because right now some woman is sitting in a doctor's office getting a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, or the doctor is telling her that they can't help her. And I want her to know that there are options for her. And this book was a way to, like you said, not have them feel so alone. And the QR codes are connected to free resources that each of the authors contributed because we really wanted to have a personal connection. We wanted them, if they resonated, the reader, if they resonated with that story. We really wanted them to be able to connect in a personable and authentic way, and those QR codes are a great, great way to do that. So the authors in the book are, just to let everybody know, are from a variety of backgrounds. Some of them did use reproductive medicine, and some of them had a similar path to mine, but you'll find a variety of stories in there. And all of us said if our stories helped just one woman, we would have gone through all that we went through to get the book published.
So that's really, really kind. We only have a minute left, and I know that you spend your time coaching women. You're a, you know, a fertility coach. You know, what's next for you? What's, what's coming up here in 2022?
Oh, thanks so much. I am launching a program based on my personal coaching, Accelerate Your Fertility Boot Camp. So we have that coming out, um, or it's launching next month. And I also have 3 additional books. We had a few women who were pregnant, who were moving, who couldn't be part of infertility success. So we have more stories coming out and also Infertility Success to Total Mess about postpartum depression following an infertility journey.
Very important to discuss as well. Thank you so much for joining us and congratulations on your successful story and that your willingness to help other women.
Thank you.
Alright, to find out more about Erica Hoke and her book Infertility Success stories of help and hope for your journey, just head to wfla.com/bloom and I'll put a link there for you. We'll be back with more Bloom right after this. Don't go away.
