Cycle Wisdom: Women's Health & Fertility

Send us Fan Mail Everyone has heard that stress impacts fertility. But stress does not just make you feel anxious — it activates a specific hormonal axis that can delay ovulation, shorten your luteal phase, and suppress fertility in measurable, identifiable ways. And most standard fertility workups almost never look for it. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom, Dr. Monica Minjeur goes beyond the vague...

Send us Fan Mail To submit your comments about the Excepted Benefits Fertility Rule, go to this website for more information and a link to the submission information: https://iirrm.org/proposed-us-federal-rule-on-expected-fertility-benefits/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inflammation is one of the most searched health topics right now — but when i...

Send us Fan Mail What if the way you are eating — the way that feels disciplined, clean, and healthy — is actually the reason your hormones are struggling? This is one of the most overlooked and least discussed causes of cycle disruption. Not junk food. Not poor choices. But eating patterns that are simply too restrictive to support a healthy hormonal system. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom, Dr. M...

Send us Fan Mail A 22-year-old and a 42-year-old can both have regular cycles and have completely different hormonal pictures underneath. What is normal for your cycle changes across your reproductive life — and most women are never told what to expect, what to watch for, or when something is worth investigating at any given age. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom, Dr. Monica Minjeur builds a decade-...

Send us Fan Mail Everyone prepares for the sleepless nights. Almost no one prepares for what happens to hormones after a baby arrives — for either parent. For women, the postpartum period represents one of the most dramatic hormonal shifts in human biology. For men, the arrival of a baby triggers real, measurable hormonal changes that are almost never discussed, rarely tested, and almost never tre...

Send us Fan Mail Many women spend months — sometimes years — in pelvic floor physical therapy making only partial progress. They follow through on every exercise, attend every appointment, and still find their symptoms cycling in and out without explanation. What most of them are never told is that their pelvic floor does not operate in isolation. It is profoundly responsive to hormones — and if t...

Send us Fan Mail The products in your bathroom, your kitchen, and your environment may be quietly interfering with your hormones in ways that show up as irregular cycles, shortened luteal phases, unexplained infertility, or symptoms no one can quite explain. This is not a fringe concern. It is one of the most well-documented and least discussed contributors to hormone disruption in women and men t...

Send us Fan Mail Gen Z tracks everything — sleep, steps, macros, mood. But when it comes to their reproductive health, 59% of Gen Z women feel uninformed, and 69% are worried about their future fertility. This is not a personal failure. It is a systemic one. And the consequences are showing up in Dr. Minjeur's practice every single day — women arriving in their mid-30s with fertility challeng...

Send us Fan Mail IVF is dominating the national conversation about fertility right now — in the news, in legislation, and in doctors' offices across the country. But there are questions almost no one is asking. What if IVF is not the right first step for most couples who are struggling to conceive? And what are we missing when we skip straight to the most invasive and expensive option availab...

Send us Fan Mail When a couple struggles to conceive, the focus almost always falls on the woman. Her labs. Her cycle. Her body. But conception is a team effort — and the three to six months before trying to conceive may be the most important and most overlooked window in the entire fertility journey. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom, Dr. Monica Minjeur makes the case for proactive, intentional pre...

Send us Fan Mail The average woman with hot flashes and night sweats suffers for seven to ten years. But what if meaningful relief was possible in weeks — not years? In this episode of Cycle Wisdom, Dr. Monica Minjeur sits down with Radiant Clinic's new menopause specialist, Samantha, to talk about what actually changes when a woman finally gets the right menopause care — and why it is so muc...

Send us Fan Mail For over 20 years, millions of menopausal women have avoided a treatment that could meaningfully improve their health — not because of solid science, but because of a study that has since been reanalyzed, reframed, and largely walked back by the medical community. If you have ever been afraid of hormone replacement therapy, this episode is for you. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom,...

Send us Fan Mail What if your timing was perfect every month — great cervical mucus, a clear LH surge, a healthy luteal phase — and still no positive test? For some women, the missing piece is not ovulation at all. It is the uterine lining that receives the embryo, and whether that environment is truly ready to support implantation. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom, Dr. Monica Minjeur unpacks endom...

Send us Fan Mail If you have been focused entirely on your own cycles, hormones, and fertility markers — and your partner has not yet had a full semen analysis — you may be missing half the picture. Male factor contributes to fertility challenges in up to 40-50% of couples, and yet it is often the last thing evaluated, or evaluated incompletely. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom, Dr. Monica Minjeur...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever tracked your cycle carefully, confirmed ovulation, and then watched your period arrive just eight or nine days later — wondering if something is wrong? You are not imagining it. A consistently short luteal phase is one of the most overlooked barriers to conception and optimal hormone health, and the good news is that it is often very fixable. In this episode of Cycle...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever noticed a bit of pink or brown spotting right in the middle of your cycle and wondered what it means? You are not alone. Mid-cycle spotting is one of the most common concerns we hear from women who are paying close attention to their bodies — and it deserves a thoughtful answer. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom, Dr. Monica Minjeur walks you through exactly what mid-cy...

Send us Fan Mail Many women assume inconsistent ovulation is caused by stress, age, or simply “bad luck.” But sometimes the real cause is a hormone most people associate only with breastfeeding: Prolactin . In this episode of Cycle Wisdom , Dr. Monica Minjeur explains how even mild elevations in prolactin may quietly disrupt ovulation, shorten the luteal phase, and make conception more difficult....

Send us Fan Mail Many women experience recurring irritation or brown spotting around their period and assume it’s just something they have to live with. But these symptoms can sometimes signal an imbalance in the reproductive microbiome. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom , Dr. Monica Minjeur explains how the vaginal, cervical, and uterine microbiomes work together to support reproductive health and...

Send us Fan Mail Your hemoglobin A1C might look “normal,” but that doesn’t mean your hormones are. In this episode, we explore how early insulin resistance can quietly delay ovulation, shorten the luteal phase, and disrupt fertility long before blood sugar levels raise red flags. You’ll learn which metabolic tests actually reveal early dysfunction—and practical cycle-timed steps to restore steady...

Send us Fan Mail What if your TSH is “normal,” but your thyroid is still part of the fertility story? In this episode of Cycle Wisdom , Dr. Monica Minjeur breaks down how thyroid antibodies—specifically thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and thyroglobulin antibodies—can impact ovulation, luteal phase health, and early pregnancy, even when standard thyroid screening looks reassuring. Through Isla’s story of...

Send us Fan Mail Fatigue that won’t lift. Hair shedding. Shortness of breath during workouts. Heavy periods that leave you drained. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom , Dr. Monica Minjeur breaks down how low iron—especially low ferritin—can quietly disrupt ovulation, energy, and menstrual health, even when blood counts are “normal.” Through Quinn’s story, you’ll learn how iron deficiency impacts horm...

Send us Fan Mail What if the most accurate fertility tracker isn’t a device—but a daily biomarker your body already provides? In this episode of Cycle Wisdom , Dr. Monica Minjeur breaks down cervical mucus in clear, practical terms. Through Tara’s story, you’ll learn how to confidently observe cervical mucus, understand what different types mean, and use this information to accurately identify you...

Send us Fan Mail Acne and hair shedding after stopping birth control can feel alarming—but they’re often signs that your hormones are waking up and asking for support. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom , Dr. Monica Minjeur explains why post-pill acne and hair loss happen, how long it typically lasts, and when testing actually helps (and when it doesn’t). Through Allie’s story, you’ll learn how SHBG,...

Send us Fan Mail Late ovulation isn’t random—it’s often your body’s way of saying conditions aren’t quite right yet. In this episode of Cycle Wisdom , Dr. Monica Minjeur explains why ovulation may consistently happen later, how stress, sleep, metabolism, thyroid health, and insulin resistance affect follicle development, and how to tell a temporary delay from a pattern that needs attention. Throug...

Send us Fan Mail A super light 1–2 day period can feel like a win—but sometimes it’s your body’s way of saying your uterine lining isn’t getting the estrogen and progesterone support it needs. In this episode, Dr. Monica Minjeur explains what light flow can mean, how endometrial thickness and pattern reflect hormone health, and when it’s time to check cycle-timed labs and an ultrasound—especially...