How Stress Affects Your Hormones and Fertility | Cycles, Ovulation, and Egg Health

Dr. Natalie Crawford, board-certified OBGYN and REI, unpacks how stress communicates with your brain and ovaries—and how that relationship can shape your cycles, egg quality, and fertility over time. This episode connects physiology with realistic strategies so you can better support your hormones in a chronically stressed world.

Key Topics:
1. Stress & Your Brain–Ovary Connection
How your brain integrates stress and reproductive signals
Why the same “control center” influences both hormones and stress
How modern life blurs acute and chronic stress

2. Cycles, Ovulation & Stress Load
Ways stress can alter normal ovulatory patterns
Early warning signs that your cycle is under strain
How stress-related changes can progress over time

3. Metabolism, Inflammation & Egg Health
How stress affects glucose, insulin, and inflammation
Why metabolic health matters for hormone balance
Links between stress biology and fertility outcomes

4. Building Stress-Resilient Hormones
Daily practices to lower your physiological stress burden
Movement, sleep, and muscle as hormone-supportive tools
Rethinking coping mechanisms and everyday stressors

Pre-order Dr. Crawford's debut book, The Fertility Formula, now! ⁠https://www.nataliecrawfordmd.com/book⁠



Want to receive my weekly newsletter? Sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠nataliecrawfordmd.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive updates, Q&A, special content, and freebies

If you haven’t already, please rate, review, and follow the podcast to be notified of new episodes every Tuesday. Plus, be sure to follow along on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@nataliecrawfordmd,⁠⁠⁠⁠ check out Natalie’s YouTube channel Natalie Crawford MD⁠⁠⁠⁠, and if you're interested in becoming a patient, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠Fora Fertility.

Join the Learn at Pinnacle app ⁠to earn FREE CE Credit for listening to this episode!


This episode is brought to you by The Pinnacle Podcast Network! Learn more about Pinnacle at http://learnatpinnacle.com

------------------------------
Fertility doctor, Natalie Crawford, MD is a double board certified OBGYN and REI, and co-founder of Fora Fertility, a boutique fertility practice in Austin, Texas. She is the author of The Fertility Formula, on presale now!

COME SAY HI!!!
Blog: nataliecrawfordmd.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliecraw...
TikTok:   / nataliecrawfordmd  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncrawfordmd?lang=en
Facebook:   / nataliecrawfordmd  
Email: hello@nataliecrawfordmd.com

THE FERTILITY FORMULA:
Pre-order now! https://www.nataliecrawfordmd.com/book

FORA FERTILITY:
forafertilityaustin.com
715 W 34th Street, Austin, TX 78705
To become a patient: email info@forafertilityaustin.com or call 512-956-5006

Listen to the AS A WOMAN PODCAST here:
ITUNES: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/12IYOLH...
----------
#fertility #fertilitydoctor #nataliecrawfordmd #doctor #asawoman

Sharing fertility facts to educate women about trying to conceive, getting pregnant, ovulation, fertility treatments, IUI, IVF, becoming a doctor, life as a woman in medicine, and more.