The fact that I have three children with no plans to have anymore did nothing to stop me from reading Preconceived from cover to cover. This book, written by Dr. Jodie Peacock – examines all areas where couples can exert some level of control in optimizing their fertility and – fingers-crossed – increase their chances at conception.
Jodie’s unique approach to treating a person as a whole as opposed to simply looking at their reproductive cycle as well as focussing on preconception as a very integral time to promote a person’s health as well as the health of their potential children – comes through loud and clear within the pages of Preconceived.
Each chapter is short and sweet and easy to comprehend – even for a fertility dum-dum like myself. And each chapter caps off with several actionable steps that you can take to make some minor yet essential changes in your life to naturally boost your fertility.
Preconceived is a valuable resource to anyone planning on starting a family. This book is a solid starting point for conception-minded individuals – without immediately jumping the gun and heading down the path of fertility-enhancing medication and procedures.
When it comes to areas of fertility and conception, there is often so much beyond our control. In Preconceived, the information provided as well as the steps detailed at each chapter’s conclusion will provide readers with as much control over their fertility health as possible.
And from this awareness and sense of control will come feelings of hope.
After poring over Preconceived, it was my great pleasure to connect with Jodie in order to find out more about the book, her ideas within, as well as her writing process. Our exchange is recounted below.
T.K. Please provide us with a brief synopsis of your book Preconceived.
J.P. Preconceived is a book written to help potential parents optimize their health before conceiving. This is the first time in history our children’s life expectancy is shorter then their parents. Our world has become more toxic and our food less nutritious. Our bodies aren’t evolving quickly enough to keep up with these environmental changes. As a potential parent what can you do to reverse this phenomenon? As a naturopathic doctor, I understand this prediction well and am focused on improving the health of potential parents and our next generation.
By reading Preconceived you will:
- Be able to take back control of your health and fertility
- Learn nutritional and lifestyle changes that are proven to optimize fertility and have a significant positive impact on your baby’s health
- Understand laboratory work that should be performed before you get pregnant and optimal ranges for healthy conception
- Access a step-by-step guide with “easy to implement” take home information at the end of each chapter
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T.K. Tell us a bit about your motivation behind the writing of it.
J.P. There were several motivating factors for me to write this book:
1. From a personal level I have been diagnosed with both polycystic ovarian syndrome and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Both of which can make conceiving and carrying a pregnancy difficult. I wanted to provide a resource for women to feel a level of control over their fertility.
2. As a Naturopathic doctor I see several patients who have been struggling with their fertility for months to years, who after making dietary or lifestyle changes are able to conceive.
3. I believe strongly in changing the trajectory of health for our future generations. The best time to start this is before the baby is even conceived.
T.K. Fill us in on your life as a wife, mother and doctor.
J.P. I am extremely lucky to have three healthy active boys. My oldest son Maddox is now 9 and I have twins Cooper and Carter who are 7. All of whom where conceived naturally. I am someone who loves to be busy. I am a practicing Naturopathic doctor and conveniently my clinic is very close to home. I am also the founder of the Canadian Fertility Show and am in the process of launching a nutritional supplement line called Enhance Fertility. All of this in an effort to support couples on their journey to parenthood.
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Click here to order your copy of Preconceived.
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T.K. What is your writing process? And how do you find the time?
J.P. I wrote this book in easy to digest chapters. The goal was to provide enough information in each chapter that people would understand why I was recommending the change with easy to implement take home info at the end of each chapter. I really wanted it to be an easy to use resource for potential parents. It took about a year to write and have edited. I just tried to carve out a few hours a week with the goal of finishing two chapters per week.
T.K. How did you go about getting Preconceived published? What was the publication process like? Is there anything you would do differently for next time?
J.P. I worked with a company called Author Academy Elite. They were extremely helpful with keeping writing on track and then publishing the book. I would continue to work with them for sure as it was an extremely positive experience especially for a first time author.
T.K. Has the publication of this book changed your life? If yes – how so?
J.P. I wouldn’t say it has changed my life but I do find it is a great resource to share with patients or potential parents so I don’t have to spend all our time in the office reviewing this information.
T.K. Your book opens with a scary statistic: “Today’s generation of children is the first in human history that can’t expect to live longer than their parents.” Why do you think this is? And in your opinion, is there something we can do in order to change this statistic?
J.P. I believe there are several things that contribute to this statistic. The shocking number of chemicals and toxins our bodies are exposed to on a daily basis can overwhelm our detoxification systems and result in generally less healthy people. Our major shift as a society away from growing and eating our own food and instead relying on heavily processed and packaged foods leaves our bodies devoid of essential vitamins and nutrients. Our lack of daily movement also leaves our bodies more prone to health concerns.
The good thing is most of these items can be altered just by changing some of our priorities in our daily life. Taking the time to make better choices when it comes to our foods, personal care products and not being sedentary. Personal care products are a large source of a variety of toxins that can impact your immune system and detoxification ability. There is a great resource called the environmental working group that you can use to check rankings for the products you use. It is also a helpful guide in making better purchasing decisions.
T.K. In Preconceived, you often refer to physical health as well as emotional health. What are some specific suggestions you have for people trying to conceive when it comes to taking care of their emotional health?
J.P. For someone who is trying to conceive this can be one of the most stressful times in their life. Making sure they have support and people they feel comfortable talking to 
is so important. One of the big driving forces behind me starting the Canadian Fertiltiy Show was to help stop hiding the fact that a significant number of people and couples struggle to conceive. I find it is a very private topic and people will often struggle in silence. For a women who wants a baby, going to her friends’ baby showers and events can be devastating especially when everyone around them asks about their baby plans. Teaching the public at large to stop making assumptions is very important in helping improve the emotional health of those trying to conceive.
T.K. You mention that in many cases, imbalances can be culprits standing in the way of conception. Can you further explain this?
J.P. Imbalances can include several things. There can be concerns with hormonal balance that can lead to irregular menstrual cycles or poor egg development. There can also be nutrient imbalances such as B12, Vitamin D or Folate deficiencies that can be checked and tested prior to trying to conceive.
T.K. Medically speaking, what is your personal approach toward fertility and helping couples conceive? In order to gain some perspective, what are some differing approaches your colleagues may undertake?
J.P. I think the biggest difference in my approach is to treat a couple as a whole. We aren’t just concerned about someone’s reproductive organs. The health of the entire person comes into play when we want to optimize both their health and the health of their baby. Sometimes, fertility clinics become hyper-focused on just reproduction and the rest of the person gets left behind.
T.K. According to your book, preconception is the most vital time for prospective parents to ensure good health for their future children. Why?
J.P. If a pregnancy starts with the healthiest egg and the healthiest sperm possible this is going to set up the baby with the best possible start to their health. We know it only 
takes one egg and one sperm to make a baby and we want these to be of the best quality. I also find it is a great time to help educate potential parents about how they can maintain the health of children once they are born. There is an emerging field of genetics called epigenetics which demonstrates that your gene expression can be altered based on what happens during pregnancy. This indicates that decisions you make in these early days can have a long term impact on the health of your children.
T.K. I find it interesting that you treat stress NOT as a symptom of something else – but as a condition unto itself – with its own set of specific symptoms. Can you please expand on this?
J.P. Chronic stress can cause several health concerns to the body. If you don’t address the stress aspect it is very difficult to regulate hormonal changes and blood sugar changes as well. I am not saying that stress causes all of our concerns but if you have high amounts of the stress hormone cortisol in circulation it will not help your ability to conceive.
T.K. A chapter in Preconceived talks about the “power of positivity“. While this is not the first time I’ve heard something like this, I was intrigued by your suggestion for “learned optimism“. Can you talk about this a bit?
J.P. There are some very interesting studies that actually show optimism is not innate and, is in fact, a learned skill. Often you will see families where everyone in the family is more of a glass half-empty type. This is usually something that children will learn from one of their parents or other authority figure. The great thing is it is also something you can unlearn. The research shows that people with a more positive outlook are generally healthier long term.
T.K. Something else you mention within the pages of Preconceived is the practice of eye-gazing. Can you please expand on this?
J.P. In our current age of technology this is something that is often overlooked. How often do you go out to a restaurant or even to the park and see two people who are there together just staring at their phones? Simply by looking someone in the eyes, you start to develop both a physical and emotional connection. For the next week, every time you speak to someone try looking into their eyes and see if you notice a difference in how this makes you feel.
T.K. Do you have any future books in the works? If yes, can you discuss?
J.P. I don’t have anything currently in the works. But am considering expanding on the environmental impacts on fertility as well as on genetics and epigenetics.
Dr. Jodie Peacock B.Sc., N.D.is a Naturopathic doctor at The Root of Health in Oakville. She has a special interest in women’s health concerns including hormone balancing addressing the adrenals, thyroid and ovarian function. Jodie is passionate about educating couples on optimizing their fertility as well as the health of their future children. She also happens to be the proud mom of three boys – Maddox and twins Cooper and Carter. Click here to order a copy of Preconceived. For more information on Dr. Jodie Peacock and/or natural fertility enhancement, check out these sites: