Lifestyle and AI tools to enhance fertility

AI and fertility – what’s the latest?

TRB Founder Eloise is joined by Erin Cheneval, Nurse Practitioner at The Fertility Institute in New Orleans and Olga Chabr Grillová, CEO at Leeaf, the data-driven fertility health platform to know, to lift the lid on how lifestyle and AI tools can enhance your fertility journey.

Watch as they cover:

• What impacts fertility the most and why?

Delving into factors like age, genetics, lifestyle choices, underlying medical conditions and other factors that influence fertility.

• Is fertility a one-size-fits-all approach, or should it be personalized?

Discussing the uniqueness of individual fertility needs and how a diverse approach can cater to them.

• Nutrition, sleep and holistic wellbeing and how it can be tracked?

Introduction to tracking methods such as the Leeaf app, fact checked by their medical board.

• Importance of tracking your cycle and ovulation and why

Explaining the significance of understanding menstrual cycles and ovulation patterns.

Leeaf’s mission is to positively impact the conception journey by delivering tailored fertility treatment recommendations to patients. Download the Leeaf app today to try it for yourself.

If you would like to know more about AI and fertility plus your own fertility status, you can schedule a fertility assessment to test your fertility health with any fertility clinic close to you.

Transcript

Eloise Edington

Hello, good afternoon, good evening, and good morning to those joining.

I am speaking with two experts today about lifestyle and AI tools to enhance fertility, so it’s going to be an interesting conversation. Please have your questions ready!

We are joined by Erin, a nurse practitioner from the Fertility Institute in New Orleans, the first Fertility Center of Excellence, to answer your questions along with Olga, CEO of the Leaf app.

First Fertility and Leaf are not affiliated, but we’ve invited both parties to discuss nutrition, lifestyle, and how AI can support and enhance fertility. Please feel free to ask questions live or DM us afterward. I’ll see if they’re here, and we’ll get started.

Hello! Hi, Erin, you’re slightly upside down, so if you could just tilt your camera. Better? There we go. I’ve given you both a brief introduction and talked about the Fertility Institute in New Orleans and Olga, co-founder of the Leaf app. Could you please introduce yourselves, and then we’ll start discussing how AI and lifestyle can enhance fertility?

Erin Cheneval

Sure. I’m Erin, a family nurse practitioner specializing in fertility treatment. I work in a reproductive endocrinology and infertility clinic based in New Orleans, Louisiana. We do everything from seeing patients, working them up, giving them diagnoses, and proceeding with fertility treatments.

Olga Chabr Grillová

Hi, I’m Olga, co-founder of Leaf, based in the Czech Republic. For the past three years, we’ve focused on developing an AI-based decision-support tool for IVF, and we’re now enhancing it to be an overall medical platform that enables clinics and hospitals to leverage data about their patients.

Eloise Edington

Thank you both for joining today. Welcome to those following live or watching back. As mentioned, First Fertility and Leaf are not affiliated, but we’ve invited both parties to give expertise on lifestyle, nutrition, and AI tools to enhance fertility journeys. I’d like to start by asking you, Erin, what impacts fertility the most and why?

Erin Cheneval

Just from basic biology, we know fertility is most impacted by age. Women are born with all their eggs, and over time, fertility declines. Around 37 to early 40s, fertility takes a deep dive. Other factors that impact fertility include diseases like diabetes, hypertension, endocrine or hormonal diseases like PCOS, and uterine anomalies that might only be discovered with a fertility workup.

Eloise Edington

Thank you, Erin. And Olga, does fertility need to be personalized?

Olga Chabr Grillová

At Leaf, we believe fertility should be personalized. Age is a main factor, but we’re talking about biological age, which can be influenced by lifestyle and environment. Medicine effects can differ for each of us based on genetics. At Leaf, we’re looking at the whole spectrum of data to identify new patterns and correlations, which can help fine-tune treatments, like ovarian stimulation, for each patient.

Eloise Edington

Yes, and I’ve seen this personally, where every protocol can differ. You could have one cycle turn out differently from one a few months later. Right, Erin?

Erin Cheneval

Absolutely. Fertility isn’t one-size-fits-all. Everyone has their own fertility journey, whether it’s an unexpected pregnancy or secondary infertility later on.

The information we’re presenting today can support people at any point in their journey, whether they’re just starting or entering an IVF cycle.

There are many unique family units now, not just male and female. We treat many different patients, each with their own reproductive goals. I hope the information we’re sharing today resonates with everyone watching.

Eloise Edington

I agree. Olga, how can people prepare when they see a specialist? Are there ways they can arm themselves with information to make that first step?

Olga Chabr Grillová

Definitely. Having a complete picture of past treatments and lifestyle can be helpful. We’re also looking at lifestyle and environmental effects, such as sleep and oxygen levels, through our observational study to see if there’s a direct correlation. Some patients use wearables, and we’re tracking the effects of sleep and blood saturation on ovulation.

Eloise Edington

When patients come to the clinic, Erin, do you find most are informed about fertility issues, or do they need guidance on the first steps?

Erin Cheneval

There’s a mix. Some patients are well-read and come in knowing what they want. Others are just starting to explore fertility and may not know what to expect. It’s incredible how unique each journey is.

Eloise Edington

Yes, and that goes back to the idea that fertility isn’t one-size-fits-all. Olga, what would you add about having reliable information sources?

Olga Chabr Grillová

It’s crucial to have high-quality data and reliable information sources. There’s so much noise online. That’s why clinics and our Medical Board continually update information. Reliable information is powerful, but there’s a lot of noise that can be confusing.

Eloise Edington

Yes, it can be overwhelming, especially with so many different opinions online. Olga, could you explain how the Leaf app gathers and uses information for holistic support?

Olga Chabr Grillová

Our app provides fact-checked information by doctors so users can be confident in its accuracy. For clinics we work with, data from wearables is used in algorithms we’re developing to create a certified medical device. 

Eloise Edington

Great. We’ve linked the Leaf app in the bio for those interested. Erin, as a nurse practitioner, you take a holistic approach to fertility. How do lifestyle modifications improve chances of success, and what do you recommend?

Erin Cheneval

Knowledge is power, and there’s a lot of chatter online. Common lifestyle factors affecting fertility include nutrition, sleep, stress, and exercise.

With nutrition, we recommend a general healthy lifestyle. The Mediterranean diet, with healthy fats, oils, lean proteins, and vegetables, is popular and manageable. For alcohol and caffeine, we suggest moderation—one or two cups of coffee daily.

We also advise against smoking due to the increased risk of miscarriage. For supplements, we recommend a prenatal vitamin with folic acid. 

As for sleep, hormone imbalances can result from sleep deprivation, affecting stress and quality of life. Exercise should be moderate; over-exercising can create a calorie deficit that might impact fertility. 

Eloise Edington

Good advice. Olga, how can people use the app to manage nutrition, sleep, and other aspects?

Olga Chabr Grillová

You can track eating and exercise habits, and we offer recommendations based on lifestyle details. We’re working on an upgrade where users can take nutrition tests with pharmacies, helping them target specific vitamin deficiencies. Sleep is another focus area. Our studies show that alcohol significantly affects sleep quality, which in turn impacts overall health.

Eloise Edington

Yes, sleep can be challenging, especially if you’re worried about not getting enough. Wearables can be helpful but may not always be accurate. Erin, do you support patients with holistic resources like nutritionists?

Erin Cheneval

Absolutely. We also run support groups to help people in the infertility community. Having a support network can really reduce stress.

For exercise and nutrition, we sometimes refer patients to metabolic clinics for evaluation and advice on lifestyle modifications.

Eloise Edington

And for those tracking elements like sleep and nutrition through the Leaf app, can they take that data to their doctor for guidance?

Olga Chabr Grillová

Yes, users can export their data and bring it to their doctor. Currently, we’re studying patterns from this data but aim to give patients actionable insights in the future.

Eloise Edington

Olga, could you tell us about tracking ovulation and its importance?

Olga Chabr Grillová

Tracking ovulation is useful, but the prescribed treatment and proper medication are what matter most. In the long term, tracking can help identify patterns and be used as a preventative tool. Data on symptoms like heavy menstruation, for example, could help us understand causes of unexplained infertility in the future.

Eloise Edington

Erin, what’s your view on tracking ovulation from a clinical perspective?

Erin Cheneval

It’s helpful for patients to understand their cycles, particularly the length and timing.

We advise patients to mark the first day of full flow as day one and count to the next day of full flow for their cycle length.

Various methods can be beneficial for patients at different stages, and knowing these can be valuable when beginning the journey to conception.

For treatment, there’s the calendar method. There are ovulation signs and symptoms such as midcycle spotting, maybe pain on one side of the pelvis where you might feel that ovulation pain, breast tenderness, bloating, and then cervical mucus changes, as well as the ovulation predictor kits, which measure the amount of hormone that your body produces when you are starting to ovulate.

Typically, we tell patients if you’re trying to do a natural cycle, maybe before you’re stepping into treatment, it is to know when you’re about to ovulate and start maybe like a week before, having intercourse before you ovulate, and then having intercourse every other day.

Of course, it’s very important that people follow their own bodies and know what’s not going to put the most pressure on them.

Maybe it’s having intercourse every three days, but we just definitely want to prohibit patients from having intercourse because sperm exposure is also very important, and knowing when to have sperm on board is important as well.

Eloise Edington

Do you often see patients who have been struggling to conceive try naturally that sort of month or so before starting a cycle and then conceiving?

Erin Cheneval

Yeah, we’ve actually, you know, even whenever we start our workup cycle, because we take a whole menstrual cycle to gain some data.

What do your hormones look like? What does the uterus look like on ultrasound? What are your ovaries doing?

Really just knowing when people are forming a mature egg, we can arm them with that knowledge, and they don’t necessarily even have to have medication.

We can just tell them, “You’re about to ovulate,” and then they have intercourse, and they pop up pregnant in the workup cycle too. Strange things happen for sure.

Eloise Edington

Yeah, absolutely. I remember being asked to monitor ovulation the month before starting treatment and cycle, and also looking at that luteal phase as well. The length of that does give you information about progesterone and that kind of thing?

Erin Cheneval

Yeah, so anybody who has a shortened luteal phase can definitely have that impact fertility because the second half of your cycle is just as important as the first half.

If you’re not producing a mature egg and releasing it in a timely manner, your luteal phase, which is the portion of your cycle that’s going to support a pregnancy if it were to implant, if it’s too short, then we’re going to run into problems in implanting.

You might have an embryo that does fertilize, but you can’t necessarily hold on to it. So we definitely follow progesterone closely. We even start on progesterone supplements if needed, which seems to be like a very affordable way to help people, make them feel better, and then just get that pregnancy on board.

Eloise Edington

Have you seen anything in terms of luteal phase or from tracking of patient research?

Erin Cheneval

I have seen that every cycle is a little bit different, and if in the preparation cycle something goes really well and the next time the numbers are a little bit off, it can be really affected by stress. It can be a lot of traveling or even the really big weather changes.

I would just be cautious, remembering that our body is not robotic. We, as women, change every month, and we have to be patient with our bodies.

Eloise Edington

I love that advice. How can someone use the Leaf app again? The link is in the bio, as I mentioned, to access hyper-personalized treatment?

Olga Chabr Grillová

So that would be now only with clinics because they still have to be the one to check that we have all gathered the data from them and it is in a correct manner so that the algorithm works only with good data.

Eloise Edington

Okay. Anything else you’d like to share with those who are watching live or watching this back in terms of charting, nutrition, holistic support, first steps, etc.?

Olga Chabr Grillová

I would advise them to take every day the time to eat well, sleep well, track it down, and if there is something that is not making them feel good, discuss it with their doctor. Put it in their app, whether it’s Leaf or another, and really watch those things. There can be small things that cause oxidative stress, and sometimes it’s the little detail that is causing the difference. That’s the aim of our studies and everything we do: we want to look into that one detail or those combinations of details that will help each woman in a personalized way to have a better, more successful way to conceive or have the knowledge of why it’s not working.

Eloise Edington

Absolutely. Erin, what about you? Any sort of closing thoughts?

Erin Cheneval

I wholeheartedly agree with what Olga is saying.

There are definitely things that have popped up in a workup that, you know, you’re kind of like, “Oh, well, that doesn’t seem like it would really impact,” but in turn, it really does. It’s like what we call a yellow flag. It’s not necessarily the prime reason, but it could affect when you’re really ovulating, or if you’re having pelvic pain, could that be something deeper that needs to be addressed in a different type of workup?

Also, just knowing your body and then knowing when you feel like something’s not right. Just talking to your doctor and maybe asking for a referral to a fertility clinic could be really beneficial, because I feel like a lot of people get nervous or hear “fertility,” and they think it’s a scary place to step into when they don’t know a lot about it.

So just knowing when to come and see us and advocating for yourself, taking those steps for sure.

Eloise Edington

Great! Well, thank you both so much for joining today. It’s been really lovely to speak to you. I’m sure everyone’s found it super insightful. If you’d like to learn more about your fertility status, you can schedule a fertility assessment to test your fertility health with any clinic close to you.

If you’re located in the Gulf Coast in the USA, come see Erin and the team at the Fertility Institute, who are based in New Orleans.

Also, Leef, please do check out our link in bio to find out more about the personalized approach and their amazing app. The mission, as you know, Olga, is to positively impact the conception journey by delivering tailored fertility treatment recommendations to patients. Please do go to the link in bio and check it out. 

Anything else, ladies, that you’d like to say?

Olga Chabr Grillová

I wish everybody a nice rest of the day and a great way of enjoying life, having babies, and good experiences while doing that.

Eloise Edington

Do reach out and get in touch with the team, and if you have any questions, feel free to DM us as well. Thank you both so much for your time, and we’ll speak to you again soon.

Olga Chabr Grillová + Erin Cheneval

Thank you for having us. Bye. 

Want to hear more about AI and fertility care from Leeaf?

Read this next: Leeaf: the data-driven fertility health platform redefining clinic efficiency