Latest / Libido Lounge / Orgasms and Pregnancy with Jessica Preston
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to the libido lounge where we focus on all things love, lust, and libido.
- 0:05We believe that fabulous sex is important to health as exercise and good food.
- 0:11Hey, everybody.
- 0:12Welcome back to another episode on the libido lounge.
- 0:15I'm your host, libido expert, Doctor.
- 0:18Diane Mueller, and we have a juicy episode for you guys today.
- 0:23We are talking about the libido and fertility, And you might be wondering initially what these
- 0:30things have in common, but they actually have a lot in common because, of course, fertility
- 0:36issues can be stressful.
- 0:37And one of the best ways to manage stress is through your libido.
- 0:41So we're gonna talk about libido fertility, what you can do, how these things are related,
- 0:46and more.
- 0:48With our guest today, I'm so excited to introduce you to founder of De Novo Fertility,
- 0:54our guest Jessica Preston.
- 0:56Welcome to the show.
- 0:58Thank you so much for having me.
- 0:59I'm so happy to be here.
- 1:01Yeah.
- 1:01It's great to have you.
- 1:02And let's let's start.
- 1:04I wanna start our discussion.
- 1:05We're gonna we talked offline about making this GC, so we'll get into all those good questions
- 1:10here in a moment.
- 1:11But let's just start initially with, you know, what is can what are the stats and what are the
- 1:17how often is this a problem where we're trying to get pregnant?
- 1:21We have, you know, for you know, challenges and, you know, fertility issues.
- 1:25Like, where does the the decreased libido and how frequently does decreased libido come up as
- 1:31a challenge with fertility and pregnancy?
- 1:34Yeah.
- 1:34It's very common.
- 1:35It's more common than not.
- 1:36And so the way that I usually put this is trying is fun for one month, and then trying
- 1:41becomes trying.
- 1:43And in one month, we think, okay.
- 1:44It's fun.
- 1:45We're gonna have have sex how much we want, and then all of a sudden we expect this quickly.
- 1:51And then if it doesn't happen, there's that little nagging part in our mind that says, oh,
- 1:55no.
- 1:55What's going on?
- 1:57And that ends up doing a number on us on a subconscious level.
- 2:00And so it's not just for women.
- 2:02It's for men.
- 2:03And a lot of this actually impacts men a lot of the time more so than women.
- 2:08So do
- 2:09you feel then that there's a level where it's like, okay.
- 2:11We reached that month mark.
- 2:13It was, like, super fun, and now it's stressful, where it actually then leads into, I
- 2:18gotta say, a subsequent low libido and even, like, performance issue then that is then
- 2:24contributing to fertility or infertility?
- 2:26Yes.
- 2:26Absolutely.
- 2:27So a lot of this is on demand.
- 2:29So instead of being, having sex when you want to, being spontaneous, you're in this spot
- 2:35where we have to have sex on, wait, honey, I'm ovulating, so we need to have sex every other
- 2:39day for these days around the time of ovulation, or my kit says today is the day.
- 2:44Let's go, but you're working late, and I'm tired.
- 2:47And and so we end up in these positions where we are trying to schedule sex, and it isn't
- 2:53anymore for pleasure, although orgasm has to occur at least for the man in order for for us
- 2:59to conceive.
- 3:00And so there's a lot of pressure, especially on men for performance.
- 3:03So, you know, I have to perform, have to finish, and that actually becomes an issue for
- 3:07a lot of men also in a lot of the groups out there with men and women or the women's support
- 3:12groups.
- 3:12We see women saying, does it count if he didn't finish that we count it as a day that we
- 3:17actually tried to conceive, and that day does not actually count.
- 3:21And so that also is very emasculating, and that emasculation of of men is really doing a number
- 3:27when it comes to fertility and libido.
- 3:31Yeah.
- 3:31And I see that, right, because there's so much that we have as humans in general, but also,
- 3:37you know, also, I think we can, you know, you know, genderize it as well around being able to
- 3:42provide certain things for our partners, for our relationships, for our family, and that is
- 3:47from, I think, from a masculine standpoint, that huge component is, like, I wanna provide
- 3:51this.
- 3:52I wanna provide this for my partner.
- 3:53I wanna provide this for my, like, my future family.
- 3:56And there can be so much wrapped up in there.
- 3:59So the the image that I'm actually getting in my brain right now as you're talking is, like,
- 4:04I feel like that classic movie or TV show, image when couples are trying, and it's, like,
- 4:10so stressful.
- 4:11And then finally, we get orgasm, and then women immediately sticks her legs up in the air and,
- 4:16like, you know, all of that, like, that type of classic, image of what to do.
- 4:22Obviously, there's a lot better ways of handling this, and, obviously, there's a lot
- 4:25better ways of going about this from a low, you know, a low in or infertility standpoint and a
- 4:31subsequent vicious cycle that we get into with this.
- 4:34So how do we get out of this cycle?
- 4:36Right?
- 4:37How do we get out of the, the cycle when it's like, okay, you know, performance anxiety,
- 4:41emasculation, like all of a sudden that trickles into low libido and that trickles into
- 4:47worsening the fertility?
- 4:48What do we do about getting and breaking out of that cycle?
- 4:52Yeah.
- 4:52First, I think what we need to do is make sure we have clear communication, and that is so
- 4:56hard.
- 4:57It's it's harder than we think.
- 4:59It's and it's the the elephant in the room.
- 5:02We need to be able to communicate well about our fears, our concerns.
- 5:07What if this doesn't happen?
- 5:09We have this on both sides.
- 5:11Both both partners can feel like, are you going to stay with me?
- 5:16Are you still going to love me?
- 5:18There's a lot of shame and guilt in this.
- 5:20So when we have that on both sides, and this is the person we're supposed to share our deepest
- 5:26parts of ourselves with, but it's also the person we have the most at stake with.
- 5:30So when it's the person we have the most at stake with, we tend to either in attachment
- 5:35style wise, we either, you you know, we we retreat a little bit in our avoidant selves or
- 5:39we attack in our anxious selves, and that causes more of a of a discordance.
- 5:44With that being said, the communication is really key.
- 5:47So we really, really recommend that you find that way to connect.
- 5:53And so we'll start diving into that juicy right now.
- 5:57One thing that we start with is we start with eye gazing.
- 6:01We start with intro to tantra.
- 6:03We start with things that don't require words for communication.
- 6:06It can be a little bit uncomfortable.
- 6:08But especially when we're a little hairy and we're not exactly sure what we wanna do or how
- 6:12we can be with our partner, that is a place to start.
- 6:15And if it can lead to even the understanding of, oh, this is really hard.
- 6:20I can't look you in the eye for more than thirty seconds.
- 6:23I feel like you're seeing all of my all of my shame pieces or, you know, a blemish on my face
- 6:28or whatever it may be, or you find depth in eye gazing or you find laughter in eye gazing.
- 6:34So this is actually starting you know, this is in the tantra space when you start really in
- 6:38that connection of your internal selves with each other.
- 6:42This helps a lot with communication.
- 6:44So, really, communication is key, in any kind of introductory tantra, any kind of intimacy
- 6:49space, and holding each other, having that where there isn't an expectation of sex along
- 6:56with it so that that can be part of our connection, our oxytocin release, which can
- 7:01also help our fertility hormones and our sense of security and connection.
- 7:07So all of those that's where I would start.
- 7:10Because sometimes we can't find the words if we're just going to be battling each other.
- 7:14So if we find we can find the words that's helpful, we're a big fan of nonviolent
- 7:18communication, Marshall Rosenberg's work, you know, Imago dialogue, how I feel is my
- 7:23responsibility, but I would like to share that with you as you are the person who loves me
- 7:28dearly, and you're my number one fan and as I am yours.
- 7:31So those are really important ways with communication to start.
- 7:35I think that's a big start.
- 7:37Yeah.
- 7:37There's a lot you said in there that we could probably have a whole, you know, whole episode,
- 7:42a whole couple hour episode just on, you know, those types of, of conversations.
- 7:47Right.
- 7:47And I, I love those, those topics as well.
- 7:50You know, Marshall Rosenberg and using feeling words and feeling words are not things like you
- 7:55made me feel.
- 7:55Right.
- 7:56That's how we use feeling words.
- 7:58Those aren't feeling words.
- 7:59So in getting lists, I think, on those things can be super useful.
- 8:03So okay.
- 8:04So somebody starts with eye gazing and looking in deep in this tantra, and we have all this
- 8:11stuff going on.
- 8:13So what you're saying, just so I'm understanding to our listeners is that
- 8:17oftentimes when we start with the eye gazing, then we have this like already this heart
- 8:22opening depths of connection that is almost then say, allowing, like, the nervous system to
- 8:28calm and a safety feeling to settle in so that then from there, we can go into, say,
- 8:34nonviolent communication, feeling words, the I state, all these different things.
- 8:38Is that is that correct?
- 8:39That is exactly right.
- 8:41That's why we start with the nonverbal, and then we can move into the verbal when our
- 8:45nervous systems are are more settled in place.
- 8:48And it allows us to not feel the anxiety of time pressure as much.
- 8:52So when we then end up in a position, if we have a month and well, when we have a month, if
- 8:57there's a point where someone where one partner says, I can't do this.
- 9:01Don't touch me.
- 9:02Don't.
- 9:03You just take a month off.
- 9:04But when you are regulated and your nervous system is more safe, then taking a month off is
- 9:09preservation of the whole family unit.
- 9:11It's not just about trying to have a baby.
- 9:13So then you can try again the next month.
- 9:15And it is very important to know that that is an okay thing, and that can actually help you
- 9:20with your sex drive and feeling honored and secure and safe with your partner.
- 9:25You're taking your like, leading me so perfectly into where I was thinking we should
- 9:28go next.
- 9:29So which is, like, one of the things I talk a lot about in sexuality and libido work is the
- 9:35concept of really deeply understanding things like your own needs, wants, preferences,
- 9:40desires, and turnoffs and understanding our own.
- 9:44So then we can eventually then better communicate that to our partner and understand
- 9:49our partner's needs wants desires, preferences, turnoffs.
- 9:52Right?
- 9:53So my question for you then, and I think I know the answer based upon what you just said, but I
- 9:58think we should go a little deeper is from that standpoint, how do you feel like then when we
- 10:04get into communication and we are speaking in these loving and safe ways, how in in terms of
- 10:11of fertility and in working through this, how important do you think it is in really
- 10:16understanding our own, you know, needs, wants, preferences, desires, and turn ons and turn
- 10:21offs?
- 10:22Do you think that that comes into play
- 10:25when it comes to fertility?
- 10:27Absolutely imperative.
- 10:27Yeah.
- 10:28Absolutely.
- 10:28Also, because where are we gonna find our fun otherwise?
- 10:32So let's please know ourselves, program about kinks and fetishes and definitions and making
- 10:38it very safe so that people the the tabooness of a lot of these words or the thought of
- 10:44anything outside of missionary position is so challenging for some.
- 10:47So we make it so much easier and attainable for you to be able to have that thought process
- 10:52within yourself.
- 10:53And then share that with your partner.
- 10:55A lot of partners, whether you're having trouble conceiving or not, are not aware of
- 10:59what their partner's true needs and desires are.
- 11:02So there are a lot of ways to do that.
- 11:04We yes.
- 11:04We could have a a ton of episodes just on that alone because we talk about that.
- 11:08We have our 10 steps 10 steps of safety and things that how can we explore within ourselves
- 11:13and our partner what they want and how can we please ourselves and please them?
- 11:17And where is there a no, but we're not passing any judgment?
- 11:20Everything that you have as a desire is absolutely normal because it's yours, and
- 11:25there's no shame in that.
- 11:26So sharing that space is great and finding new toys or or a new dress up or new fetish or
- 11:33kink.
- 11:34And the the only there are two things actually that I would love to add in this.
- 11:38One is in the world of play, which isn't always about sex, we wanna make sure when you're
- 11:44trying to have a baby that you're still having sex at the end of that for ejaculation to occur
- 11:50where it's supposed to for trying to get pregnant.
- 11:52And so I would love nothing more than for people to forget that while they're trying and
- 11:57then say, oops.
- 11:58Wait.
- 11:58Hold on.
- 12:00Wait.
- 12:00Wait.
- 12:01Real quick.
- 12:01You know?
- 12:01So while they're enjoying themselves and enjoying their relationship and enjoying their
- 12:05pleasure, to be able to find that space of, you know, don't forget, honey.
- 12:08This is where it's supposed to go at the end, you know, and go from there.
- 12:12The other is we are, we work in the area.
- 12:15We're working with someone now about teaching a class in our program about, multiple orgasms
- 12:21for men and how lovely that is in the space of trying to conceive.
- 12:27Because it doesn't have to be a quickie in ten minutes on your lunch break because we're it's
- 12:31odd we're ovulating tomorrow.
- 12:33It can actually be, let's have a beautiful two hour lovemaking session tonight.
- 12:36You know, we're gonna have dinner.
- 12:37There's gonna be, you know, candlelight, and then we have no other plans, and we're turning
- 12:42off our phones, and this is what we're going to do.
- 12:44And nothing is better than that.
- 12:45So it sounds a little bit counterintuitive to people trying, or we can introduce the world of
- 12:52play and fun and romance and multiple orgasms for both partners into this space and truly let
- 12:58trying become enjoyable.
- 13:00I love that.
- 13:01And you're leading me again into where I wanted to go.
- 13:03So this is so good.
- 13:05So, you know, the concept of orgasm, I think, is it's another area that's so complicated,
- 13:11especially for women.
- 13:12Right?
- 13:13And, you know, I think the idea of multiple orgasms for men and edging and all these
- 13:17different concepts can be helpful for women.
- 13:19But, you know, some people will talk in, in the fertility space that I've seen about like, oh,
- 13:24the advantageousness of women having an orgasm at that time of conception as well.
- 13:29You know, there's also even people that are talk talking about, you know, orgasmic
- 13:34childbirth, right, where you can actually have orgasms as you deliver and release all those
- 13:40yummy chemicals, which is really intimidating for women when they have such a hard time.
- 13:47And some women, you know, that are are are an orgasmic at or other women having such a hard
- 13:52time reaching orgasm, which is, I think, a really important thing to talk about.
- 13:57So, you know, if if women are listening to this and they're like, what about me and I can't
- 14:01reach orgasm or it's really hard for me to reach orgasm or are those things that you tend
- 14:07to work with when it comes to fertility?
- 14:10We do.
- 14:10Absolutely.
- 14:11But first, let's just take care of that myth right now.
- 14:14You don't actually a woman does not have to have an orgasm to conceive.
- 14:17It is not sucking sperm up.
- 14:19There was old data that was it wasn't data even.
- 14:23I I've read this because when we were trying to myth bust everything, I'm like, let's find
- 14:26let's find every little bit.
- 14:28No.
- 14:28Absolutely not.
- 14:29You do not need to have a woman does not need to have an orgasm in order to conceive.
- 14:33So let's take that weight off of us, shall we?
- 14:35Because there's no reason to add more weight on.
- 14:38We have enough.
- 14:39So let's just go with then if you and let's let's just talk about while trying, that I
- 14:45think the the orgasmic birth is such an we actually have a a coach who in our program who
- 14:51teaches orgasmic birth.
- 14:52Yeah.
- 14:53Yay.
- 14:53Somebody went to choose this.
- 14:55But that's probably more home birth, probably not hospital birth.
- 14:58And there's so many nuances to your mental state when it comes to that, so we'll put that
- 15:03aside.
- 15:03But when it comes to even just trying to conceive pleasure is really important, just
- 15:08feeling good and making sure that you are in.
- 15:10Because when we're not experiencing pleasure, that also does a number on us no matter what.
- 15:15So we have our conscious mind, and then we have our subconscious mind, and we are talking a lot
- 15:18about nervous system safety, surrender, feeling like we can allow our partner to everything
- 15:25with us that we love and they love so that we can nurture in this loving space.
- 15:30And so I think that it's really important to know pleasure is important.
- 15:34Orgasm is not mandatory.
- 15:36And for an orgasmic women, there are so many different tools we can use whether you're
- 15:41trying to conceive or not to try to get you to that space, but I think a big piece is
- 15:45understanding there's no shame in that.
- 15:47Find pleasure even in love.
- 15:48I mean, we're women.
- 15:50Women tend to find a lot more in that whole touch, love, caress, nurturing space.
- 15:55So where can you embrace love and what that means for you and your partner?
- 15:59How is that connection for you?
- 16:01And I think that's really important.
- 16:03Everybody's their own individual, and our own personal definition is all we need.
- 16:08Yeah.
- 16:09I totally I couldn't agree more, and I really appreciate intimacy expert Susan Bratton.
- 16:14One of the things she says is, as women, one of the gifts we have is is we're really good at
- 16:19multitasking.
- 16:20And what that also means is that you bring that into pleasure.
- 16:24Like multitasking is a lot of bad rep.
- 16:25And there's a lot of things that are problematic from a present moment and
- 16:29relaxation standpoint, right.
- 16:31With multitasking.
- 16:32But if you bring that into pleasure and realize that we have the capacity as women that like to
- 16:37experience so many different erogenous zones and so many different parts of pleasure at the
- 16:42same time, that is a great use of multitasking, right?
- 16:46It's so good, and we can experience pleasure, like you said, without orgasm.
- 16:50So I'm glad to have that conversation.
- 16:52What else do you feel like from a fertility standpoint is, like, are there any other basic,
- 16:58you know, we gotta say this, we gotta say these things because they're so rooted in the basics
- 17:02that that we can't leave them out?
- 17:04Yeah.
- 17:04I think it's just actually, the most important things that I wanted to make sure that we said
- 17:08today is that if you need to skip a month, please skip skip a month.
- 17:12And it's it's heartbreaking, and our heart sinks in our stomach.
- 17:14If anyone is listening to this and they think, oh, I don't wanna skip a month.
- 17:18But skipping a month is beautiful in a lot of ways.
- 17:20You don't have the two weeks of waiting and anxiety.
- 17:23You have a whole month off so that you can kind of reset and spend that time with a date night
- 17:27at least once per once per week, making sure that you have connectivity.
- 17:31Gottman Institute talks about bidding, you know, positive bidding for each other and
- 17:35really getting connected in in that space.
- 17:37And so I just think that it's so important to remember that our connection as partners is so
- 17:43important.
- 17:44Intimacy is great, but eroticism is also important.
- 17:46So intimacy and knowing each other incredibly well is great, but then we can lose that erotic
- 17:50edge.
- 17:51So make sure we bring in some of that erotic, dressing up or, being sassy or calling him
- 17:56daddy or whatever it is that you wanna do that is going to actually help enhance everything
- 18:01for him because we know when we see him go, oh, yeah.
- 18:04And he sees you see that in him, it's it's it is ego, but it's one of those parts.
- 18:08It's like the I did that for my partner, and he sees pleasure on you in you.
- 18:13And that way, you can keep that balancing act.
- 18:16But understand when those days come, when it's the whole, okay.
- 18:19It's tonight or it's gonna be tomorrow.
- 18:22You need to find ways potentially to switch it up.
- 18:24And sometimes that means a little less communication because of that erotic space.
- 18:28You know, a little bit of surprising, a little bit of maybe not sharing that tomorrow is the
- 18:33day that you're going to have sex and just get it all set up.
- 18:36He might know in the back of his mind, but just get the stage set, and everything should happen
- 18:40just fine for you.
- 18:41Yeah.
- 18:42I love it.
- 18:42I love it.
- 18:43There's so many things that you say that I talk about in my work too, and I just you know, I
- 18:47don't my specialty is not fertility.
- 18:49It's libido.
- 18:50So it's really enjoyable to s to hear these topics applied to the fertility space.
- 18:56I talk a lot about, like, the concept of novelty and monogamy, which is essentially
- 19:00exactly what you're saying.
- 19:01Like, how do we find ways in these long term partners where we go through the day to day?
- 19:07How do we find that way to keep it, like, spicy and sexy and bring some passion and have that
- 19:11desire in everything you're talking about?
- 19:14So so amazing to bring that into the fertility space.
- 19:17And But,
- 19:17you know, what they need to know also is you're trying realize after you get pregnant and have
- 19:24a baby, you're still gonna have to be cremated.
- 19:27Yeah.
- 19:27So this is practice this is practice for parenthood.
- 19:30You know?
- 19:31This this is practice of, okay.
- 19:33When are we putting the baby down?
- 19:34I'm exhausted.
- 19:34You're exhausted.
- 19:35What's our timing on this?
- 19:36You know, lock the door.
- 19:37You know?
- 19:38Where are we gonna sneak this in?
- 19:39So so trying in this we're just building this in our relationship and practice all around
- 19:45before we have that baby so that we can still keep using those same skill sets after the baby
- 19:51is here.
- 19:52Yeah.
- 19:52Exactly right.
- 19:53That's such a good point.
- 19:55Well, thank you so much for being with us.
- 19:57It was such a great conversation.
- 19:59I wanna make sure we everybody knows how to get ahold of you.
- 20:02I know we talked offline about lots of different ways to work together, really, really
- 20:08deep dives of, like, putting all of these pieces together that you guys do at De Novo
- 20:13around this entire infertility picture and supporting on so many different levels.
- 20:17And then I also know that you have, like, an intro package that we want it to be very
- 20:21careful how people understand what that intro package is and that we have a discount for
- 20:27them.
- 20:27So can you tell us a little bit about that as well?
- 20:29Yeah.
- 20:30So we are a full team of coaches.
- 20:33We have male coaches and female coaches, and we have an entire program that does exactly this.
- 20:37We focus on relationships and autonomic nervous system balance.
- 20:40We talk about fertility and help with fertility on a conscious, subconscious, and unconscious
- 20:47level.
- 20:48So we do biofeedback and hypnotherapy because we need to break down those baby blocks.
- 20:52We have a full service program that is coaching with also supplements included.
- 20:57So it is a large program.
- 20:59It's twelve weeks long.
- 21:01And so that is where we get really into this space of teaching imago dialogue and nonviolent
- 21:06communication.
- 21:07So, you can sign up for a call with one of us.
- 21:10You'll get one of us, one of our coaches if you go to de novo fertility, online,
- 21:14denovofertility.com.
- 21:16And that way, you could speak with one of us about our programs and what might be what might
- 21:20work for you.
- 21:21Our intro program is a five weeks baby basics, and this is basically when you go and you say,
- 21:26I just got married or we're thinking about having a baby.
- 21:29What can I do to optimize my health?
- 21:32And so it's a wellness five weeks where basically you get our entire optimized
- 21:36nutrition plan.
- 21:37You get our all of our, programs, all of our videos about how you should exercise, sleep,
- 21:43breathe, your stress management, and one week on relationships, and that you can do through
- 21:47our app on your phone.
- 21:48And so that is normally $397.
- 21:51We are giving you and your, your people $300 off, so it will be only $97.
- 21:56We are cautious about this.
- 21:58It is an intro program.
- 22:00Our our larger program with our whole team where we're looking at your conscious and
- 22:03subconscious levels, That is if you've been trying, if you've considered IVF or you've done
- 22:09IVF or you're finding that you want something a little more natural and you're really having
- 22:13more of a stress load in your infertility space, that's really where that is for.
- 22:17If that is you, baby basics, I don't think is quite enough for you, but please call us, and
- 22:22we are happy to discuss all of our options with you.
- 22:25And we'll have that for everybody.
- 22:27All of that information and the discount code, everybody, will be in the show notes from
- 22:30today.
- 22:31So I just wanna thank you again.
- 22:32This was I I loved meeting you, and I really adore this conversation.
- 22:36So it's nice to continue the convo from when you and I met over the past year, and and I
- 22:42really am excited about everything you guys are doing over there.
- 22:44So thanks so much for spending time with me today.
- 22:47Thank you again so much for having me.
- 22:49It was my pleasure.
- 22:50And, everybody, just to say goodbye to you guys for another episode on the lounge.
- 22:56Remember to check out the show notes.
- 22:58Remember, you can always find me by taking my libido quiz at libidoquiz.com.
- 23:03And this is doctor Diane, your libido doc, signing off here reminding you to always stay
- 23:08classy, always stay sexy, and always be a little badassy.
- 23:12We'll see you next time.
- 23:14Thank you for listening to the Libido Lounge.
- 23:16Please don't keep me a secret.
- 23:17Please share this with your friends.
- 23:19You can find me on YouTube, on Instagram, as well as how to work with me at mylibidodoc.com.