EFR 945: Why Fertility Rates are the Lowest in 50 Years (How to Get Pregnant and STAY Pregnant) with Dr. Natalie Crawford
Ever Forward Radio with Chase Chewning
Chase Chewning
5.0 • 947 Ratings
🗓️ 1 June 2026
⏱️ 91 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are your trying to get pregnant? Sperm counts are down 50%. Fertility rates are collapsing. Miscarriages, hormone dysfunction, chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, environmental toxins, sleep deprivation, cannabis use, and modern stress are all colliding into what fertility physician Dr. Natalie Crawford, MD, author of The Fertility Formula, calls a growing reproductive health crisis. This conversation breaks down why fertility is one of the strongest indicators of overall health, how inflammation damages eggs, sperm, mitochondria, and hormones, why "healthy" people are still struggling to conceive, and the exact lifestyle, nutrition, testing, and environmental changes that can dramatically improve fertility outcomes for both men and women. Chase and Dr. Crawford also share deeply personal stories about pregnancy loss, the emotional toll of infertility, and how couples can better support each other through one of life's hardest journeys.
You will learn:
- Fertility is a powerful marker of overall metabolic and cellular health
- Chronic inflammation is one of the biggest hidden drivers of infertility
- Sperm counts have dropped 50% over the last 50 years
- Cannabis use is strongly linked to sperm DNA damage and miscarriage risk
- TRT can significantly suppress or permanently impair sperm production
- Sleep may be the single most powerful fertility intervention available
- Women and men respond differently to fasting, cold exposure, and stress
- Insulin resistance is affecting far more "healthy" people than they realize
- Environmental toxins and endocrine disruptors are major fertility disruptors
- Men can dramatically improve fertility in as little as 90 days
- Pregnancy loss requires emotional support, community, and medical follow-up
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00:00 - The fertility crisis nobody is talking about
02:24 - Why fertility rates are rapidly declining
03:54 - Fertility as a marker of overall health
05:14 - Chronic inflammation explained
07:33 - The "walkie talkie" theory of hormones
10:10 - Detaching from the identity of being "healthy"
13:00 - TRT and male fertility risks
17:09 - Why men are 50% of the fertility equation
18:54 - Cannabis and sperm DNA damage
22:01 - Plastics, fragrances & endocrine disruptors
24:48 - Why men need to show up during fertility journeys
32:25 - Sauna use and sperm health
35:00 - Cold plunges, fasting & female hormones
37:34 - Best fertility-supporting nutrition strategies
43:53 - Why men can improve fertility in 90 days
44:44 - Women, egg reserves & aging explained
52:43 - The #1 thing you can do for mitochondrial health
55:11 - Fertility tests every person should know
01:00:17 - Why every man should get a semen analysis
01:04:11 - Should everyone freeze eggs and sperm?
01:09:15 - Chronic inflammation & insulin resistance explained
01:17:13 - How stress directly impacts fertility
01:19:11 - Practical ways to reduce inflammation
01:21:43 - The emotional reality of miscarriage & pregnancy loss
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Episode resources:
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- Fatty15 - Use code EVERFORWARD for an additional 15% off the 90-day starter kit
- Get Natalie's new book "The Fertility Formula"
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The following is an Operation Podcast production. |
| 0:04.6 | We unfortunately have something in common, and that's going through a fertility journey and experiencing loss. |
| 0:12.2 | Talk to us a little bit about the emotional aspect of the fertility journey. |
| 0:16.2 | God forbid you have to experience the loss, and hopefully you only have the gain. |
| 0:19.9 | You know, I did have four pregnancy losses before I had my two kids. |
| 0:23.3 | Sperm counts are down 50% and one in five couples are struggling to conceive. |
| 0:28.6 | What the hell is happening to our fertility? |
| 0:31.1 | We're definitely seeing that it's harder to get pregnant and it's not just bad luck or |
| 0:35.2 | coincidence that all these things are happening. |
| 0:37.1 | Firm counts are down 50% in 50 years, but in the past 20 years, they've decreased the most. |
| 0:41.4 | We see an increase in miscarriage rate. |
| 0:43.5 | We see an increase in the number of young women being diagnosed with low accounts. |
| 0:48.0 | But the data is really clear that people who have infertility, both men and women, have higher rates of chronic disease later on when it comes |
| 0:55.4 | to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, even cancer and earlier death. So for men, |
| 1:02.9 | this story is a little bit different than women. But for sperm, that's one single thing that a man |
| 1:07.8 | can do that can impact his partner's ability to get pregnant, |
| 1:11.1 | stay pregnant, and even success rates with IVF. How do I realistically, practically, |
| 1:16.8 | reduce and or eliminate these major inflammatory markers in a way that I can actually |
| 1:22.6 | execute on my day-to-day life? Crafting the place that you spend most of your time into a hormonally safe environment is one of the |
| 1:30.5 | ways to move the needle. |
| 1:31.6 | Hi, I'm Dr. Natalie Crawford, board certified fertility doctor and author of the fertility formula. |
| 1:36.6 | And welcome to Ever Forward Radio. |
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