How To Reverse The American Fertility Crisis

The Dr. Phil Podcast

Dr. Phil McGraw

Education, Society & Culture

4.3 • 13.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr. Phil sits down with Dr. Ann Shippy to reveal how the months and years before pregnancy shape a child’s lifelong health and why today’s fertility crisis has less to do with age and far more to do with toxins, inflammation, stress, and our modern environment.

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For decades, women have been told their fertility is on a countdown clock but what if age isn’t the real problem? Dr. Phil welcomes Dr. Ann Shippy, a leading expert in the emerging preconception movement, to uncover the science showing how the 3–36 months before pregnancy can influence a child’s lifelong health. Dr. Shippy explains how toxins, chronic inflammation, endocrine disruptors, stress, and the microbiome silently shape fertility for both men and women. She shares how couples even well into their 40s, can dramatically improve egg and sperm health, reduce miscarriage risk, and give their future children a stronger foundation of genetic resilience. From environmental chemicals and gut health to hormone balance and the male fertility crisis, Dr. Phil digs into the psychology and misinformation surrounding modern parenthood. This is not about fear, it's about power. Small changes today may change the trajectory of a child’s life before they’re even conceived.

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Transcript

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0:41.6	Fertility rates are falling.
0:44.1	Chronic illness in children is rising.
0:55.5	I want people to be intentional about why they're starting or growing their family and get on the same page because I really do believe that we invite the soul into our family.
0:59.7	And I think the more intentional we are about it, faster that soul can join us. You're and every child, even if you're not planning a pregnancy right now.
1:24.6	Fertility rates are falling. Chronic illness in children is rising. And most people have
1:32.9	never been taught that the three to 36 months before conception may shape a child's entire life.
1:43.0	Now let me say that again.
1:49.2	We're talking about the three to 36 months before conception.
1:56.0	And that's the tricky thing, because maybe you don't even know that it's happening.
2:13.3	My guest, Dr. Ann Shippey, author of The Preconception Revolution, is here to challenge what you think you know about age, fertility, and genetics, and show you the science of how much control you actually have.
2:15.3	Doctor, welcome.
2:17.2	Thank you so much for having me. Well, you're talking about some stuff that actually I've been talking about in part,
2:25.3	and that we're not having enough babies to keep this whole thing going.
2:30.3	We need like 2.1 to sustain this whole infrastructure in society and it's dropped to like
2:38.8	1.6. Is that right? That's correct. What the hell? What's going on? Well, we've got multiple things
2:45.9	converging. We have lower fertility rates and we have people waiting longer to have babies.
	...

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