In this episode of “Yoga | Birth | Babies,” I speak with 5th Vital Sign’s co-founders, Emily Varnam and Kelsey Knight. This conversation is circling around the importance of understanding your body to understanding your fertility. We dive deep into reproductive health and signs of peak fertility and meet up on the other side with postpartum fertility. Hope you enjoy!
In this episode:
- What drew Kelsey and Emily to this line of work.
- What is the 5th vital sign and how they originated the idea?
- The reproductive health climate Emily and Kelsey are seeing in their classes and at speaking events.
- The base of knowledge the average person already has about their own reproductive health.
- When to start to look for their “normal.”
- Important observations people can start to look for and learn about their body in preparing for trying to conceive.
- Lifestyle changes to consider when trying to conceive.
- Signs of Prime fertility.
- Paper or app- what is the best way to chart basil body temperature.
- How conscious breathing can benefit the whole body including fertility.
- Breastfeeding as birth control.
- What the 5th vital sign up to now and where can people find Emily and Kelsey
A resource for people who are experiencing infertility: https://www.fruitfulaz.org/
“Your Best Fertility Ally, Fellow Fertility Warriors:”
About Emily and Kelsey:
Emily Varnam is a birth and postpartum doula, midwive’s assistant, birth control doula, placenta encapsulation specialist, and holds a degree in counseling and mentoring. She has been working with newborns and families since age seven and her goal is to be able to take people’s hands during puberty and walk with them through every stage of reproductive health.
Kelsey Knight is a registered nurse specializing in labor and delivery, a childbirth educator, and lactation consultant in New York City. In college, she worked as a birth doula, which opened her eyes to the imperatives of informed consent and health as a human right. She co-founded The Fifth Vital Sign to address systems’ wide gaps in reproductive health education.
Connect with Emily & Kelsey:
Facebook: @5thvitalsign
Instagram: @thefifthvitalsign
website: 5thvitalsign.com
