Dr. Lora Shahine

10/13/2026

Male factor plays a role in about half of cases of infertility. It’s the only cause in roughly 20% and a contributing factor in many more. Yet so much of the testing, tracking, and pressure still lands on women.

Here’s the hopeful part. S***m are made continuously, and one full cycle of production takes about 74 days. The habits he builds today shape the s***m he’ll have about three months from now. What’s good for his overall health (heart, metabolism, weight, sleep) is good for his reproductive health too.

That’s why I tell couples to give it 3 to 6 months and to start now. Not the week of ovulation. Not right before an IVF cycle. Now.

5 tips to support s***m health:

1. Skip smoking and va**ng, and go easy on alcohol and cannabis. All of these are linked to lower s***m quality, and cutting back is one of the most meaningful changes he can make.
2. Move most days and work toward a healthy weight. Extra weight can shift hormones in ways that affect s***m production. Regular exercise, good sleep, and managing stress all help.
3. Eat like it matters. A Mediterranean-style pattern is associated with better semen quality than diets heavy in processed meat and sugary drinks. Think vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts, olive oil, and fish.
4. Keep things cool. Testicles work best a little below body temperature. Take a break from hot tubs and saunas, keep the laptop off your lap, and get up regularly if you sit for long stretches.
5. Review medications and supplements with a doctor. This one surprises people: testosterone and anabolic steroids can shut down s***m production, even though they’re often marketed for male vitality. Please don’t stop a prescribed medication on your own. Do ask whether anything you take could affect fertility. Ask your doctor about antioxidants like CoQ10 which have evidence

Small, steady changes add up.

Share this with the person on this journey with you.

Curious about fertility? Comment here or DM me with ‘Fertility101’ (no spaces) for my free ebook with answers to 101 of the most common questions on fertility, ovulation, miscarriage, IUI, IVF, endometriosis, and PCOS. Be sure to follow for me to DM lin

10/10/2026

Don’t do this - try this instead

We can shame and blame when we mean to comfort

When someone shares a miscarriage, the words meant to soothe often land as blame.
“At least you can get pregnant.”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
“Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”

These shift the weight onto the person who is already carrying so much.

Here is what I want you to know if you are grieving a loss right now: your grief is not too much. You did not cause this. You are not being dramatic. Most miscarriages happen for reasons completely outside your control, and nothing you did or felt made it happen.

And if you are trying to support someone, you do not need the perfect words.

“I’m so sorry. I’m here.” is enough.

Sitting with someone in their grief is more powerful than trying to explain it away.

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Curious about fertility? Comment here or DM me with ‘Fertility101’ (no spaces) for my free ebook with answers to 101 of the most common questions on fertility, ovulation, miscarriage, IUI, IVF, endometriosis, and PCOS. Be sure to follow for me to DM link to you.

10/09/2026

Does Trauma Cause Breast Cancer?

If you’ve bumped, bruised, or injured your breast and felt a wave of fear afterward, you’re not alone. So many people worry that an old injury is the reason behind a diagnosis. That worry is real and valid, and it deserves a clear, honest answer.

Here’s the truth: an injury to your breast does not cause breast cancer.

Sometimes an injury brings you in to get checked, and a lump gets found around the same time. That timing can make it feel connected. But the injury didn’t create the cancer. It just happened to draw your attention to your breast, which is actually a good thing when it leads you to care.

What we do know raises risk: age, family history, genetics, and certain lifestyle and hormonal factors. A bump or bruise is not on that list.

If you notice a new lump, skin change, or anything that feels off, please get it checked. Not because of an old injury, but because you deserve answers and peace of mind.

Source: If you’ve bumped, bruised, or injured your breast and felt a wave of fear afterward, you’re not alone. So many people worry that an old injury is the reason behind a diagnosis. That worry is real and valid, and it deserves a clear, honest answer.

Here’s the truth: an injury to your breast does not cause breast cancer.

Sometimes an injury brings you in to get checked, and a lump gets found around the same time. That timing can make it feel connected. But the injury didn’t create the cancer. It just happened to draw your attention to your breast, which is actually a good thing when it leads you to care.

What we do know raises risk: age, family history, genetics, and certain lifestyle and hormonal factors. A bump or bruise is not on that list.

If you notice a new lump, skin change, or anything that feels off, please get it checked. Not because of an old injury, but because you deserve answers and peace of mind.

Source: American Cancer Society: Breast Cancer Facts and Figures 2024-2025, Atlanta: American Cancer Society 2024

10/08/2026

10/07/2026

Your bones peak around 30. Then what?

Most of us build bone through our teens and twenties and hit peak bone mass around age 30. After that, we slowly lose a little each year.

Then menopause arrives, estrogen drops, and bone loss speeds up. In the five years around menopause, women can lose as much as 15 to 20% of their bone mass.

The good news: bone is living tissue, and it responds to what you do at any age.

🦴 Lift something heavy. Strength training and impact exercise tell bone to stay strong.
🦴 Eat for your bones. Prioritize protein and calcium-rich foods, and ask about vitamin D.
🦴 Go easy on alcohol and skip smoking. Both speed up bone loss.
🦴 Ask about a bone density scan. Screening is recommended at 65, or earlier if you have risk factors like early menopause.
🦴 Talk with your doctor about menopause hormone therapy and other medications that protect bone.

Strong bones help you keep doing the things you love.

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strengthtraining

10/07/2026

Pregnancy nose is real 👃

Coffee you loved now turns your stomach?
Your partner’s shampoo suddenly unbearable?

Many pregnant people notice smells hitting differently, and no, you’re not imagining it. Studies measuring how sensitive the nose gets in pregnancy have mixed results, but what does seem to shift is how smells are interpreted: pleasant one week, awful the next.

Hormonal changes likely play a role, and we’re still learning exactly why it happens.

What we do know is that the change is real for a lot of people.

Did your sense of smell change in pregnancy?

Tell me the smell that got you 👇

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10/06/2026

Does your focus change with your cycle?

I sat down with Dr. Jolene Brighten on Brave and Curious to talk about her new book, ADHD and Women, out today.

As a fertility doctor, I think about estrogen and progesterone all day, and this conversation showed me how much those same hormones shape the ADHD brain.

Swipe for 5 things that stuck with me, from why so many women aren’t diagnosed until their 30s or 40s to why perimenopause can hit harder with ADHD.

Listen to our full conversation on Brave and Curious anywhere you listen to podcasts, or watch it on my YouTube channel (link in bio).

Save this and share it with a friend who needs to hear it.

10/04/2026

Your per!od can set off the airport scanner?😳

True but not for the reason your think!

Body scanners work by detecting anomalies against the smooth outline of your body. A pad, especially a thicker one, can register as a difference in density or shape and trigger a pat-down of that area. Menstrual cups and tampons sit inside the body and virtually never get flagged. It’s a little awkward, but it’s a false alarm, not a privacy breach, and the scanner has no idea what’s going on inside you. Nothing to be embarrassed about.

Did you know this?

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10/03/2026

You missed a period. Now what?

First: take a pregnancy test. Even if you’re sure. Even if you’re on birth control. Rule it out first

Then consider the rest — because a missing period is rarely random.

🧠 Stress, undereating, or overexercising (hypothalamic amenorrhea — your brain shuts down ovulation when it senses there isn’t enough fuel)
⚪ PMOS (PCOS) — the most common cause of chronically irregular cycles
🦋 Thyroid disease — a simple blood test
💊 High prolactin — from a medication, or a small pituitary tumor
⏳ Perimenopause — normal in your 40s, but not before 40
🏷️ Contraception, breastfeeding, big weight changes, or one genuinely brutal month

Call your doctor if:
⚠️ No period for 3 months in a row, or fewer than 9 periods a year
⚠️ Your periods stop before age 40
⚠️ You have ni**le discharge, headaches, or vision changes
⚠️ Your period never returned after a uterine procedure
⚠️ You’re trying to conceive

Here’s why it matters. A missing period isn’t just an inconvenience — it’s information.
Chronically absent cycles can mean low estrogen, which costs you bone density. Or, in PMOS/PCOS, a uterine lining that never sheds — which carries its own long-term risks. You can’t address what nobody’s named.

One skipped cycle after a hard month is usually just that.

A pattern is a message.

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Educational content, not medical advice.