Dr. Lora Shahine

06/10/2026

Surprised?

06/09/2026

After 20 years of helping patients I only get more hopeful

The body is amazing and I have seen people conceive in situations where many would lose hope
✨Stage 4 endometriosis and pelvic adhesions
✨Conceiving naturally after failed IVF
✨Having a baby after 10 miscarriages
✨Twins in a patient in perimenopause
✨IVF cycle with 1 egg, 1 embryo, and 1 gorgeous baby

These are the exceptions but I will not be that doctor that says there is no hope. I am transparent, give realistic expectations, and counsel on all options but as long as some is ovulating (releasing eggs), has reassuring anatomy, and sp3rm exposure there is a chance.

I think it comes from hearing my grandmother’s story of trying for almost 20 years in the 1920s and 1930s
Married at 17 and finally had my Dad when she was 37 (and her friends in Kentucky were having grandchildren!)

This was before IVF and she tried everything available to her - she would always share updates in fertility science like IVF in the news with me and say ‘I wish this were available to me but I still got my miracle.’ I think of her when counseling patients.

❤️

06/08/2026

Yes! This can happen without IVF!

06/08/2026

Timing matters!

Your fertile window is the handful of days each cycle when pregnancy is actually possible—and it’s shorter than most people think.

Here’s the science:
✨ The fertile window spans about 6 days—the 5 days leading up to ovulation, plus ovulation day itself.
✨ S***m can survive in the reproductive tract for up to 5 days. Your egg, once released, lives only 12–24 hours.
✨ Your most fertile days are the 2–3 days before ovulation. That’s the sweet spot.
✨ For a typical 28-day cycle, ovulation usually lands around day 14—but every body is different.

How to track it: ovulation predictor kits, cervical mucus changes (think clear and stretchy), and basal body temperature can all help you pinpoint your window.

⚠️ Important: This approach relies on having regular, predictable cycles. If your cycles are irregular, unpredictable, or you’re unsure when (or if) you’re ovulating, please don’t try to figure it out alone. Talk to your doctor. Irregular cycles can be a sign of something worth investigating—and you deserve answers and support.

Knowledge is power, and you don’t have to navigate this guessing. ❤️

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.

06/07/2026

It’s all true

I’m a board certified reproductive endocrinologist aka fertility specialist helping build families in many ways.

One way is IVF

IVF stands for in vitro fertilization. It’s a process where we bring the egg and s***m together outside the body, in a lab, to create embryos.

Here’s how it works step by step:

First, medications help the ovaries grow multiple eggs in one cycle instead of just one.

Next, those eggs are retrieved in a short procedure while you’re sedated.

Then the eggs meet s***m in the lab, where fertilization happens and embryos begin to grow.

After a few days of development, an embryo is placed back into the uterus during a transfer.

From there, we wait to see if implantation happens and pregnancy begins.

IVF can help with so many paths to parenthood. Blocked tubes, low s***m counts, unexplained infertility, genetic testing of embryos, fertility preservation, and building families for same s*x couples and single parents by choice.

It isn’t a guarantee, and it often takes more than one cycle. But understanding what IVF actually is can take some of the fear out of it.

Have questions about IVF?
Drop them below and I’ll answer what I can.

06/06/2026

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.

What would you add to the list of things we should stop saying?

06/05/2026

Is your pad full of mold? Let’s look.

You’ve seen the TikTok. Brand new pad, held up to a light, dark splotches everywhere. The internet says mold. I say let’s actually look at this.

Here is what is really happening. Pads contain absorbent pulp and superabsorbent polymers. When you shine bright light through them, the fibers block the light unevenly. That creates a shadow, not mold. Hold a cotton ball or a makeup remover pad up to the same light and you will see the exact same mottled pattern. It is optics, not contamination.

Can pads ever actually grow mold? Yes, but only if storage goes wrong. Think damp bathrooms, trapped steam, damaged packaging. Real mold has texture and smell, and you would see it on the surface, not just as a shadow when backlit.

So here is what to do. Store your pads somewhere cool and dry. Check that the wrapper is sealed and intact. And maybe trust the science before the algorithm.

The bigger conversation worth having is not panic over shadows. It is how transparent manufacturers are about materials, storage, and shelf life. That is the question we should keep asking.

Save this and send it to someone who is thinking about throwing out their pads.

06/05/2026

Your pain is real! Period.

To the creator who made this video and every woman who has been told her pain is normal: I see you. I believe you. Your pain is real - ask about endometriosis.

The average delay in diagnosing endometriosis is 7 to 10 years. That is years of missed work, missed life, missed answers. Years of being handed ibuprofen and told to push through.

Endometriosis is an estrogen dependent inflammatory condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of it causing many symptoms depending on where the tissue causes inflammation. Pain, GI issues, bladder symptoms and more

It is one of the most common causes of pelvic pain and infertility, affecting roughly 1 in 10 women.

For decades, the only way to officially diagnose endometriosis was laparoscopic surgery. That requirement added years to an already painful wait. Many women never got the surgery, and therefore never got the diagnosis, the treatment, or the validation they deserved.

That has changed.

ACOG now recognizes that endometriosis can be diagnosed based on symptoms alone, without requiring surgery first. This is a meaningful shift that should get more women into treatment sooner.

I break down what this new guideline means and how to advocate for yourself in my latest YouTube video, “Diagnosing Endometriosis Without Surgery.”

Save this.
Share it with someone whose pain has been dismissed for too long.

Video:

06/05/2026

Ever thought of this?

Answer: YES

A coma doesn’t shut off the conversation between your brain and ovaries.

The hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovaries keep running the cycle whether you’re conscious or not. It can turn irregular or pause depending on the cause, the medications, or major weight changes, but the biology doesn’t need you awake to work.

Your reproductive system runs on its own quiet schedule in the background. One more reason the menstrual cycle is a vital sign worth understanding.

Follow for more evidence-based answers to the questions you were too curious not to ask.

06/03/2026