IVF, Hormones & The Emotional Toll We Don't Prepare For

Hello Warriors!

This week’s episode of The Suburban Warrior Podcast stopped me in my tracks—and I think it will do the same for you.

I sat down with Dr. Nahal Delpassand, a licensed psychologist, speaker, and writer based in Austin, Texas, whose work is redefining what it means to truly know your body. With nearly a decade of clinical experience, she specializes in identity, emotional health, chronic illness, disability, and the deeply complex emotional world of fertility and IVF. But what makes Dr. Delpassand truly extraordinary isn't just her clinical expertise—it's her lived experience. She navigated a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, a divorce, bilateral pulmonary embolisms, and six unsuccessful IVF rounds, including a failed donor egg cycle. She's been in the fire, Warriors. And she came out with something powerful to say.

At the heart of our conversation was a truth that should be shouted from every OB-GYN's office: most women have no idea what's happening in their bodies until it's too late to act. Dr. Delpassand didn't know she had a dangerously low ovarian reserve until she was 36, in the middle of a divorce, and told she needed to move fast. No one had ever flagged it. Her periods were regular. Everything looked "fine." It wasn't.

She is now on a mission to make sure no other woman is blindsided the way she was—and her message is one every woman in her 20s, 30s, and 40s needs to hear right now.

As she put it: "I want my patients to have the capacity to recognize that they have so many choices, instead of being in a place where you're forced because you don't have choices."

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The Power List: 7 Things We Learned from Dr. Nahal Delpassand

1. There's a Test That Could Change Your Future—And Most Doctors Aren't Ordering It AMH (Anti-Müllerian Hormone) is the scientific marker for ovarian reserve—essentially, the quality and quantity of your eggs. The optimal range is roughly 2–5. Dr. Delpassand's was in the negative range, and she didn't find out until 36. She's now treating a 22-year-old who discovered her low AMH almost by accident—and was able to complete four rounds of egg freezing in time. The lesson? Ask for this test now, regardless of your age.

2. Regular Periods Are Not a Fertility Green Light One of the most dangerous myths in women's health is that a regular cycle means your fertility is fine. Dr. Delpassand's periods were always on schedule—and she still had a critically low ovarian reserve. Don't let a predictable cycle give you false confidence. Push your doctor for the full picture.

3. Your Environment Is Quietly Wrecking Your Hormones Endocrine disruptors—found in heavily scented products, hairsprays, candles, and everyday plastics—are increasingly linked to hormonal disruption and declining fertility. The research is catching up to what many women already feel in their bodies. What you're absorbing daily matters more than we ever realized.

4. The Emotional Weight of IVF Is a Physical Experience The hormonal chaos of IVF isn't just "stress"—it's metabolic deprivation. It reshapes your neurochemistry. Estrogen and progesterone regulate serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, which means their fluctuation directly impacts sleep, mood, appetite, memory, and identity. After six rounds, Dr. Delpassand says, you are not the same person biologically. Naming that—not pathologizing it—is the first step toward healing.

5. Women in Midlife Are Four Times More Likely to Experience Severe Depression or Anxiety—And 70% Aren't Prepared Whether it's from IVF, perimenopause, or menopause, the hormonal shifts women experience in midlife carry serious mental health consequences. The highest suicide rate in women occurs between ages 45 and 55. This isn't a coincidence. It's a crisis hiding in plain sight—and connection, community, and the right clinical support are the most powerful buffers we have.

6. "I Feel Anxious" Isn't a Diagnosis—It's the Beginning of a Conversation Dr. Delpassand gave her TED Talk on emotional literacy for a reason: we are living in a culture that slaps the word "anxiety" on every uncomfortable feeling. Real clinical work means getting granular—is it anxiety? Grief? Disappointment? Fear? Metabolic deprivation? The word you use to name your experience determines how you treat it. Precision in language is precision in healing.

7. Your Worst Experiences Can Become Your Greatest Clinical Gift Cerebral palsy. Divorce. Blood clots. Six failed IVF rounds. Dr. Delpassand spent years wondering what she was supposed to do with all of that pain. The answer turned out to be this: use it. Her lived experience gives her a depth of empathy and understanding that no textbook can teach. She reminds us that the mess often contains the message—for ourselves and for others.

Dr. Delpassand sees patients via telehealth across 40 states and can be found at drnahaldelpasan.com, on Psychology Today, and on Instagram at @drnahal_delpasan.

If this episode hit home, share it with a woman in your life who needs to hear it—a younger sister, a best friend, a daughter. Because as Dr. Delpassand reminds us, the more choices we have, the more power we hold. And knowledge, Warriors, is always the first choice.

Until next time—with grit and grace.

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Ready to Warrior Up!

Listen to the Full Episode: Suburban Warrior podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thank you for reading—and remember, knowledge is power! If you’re experiencing symptoms, don’t ignore them. There is help (and hope) out there. Stay tuned for our next newsletter to keep transforming your mindset and rocking your inner warrior!