The full picture of your fertility, finally.
Functional medicine in Geelong with Jaya Ferreira.
Deeper testing, root-cause work, and a personalised plan built around your fertility and IVF preparation.
When standard testing only goes so far...
You've had the standard workups. The bloods, the scans, the AMH, maybe a semen analysis, maybe a cycle or two of IVF. And you're left with either "everything looks normal" or "we're not sure why this isn't working."
Either way, no plan that feels like it actually addresses you.
Functional medicine is built for this. It looks upstream from the basic markers, at the nutrient gaps, inflammation, hormone patterns, gut health, blood sugar and stress physiology that quietly shape whether your body conceives, holds a pregnancy and responds to treatment. The result is a plan built from real information about your body, not a generic protocol.
What is functional medicine?
Functional medicine asks a different question. Instead of "what diagnosis do you have?" it asks "why is this happening in your body?"
We use detailed case-taking, a deep review of your health history, and targeted testing where it'll help, to find the factors that may be influencing your fertility. That might include nutrient gaps, thyroid function, blood sugar, inflammation, gut health, sleep, stress, hormone patterns or environmental exposures. Rather than looking at each symptom in isolation, we look at how these systems interact, and build a plan around the patterns we find.
When we talk about "root causes," we mean the underlying factors that may be contributing to fertility challenges, rather than focusing only on the final symptom or diagnosis.
It isn't an alternative to medical care. It works alongside the care you're already receiving, drawing on advanced testing, nutritional and biochemical science, herbal medicine and lifestyle. Because reproduction is one of the body's most sensitive systems, improving the foundations often creates a better environment for fertility and IVF.
How Functional Medicine Supports Fertility & IVF
Science gives us a clear window. An egg takes around 90 days to mature, and sperm regenerates roughly every 72 to 90 days. The three months before you try to conceive, or before an IVF cycle, are when the biggest gains are possible.
In a functional medicine plan we work to support:
Egg quality, by supporting the developing egg through its 90-day maturation window (CoQ10, antioxidants, blood sugar balance, reducing inflammation).
Sperm quality, often dramatically responsive over a 90-day window to nutrition, oxidative stress and lifestyle.
A receptive endometrium, through inflammation, gut and microbiome support, blood sugar stability and nutrient sufficiency.
Hormone balance, with full thyroid assessment, sex hormone patterns, and insulin and metabolic markers (especially in PCOS).
A regulated nervous system, because cortisol, sleep and stress are deeply intertwined with fertility. Nervous system regulation is a cornerstone of how I work.
Recurrent miscarriage and implantation factors, including thyroid antibodies, methylation, inflammation and immune patterns.
It also helps with the adjacent issues that sit alongside fertility: hormonal symptoms, gut and digestive concerns, autoimmune patterns, fatigue, and the "wired but tired" picture so many women arrive with.
Your initial work-up testing is included with the consult. Where it would help, your plan may include further targeted functional testing (deeper blood chemistry, nutrient and full thyroid panels, gut and microbiome testing, hormone patterns, or an in-depth male fertility work-up). Any additional testing is recommended only when it would genuinely change the plan.
Who is functional medicine especially for?
Functional medicine is particularly useful if you're:
Preparing for IVF and want to give the cycle its best possible foundation
Living with unexplained infertility
Navigating recurrent miscarriage
Recovering from a failed or low-response IVF cycle
Managing PCOS, endometriosis or thyroid concerns alongside fertility
Looking at sperm quality and male factor seriously
Dealing with hormonal symptoms, gut issues, fatigue or autoimmune patterns alongside your fertility goals
If you're not sure whether it's the right fit, an initial consult is a good place to find out.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. If you have recent blood tests, IVF reports or specialist letters, please bring them.
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Different lens, not a replacement. Your GP and specialist remain central to your medical care. Functional medicine adds longer consults, pattern-mapping across body systems, and practical support with nutrition, supplements, lifestyle and integrative care.
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Yes. Initial work-up testing is included with your consult, so we have real information to work with from the start. Beyond that, more advanced testing is recommended only when it would genuinely change your plan.
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Yes. Many patients combine functional medicine with acupuncture, and it's the most powerful version of this work. Functional medicine consults sit cleanly alongside acupuncture from any practitioner.
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Both. Consults can be at our Geelong clinic or online, whichever works best for you.
Ready to look at the full picture?
If you're tired of half-answers and ready for a plan built from real information about your body, I'd love to help. Functional medicine consults are available in person at our Geelong clinic or online.