One in six couples worldwide struggle with infertility – and for many women, the conventional path jumps straight to medication or IVF without asking why the body stopped feeling safe enough to conceive.
In this episode of The Healthy Hustle Podcast, Rachel Feldman sits down with Dr. Kela Smith, Ph.D., DNM – founder of The Hormone Puzzle Society and Fertility Coaching Mastery – to unpack the fertility and hormone niche for health coaches: root causes beyond age, nervous-system safety, foundational habits that actually move the needle, and how practitioners can ethically serve women from fertility through perimenopause and menopause.
Dr. Kela Smith, Ph.D., DNM, is a holistic doctor, researcher, educator, business strategist and the founder of The Hormone Puzzle Society, a virtual clinic and educational platform supporting individuals and couples on their fertility and hormone health journeys. After navigating and overcoming her own infertility and hormone challenges, Dr. Kela transformed her personal healing journey into a mission to help others uncover and address the root causes of infertility and hormonal imbalance through a whole-body, evidence-informed approach. Her work focuses on hormone signaling, metabolic health, gut-immune balance, detoxification pathways, and nervous system regulation as they relate to reproductive outcomes and hormone balance at every age. She is the host of The Hormone Puzzle Podcast, where she shares expert interviews and stories of hope, host of the Fertility Coaching Mastery Podcast where she teaches practitioners how to start, grow, and scale a profitable and purpose-driven fertility coaching business, and is the author of her latest book – Solving Your Infertility Puzzle: A Comprehensive Guide to Optimizing Your Fertility. Dr. Kela is also the founder and lead educator of The Hormone Puzzle Society Educational Institute, where she trains and certifies future fertility and hormone coaches, and is a sought-after speaker at conferences, summits, and professional trainings.
In This Episode, We Cover:
- Why fertility and hormones are one of the fastest-growing wellness niches
- Dr. Kela’s personal infertility story – and how it became a teaching mission
- Root causes beyond “just age”: delayed family timing, birth control-first care, toxins, male fertility, and stress
- Nervous-system safety, fight-or-flight, and the “type A” fertility avatar
- How functional care differs from the conventional prescription/procedure path
- Foods and foundations for fertility: protein, whole foods, minerals, hydration
- The hormone PUZLE method and why systems beat willpower
- The 2-2-2 nervous-system reset (silence, breath, journaling)
- Perimenopause/menopause overlaps, bioidentical HRT, and when foundations come first
- Environmental toxins, beauty/cleaning swaps, fragrance/phthalates, and Think Dirty
- How practitioners can train and build a fertility/hormone coaching offer
From Unexplained Infertility to a Teaching Mission
At 36, Dr. Kela was told she had unexplained infertility and advanced maternal age – with IUI and IVF as the default next steps. She refused to accept that as the whole story.
She optimized her own fertility, conceived twice (including at 40), then went back for a PhD so she could teach other women – and practitioners – what she learned. With a newborn and a two-year-old, her mission became clear: shorten the learning curve for anyone who wants to serve this niche with integrity.
Root Causes Beyond “Just Age”
Kela points to delayed family timing, birth-control-first care with little cycle education, rising environmental toxins, overlooked male fertility, and chronically stressed nervous systems.
When the body is stuck in fight-or-flight, it often will not prioritize conception – even if labs look “fine.” Fertility, she reminds us, is not only about getting pregnant. It is a fifth vital sign of broader health – and if systems are struggling now, perimenopause and menopause often amplify that struggle later.
The Type A Woman Who Cannot Slow Down
Many of her patients are high-achieving, caffeine-fueled, under-slept, and trained to equate skinny with healthy. That lifestyle keeps the body in go-mode.
Rachel shares her own story of coming off birth control, losing her period for nine months, and being put on Clomid – until an energy healer named the real issue: she did not feel safe in her body to conceive. The next month, her cycle returned.
Coaching that restores safety – through foundations, boundaries, and systemized nurture – is often the real unlock.
Functional Care vs. Prescription or Procedure
Conventional medicine is often trained to ask what prescription or procedure is next – Clomid, Letrozole, HSG, IUI, IVF – not why the body is not healing.
Kela’s first appointment is an hour looking at health history from birth to now, mapping systems, and finding dysfunction beyond age. Nine times out of ten, she says, her patients get pregnant – including into their mid and late forties – when the body is optimized instead of rushed through a clinic pipeline.
Her goal is not either/or. She wants conventional and functional care working together for women.
Foundations, Foods, and the Hormone PUZLE Method
Across fertility, perimenopause, and menopause, the same foundations show up: whole-food nutrition, enough protein (about 30 grams per meal plus a snack – roughly 100 grams a day), leafy greens, eggs, iron-rich foods, nuts and seeds, fiber (30+ grams), minerals, hydration, electrolytes, strength training, sleep, and stress load.
Kela’s hormone PUZLE method packages the pillars: Proper whole-food nutrition; Understanding supplements (right quality, dose, and quantity); Zapping stress / staying in zen; Zs – sleep; Love and encouragement; Exercise and environment. If one piece is out, the whole picture shifts.
Foundations come before biohacks. Functional testing (Dutch, gut, HTMA, mycotoxins/environmental toxins), peptides, and HRT only work when the basics are in place – not on top of McDonald’s and nightly alcohol.
Nervous-System Resets and Systems That Stick
For the burned-out “do everything perfectly” woman, Kela starts with a hard inventory: What is serving you? What can wait or go?
Then she systems everything – workouts, nutrition, business – so habits run without burning willpower. Her 2-2-2 reset is six minutes a day: two minutes of silence, two minutes of deep breathing, two minutes of journaling. Small enough to do; big enough to signal safety to the nervous system.
Perimenopause, Menopause, and Bioidentical HRT
As cycles become irregular, track them. Keep protein and fat with meals for blood sugar, heal gut symptoms, and prioritize strength training for metabolism and bone health.
In post-menopause, ovarian estrogen drops. Kela is a fan of finding a practitioner who can test and, when appropriate, prescribe bioidentical hormones – often looking at estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone case by case. The majority of her practice is fertility and perimenopause: weight gain around the middle, sleep disruption, hot flashes, brain fog, and anxiety are the struggles she hears most.
Toxins at Home – and Building a Fertility Coaching Practice
You may not control outdoor toxins, but you control your home: filter air and water, swap beauty and cleaning products as you run out, watch parabens and fragrance/phthalates, skip plug-in air fresheners and perfume on skin (essential oils or perfume on clothes if needed). Scan products with Think Dirty. Simplify your routine – and DIY with castor oil, jojoba, and frankincense when it makes sense.
For practitioners: Kela’s Fertility Coaching Mastery certification (about 30 weeks) teaches clinical fertility/hormone care plus business – legal setup, avatar, social, podcasting, media – and the identity work of stepping into the coach you’re becoming. It is built for health coaches, nurses, chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists, dietitians, and women whose own infertility journey pulled them into this work.
Your Action Step
Pick one foundation to systemize this week – meal prep with enough protein, a hard bedtime, a six-minute 2-2-2 reset, or a non-toxic swap as you run out of a product – and treat it as nervous-system medicine, not another item on a perfect to-do list.
Final Thoughts
Fertility is not only about getting pregnant. It is a signal of how safely and sustainably a woman is living in her body – across fertility, perimenopause, and menopause.
Coaches who can hold that nuance, teach foundations before biohacks, and build ethical offers in this niche are needed now more than ever.
Resources
Fertility Coaching Mastery (assessment + roadmap): https://www.fertilitycoachingmastery.com
Becoming HER retreat: https://www.fertilitycoachingmastery.com/retreat
Fertility & Hormone Coach Certification: https://www.fertilitycoachingmastery.com/certification-course
Fertility Coaching Mastery Podcast: https://www.fertilitycoachingmastery.com/podcast
Book: Solving Your Infertility Puzzle – A Comprehensive Guide to Optimizing Your Fertility
Instagram (practitioner): @becomeafertilitycoach
Instagram (personal/health): @kela_healthcoach
Instagram / TikTok (doctor): @drkelasmith
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelarobinsonsmith/
Think Dirty app (product scanning)
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