Hi, I’m Natalie Masson, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and fertility coach. My academic credentials include a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern California and a pre-doctoral internship from Yale University. 

I’ve worked in Integrative Medicine with cardiac patients at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, and I’ve maintained a private psychotherapy practice for over 20 years.

Since 2017, I have been offering fertility support online to help people grow their families and cultivate a sense of wholeness along the way.

What led me to the realm of fertility coaching was my personal experience of trying to conceive my second child. 

Let’s turn the clock back to January 2014….

I was aware of the statistics.  I was 45 years old with low AMH (0.07 ng/mL) and high FSH (as high as 33 mIU/mL).  I’d just been through two back-to-back miscarriages due to poor egg quality. 

Statistically speaking, what were my chances of conceiving a healthy pregnancy at this point?  About the same as a snowball’s chance in a hot oven.  And my chances of conceiving with IVF?  About the same as a snowball’s chance in a hot oven.

But statistics are about averages across groups.  What if I could be an outlier?  🤔 I’d had a healthy pregnancy at age 42 without any struggles. 

I was still able to get pregnant, but the issue was egg quality, and I wasn’t sure if I could do much about that, given that egg quality naturally declines with age. 

I considered everything I knew about health and the mind-body connection, all the tools used in my psychotherapy practice, and everything I could learn from google searching, reading online forums, and chatting with acupuncturists I sought help from. 

I took all this information and consulted my intuition about my body and my fertility.

Just 4 months away from my 46th birthday, I did what many women in my shoes would consider unthinkable.  I took a three month break from trying to conceive–letting three precious eggs go down the drain. 

During that time I focused intensively on nurturing my eggs.  I made changes to my lifestyle and my general outlook in life. I focused on self-nourishing and living my life versus fretting and obsessing.

Over the next three months, I went from feeling beaten down, desperate, and depleted by my fertility journey, to feeling energetic, optimistic and ready to handle whatever my fertility future had in store for me.

No, I wasn’t pregnant yet.  I was aware of potential complications and did feel some apprehension.  But I was feeling strong, whole, and resilient.  I honestly felt 10 years younger.  I also felt that I was going to be okay, regardless of whether I was able to bring a second child into our family.

After that three-month egg nurturing break, it was time to find out if my Hail Mary shot was going to make it into the basket.

A “Hail Mary shot” is the super unlikely shot in basketball, often from waaayyyy across the court when clock is running down….so unlikely that a player would shoot the ball and then say a Hail Mary prayer, just hoping for the best.

I’m not a big sports fan, so I don’t even know why I’m making basketball analogies.  But it felt like I was shooting the ball from way past half court, maybe 3/4 court….backwards….blindfolded….with one hand behind my back. 

I just wanted to know I gave it everything I had before I moved on.

And…That very next cycle, I got pregnant!  My pregnancy progressed without complications and our second child joined our family in February 2016.  

Just thinking back on it now, I can still remember the feeling. 

By that time I had become part of a large community of women in an online forum who were “Over 40 TTC,” and we rode the treacherous waves together of hope, heartache and joy together. 

It was as if I threw that Hail Mary shot, everyone held their breath, the ball went “whoosh” through the basket and the whole stadium jumped to their feet and shrieking with glee and disbelief. 

It seemed like there were hundreds of women cheering and cyber-hugging me. (To all my former TTC sisters out there, I am eternally grateful.  Your support meant more than you can know.)

Of course they were happy for me, but I think it also shone light on the possibility that it could happen for them too.  

Was my pregnancy success a lucky roll of the dice?   I can never know for sure, but based on all I have learned, I do suspect my outcome wasn’t just random luck and there are many things we can do to shift the odds in our favor.

It is my sincere wish to help other women who are in the trenches of the fertility quest, especially those in their 40s who feel like they are racing against time.

I am passionate about sharing perspectives and developing tools to help you on your fertility journey. 

Whether you are having difficulty getting pregnant or are experiencing pregnancy losses…whether you are trying naturally or you are incorporating medical support, I have many resources to help you along your way.

If I can help you get your Hail Mary shot through the hoop, you will hear me hollering across cyberspace. 

If I can help you find peace, vitality and wholeness along the way, I will deeply value the time we have spent. 

I believe that life’s challenges create opportunities that we often can’t fully recognize and appreciate until farther down the road.  ​

I wish you courage, strength, and self-compassion as you pursue your soul’s deepest desires.