If babies feel like a someday thing right now, maybe even a distant someday, this is still for you. Actually, it might be especially for you!
Most women don’t think about fertility until they’re ready to conceive but your 20s are the most powerful window to prepare. Read along as Dr. Kayla Borchers shares what she wishes every woman in her 20s knew about hormonal health, cycle tracking, birth control, and building a body that’s ready when the time comes!
Because the best time to begin supporting your body for pregnancy isn’t only when you’re trying to conceive, or even once you’ve decided you’re ready. It can start in the quieter seasons, long before motherhood is top of mind. As a pelvic floor and orthopedic physical therapist, and a mom of four, it’s the most beautiful thing to witness how the small foundations you can build now will support everything that unfolds later.
EPISODE 59 | HOLISTICALLY WELL PODCAST: PRECONCEPTION HEALTH IN YOUR 20S | WHAT I WISH I KNEW
Whether you learn best by listening, reading, or watching, there is something for you! You can catch the audio version on the Holistically Well Podcast—available on all your favorite platforms!
Holistically Well Podcast on Apple | Episode 59
Holistically Well Podcast on Spotify | Episode 59
Holistically Well Podcast on YouTube | Episode 59
KEY EPISODE TAKEAWAYS
🌱 How to improve fertility naturally in your 20s
📅 Why tracking your menstrual cycle matters before you’re trying to conceive
💊 What hormonal birth control actually does to your body long term
😴 How chronic stress and poor sleep affect your fertility
🏋️♀️ The best exercises for pelvic floor health before pregnancy
Why Preconception Health in Your 20s Actually Matters
Fertility and reproductive health aren’t things that just happen to you. They’re built over time!
The food you eat, the stress you carry, the sleep you get (or don’t), the hormonal birth control you may have been prescribed, the toxins in your environment.. all of it is quietly shaping your hormonal health right now. Your 20s are one of the most important windows for laying that groundwork!
I’m sharing this because it’s important preconception health info I wish I would’ve known in my 20s! Because proactive care is so much more powerful than repair.
Often times I like to think of fertility like tending a garden. You don’t throw seeds into unprepared soil and hope for the best. You tend the soil first!! You root well. So that when the time comes, everything is ready to grow.
Things to Focus on for Preconception Health in Your 20s
Nourish Your Body With Real Food
Your body needs adequate fat, protein, and micronutrients to produce hormones. Full stop. If you’re chronically undereating, over-restricting, or surviving on ultra-processed food, your hormones will feel that.
Start building a relationship with food that is ultra-nourishing! No punishing over here. A food-first mentality is always the foundation. And because our modern diet and soil quality can’t always fill every gap, quality supplements like my favorites found here can help support what food alone may not be able to provide.
Learn to Read Your Cycle
Your menstrual cycle is your fifth vital sign — and most women have never been taught to read it. Start tracking. Understand what a healthy cycle looks like. Learn your luteal phase, your ovulation signs, your PMS patterns.
This information is gold when you eventually start trying to conceive. It can also alert you early if something is off hormonally, long before it becomes a bigger issue. I go into a whole Instagram Post about it here!
Be Intentional About Birth Control
This is a big one. If you’re on hormonal birth control, it’s worth understanding what it’s actually doing in your body. I’m going to say it.. the pill is a bandaid — it’s not getting to the root cause of hormonal imbalances, acne, PMS, or weight concerns. Actually, it’s masking them.
The pill also depletes key nutrients in the body, which is why I don’t recommend stopping cold turkey. If babies are on your horizon in the next few years, have an honest conversation with your provider about your options, your timeline, and what’s actually driving the reason you were put on the pill in the first place.
I’d looooove to dive deeper into this! If you have questions and want personalized support, this is your sign! Book a 1:1 session at drkaylaborchers.janeapp.com — it is genuinely one of my greatest joys to support women proactively in this season.
Reduce Your Toxic Load
Your liver processes your hormones. So anything that burdens your liver — heavily processed food, alcohol, synthetic fragrances, conventional beauty products, chemical-laden cleaning products — can quietly interfere with hormonal balance.
You don’t have to overhaul your entire life overnight. Slow, intentional swaps are the goal. Stress alone disrupts your cycle, so the last thing you want is to feel overwhelmed by the process. Start somewhere small and build from there.
Prioritize Sleep and Stress Regulation
Cortisol — your stress hormone — directly competes with your reproductive hormones. Chronic stress and poor sleep are two of the most underrated disruptors of fertility, and they rarely get the attention they deserve.
Building rhythms of rest, healthy boundaries, and nervous system regulation now is one of the most loving things you can do for your future self. And your future babies.
Move in Ways That Support Your Pelvic Floor
As an orthopedic and pelvic floor physical therapist and prenatal and postpartum corrective exercise specialist, this is my secret sauce for preconception health!
When we are chronically over-exercising — running half marathons, doing daily high-intensity workouts — without balance, we push our bodies into a chronic stress state. Sprinkling in nervous system-regulating movement like yoga, Pilates, mat-based exercises that pair breath with movement, and intentional mobility work is foundational for your pelvic floor, your reproductive organs, and your overall stress response.
Your body doesn’t just need to be strong. It needs to feel safe!
Can You Be Behind for Pregnancy?
Preparing for pregnancy isn’t about rushing toward it. You are not behind. You are right on time! It’s about honoring your body in this season so that every season after it is supported.
You have time, and time is the most powerful tool in this entire process. What you build now is quietly becoming the foundation for everything that comes next. Tend your soil. Root well. Trust the process.
Dr. Kayla Borchers is a holistic orthopedic and pelvic floor physical therapist, prenatal and postpartum corrective exercise specialist, and mother of four based in Ohio. She specializes in root-cause care for women at every stage — from preconception through postpartum and beyond!
Preconception Health in Your 20s
If you want a step-by-step roadmap for each of these pillars, I created the Holistically Well Preconception Program specifically for this! We dive into nutrition, cycle health, movement, stress regulation, and so much more — so you have the tools in your toolbox now, not after you’re already trying.
👉 Find it at drkaylaborchers.com/preconception and use code POD20 for 20% off. I always love to share that it’s HSA/FSA eligible!
If you have questions or want personalized support along the way, I’d love to connect! Book a 1:1 session at drkaylaborchers.janeapp.com — it is genuinely one of my greatest joys to support women proactively in this season.
