Your Body Is Not Broken: A Fertility Coach on Reclaiming Hope After 40 with Sonia Ribas

Is your body more fertile than you've been told?

If you've been handed a discouraging diagnosis, told your options are limited, or simply feel like time is running out — this episode is for you.

Today, Dr. Orlena sits down with Sonia Ribas, fertility coach and founder of The Fertility Solution, who has helped over 700 babies come into the world — many born to women who were told it simply wasn't possible. Working with women aged 35 to 46, Sonia brings a refreshingly holistic approach to a topic that's often reduced to cold statistics and clinical interventions.

In this conversation, you'll discover three ideas that could completely shift the way you think about fertility:

First, why egg quality matters far more than egg quantity — and how improving your mitochondrial health could dramatically increase your chances of conceiving, regardless of your age or AMH levels.

Second, why fertility is really a byproduct of your overall health — and how hidden factors like chronic stress, inflammation, blood sugar, and even emotional trauma may be quietly working against you without you even realising it.

And third, why sustainability and personalisation are the true secrets to success — because a plan that doesn't fit your real life simply won't work, and the women who see miracles are the ones who find their version of doing things right.

Sonia shares her signature three-step Detox, Nourish, Flow framework, real client stories (including a woman who was diagnosed with menopause and conceived within three months of working together), and her clear message to every woman who's struggling: don't lose hope, and don't try to do this alone.

Whether you're actively trying to conceive or simply curious about how lifestyle shapes fertility, this is a conversation full of insight, warmth, and genuine possibility.

Connect with Sonia

Website: https://www.soniaribas.com/ 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/soniaribascoach/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SoniaRibasCoach 

Transcript

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Dr Orlena: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Fit and Fabulous with me, Dr. Orlena Today we are talking about something a little bit different. We're talking about fertility, which we have never discussed here on Fit and Fabulous over 40, but actually many women have children later on in their lives. So I thought it was an appropriate subject to talk about.

So let me welcome Sonya Reba. Did I pronounce your name correctly? 

Sonia Ribas: Yes. Beautiful. 

Dr Orlena: Perfect. 

Sonia Ribas: Thank you. 

Dr Orlena: Hello and welcome. Do you wanna start by just introducing yourself and telling people a little bit about what you do? 

Sonia Ribas: Sure. So I'm Sonia Rivas. I'm a fertility coach and I'm the founder of the Fertility Solution and for the fa for the past 16 years now I've been helping women and couples understand what's actually going on in their bodies and support them in getting pregnant often after they've been told that their options were very limited.

And over that time, I've helped [00:01:00] welcome more than 700 babies worldwide. And what I see over and over again is women doing everything right and still not getting pregnant. So that's where I come in. 

Dr Orlena: First of all, a huge congratulations. That's absolutely amazing. And I know that it can be a really difficult journey for people and I think so.

Full of heightened emotions and a thing that people don't really talk about very much. It's very, you don't really talk about it until after the journey. Do you? So it can be really difficult when you are going through it. From my own personal story, the opposite, but my, I know that fertility is one of those things that can have a double-edged sword.

So my mother had twins when she was 40 because you have that period where you. More likely to have twins and then I had twins as well. 

Sonia Ribas: Wow. 

Dr Orlena: Some people just have more children and some people find it very difficult. So I guess starting off, do you wanna talk about [00:02:00] like declining fertility in that period of time that happens when you know, to begin with, we are very fertile and then things slow down a little bit.

Why is that? What happened? 

Sonia Ribas: Okay, so what happens is that we are born with a finite number of eggs as women, okay? So the eggs you have in your ovaries is a finite number. I cannot give you more eggs. As a matter of fact, the eggs you have in your ovaries are the same eggs as you had when you were in your mom's room.

What happens is that since you are born, every month you lose a whole bunch of eggs and by the end, when you get to menopause, you have very little eggs left. You have about 2000 eggs left, so you go from millions to 2000. Gradually. For some women, this process goes faster than for others. That's why a lot of people get obsessed with what we call A MH, which is anti mallian hormone, which has a correlation with the number of eggs you have left.

Now, a lot of people think that age is the only [00:03:00] factor affecting fertility. It's fertility clinics, a lot of OBGYNs, which I highly respect, but a lot of the times we bump heads. They are really obsessed with the number of X you have left and they tell you if you have very few X left, your chances are very limited.

But actually modern research has proven that it's not so much about the amount of X you have left, but it's the quality of those eggs. So the quality declines with age, with a process of oxidative stress, which is a process that every cell in our body endures. And what happens is that in eggs, in the o, in the cells, in your, in our ovaries, the aging process is a little faster.

Why is it faster? Because every cell has something called mitochondria, which is the little energy factories in the cell. And it turns out that some cells have more mitochondria than other cells. Like your cells in your heart have a lot of mitochondria, for example, your neurons have a lot of mitochondria.

Your [00:04:00] skin cells have mitochondria. So what happens is that in the process of aging, in the process of ox oxidative stress. The cells that have more mitochondria are the ones that are more affected. Why? Because they lose their energy, they lose the capacity to function properly because they depend more mitochondria.

So I. Long story short, if we improve mitochondrial health, if we give yourselves more energy, if we give your eggs more energy, we improve dramatically your egg quality and therefore your chances to conceive and get pregnant with a healthy baby. 

Dr Orlena: Amazing. And actually, mitochondrial health is what we're all looking for in life anyhow.

Like it correlates very strongly with longevity and all of these things that we are trying to do to be healthier. So what can we do to. Increase our mitochondria or mitochondrial health in our eggs. 

Sonia Ribas: Okay? So there's a number of things that we [00:05:00] can do to help our eggs be as fit as possible. And I, the way I go about it is a, with a holistic approach, what does holistic means that we improve egg health and fertility from every possible angle.

So a lot of people think, oh, it's just about what you eat. Yes, obviously nutrition has a very big impact, but it's also other things that you do in your daily life that end up becoming or end up having a big effect in who you are and the quality of your cells. For example, stress is one of them. Cortisol, which is the main stress hormone, is a very big enemy of egg cells.

Sorry, egg health. So one of the things that we do is improve stress management and lower cortisol levels through the day, not just in two yoga classes per week through the day so that your stress levels reduce. Something that's related to that as well is your nervous system. [00:06:00] If your nervous system thinks that you are in fight or flight, if you are in survival mode because you're stressed or because you have threats in your life, it will not prioritize your reproduction.

Why? Because reproduction is a luxury function of your body. So if your nervous system thinks that you are in what we call fight or flight, it will protect your survival. And it'll, it will deprioritize all the body functions that are not essential for your survival. And reproduction is one of them.

Something we do as well is lower inflammation. We all carry very high level of chronic inflammation in our system that we are not even aware of, like we've totally normalized it. So in my programs, I help people lower inflammation dramatically so that every body function can work better, including obviously their eggs.

Something that we do as well is balance blood sugar. Blood sugar levels and [00:07:00] metabolism impact hormones greatly. So that's something that I help people with as well. And overall, I have a very personalized approach where I dive into my client's life and I see exactly what they're doing in their daily life, and I help them optimize every single area of their lifestyle that is somewhat related to fertility.

Dr Orlena: Yeah, and I think when we are talking about, so I do a similar thing in talking to women who specifically want to lose weight and stress obviously plays a big part in weight as well. When your cortisol levels is are up, it's very difficult. You're basically, your body's gonna store, store abdominal fat.

And actually when you look at it, most things in our life can impact our health and wellness. Even though it might feel like, oh, this is not related to health and wellness. Actually, when you go a level deeper, basically everything gets related to health and wellness. 

Sonia Ribas: Absolutely. 

Dr Orlena: So on that note, when we are thinking about weight, I believe that weight as well can have a big impact on [00:08:00] fertility.

Sonia Ribas: Absolutely. So weight as you said, has an impact on everything, on longevity, on how you feel, and also as a byproduct of that is your fertility. I always say fertility is a byproduct of your health. If you are healthy, typically you are fertile, it goes hand in hand. So for a lot of women, weight loss is needed.

And it's not only the number on the scale, but it's also your body fat percentage in your system, right? Like a lot of people have an okay BMI on, or under that, on the scale you'd think, she's not. She's not bad or good, I don't wanna use your or bad, good or bad, but like she's somewhat healthy, but actually her muscle mass is very low, or her body fat percentage is higher.

And that will then affect your hormones. It will affect your metabolism, and it'll also affect your inflammation system. 

Dr Orlena: Yeah. 

Sonia Ribas: I also, we have the other option, like the other [00:09:00] cases as well, where women have too low fat percentage. I have a client, for example, in Las Vegas who is an acrobat, and when she started working with me, her body fat percentage was less than 15%, so she wasn't menstruating at all.

So it goes both ways. If you are too extreme in the higher numbers of body fat percentage, and if you are too extreme in the lower numbers of body fat percentage, your body is somewhat destabilized. So we need to bring it back to what we call homeostasis, which is the state in which all your body functions work in harmony, and that typically is closer to 20 22, 20 3% body fat percentage in women.

Dr Orlena: Perfect. Perfect. And you talk about having a three step framework. Do you wanna talk a little bit about that? 

Sonia Ribas: Yes. So I. One my clients to not have to guess and have and be able to follow a three step process that [00:10:00] works in terms of reducing inflammation and optimizing their system and optimizing their fertility from every angle.

So I have what I call my signature three-step process is called the fertility solution and step one is detox. Step two is what we call nourish. And step three is what we call flow. Okay, so in step one, detox, what we do is we lower inflammation and we remove what's blocking fertility for every person.

It's different, so as I said earlier, I parachute into their lives and I see what's blocking fertility for that individual specifically. The second step is nourish, which is we rebuild the body on every level. Nutrients, hormones, emotional and mental support. Okay, so I believe the human body is this massive ecosystem in which everything is interrelated and it doesn't make sense to only look at one layer.

Like typically a lot of people only look at the physical layer, but actually the mental layer, the [00:11:00] emotional layer, the energetic layer, and sometimes even the spiritual layer do matter. I can give you all the broccoli in the world, but if you have a child with trauma that's blocking your pregnancy, you won't get pregnant.

So we need to see for every person what is in the way, right at every possible layer. And step three is flow. So we personalize everything so that the body can reach this. This homeostasis state. So it's balance, harmony, state, and function optimally, right? I highly believe in the principle of bioindividuality, which means a person's food can be another person's poison, right?

So yes, of course we have universal recommendations, but the most important thing is how do we land all the recommendations into every person's life, into every person's reality, so that we move the needle. For that person specifically. So that is, the personalization side of things and [00:12:00] how we find your version of doing things right, because what I want is not a program that sets you up for two weeks.

I want something that's your lifestyle going forward for the rest of your life that is sustainable to you specifically. And that's where we see miracles happen, when we personalize things and we find that groove, that sustainability in a person's lifestyle. 

Dr Orlena: Yes. And I a hundred percent agree with that.

That lifestyle is not really about doing something for two weeks. It is really about finding something that you think this works for me and it's not. We all have different likes and dislikes, but we also have just totally different likes. I always talk to people and say, when we're gonna talk about exercise, yes I have recommendations for exercise, but unless you live well, you might be able to do my when you come home to Barcelona, you might be able to do my routine, which is from in the sea, basically every single day.

But for most people, that's not gonna work. So it's finding those things that you can tick [00:13:00] those boxes in a way that you enjoy and think. Yep. I'm gonna keep doing this because I enjoy doing it. 

Sonia Ribas: Absolutely. I always say to my clients, fertility is not, some, is not something you force, right? Like you go typically to fertility clinics and they force fertility on you, which, in my opinion, that's not fertility, that's bypassing and that's forcing your system and doing something you might or might not be ready for.

Fertility is something that your body allows when everything is aligned. 

Dr Orlena: And so typically, how long does it take for people to get pregnant when they find you and start working with you? 

Sonia Ribas: So I work with them for six months and the reason why it's six months is because I need four months to optimize egg quality.

So the eggs you're gonna ovulate in four months are starting to grow. So I need four months of like deep work to optimize air quality, and then we allow another two months for the groove, the personalization, the sustainability side of [00:14:00] things, right? So after we have practiced all the recommendations and we are integrating everything, we add another two months so that your system has a proper chance to integrate everything.

Dr Orlena: And you said, I think before we started recording actually, that you work with women who are age 35 to 46. Now, when you are looking at that, you are bumping up against, so obviously everybody's individual, and it depends on what stage they start going through perimenopause, but that can obviously add a far more complicating layer to things.

So how do you deal with someone who's potentially in perimenopause? 

Sonia Ribas: Yeah, that's a very good question. So there's something called the your, like the age on your certificate, and there's something called your biological age. So what we try to do is reduce, like for older women, reduce your biological age as much as possible.

Now, the one thing I cannot do is give you extra X. As I said to you earlier, like that's a fine number, but what I can do is with the X, you have left [00:15:00] work with you to optimize air quality. Now. One of the things that happens with perimenopause, as is your hormones change. That process can be de can be accelerated or decelerate.

So we try to decelerate that process. Sometimes we do need artificial hormones on the side, like HRT but I try to do things naturally first, and we see huge hormonal improvements when you take care of yourselves and you find the way to take care of yourself that works for you. 

Dr Orlena: Perfect. Perfect. So women in their forties who are feeling, yeah, time is running out.

What would you say to them? 

Sonia Ribas: So I would say to them get support. Okay. Don't try to figure things out on your own. I see so many couples and so many women that have wasted a lot of time, a lot of time by trying to DIY, their. Way through [00:16:00] fertility. I would say get support as soon as possible. There is hope.

I see so many miracles in my practice. Weekly, there's a lot of hope. I have someone who was diagnosed with menopause. She started working with me. She menstruated the second she started menstruating the second month of working together, and the third month she got pregnant. 

Dr Orlena: Oh wow. Amazing. 

Sonia Ribas: So we do see miracles all the time.

Don't lose hope, but get support and you have eggs left. The thing you have to do is make them work for you and really optimize your egg quality so that you can produce viable embryos that result in healthy babies. 

Dr Orlena: And what is the oldest person that you have helped get pregnant 

Sonia Ribas: naturally? 46. 

Dr Orlena: Wow, that's amazing.

And not naturally. 

Sonia Ribas: Not naturally. Obviously it depends when you see, like I live in LA so we see a lot of celebrities have babies in their super forties and early fifties. So that typically is they, [00:17:00] you can have babies later, but typically you would require either frozen eggs from when you were younger, if you wanna do it with your own eggs.

Or sometimes we need donor X, right? So you can still get pregnant, but you get donor X and then you still can carry your pregnancy later in life. 

Dr Orlena: Perfect. Fabulous. Yeah. I have to confess, I feel that my baby years are happily behind me in that I don't think I can cope with all the sleep deprivation that having a young baby requires.

So better to do that when you're a little bit younger than, I don't think I could face that at my, in my late forties, but I guess everybody is different and has unique situations. Perfect. So if people think, yep, I want to work with you, how would they get in touch with you? 

Sonia Ribas: So if someone listening is feeling stuck or confused and they would like my help, the first thing is to watch my free masterclass where I walk through these three steps in detail.

You can see how to apply these three [00:18:00] steps even if you don't work with me, and you see a lot of client case studies of how we've done these over and over again. And you can find those@thefertilitysolution.com. Okay? So that's step one. Watch what? Watch that masterclass. It will give you a lot of information and you can decide, to apply that on your own or if you really want my support, after that, you'll have instructions there to book a call with us.

Dr Orlena: Perfect. Fabulous. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for coming and chatting to us. It's been very a different and interesting podcast session. 

Sonia Ribas: You're most welcome. Thanks. Thanks for having me.