Aucklander Cara Lennan is a self-confessed “recovering perfectionist” who has worked in marketing for some of the biggest media and beauty brands both here and in the UK.
Love rekindled
“I spent five years in London in my twenties and I did a couple of stints on superyachts in Europe, which was an eye- opener into the lifestyles of the rich and famous,” Cara, 44, tells Woman’s Day.
But by 29, Cara was ready to return to New Zealand. Which was just as well because two years later, she fell in love with Mark, her partner of 13 years.
“Mark and I were at school together at Takapuna Grammar,” she smiles.
“We’d always fancied each other, but he always had a girlfriend. Then we reconnected at our high-school reunion when we were both single and the rest is history!”
But when Cara and Mark started trying for a family, it wasn’t plain sailing.
“I was working full-time back then,” recalls Cara.
“I’d also launched Forage & Graze, a Paleo and gluten-free snack food business, and I was doing all the making and packaging by hand. “For six months, we did all the right things – tracking cycles, restricting foods and spending thousands with anybody we hoped might help us.”
But Cara was soon overwhelmed by her battle to have babies and she sought medical advice.
Beating the odds
“I really just wanted peace of mind, but when we saw a fertility specialist, we were told I had premature ovarian insufficiency and the eggs I did have were poor quality. We were also told IVF probably wouldn’t work and our best option was egg donation.”
Cara and Mark were blindsided, but giving up wasn’t an option, so in desperation, they tried a mind-body fertility coach.
“I worked with my coach every week for about eight weeks, and she helped me uncover certain patterns and how being an A-type over-achiever had depleted my fertility,” Cara says of those sessions that helped shift ingrained behaviours, as well as quietening her “monkey mind”.
Then aged 35, Cara prepared for her first round of intrauterine insemination (IUI). And for six months prior, committed to a new way of being. Despite being given a mere 6% chance of that IUI being successful, Cara defied the odds.
“Jude is now nine and he’s such a sensitive, kind-hearted soul,” Cara says of her beloved first-born. What’s more, Cara did it again at 37.
“As I prepared for the second round of IUI – despite that time being told I had a 1% chance of conceiving naturally with my own eggs – we got pregnant with Bear, who is now six. “And that’s when it hit home – fertility isn’t just about hormones and timetables; it’s about what’s happening beneath the surface.”
Because Cara knows first-hand how harrowing the road to motherhood can be. When Bear was four, she retrained in hypnotherapy and now works as a fertility energetics coach.
Turning pain into purpose
“I also found an incredible mentor in the US who’s big in the fertility and energetics space,” tells Cara.
“Even if a woman has a diagnosis like endometriosis, PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome] or diminished ovarian reserve, if she’s still ovulating, there’s still a possibility. And I believe with every cell of my being that the work I did changed everything for me. “This isn’t woo-woo either. This is science and there is one major Harvard study I refer to that proved that women who took part in mind-body programmes before IVF more than doubled their chances of pregnancy!”
Today, Cara works from her Auckland clinic, blending science with her own hard-won lessons to help others. With June being World Fertility Awareness Month, she hopes to shine the spotlight even more brightly on this emotive issue.
“So many couples are emotionally exhausted, financially stretched and still without answers about their infertility,” reflects Cara.
“A lot of my people I see are high achievers. They’ve tried everything from strict diets and supplements to multiple rounds of IVF, but when they dissolve the inner pressure, the results speak for themselves.”
As part of her mission to help others ride the fertility rollercoaster, Cara has also launched The Fertile Frequency. A podcast that offers support to listeners all over the world.
“But I’m not saying, ‘Just relax!’” she insists.
“It’s more about lifting self-imposed pressures because that’s the missing link in fertility care and we need to talk about it. Because fertility challenges aren’t just physical – they’re emotional, and they’re connected to how safe and supported our bodies feel. “If your body is stuck in fight-or-flight mode, how can it prioritise pregnancy?”
To learn more about Cara’s work, visit caralennan.com or follow @beingfertile_withcara on Instagram
