In this episode of The Care Circle powered by Motherhood Hospitals, host Sahiba is joined by Dr. Rita Modi, Senior IVF Consultant at Motherhood Fertility and IVF, Kharghar,Navi Mumbai., who brings over 20 years of experience in fertility care. Dr. Rita Modi discusses why fertility should be viewed not only as treatment for infertility but as an essential part of preventive healthcare, helping individuals and couples plan their reproductive future with greater awareness and confidence.
Together, they explore how fertility awareness, early assessments, and informed lifestyle choices can help identify potential challenges before they become serious concerns. The conversation explains the difference between biological fertility age and chronological age, why fertility does not always align with calendar age, and how early testing can support better reproductive planning.
This episode also addresses common fertility myths, clarifies when fertility preservation options such as egg or sperm freezing may be appropriate, and highlights the importance of building a reproductive life plan early to avoid future regret and stress.
Here are the key points you shouldn’t miss from this episode
- Fertility care today extends beyond IVF and includes preventive awareness, planning, and early assessment.
- Biological fertility age may differ from chronological age due to genetics, lifestyle, and medical history.
- Early fertility screening tests, such as AMH, ultrasound evaluation, and semen analysis, guide planning.
- Fertility challenges affect both men and women, making couple-based evaluation essential.
- Fertility naturally declines with age, which is why proactive planning helps avoid delayed decision stress.
- Egg or sperm freezing can be a useful fertility preservation option for individuals planning to delay parenthood.
- Lifestyle factors such as stress, sleep, weight, smoking, and alcohol consumption can influence reproductive health.
- Irregular cycles, painful periods, or untreated medical conditions may be early signs that fertility needs attention.
- Creating a reproductive life plan before the 30s helps individuals make informed and confident decisions.
- Early awareness and timely consultation can significantly reduce emotional stress and improve long-term fertility outcomes.
0:16 – Intro: Why cervical screening is often postponed and why this conversation matters today
0:55 – About The Care Circle: Introducing the podcast and today’s focus on cervical health and prevention
1:12 – Guest Introduction: Dr. Manju Gupta, Senior Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
1:45 – Understanding Cervical Cancer: What it is and why it is considered one of the most preventable cancers
2:55 – HPV Explained: What HPV is and what women truly need to know about it
4:15 – Myth vs Fact: Only women with multiple partners get HPV
4:38 – Myth vs Fact: HPV means poor hygiene or unsafe practices
5:03 – Myth vs Fact: HPV always leads to cervical cancer
5:26 – Myth vs Fact: HPV infection always shows symptoms
5:52 – Myth vs Fact: HPV positivity means partner infidelity
6:12 – Myth vs Fact: HPV affects only women
6:30 – Myth vs Fact: HPV vaccination means screening is no longer needed
7:09 – Key Takeaway: Awareness over fear, screening over stigma
7:32 – Pap Smear vs HPV Test: Understanding the difference and when each is used
8:42 – Screening Timelines: When women should start cervical screening and how age matters
9:19 – Silent Progression: Why cervical cancer often shows no early symptoms
10:31 – Barriers to Screening: Why many women in India still avoid cervical screening
11:44 – Power of Early Detection: How timely screening changes outcomes for women and families
14:17 – Age-wise Screening Guide: Cervical screening recommendations by age group
15:15 – Screening During Pregnancy: Is it safe and when it should be done
15:52 – Bigger Picture: Role of healthcare systems and awareness in eliminating cervical cancer
16:58 – Closing Message: Screening gives you control + how to book a consultation
(0:15) Sahiba: Have you ever thought about fertility as something to understand early, not just treat later?
What if fertility was less about treatment and more about awareness and planning?
Welcome back to the Care Circle, a podcast series by Motherhood Hospitals, where we bring you trusted conversations and expert insights in women’s and children’s health.
I am Sahiba, your host for today’s episode and we are focussing on fertility as preventive care and why early understanding plays such a critical role in helping couples make informed, confident decisions.
While IVF is often the first association people make with fertility clinics, fertility care today extends well beyond treatment.
It’s about awareness, planning and timely actions.
Joining us today is Dr. Rita Modi, Senior Consultant at Motherhood Fertility and IVF, Khargar, Navi Mumbai.
With a vast experience of more than 20 years in treating infertility over entire spectrum of possible interventions, combining high-end modern techniques with proven, conventional understanding, counselling and academic knowledge, she brings both expertise and empathy to this conversation.
Dr. Rita, welcome to the Care Circle.
(1:36) Dr. Rita Modi: Thank you so much, Sahiba. It’s a great feeling to be here.
(1:39) Sahiba: So, doctor, I would like to start the conversation by asking you that when people hear fertility clinic, the first thought is often IVF. Why is that thinking outdated today?
(1:50) Dr. Rita Modi: Oh, that’s a common misconception because people associate fertility clinics with only IVF services but we are into preventive health care.
What we are doing here is to take care of people’s fertility and prevention is just like we prevent any other lifestyle diseases.
So, our focus is on optimising their reproductive health at an early stage so that we can find out any potential cause for declining fertility before it actually affects the person.
(2:21) Sahiba: That’s such a refreshing way to look at it, doctor. You also mentioned fertility is a preventive care.
Could you explain what that actually means?
(2:29) Dr. Rita Modi: Yes, sure. Prevention means you stop a disease before it sets in.
So, just like we keep checking our blood pressures or blood sugars to prevent heart disease from happening or diabetes from happening.
So, similarly, we keep doing early assessments for fertility so it can reveal any potential challenges at an early stage so that people can make informed decisions about how to plan their family or their reproductive career and what are the lifestyle changes they need to undertake.
So, fertility is something we can maintain, not just fix when there’s a problem.
(3:03) Sahiba: Yes, yes, absolutely.
(3:09) Dr. Rita Modi: Because when we do awareness, when we give awareness, it empowers a person to make the correct choice.
We do regular checkups so we find out if there’s any issue affecting the person’s fertility so that we don’t wait until a challenge appears.
So, we are not just fixing a problem, we are maintaining fertility or managing fertility.
(3:26) Sahiba: This leads me to my next question.
What’s the difference between biological fertility age and actual age? Could someone be 30 on paper but have the fertility of a 38-year-old?
(3:38) Dr. Rita Modi: Yes, that’s true.
By normal age or chronological age is the number of years lived by that person but fertility age or biological age of fertility does not exactly correlate with that.
It is related to the person’s genetics or lifestyle or medical history so it can affect the quality or quantity of eggs or sperm that that person can produce.
So, biological fertility age is slightly different from chronological age.
(4:11) Sahiba: Understood. My next question will be what simple test can give an early picture of fertility health and also what does these tests don’t tell us?
(4:17) Dr. Rita Modi: There are simple tests just like a baseline transvaginal sonography for the lady which will tell us antral follicle count and a simple AMH blood test.
For men, it is a basic semen analysis apart from their general health checkups but I would like to tell you that these tests are just predictors.
They do not give us a verdict or they do not exactly tell us when the fertility is going to decline.
So, it is just a guide which will help us understand when is the starting point, how exactly to plan the fertility career.
(4:52) Sahiba: That’s quite helpful to know doctor.
If you are curious or concerned about your fertility health, reach out to Motherhood Fertility and IVF for personalised consultations today.
Call 080 672 38900 or email info at the info@ motherhoodivf.com.
(5:10) Sahiba: Moving on, you see many IT and corporate professionals in your daily OPD doctor. What fertility patterns do you notice in them?
(5:21) Dr. Rita Modi: Some of them are very stressed out because of a lot of workload.
So, many of them they delay starting a family. They are not ready to start a family.
That could be personal reasons or career related reasons but fertility does not wait. Biology does not wait for anyone.
So, ovarian reserve goes on declining. Sperm quality also goes on declining because of lifestyle or age related factors.
So, yes these are the fertility patterns which are kind of affecting them in a negative manner.
(5:50) Sahiba: Building on to what you just said doctor, there is a growing concern regarding how long distance marriages or living in different countries impact fertility planning. Since the time together is limited, what steps can be taken to ensure the window is not missed?
(6:02) Dr. Rita Modi: So, it is true that if the couple is in a long distance marriage then planning and monitoring the treatment is a little challenging but we can still do it.
We do get a lot of couples where one partner is living in a different country or working on a shift so available for a limited period.
So, we plan the cycles diligently so that as and when the partner is available, the treatment is done.
Several cycles earlier only we do the planning and also some of the advanced techniques like sperm freezing can help us wherein the lady can continue the treatment in absentia.
Husband is not available but the semen sample is there with due consents and everything.
So, the lady can continue to try IUI cycles even if the husband is not around.
So, this way we do the planning.
(6:49) Sahiba: Doctor, I also remember when we were conversing last time, you mentioned a few cases that you have dealt with regarding this.
So, if you can just share one of your cases that is close to your heart.
(6:59) Dr. Rita Modi:
It is very difficult to choose actually but there are many. One strong example I will give you is of a wonderful couple.
The lady is a paramedical staff, age is less but she had a lot of medical issues, obesity, hypertension and a large fibroid, not very affording.
So, we had to go at multiple steps from the husband’s side. Also, husband had a spinal injury.
So, that resulted in inability to have erections or ejaculations. So, there was no way that naturally the couple could give us a semen sample.
So, that required a surgical procedure to retrieve sperm with a lot of uncertainty whether we will be able to get it.
So, it was planned at three stages.
First, we did the fibroid removal for the lady, gave her the time to heal her uterus but unfortunately the age was such that her ovarian reserve has already gone down but still.
Then the next step we did was we retrieved the husband’s sperm through a testicular sperm aspiration.
It was very difficult to find motile sperm but we did finally good quality sperm and we stored the sperm.
Then the third stage in the subsequent cycle because the couple was very keen that they want their own gamete only. They didn’t want anything third party.
So, then after that we stimulated the lady for egg retrieval. We found two eggs, we fertilised them, we were able to create two good quality embryos.
Then in a subsequent cycle.
So, all in all it took us about seven to eight months to complete all the stages but finally it gave us a very good result.
The couple is now having a daughter who is about seven months old now delivered through caesarean section.
So, happy ending a very difficult case.
(8:48) Sahiba: Surely it’s a happy ending doctor. Great to know about this case.
Moving on doctor, many couples say we’ll try once life settles.
Medically speaking does fertility wait for stability?
(8:55) Dr. Rita Modi: No, not really. Fertility will not wait for anyone.
There will always be some of the other events going on in our lives.
We may not feel it is the right time but biology has its own way.
So, it is always better that we plan fertility career as diligently as we plan our academic career or our work.
Similarly, fertility has to be planned.
(9:21) Sahiba: That’s such a refreshing way to look at it doctor.
Moving on, my next question is what are the biggest fertility regrets you hear from couples in their late 30s?
(9:34) Dr. Rita Modi: It’s a very common statement coming from the couples.
“Oh, I wish I had thought about it earlier.”
“I wish I could have come to you earlier”.
“I wish I had done the tests earlier.”
And also they regret about not so great lifestyle that they have maintained and now they realise that okay this might have damaged their fertility not to even talk about the arteries of their heart or their blood sugar levels and other things and also the mental health.
So, basically what I want to emphasise is we have to be proactive.
We have to empower them with information. They need to be able to have informed decision and also we need to do their early assessments and give them the right form of treatment at the right stage so that it prevents regrets later.
So, early action can really save a lot of stress and disappointment later.
(10:21) Sahiba: Moving on to my next question, freezing eggs or sperm can sound extreme. Who should actually consider it and who doesn’t need it?
(10:27) Dr. Rita Modi: I wouldn’t call freezing of egg or sperm as an extreme measure.
It is actually a very useful tool in our hand when we talk about fertility preservation or fertility management.
It is not recommended for everybody.
It is only recommended for those men and women where it’s a conscious decision on their side to prevent fertility for some time as in delay fertility.
It could be a career related reason, some personal reason.
They can store their eggs or sperm with the clinic and as and when they are ready to start a family, they can come.
Some of the very famous people in India have already done it to set a very good example.
(11:06) Sahiba: So, doctor what’s the right age window to consider freezing without panic?
(11:13) Dr. Rita Modi: Ideally, it should be done when the fertility is at a very good state or I would say when it is at its peak.
So, mid 20s to late 20s is the best time or maybe even early 30s.
The only idea to say this is in the late 30s fertility naturally declines.
So, considering fertility preservation at an age when fertility has already declined may not give us very good results.
It can still be done but the results may not be as good as if it is done at an earlier age.
So, late 20s early 30s is the best time.
(11:44) Sahiba: Alright, now it’s time for a rapid fire myth bursting round. Are you ready doctor?
(11:50) Dr. Rita Modi: Yes, absolutely. Bring it on.
(11:50) Sahiba: The first statement is IVF is the only reason to visit a fertility clinic. Is it a myth or a fact?
(11:57) Dr. Rita Modi: It is absolute myth Sahiba because fertility clinics do much more than just do an IVF cycle.
IVF certainly is a very important part of our services but we are more into preventive health care.
So, our idea is to prevent any fertility problems, early assessment of fertility and plan fertility for couples not just IVF.
(12:23) Sahiba: Second statement is doctor regular periods always means fertility is normal.
(12:30) Dr. Rita Modi: It’s a myth unfortunately because in general it is true that regular cycles will be a reassuring sign but then there are cases where cycles are regular but still fertility has declined.
This is something we see a lot in extremes of reproductive age.
Say for example the women in late 30s or early 40s they have absolutely regular cycle but their AMH value, their antral follicle count has gone down drastically.
So, fertility does decline even when cycles are regular.
(12:58) Sahiba:
Next statement, fertility issues are mostly a women’s problem.
(13:06) Dr. Rita Modi:
Oh total myth because at least half the cases of infertility the man is also responsible either completely or partially.
(13:12) Sahiba: Next statement would be you can plan a pregnancy anytime fertility will wait.
(13:19) Dr. Rita Modi: That’s a myth again because as nothing in life waits for us similarly fertility also does not wait as we have understood about the biological fertility age.
Fertility will decline with time so certainly it does not wait for us.
We have to plan our life events around our fertility plans.
(13:31) Sahiba: Next one, egg freezing is only for women with fertility problems.
(13:38) Dr. Rita Modi: It’s a myth again because egg freezing is not only for women with fertility problem.
It is a choice that women make who want to delay fertility for any reason whatsoever reason and fortunately this is becoming more and more common.
There has been a lot of information dissemination to young ladies who are planning their fertility.
They are coming for freezing of their eggs.
The only idea is that later on whenever they are ready to start a family they will come and use their own eggs.
(14:07) Sahiba: Next statement is a single fertility test can predict your chances of pregnancy.
(14:13) Dr. Rita Modi:
It’s a myth because there is no perfect fertility test which will guide us through all the stages of or all the parts of a fertility assessment.
All the tests even the whole bouquet of tests will also give us a guidance about how to manage that case how to help that couple realise their chances of pregnancy but there is no perfect test or perfect prediction by any test.
(14:39) Sahiba: Last one would be doctor men’s fertility doesn’t decline with age.
(14:45) Dr. Rita Modi: It’s a myth again because men’s fertility also declines with age although the age at which only age related fertility decline happens is at a later stage.
For women age related fertility decline comes in 30s for men it comes in late 40s or 50s but otherwise age definitely is an important predictor.
(15:05) Sahiba: Thank you doctor that was incredibly clarifying.
Moving on to my next question if someone isn’t ready for a baby now what can they do to protect fertility naturally?
(15:23) Dr. Rita Modi:
Naturally what they can do is to maintain a good healthy lifestyle.
What I mean by a healthy lifestyle is maintain a correct body weight not overweight status not underweight have moderate exercise at least five days a week avoid addictions like smoking or too much use of alcohol maintain good sleep hours maintain a good work-life balance and maintain a good diet.
If there are any stresses in life manage your stress better.
Apart from these things of course having good interpersonal and relationship with the partner social relationship being well adjusted in your environment that is extremely important to maintain your fertility apart from your general health.
Of course for fertility regular checkup with a fertility specialist will help us detect early issues and also to address those issues.
So, this is what couples should do to preserve and maintain their natural fertility.
(16:15) Sahiba:
Also doctor are there signs your body gives early that fertility needs attention but people often ignore them?
(16:27) Dr. Rita Modi:
Yes body does give signs that fertility could be a problem later on but people unfortunately choose to ignore.
For example if the cycles are irregular if the cycles are extremely painful if there is too little flow or too much menstrual flow or there are long-standing other medical diseases like diabetes uncontrolled thyroid issues polycystic ovary.
For men if there is a erectile issue or if there is a trauma to the testicular area or if there’s a history of mumps or some of the by birth condition for example testicles not being there in the scrotum.
So, these are the conditions which entail that okay fertility could be an issue so sooner than later they should come for fertility assessment.
(17:11) Sahiba:
Moving on what’s one fertility conversation every individual or couple should have before 30s but they rarely do it?
(17:25) Dr. Rita Modi:
The bottom line here is make a reproductive plan reproductive life plan because as I said diligently plan your reproductive life.
You need to know what are your timelines what are the possible challenges and if you want to delay too much then maybe would you be able to consider egg freezing or sperm freezing.
So, the idea is to empower the person through information not to get them worried really and they should have a plan and they should act on their plan.
(17:56) Sahiba:
And doctor if you could give one piece of advice to our listeners what would that be?
(18:03) Dr. Rita Modi: It is just that understand that fertility potential is not unlimited and you need to take care of it.
You need to take proactive steps and do not wait for a problem to start and then try to find solution.
Empower yourself with correct information be aware do the right things so that you can maintain your fertility potential.
(18:21) Sahiba: This adds a whole new layer of understanding for our listeners doctor.
Thank you so much for your time it was really insightful conversing with you and thank you for sharing such thoughtful and practical perspective with us.
Thank you doctor Rita.
(18:32) Dr. Rita Modi: Thank you so much Sahiba for this excellent conversation.
(18:38) Sahiba: Fertility is not a rescue plan it’s preventive care.
Early awareness proactive monitoring and informed choices are key to maintaining reproductive health.
A huge thank you to Dr Rita Modi for sharing her expertise and to our listeners if today’s episode helped you rethink fertility as part of preventive health do share it with someone you may benefit.
And if any of our listeners feel uncertain about their fertility journey Motherhood Fertility and IVF is here to guide you personally.
You can call 080 6723 8900 or email info@motherhoodivf.com to start your consultation the earlier the better.
This has been the Care Circle by Motherhood Hospitals, your expert-led safe space to talk about the real experiences around parenthood.
Until next time stay healthy and take care.
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