Why Chronic Disease May Begin Before Birth

In this episode of New Frontiers in Functional Medicine, Dr. Kara Fitzgerald is joined by Dr. Emily Stone Rydbom, Dr. Leslie Stone, and Dr. Kalea Wattles to explore the science of preconception health, fertility, epigenetics, and chronic disease prevention.

Learn how maternal nutrition, mitochondrial health, methylation, the microbiome, inflammation, and environmental exposures influence fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and lifelong health through the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) framework.

Topics include: • Why chronic disease risk may begin before conception • Epigenetics, methylation, folate, and MTHFR • Mitochondrial health and fertility • Functional medicine approaches to infertility and pregnancy • The future of AI and precision medicine in reproductive healthcare

Whether you're a healthcare practitioner, planning a pregnancy, or simply interested in functional medicine and precision health, this episode offers practical, science-backed insights into improving health across generations.

Full show notes + references: https://www.drkarafitzgerald.com/fxmed-podcast/

GUEST DETAILS

Emily Stone Rydbom, MDH, BCHN, CNP is a Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist specializing in functional and precision nutrition for maternal, pediatric, and chronic disease care. She is co-founder of GrowBaby, an integrated OB–nutrition care model, and partners with healthcare systems to deliver genomics- and biomarker-informed maternal health programs.

Leslie Stone, MD is a Board Certified Family Practice Obstetrician with fellowship training in Surgical Obstetrics. A co-founder of GrowBaby and principal investigator of the ROOT Study, she has spent more than a decade integrating functional medicine into evidence-based obstetric care, delivering over 5,000 babies throughout her career.

Kalea Wattles, ND, IFMCP is a naturopathic physician, certified functional medicine practitioner, and founder of Functional Fertility. She specializes in unexplained infertility, preconception optimization, and fertility over 35, translating the latest reproductive medicine research into practical, personalized care.

Website: www.growbabyhealth.com / www.growhealth.co / www.growbabylifeproject.org https://www.drkaleawattles.com

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