{"id":212738,"date":"2024-03-13T00:02:08","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T00:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/13\/a-wellness-founder-reflects-on-her-autoimmune-infertility-journey\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:20:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:20:45","slug":"a-wellness-founder-reflects-on-her-autoimmune-infertility-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/13\/a-wellness-founder-reflects-on-her-autoimmune-infertility-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"A Wellness Founder Reflects On Her Autoimmune Infertility Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I\u2019ve always been attuned to asking why things happen. It\u2019s a human impulse\u2014trying to derive meaning from life\u2019s mysteries. But as I\u2019ve grown older, a bit wiser and with more experience, I\u2019ve come to learn that some questions are without answer. It can be devastating to accept that what\u2019s happening to you is the result of a cause you may never realize. As many women are experiencing in recent years, one of those things is autoimmune infertility. <\/p>\n

Thankfully, there are those who will go to any length for answers. As someone who\u2019s experienced her own ups and downs in regards to her reproductive health, I\u2019m empathetic to the countless women who have confronted those challenges as well. It\u2019s because of that, I\u2019m grateful for the work of Caryn Johnson, the co-founder and CEO of BOND<\/a>, an innovative line of supplements reimagining reproductive wellness<\/a>. And as is true for many female founders, the brand was born through Johnson\u2019s experience with what BOND addresses: women\u2019s hormone health.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit, before Johnson and I spoke over matcha chai lattes at The Hoxton<\/a> in Chicago on a Friday afternoon several weeks back, I knew little about what autoimmune infertility entailed. And unfortunately, it\u2019s because of that ignorance\u2014the result of research<\/a> only just emerging on the topic\u2014that Johnson had to seek the answers herself. What resulted is not only the births of her two children, Elijah and Ruthie, but also the birth of BOND. Through targeted supplements and education-centric content, the brand is transforming our understanding of our bodies, our lives, and our world.<\/p>\n

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How One Entrepreneur\u2019s Journey With Autoimmune Infertility Inspired a Brand<\/h2>\n

Johnson is no stranger to the supplement world. As an industry that\u2019s experiencing the saturation that many buzzy product spaces are seeing, it can be difficult to differentiate yourself from what else is on the market. But it\u2019s her experience\u2014Johnson is the former Vital Proteins Chief Marketing Officer\u2014combined with her personal stake in what the product addresses, that\u2019s led not only to a captivating founding narrative, but an effective product line that yes, is changing lives.<\/p>\n

Ahead, Johnson and I discuss the ins and outs of autoimmune fertility, diving deep into her personal journey, BOND\u2019s beginnings, and what women can do to proactively address these concerns head-on.<\/p>\n

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\nCaryn Johnson <\/span>
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Caryn Johnson is the Co-Founder and CEO of BOND, an innovative line of supplements reimagining hormone and reproductive health, inspired by her experience with infertility. The former Vital Proteins Chief Marketing Officer launched BOND in the Fall of 2023, fusing her professional expertise with her passion to help women take a more proactive and empowered approach to caring for their cycle and reproductive health. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What is autoimmune infertility?<\/h2>\n

\u201cWith traditional infertility, you\u2019re looking at your reproductive system as the cause or place of the infertility,\u201d Johnson tells me. \u201cBut with autoimmune infertility, it impacts your immune system in a way that\u2019s separate from your reproductive health.\u201d It\u2019s a key distinction, as it not only differentiates the two types of infertility, but also points to the enigmas that exist in addressing the root of what\u2019s holding us back from the lives we aim to lead and create.<\/p>\n

Johnson expands on this. \u201cWith fertility in general, your body needs to be in a space where it can immunomodulate to its environment. In getting pregnant, your body goes through a semi-allogenic learning with the blastocyst (the early-stage embryo), meaning it has to accept it through a series of immune reactions and responses in your body. Many of those immune responses are new to your system through that specific phase of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

But complications can arise when your immune system is unable to tolerate those changes\u2014and when it can\u2019t support you through your fertility journey. \u201cWhat happens, and what happened in my case,\u201d says Johnson, \u201cis that my immune system triggered my body to shut down the pregnancies. It accepted them as foreign instead of going through the proper immune responses to get pregnant and sustain that pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In essence, autoimmune infertility takes into account \u201ctwo different systems of your body,\u201d she notes, \u201clooking at how they work together for your body to conceive and carry a pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Johnson\u2019s Personal Journey With Autoimmune Infertility<\/h2>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t get pregnant at all,\u201d Johnson reflects. \u201cBut when we started with the IUIs and IVFs, those went well. My body performed well.\u201d She tells me she bad no blocked fallopian tubes and providers confirmed that her reproductive systems were in order. It\u2019s at that point, she notes, when an OBGYN or reproductive endocrinologist will be at a loss\u2014unable to identify a cause. \u201cMy IVY cycles were failing and no one knew why. So I had to figure things out on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was back in 2017, when the conversation surrounding women\u2019s reproductive health was all the more limited. Searching for answers herself, Johnson picked up the book Is Your Body Baby-Friendly?<\/a><\/em> by Dr. Alan Beer.<\/p>\n

She poured over its pages, learning that the root of her issues laid somewhere in her digestive system. \u201cHormonally, I was a wreck, but I didn\u2019t know to associate it with what I was experiencing in my fertility journey.\u201d Ad hoc research led her to connect with a local doctor who practiced reproductive immunology. After a months-long waitlist, bloodwork, and a full ultrasound, Johnson was told she had the highest level of antibodies in her blood the physician had ever seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, they knew how to address it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cPractically, my best advice is to care about your body, your hormones, and your reproductive system whether you care about having a baby or not in this moment.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Finding Answers<\/h2>\n

Though the doctors encouraged Johnson to cancel her IVF, she was already medicated and prepared for the next round. \u201cI ended up getting pregnant with twins. I lost my daughter at eight weeks and carried my son to 35 weeks. He\u2019s now five.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went on to lose another baby after him, and that\u2019s when we threw in the towel,\u201d she reflects. \u201cRuth, my second daughter, is born by surrogate, which was ultimately a decision we made to protect our mental health. When Ruth got here, I felt that I had everything. I had learned everything, but there\u2019s still this world that\u2019s unknown to a lot of women.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What advice would you share with other women experiencing unknown or autoimmune infertility?<\/h2>\n

\u201cPractically, my best advice is to care about your body, your hormones, and your reproductive system whether you\u2019re planning to have a baby or not in this moment.\u201d <\/p>\n

While there still can be factors beyond your control, Johnson affirms that education and exposure to aligned tools and resources can effectively support your reproductive health. As the conversation shifts and expands to welcome a broader understanding of women\u2019s bodies, it\u2019s important that we see proactive reproductive care as more holistic than in the past. <\/p>\n

\u201cDoing that now for yourself will support your daily cycle in a way that you probably haven\u2019t experienced or been enlightened to. There\u2019s a real beauty in trying to educate younger women and opening their eyes to this.\u201d<\/p>\n

How BOND Came to Be<\/h2>\n

Given Johnson\u2019s experience with autoimmune infertility, she was able to witness the gap between the research and what doctors could address in their patients. \u201cI wanted to help bridge that gap and get people to understand these factors in their fertility a little faster,\u201d she shares. \u201cAnd that\u2019s where the excitement for the brand started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through hands-on research, physician consults, and her experience at Vital Proteins, Johnson was able to take the product line to market, launching BOND in 2023. Ultimately, her intention is to provide a selection of effective and accessible supplements for anyone with a reproductive cycle\u2014not just those trying to conceive.<\/p>\n

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Lifestyle Habits to Support Hormone Health<\/h2>\n

Though Johnson\u2019s passion for reproductive and hormone health became obvious within seconds of meeting her, it\u2019s a consistency that\u2019s carried all throughout our conversation. Through her work with BOND and personal research and advocacy, she\u2019s transforming the narrative surrounding our menstrual cycles. Rather than being a source of shame, Johnson is celebrating the many different ways our bodies interact with the world.<\/p>\n

And alongside supplementation, lifestyle factors play a key role in promoting hormone balance. Johnson\u2019s number one tip? Chart your cycle. This helps you understand how to best support your body by opting for certain foods and forms of movement, and even shifting your social calendar to align with where you fall in your cycle. \u201cIt\u2019s about creating balance where your body needs it,\u201d says Johnson, \u201callowing your body to reset without guilt.\u201d We created a comprehensive guide to cycle syncing<\/a> to help you get started.<\/p>\n

Adding to that, protein is essential. \u201cMake sure you\u2019re consuming enough protein. Satiation and not over-sugaring yourself\u2014particularly on an empty stomach\u2014is key for hormone health,\u201d she underscores. Curious how much protein you need? Consult our nutritionist-backed guide<\/a>. For recipes, we have breakfast<\/a>, dinner<\/a>, snacks<\/a>, and even budget meals<\/a> in abundance.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Johnson concludes, it\u2019s about gaining a deeper understanding of your internal system. Determine what supports you best, and let the resulting benefits lead the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n