OVA's Power Couple Series: Danie & Ed
Read time: 2 mins
Danielle, co-founder of OVA, and her husband Ed know first-hand how long, emotional, and unpredictable a fertility journey can be. After nearly a decade of unexplained setbacks, treatments, and quiet hope, they finally welcomed two amazing children - and turned their experience into OVA.
Danie and Ed share their story and the small, real-life changes that helped when things felt out of their hands.
Can you introduce yourselves?
Danie: I’m Danie, one of the co-founders of OVA.
Ed: And I’m her husband Ed, the power behind the throne.
Danie: He thinks he’s quite hilarious.
Can you tell us a bit about your fertility (or reproductive health) journey?
Danie: Of course! Our fertility journey wasn’t one dramatic moment, it was a slow, quiet unease that built over years. I came off contraception after 13 years and like so many of us do, we just expected things to fall into place. We really gave it our all: months of tracking, timing, trying - and still nothing. Every test said we were ‘normal’ or ‘unexplained’, but I still wasn’t pregnant. We moved through Clomid, Letrozole, IUIs, then onto ICSI and frozen embryo transfers - nearly a decade of hope then setbacks, and so unanswered questions. Despite it all, we kept the faith that our children were waiting in the wings for us, and that one day, we would get to meet them.
Our fertility journey has taken up a huge part of our lives and yes, the toll has been hard both physically and emotionally on the both of us, but here’s the thing - we wouldn’t have it any other way, not only did we become a tighter team together but we eventually got our dream of two incredible children.
And, it also played a huge part in building OVA - to make sure no one feels alone in this space and feels confidently armed with the right products, tools and support to navigate whatever route their journey may take.
Ed: My main memories of our fertility journey looking back on it was really an overwhelming sense of helplessness. We had been in to have various tests done and whilst both of us had underlying concerns, these were minor and so ultimately our diagnosis was ‘unexplained’. At that point you don’t really know where to turn next. We went down the approach of slowly dialling up the treatments we had, in hindsight this was a mistake as it unnecessarily put a lot of pressure on Danie’s body but it also cost a lot of money. If we had our time again, I think we would just go straight to IVF.
What lifestyle changes have you made that you feel *actually* made a difference?
Danie: Honestly, I stopped saying yes to things that drained me, got serious about sleep, made acupuncture and gentle movement part of my non-negotiables and really dialled into my nutrition. I focused on eating to support my cycle, prioritised good-quality supplements (hello OVA), and made acupuncture part of my non-negotiables. And just did things that made me feel happier and I could find those moments of joy when things were a little rough. It wasn’t about overhauling my life overnight - just small steps that made me feel more in control of the uncontrollables and gave my body (and my mind) what I felt it actually needed.
Ed: Just a few things really, all to do with diet. The most notable was cutting out alcohol but that was made easier as the period we were doing IVF happened to coincide with the COVID lockdowns. Other than that, I focused on the male super foods; lots of pomegranate (an anti-oxidant), lots of brazil nuts (high in selenium), and broccoli (high in folate).
Danie: And it really paid off - his sperm counts were night and day once he stuck with it consistently.
Ed: So in the end, she got more sleep and acupuncture. I got a fridge full of nuts and greens. Worth it, though, we’d do it all again in a heartbeat… just maybe with slightly less broccoli!
