Shannon South, Root Cause Fertility Specialist
I've been where you are. That's why I do this work.
I’m Shannon South, a root cause fertility specialist and functional nutritionist based in Brooklyn. I spent four years trying to get pregnant – seeing doctors, trying treatments, and being told everything looked normal. I knew that wasn’t the whole story.
At 42, I got pregnant naturally. My son was born when I was 43. That experience is the reason I do this work, and why I believe “unexplained” almost never means what they tell you it means – using a functional medicine approach to find what’s actually in the way.
I work with couples navigating complex and unexplained infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and failed IVF. Usually these are couples who have already been through the conventional system and come away with more questions than answers.
As a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I assess the body as a whole interconnected system. Rather than focusing on hormones alone, I investigate the full biological picture for both partners:
- Mitochondrial function and cellular energy production
- Methylation and epigenetic health
- Toxic burden including heavy metals and mold exposure
- Hidden infections and chronic pathogens
- Immune dysregulation and inflammatory load
- Hormone patterns via DUTCH testing
- Organic acids and nutrient status
- Bioenergetic terrain mapping via Qest4 scanning
- Male-factor contributors including sperm DNA fragmentation
What I Specialize In
My Story
I became a fertility specialist because I spent four years not knowing why I couldn’t get pregnant.
I tried everything I could think of. Acupuncture, fertility yoga, cutting out alcohol and coffee. I changed my diet. I did all the things you’re supposed to do. My OBGYN told me IVF was my only real option, and for a while I believed her.
What finally changed things was finding a holistic practitioner who looked at both me and my partner properly. Not just hormones. Everything. We got a personalized protocol that addressed the actual root causes. For the first time I felt like someone was actually investigating, not just managing.
I felt so much better on that protocol. More energy, more clarity. I even picked up skateboarding during that time because I needed something that had nothing to do with fertility and everything to do with feeling like myself again.
After several failed attempts with a fertility clinic, I got pregnant naturally at 42. My son was born when I was 43. It was the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me.
That was ten years ago. I have spent every year since learning everything I can about why fertility fails and what actually helps. I take courses, read research, and follow the practitioners who are doing the most interesting work in functional medicine and reproductive health. The education never ends and honestly I love that.
At 42, I conceived naturally. My pregnancy was healthy and my birth was drug-free. It wasn’t luck. It was biology addressed properly.
Why I Do This Work
After my son was born I immersed myself in studying everything I hadn’t known during my own journey. Nutrition, biochemistry, immune function, toxins, chronic infections, mitochondrial health. The deeper systems that conventional fertility care rarely investigates but that matter enormously.
I kept seeing the same pattern in the research and in the clients I began working with: infertility that looks “unexplained” almost always has a reason. It’s usually overlooked inflammation, toxic burden, immune imbalance, methylation dysfunction, or pathogens that nobody looked for. The investigation just hasn’t gone deep enough yet.
I want to be the practitioner couples come to when all else has failed. Not because I have a magic answer, but because I will not stop looking until we find one.
Every case is different and every investigation is thorough. And every couple I work with deserves a deep investigation.
Ready to find out what's actually going on?
If you’ve been told everything looks normal and something still feels off, that feeling is worth investigating. Apply for a Root Cause Fertility Consultation and let’s figure out what your body actually needs.
Credentials
