Infertility And Me: Stories of Infertility Survivors, IVF, & TTC

Have you been struggling with the grief of infertility and or loss? Licensed psychotherapist, Karen Balumbu-Bennett, joins us. She'll be answering community questions regarding infertility and grief. Grief rears its ugly throughout many phases of family-building, especially if you've suffered miscarriage or pregnancy loss. Healing from grief is not linear. It requires us to consistently wo...

If this podcast has helped you, please consider leaving a 5 star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify. Ratings & Reviews help increase the show's visibility so that we can reach more friends who may be silently suffering too! Are you considering, in the midst of, or have completed embryo adoption? Like most of us, our guest April thought that TTC and having kids would be easier,...

If this podcast has helped you, please consider leaving a 5 star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify. Ratings & Reviews help increase the show's visibility so that we can reach more friends who may be silently suffering too! Have you ever thought, well maybe my body just isn’t made to procreate? In this episode, Danielle Faith shares why it took years to get a full spectrum diag...

For Fertility Friend Check-Ins, we have an update from CJ, who suffered terrible bedside care. To recap, the Doctor who performed her previous IUI maneuvered her cervix in a way during the procedure that caused extreme pain. We also hear from a friend dealing with both unexplained & secondary infertility. She is at the end of TTC for a sibling and is feeling intense jealousy for people getting...

Have there been times when TTC that you’ve felt like a failure? Our guest Mallory states, she often felt like a failure after her diagnosis, 8 unsuccessful IUI's, 3 rounds of IVF, and one miscarriage. Mallory describes herself as an optimist, which helped her move through the sadness, anger, and grief of infertility. It wasn't until she had a candid conversation with her Pastor about her u...

For Fertility Friend Check-In we celebrate with Kris who recently had her first egg retrieval. Another friend who we'll call A, is dealing with anger towards God, and the loss of her embryo after the first BETA came back positive. Lastly, our friend CJ suffered unethical care during an IUI procedure, which resulted in her having to report the performing Doctor. From there we move into the topi...

Things move so quickly during fertility treatments that we often don’t realize just how much we’ve been through. After years of infertility, diminished ovarian reserve-also known as low AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone), and poor egg quality, Amanda Monelli and her spouse welcomed their first child. Amanda went through 3 unsuccessful IUI cycles, an IVF cycle with no chromosomally normal embryos, a succ...

You guuuyyyys, in this solo episode, I share why I decided to stop trying to conceive a sibling. New community friends have asked will I return for fertility treatments and how I mustered the strength to walk away from IVF for good! I also share that there will be more solo episodes and introduce a new segment called  Fertility Friend Check-in.  Fertility Friend check-in  is a new segment for you...

You guuuuuys, how are you holding up? Where are you in your family-building efforts? What are your thoughts about the overturning of Roe V Wade? In this community check-in episode, I ask for YOUR input about the show and community we've built. How can I be of better support through the podcast? Guests you'd like to have featured, diagnoses, or topics you'd like me or guests who've...

Has IAM podcast helped you? If so, p lease leave a 5 star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Does the thought of walking away childless frighten you? Do you avoid the discussion of being childless with your spouse? Our guest, Lana Manikowski, shares her story about how she spent a lifetime dreaming of motherhood. After seven years of various fertil...

Our guest Kyla Saphir knows firsthand the struggles of living with fibroids and secondary infertility. In this episode, Kyla shares how at the age of 37, after almost two years of TTC for a sibling, and getting the news from an HSG test that she also had a blocked fallopian tube, she and her husband made the hard decision to stop trying. Kyla states: We live in the South and it seems like everyone...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Do you feel a sense of connection to motherhood/fatherhood so deeply that it drives and fuels you forward through your fertility struggles? Our Guest Akitra Johnson-Olatuyi describes her desire for motherhood as a deep knowing that her baby is still waitin...

Have you been keeping up with the possible overturning of Roe v Wade, are you concerned with how this will affect your current or future reproductive care? In this episode, Monique chats with Dr. Tara Bradner - IVF mom, Nurse Practitioner, Doctorate degree holder, and women's health advocate. Tara was diagnosed initially with unexplained infertility, but after switching to a new reproductive e...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Have you ever said to yourself, I'll be happy when...and proceed to create the ideal outcome of the situation? In this episode Monique chats with Kristin Dillensnyder. After 4 unsuccessful IUI'S, she and her husband knew they needed more help and w...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Have you experienced medical red flags? Our guest, Carrie Severson went through a whirlwind TTC as a single woman. She shares the difficult decision to be a single mom by choice and the process of two rounds of IVF, both of which were unsuccessful. Carrie...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! What do you do when your Faith in God's plan for your life is disrupted by infertility? In this episode, Dr. Anna Locke shares how she bridged the gap between Religious beliefs and getting help through reproductive assistance. Dr. Anna and her husband...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Are you still in the thick of TTC (trying to conceive), have you and your partner/spouse been diagnosed with dual factor infertility? Our guest Stephanie Reyes and her husband have. Stephanie will begin IVF after 2 years of infertility this Spring season....

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! How many losses have you experienced, when did you decide to get help with your grief and trauma? Our guest  Lindsay Blair went through 7 years of unexplained infertility, 5 miscarriages, 2 ectopic pregnancies, which resulted in both of her fallopian tubes...

Have you or your spouse been diagnosed with male factor infertility? In this episode with Dr. Barrett Cowan and Dr. Natan Bar-Chama you will gain a better understanding of male infertility, causes, and what options are available to diagnose and treat it.  Dr. Cowan, is co-founder of Posterity Health . A comprehensive digital male fertility management platform designed to help assess, evaluate, and...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Have you felt shame about your infertility diagnosis? Our guest Ceire Nevins did and she hid her fertility treatments from family, friends, and co-workers. Shame, unconscious, and limiting beliefs of what family-building should look like kept her from bein...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Would you TTC for an extended time, say, more than five years and would you continue into your 40's? In this episode Mandy Refvik shares her thoughts, feelings, and craziest TTC (trying to conceive) moments over the course of ten years. Mandy ran into...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Infertility And Me is currently featured in Apple iTunes, New & Noteworthy. eeeeeek! Thank you for your support over the last 2 1/2 years, friends!! Have you ever felt silenced by the pain of Infertility or loss? Today is a rewind from episode 33 with...

Has I.A.M podcast helped you? If so, please leave a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple iTunes or Spotify—just one sentence helps tremendously! Would you choose a surrogate from a different race? Have you considered using a surrogate or currently researching the path of surrogacy? In this episode, Kimberly Gowdy shares the steps she and her husband took to find their perfect surrogate. Kimberly al...

Dr. Matrika Johnson answers community questions regarding fertility care. If you follow  @infertilityandmepodcast  on Instagram, you may remember seeing a Q & A in Stories, in preparation for today's episode with Dr. Johnson.  00:00:00- intro 00:04:06- Meet Dr. Johnson Community Questions: 00:07:52- What are two or three main things that patients should look for when choosing a Reproductiv...

Have your or someone you know experienced devastating pregnancy loss or miscarriage? Are you taking the necessary steps to healing?  Narelle's TTC story began when her husbands vasectomy reversal operation was unsuccessful. They started IVF and became pregnant after five cycles. Unfortunately, they suffered great loss at 23w gestation. Their baby boy River, did not survive. This episode is for...