40 and Infertile - A Fertility Podcast for the 40 and older

This is a long overdue conversation about GLP-1 Agonists and their utility during infertility treatment. What are things we should be thinking about, and should this be something that we consider if we need to lose weight to optimize our fertility? Stephanie Fein, MD of Weight Loss For Fertility and one of my favorite people I've met, joins us today to explain how these medications work, their...

This episode is about IVF Abroad in Mexico As you all know by now, I’m traveling to Canada for my next IVF cycle.  I’ve definitely encountered some challenges and differences, but now that I know what to expect, I’ve settled in a bit.  But, today is not about Canada.  I’ll create that episode once I’m done with my cycle.  Today is about IVF in Mexico and this is from a perspective of one of our Wa...

This episode is all about how changing the egg donor and recipient parent experience.  Lauren, co-founder of CoFertility is gracious enough to spend time sharing her own experience with needing an egg donor and how that drove her to change the experiences.    We explore the transformative impact of CoFertility's approach, which emphasizes community, support, and transparency throughout the egg...

Today is all about sperm and sperm banks.  We speak with Alyse of Seattle Sperm Bank to talk about sperm donation and sperm banks.  Kristin from @justbekristin had such a great experience, I thought I would find out what makes them different for anyone who needs a sperm donor to demystify everything involved with the process.     If you’re looking for Kristin’s episode, you can find her story and...

Dr. Rahi Victory is BAAAAAACK!  He’s back and this time we’re talking about transfer protocols.  If you have not heard his episode on stimulation protocols, you need this if you’re doing IVF   This episode is all about transfer protocols.  We talk about general protocols and protocols for special conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis,  infection, uterine anomalies, chronically thin lining.  ...

We speak with Dr. Mathew Leonardi, MD about general information on endometriosis and it’s impact on fertility.  I’ve been looking to discuss this topic for quite some time, particularly after I was diagnosed.  Like so many it was initially dismissed by my gynecologist.  With encouragement and a hysteroscopy that did not go as planned, I was finally about to be evaluated for endometriosis.  In toda...

Today's conversation is a thoughtful and informative conversation with Dr. Lauren Fogel Mersy and it surrounds intimacy.  Dr. Mersy is a psychologist and a sex therapist.  We talk about what intimacy really means and how we deal with that in the world of infertility. I first had this thought when Monica of waitingforbabywunder posted about how no one talks about what infertility does to intima...

The second episode of challenging topics happens today.  Today is the controversial topic of birth control. The reason I want to discuss birth control is because it is controversial. There have recently been a lot of discussion about the evils of birth control.  So, today, I wanted to really tackle this topic.   So, I got help to set the record straight because I’m certainly not qualified to have...

Today's conversation is a very difficult one.  We discuss the difficulty with needing to make a decision around termination for medical reasons ro TFMR.  We speak with the the recurrent loss psychologist, Nic about what this experience was like for her.  She offers such a kind and supportive space for those who have experienced recurrent loss and those having to make the difficult decision.  ...

This is episode 46 and today’s episode is with Doctor Dina who is a hospitalist and struggling with her fertility in her 40s.  Today’s episode (though this was recorded about a year ago) is all about the roller coaster ride of IVF and the multiple cycles it took for her to get her story.  I’ve had several physicians on the show and sometimes we think that it’s easier for them and it really isn’t. ...

Well, I’ve been missing for a couple of months and I’m so sorry about that.  As you can tell, I am under the weather currently and this gave me the opportunity to focus on the podcast episodes, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise.  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I am SOOOO grateful to all of the guests, listeners, and supporters who have been so patient with me as I navigate being...

Today, we have Dr. Flora Sinha @drflorasinha.  She is an internal medicine physician, mindset coach, and fellow infertility warrior. Dr. Flora Sinha shares with us today about her own infertility struggles and how that struggle led to her finding mindset work and how that can help her with her infertility and other life challenges.   She struggles with secondary infertility and we talk about that...

This is Episode 43!  Today, we have Becky Kearns @definingmum and founder of Paths to Parenthub I think what you’ll notice right away is the gentle soothing manner Becky has about her.  She tells her story about premature ovarian failure in her late 20s and the path she took to egg donation.  She is incredibly vulnerable today in sharing her fears, her thoughts, the struggle that she had during th...

Today, Kristin @justbekristin a SMBC who decided to embark on motherhood in her mid to late 30s is here to share her story TRIGGER WARNING: There is a baby cooing in the background and you may hear baby sounds and crying, so if this is difficult to hear, this may not be the right episode for you to listen to.   Today, we talk about how she made this decision, infertility, advantages, disadvantages...

Today is about the duality of being BOTH donor conceived AND being a recipient parent. There are challenges to navigate in both stories and Hayley is here today to share with us her story of both being donor conceived and being a recipient parent. She has an especially unique perspective because of this. We talk about how she came to know that she was donor conceived and some of her insecurities w...

Today is a complex conversation about the decision to parent at 50 as an independent parent. If you're trying to decide if single parenthood is for you or if you're wondering what some questions might come up about parenting at 40+, this is a great episode for you to explore! -------------------------------------------------------- To round out your IVF survival guide, I would recommend th...

Today, I’m honored to have my friend Nicole a fellow IVF and endometriosis and adneomysosis warrior on the show to share her story.   On this episode, we’re talking about her 4 laparoscopies and what recovery was like for her since we don’t really talk about recovery often.  We share our 2 very different recoveries.   We also discuss infertility at 40, finding the right doctor, and pelvic floor ph...

On this episode, we tackle some topics, including ways to optimize your fertility naturally and the expectations for the first visit.  Not everyone jumps right into IVF.  We'll definitely talk about IVF vs. other options in another episode. In this episode, we cover expectations for the first visit, the questions you should have, and questions you can ask.   To round out your IVF survival guid...

Today, I’m honored to have my friend Dr. Annie Kuo, DO on the show to share her story. She shares how her work as Integrative Medicine was helpful for her during this experience and where it wasn’t helpful at all. Ultimately, this is new for all of us and she has a great perspective on this.  She also shares her experience with completing 20 IVF cycles, dealing with male factor infertility, endome...

Today, we’re discussing recurrent pregnancy loss with Dr. Jessica Ryneic who is a reproductive endocrinologist and we explore all the possible reasons that one might experience recurrent loss.  This is an insanely difficult topic to tackle and there’s so much frustration that can happen around not knowing why you can’t seem carry a pregnancy to term.  Though this may not give you all the answers y...

Today, we’re discussing international adoption with Karen Snow @infertilitylies.  She tells us about her own infertility story and shares her experience with international adoption.  It’s important to point out that her experience is from the perspective of being a Canadian citizen.  So, if you’re in the US, UK, or Australia where the majority of listeners are listening from, the process is a litt...

Today is all about male fertility and infertility with Dr. Samuel Ohlander. I got connected with him because of the amazing Alison Rodgers!  I interviewed her about sperm because she does her sperm Monday videos and I had not yet covered any male factor topics on the show and she graciously accepted my request to review male factor issues.  She casually mentioned Dr. Ohlander’s name duri...

Today is all about genetic testing - so, what I mean about all about genetic testing is we talk about inherited diseases, genetic differences and embryo testing. Admittedly, I’m clueless when it comes to this.  I don’t know anything about this which is why I have Meghan, who is a genetic counselor here to break everything down.  The most awesome thing about Meghan is that she makes these...

Today we have a very real discussion about multiple pregnancy losses, miscarriage, endometriosis, adenomyosis, infertility and finding our voices.  Meghan offers you her perspective and experience with infertility.  She is just so smart, kind and open with how she feels about her experience. I really hope you enjoy this episode.  Please drop that 5 star review and written review, it...

Today is another episode about surrogacy, but with a twist.  Today, we speak to both an intended parent and a surrogate to tackle all of your questions about surrogacy. We talk about the surrogate process from start to finish, but we also talk about some of the challenges of navigating this relationship.  There are a lot of intricacies in building this really special relationship and we...