Fertility Forward

What if the key to unlocking fertility lies in addressing both partners equally? Today on Fertility Forward, we’re joined by Deb Valentin , a renowned integrative acupuncturist, herbalist, fertility specialist, and founder of Sage Wellness in Manhattan, to shed light on the often-overlooked role of male fertility in family planning. With over 20 years of experience, Deb combines Eastern wisdom wit...

Joining us on the Fertility Forward podcast today is Trystan Reese , an award-winning author, facilitator, and longtime advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion with nearly two decades of experience in the trans community. Trystan is the author of the acclaimed memoir How We Do Family (2021) and co-author of the children’s book The Light of You , written with his partner, Biff Chaplow . A Lam...

The journey from trying to conceive, to pregnancy, to postpartum, can be the most beautiful time of someone’s life, but also the hardest, and that’s where finding the right support is key. Dr. Catherine Birndorf is a reproductive psychiatrist, the co-founder, CEO, and Medical Director of The Motherhood Center of New York , and the Founding Director of the Payne Whitney Women’s Programme at Weill C...

Today’s guest is leading the charge in raising awareness for perinatal mental health (PMH). On the Fertility Forward podcast today is Hamish Magoffin , Founder of the Pranaiya & Arthur Magoffin (PAM) Foundation . Hamish established the PAM Foundation in memory of his late wife, Pranaiya, and their son, Arthur. The foundation is dedicated to raising awareness, improving care, and supporting res...

Here on the Fertility Forward podcast, we often say that knowledge is power — and that you are your own best advocate! Joining Rena and Dara on the show today are two passionate guests who are dedicated to educating women about infertility, fertility benefits, healthcare coverage, and women’s health. We’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Taraneh Nazem , a double board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologis...

How can data enable doctors to best support their patients? Reproductive endocrinologist and associate research director Dr. Phillip Romanski joins us in conversation to discuss the annual Pacific Coast Reproductive Society Conference (PCRS), everything he learned, and what he spoke about. Tune in to hear Dr. Romanski’s perspective on mosaic embryo transfers before we dive into the complex world o...

When is the right time to have children? What if you put having a family on the back burner and then something tragic happens that prevents you from conceiving? Today, we are joined by cancer survivor and RMA client Alexandria Touris and her doctor, our very own Matthew Lederman , to discuss navigating fertility with cancer. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about how Alexandria’s life was turned upside...

An infertility journey comes with many stressors, from emotional and social challenges to family pressures and the unavoidable financial strain. Today’s guest, Jenn Leffell , co-founder and COO of the Stardust Fertility Foundation , is working to ease one major hurdle—cost. Stardust Fertility Foundation helps bring more Jewish babies into the world by alleviating the financial burden of fertility...

Every single fertility journey is unique and often, things don’t go as planned. Today on Fertility Forward, we are joined by ovarian cancer survivor and mom of twins, Jess Jata to hear all about her unexpected journey and how infertility actually saved her life. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about how Jessica’s IVF experience led her to being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and having an emergency hyst...

Could the secret to better fertility and lasting health be hidden in the tiny world of your gut microbiome? Cheryl Sew Hoy, CEO and Founder of Tiny Health , shares how her children’s health challenges inspired her mission to empower families through microbiome testing. Tiny Health offers the first-ever at-home gut and vaginal microbiome tests for mothers and babies during the crucial first 1,000 d...

During your infertility journey, it’s important to align yourself with an ethical physician who is going to be honest with you about when your plans need to pivot. Today, we’re joined by the wonderful Dr. Matthew Lederman and one of his former patients, Jaclyn Fieberg, to discuss her experience of family building. Tuning in, you’ll hear about Jaclyn's complex infertility story, what led her t...

As the year comes to an end, we’re reminded of the value of reflecting on the past, looking ahead, and setting meaningful goals. In this episode of the Fertility Forward podcast, join Rena and Dara as they take a moment to ground themselves and reflect on all that 2024 brought. They share their thoughts on words that have taken on new meaning, the transformative power of journaling, and the concep...

Are you overwhelmed by the whirlwind of emotions that come with infertility? Today, we welcome Sarah Geissah , a Columbia University School of Social Work graduate, to explore the transformative power of somatic therapy. Sarah explains how this bottom-up approach, focusing on bodily sensations before thoughts, can ground you during stressful times. She contrasts it with traditional cognitive-behav...

When access to fertility treatments is under threat, advocates like Dr. Kimberley Thornton step up to protect the rights of patients. In this episode of Fertility Forward, Dr. Thornton , a leading reproductive endocrinologist at RMA of New York, discusses her advocacy efforts with RESOLVE , a national infertility organization dedicated to improving access to fertility care. She shares RESOLVE’s wo...

Does ejaculatory abstinence really affect embryo mosaicism? Today on Fertility Forward, Fellow at RMA New York, Dr. Atoosa Ghofranian joins us to discuss her study titled: ‘Evaluating the Relationship Between Ejaculatory Abstinence and the Incidence of Embryo Mosaicism.’ Tuning in, you’ll hear about her inspiration behind the study, what mosaicism is, what her findings of the study were, why she t...

Joining Rena and Dara on the Fertility Forward podcast today is Dr. Erkan Buyuk , who is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist, infertility specialist, and OB-GYN practicing at RMA of New York’s Eastside office. He currently serves as the Director of the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) Fellowship Program and as an examiner for the REI Division of the American Board of Obs...

Knowledge is power and understanding the nuances of egg maturation is incredibly helpful in any fertility journey. Based on her abstract on Assessing the Reproductive Potential of Late Mature Oocytes and Egg-Freezing Cycles , Reproductive Endocrinologist Dr. Keri Bergin shares her knowledge on this episode. We begin with background information on the study: when you do egg freezing, you want to st...

Imagine a world where parents have the power to protect their future children from inherited genetic disorders before they even take their first breath. In this episode, we dive into the groundbreaking science of single euploid embryo transfers and Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) with returning guest, Dr. Rachel Danis , a reproductive endocrinologist, infertility specialist, and board-certif...

Each patient’s journey comes with a unique set of challenges – especially in the vast landscape of infertility treatments – and finding the right support is essential. Christina Honeysett , co-founder of The Revive Project at Well Collab , joins the podcast to share her personal journey through infertility treatments and surrogacy, which has fueled her dedication to supporting others facing simila...

So many women battle with having thin uterine linings when trying to conceive and today’s guest, Kristen Tomlan joins us today with her reproductive endocrinologist, Dr. Rachel Danis , to walk us through how she combatted this issue and brought two beautiful children into this world. In this conversation, we discuss what sparked Kristen’s courage to advocate for herself and seek a second opinion d...

Choosing the right fertility clinic can be overwhelming for prospective parents, with so many options and factors to consider. In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Eric Flisser , a leading reproductive endocrinologist at RMA of New York, to help you demystify the process of selecting a clinic. He provides clear, actionable guidance for navigating SART (Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology)...

In today's episode, we're thrilled to welcome Dr. Katie Lee , a multifaceted professional hailing from Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Lee is a dentist, speaker, author, and coach. She also consults for health technology companies and provides implant education for general dentists. Dr. Lee's passion for dentistry and empowering fellow practitioners stems from her firsthand experiences, parti...

We are excited to welcome Dr. Mary Sabo to the podcast. Dr. Sabo is a licensed and board-certified acupuncturist, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, and the founder of Lily +Horn , an integrative reproductive health clinic in New York City. Today, she joins us to discuss acupuncture and its role in the fertility journey. Dr. Sabo shares how she marries Eastern and Western approaches, the...

Most people know (or have at least heard) of gluten and understand that some may be affected by an intolerance of it, but many are unaware that this immune reaction to eating gluten is actually called celiac disease. Today on Fertility Forward, Jessica Lebovits, RD, CDN , joins us to discuss her journey with celiac disease and how the diagnosis ultimately affected her fertility. Jessica is now a c...

Medical professionals have a duty to educate their patients and help them learn how to advocate for themselves and a great platform to do so is social media! Today on Fertility Forward we welcome Dr. Lucky Sekhon back to discuss her experience as a reproductive health influencer. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about what inspired Dr. Sekhon to become an influencer , how she leverages pop culture to ed...