Fertility Forward

Struggling with infertility, miscarriage, or loss is incredibly difficult, and feeling isolated can often compound those difficult feelings. While it’s so important to have a support system, it can be hard to reach out to those closest to you, especially if they have not dealt with the same issues. Elyse Ash, our guest today, and founder of Fruitful Fertility is working to create connections to he...

Despite being responsible for nearly half of all cases of couples' fertility struggles, men are largely left out of the equation. There are a plethora of resources for women, from educational material to psychological support, yet very few of the same support systems exist for men. Along with this, going to a male fertility clinic can be a vulnerable experience, leaving men feeling exposed. O...

Dr. Bojana Jankovic Weatherly is an award-winning physician, and double board-certified in internal and integrative medicine. After completing an internal medicine residency, she did a fellowship in integrative medicine, trained in functional medicine, nutrition, and mindfulness. Her approach is rooted in evidence-based medicine that is personalized to each individual she works with. She partners...

Being a fertility nurse is not an easy job. You often have to see patients go through great difficulties while remaining a positive, upbeat presence in their lives. The upside, however, is that you get to build great relationships with them, and you have the chance to pass on some of the best news they could ever receive. Eliza Ferstendig, a fertility nurse at RMA New York, is an extraordinary per...

Margaret Daneyko currently serves as our Director of Nursing and Clinical Services at RMA of New York. With her 25 years of experience in women’s health, she is an expert voice when it comes to fertility-related operations and care. In this episode, we look behind the scenes at a fertility clinic, discussing empathic burnout and other challenges fertility nurses face; improving patient care; and t...

Teresa Cacchione is a board-certified genetic counselor at RMA of New York who guides patients on several genetics-related concerns such as cytogenetic anomalies, carrier screening, family history concerns, and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) of embryos, including single-gene disorders, aneuploidy, and structural rearrangements. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the topic of genetic...

Infertility is related to the body, which means that it deals with one of our most basic human needs. As long as you are struggling with it emotionally, it will have knock-on effects and hamper your ability to fully work on other parts of your life. Joanna Flemons, our guest today, is a seasoned Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has been in the field since 1998. She runs Highlands Ranch Counseli...

Joining us today is Lori Metz, a licensed clinical social worker, and certified case manager who is also board certified in tele-mental-health and the host of her own podcast. Lori has adopted a positive psychology approach that includes mindfulness and cognitive behavioral health in partnering with her patients in an optimistic, goal-oriented manner, and embraces the idea that each of us has a un...

Eastern medicine offers many unique diagnostic techniques and treatments to patients embarking on their fertility journey. We were fortunate to speak about some of these on the show today with Miriam Pineles who is a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine that specializes in women’s health concerns and perinatal health in particular. Miriam is the founder of Conscious Health and Wellnes...

The links between stress and fertility that seem to be so commonly believed in are very misleading. Dr. Georgia Witkin is the Director of Psychological Services at RMA and has written thirteen books about stress and she joins us on the show today to remind us that infertility causes stress, not the other way around! We get to hear from Dr. Witkin about her journey in psychology and how she made he...

Today on the show we welcome Dalia Sabari. Dalia is a certified yoga instructor with a specialty in women’s health. Dalia discovered yoga in 2011 when having difficulty conceiving. Since then, yoga has become her passion and a tool to help keep her clients healthy, mindful and strong. When teaching, Dalia focuses on a deep mind-body connection as well as a physical and mental well being. Her inten...

Today on the show we welcome Betsy Campbell, who has spent her career working for non-profit organizations and her free time volunteering for worthy causes. Her experience in public relations, fundraising, and volunteer management span a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, social service, philanthropy, politics, and organizations such as Mount Sinai Medical Centre, American Hospital Assoc...

Infertility struggles are incredibly challenging, both mentally and physically. So, imagine dealing with these hurdles alongside a life-altering diagnosis. This is the position our guest today, Amy Switzer, was in a few years ago. Amy knew that she had to do IVF as it was difficult for her to get pregnant naturally. On her journey to conceive, after genetic testing, she was diagnosed with BRCA1, t...

Today we have the great pleasure of welcoming Dr. Matthew Lederman to the show! Dr. Lederman is an incredible doctor who specializes in reproductive endocrinology and BRCA. We get to hear about his journey in medicine, his family history in the field of fertility and his early interest in following this path. He tells us about his favorite parts of his job, some of the more difficult tasks he has...

Today on the show we welcome Dr. Catherine Birndorf, Co-Founder and Medical Director of The Motherhood Center of New York. Dr. Catherine is also co-author of the books, What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood and The Nine Rooms of Happiness , and associate professor of psychiatry at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine. She’s been featured...

Today on the show we welcome Barb Collura. Barb serves as the President and CEO of RESOLVE, The National Infertility Association. Barb is a nationally recognized expert on infertility and the family-building journey, with a special emphasis on the personal experience of those struggling to build their family. She has worked for the World Health Organization on infertility definitions, and clinical...

After a brutal, four-year struggle with secondary infertility, Brooklyn-based journalist and mom-of-two, Ali Prato, launched Infertile AF. Infertile AF is an unfiltered podcast about all the different paths toward building modern families and having babies, or not. So far, the podcast has received over 55,000 downloads in over 50 countries and Ali’s goal is to reach even more people worldwide to l...

Today on the Fertility Forward Podcast, we introduce your hosts Rena and Dara, and they share some background about their own struggles with infertility. Rena Gower is a licensed social worker here at RMA. She is currently a state advocate for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association where she lobbies for healthcare reform and improved insurance coverage for those needing infertility treatmen...

Today on the show, we welcome Dr. Alan Copperman. Dr. Copperman serves as our Medical Director here at RMA of New York. He is also the Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, as well as the Vice-Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is an experienced and respected clinician, has published num...