Fruitful & Multiplying

Today we had the amazing opportunity to speak with Lauren Haring, a fertility coach with a fascinating story! It all began when Lauren attended nursing school and saw the tuition bills piling up. Lauren took matters into her own hands and decided to donate her eggs in order to make some money. That amazing experience changed her entire career trajectory. Lauren loved her experience as an egg donor...

Today’s amazing “Fruitful & Multiplying” guest, Brandi Rhodes, was the first African American woman to hold an executive position in a major North American wrestling promotion. On this week’s podcast, we discussed career, marriage, and the decision to build her family throughout it all. Brandi shares her early career achievements, her PCOS diagnosis, and her surprise to find out she was pregna...

We were thrilled to welcome Andrea Syrtash to today’s podcast episode. Andrea is a self-described “Ovary-achiever,” a pun that might be an understatement. She is a relationship expert, who has authored 4 successful dating and relationship books. She has also written relationship and lifestyle articles for Glamour, CNN, and Oprah.com, just to name a few. Andrea has used her expertise on screen, hos...

Today we had the amazing opportunity to speak with our incredible Mental Health Advisor, Dr. Lauren Berman. Dr. Berman is a clinical psychologist and the founder of the Fertility Psychology Center of Atlanta. She works with reproductive endocrinology practices as well as gestational surrogacy and egg donation programs, and is the past chair of the ASRM mental health professional group. Dr. Berman...

Today, we’re sharing a fascinating episode of Fruitful & Multiplying in which we interview Ellen Trachman, a lawyer specializing in assisted reproductive technology. Ellen’s recent Ted Talk titled “What Happens to People’s Eggs and Sperm After They Die?” has over 1 million viewers, and this is not even her most impressive accomplishment. She founded the Trachman Law Center which focuses on fam...

Today, we had the wonderful privilege of speaking with Frieda Hoffman, an incredible woman who wears MANY hats. Frieda has a background in social work and is a transformative coach and mediator, creative consultant, and entrepreneur. Her newest professional label is “author.” Last summer, Frieda published her first book, Carry Me: Stories of Pregnancy Loss , which features the stories of 19 women...

Today I had the coolest opportunity of interviewing Monica Padman and Liz Plank about their very recent egg freezing journey- which they recorded live on their brand new podcast, Race to 35. As background, Monica is the incredibly talented co-creator, co-host, co-producer, AND editor of one of today’s most popular podcasts, Armchair Expert. She is also an actress, most recently on Rutherford Falls...

This week we had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interview someone who I’ve (personally) been a fan of for quite some time: Sarah Herron! You might know Sarah from her role in Season 17 of the Bachelor (Sean Lowe!), in addition Seasons 1 and 3 of Bachelor in Paradise. Born with Amniotic Band Syndrome, Sarah was the first contestant in the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise with a physical disab...

In this week’s episode of Fruitful & Multiplying, we had the extraordinary opportunity to interview an psychology legend: Dr. Bill Petok. Dr. Petok has done incredible work to support the mental health of individuals in the infertility community. His private practice specializes in human sexuality, sexual disfunction, and infertility. Outside of his private practice he teaches psychology exter...

On this week's episode, we had the unique opportunity of speaking with the very first IVF baby… ever! Louise Joy Brown spoke about her family history, how she first learned about her conception, the major testing she underwent after she was first born (which showed that she was NOT different from other babies!), and the many questions she got growing up from her peers about her conception. She als...

Today we had a fascinating discussion with Dr. Michael Werner of MAZE Men’s Sexual Health, a board-certified urologist who received specialized fellowship training in male infertility and surgery and male sexual dysfunction at Boston University Medical Center. Dr. Werner lectures and writes extensively on these topics in medical journals and books, and his practice is limited to male infertility a...

Today we had the honor of learning from Dr. Alice Domar, a health psychologist who focuses on the application of mind/body medicine to women’s health issues. Dr. Domar serves as the Chief Compassion Officer at Inception Fertility, as a senior staff psychologist in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Beth Israel, and as an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive b...

We are beyond excited to have Stephanie Butnick on this week’s podcast! Stephanie is the deputy editor of Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly podcast, Unorthodox. She is also an author and has written for The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Stephanie shared her personal family-building journey with us, which started when she fi...

Today we had the incredible experience of meeting Wendy Kramer, the Co-Founder and Director of the Donor Sibling Registry. Wendy shares her personal journey to becoming a single parent to her donor-conceived son, Ryan, and why they decided to found the DSR together in 2000. Wendy explains how the Registry works (it’s so easy!) and the importance of ensuring that donors and parents have access to o...

As an infertility organization that supports individuals in every stage of their family-building journeys, we know the emotional roller coaster that potentially awaits. Therefore, we feel passionate about ensuring you, our community, have the information necessary to take control of your mental health. We’re often asked about medication while trying to conceive, during fertility treatments, pregna...

In honor of Father’s Day, we brought Moshe Bellows onto “Fruitful & Multiplying” to discuss his long and arduous journey to becoming a father. Professionally, Moshe is the managing principal of Maccabee Ventures. He is also a Yeshiva University faculty member and an attorney, bringing more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, strategic investor, and trusted advisor to early-stage te...

In this week’s episode, we dig deep with Jodi Rudoren, the Editor-in-Chief of The Forward and former reporter and editor at The New York Times. Jodi’s fertility journey included IUI, IVF, a traumatic medical termination, and a selective reduction. She brings us in to each of these experiences, who she consulted with, how it felt, and the emotions she had around them. Jodi is real (and witty!) and...

In today's episode, we get to meet Dr. Jared Robins, Reproductive Endocrinologist and the Executive Director of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).  We learn all about Dr. Robins, from his former career as a firefighter to his cutting-edge research that helps the field of Reproductive Endocrinology today.  No topic is off-limits, including the current events with the overturning...

In today's episode of Fruitful & Multiplying, we had the incredible opportunity of meeting actress and producer (and Oscar winner!) Jaime Ray Newman and learning more about her 10-year-long family-building journey. Jaime went to a Jewish Day School in Detroit for much of her life and later on, married Israeli writer and director Guy Nattiv. Together, they have 2 beautiful daughters, but their...

Today we had the incredible opportunity to talk with Dr. Deidre Gunn @deidregunnmd. Deidre is a Reproductive Endocrinologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), but she isn't just any Reproductive Endocrinologist.  She was crowned Miss America in 2005!  Deidre is the first openly gay Miss America and was bold and brave enough to share her personal experience going through IVF with he...

In this week's episode, we had the wonderful experience of hearing Aliza Konig's very challenging journey to parenthood including IVF, a kidney transplant, and ultimately the arrival of her miracle child, born via a gestational carrier. Aliza helps us understand what it's like to have a serious medical condition while simultaneously yearning to have a family, the guilt she felt around not being ab...

Today we were humbled to speak with the amazing Ariel Taylor of @carried.with.love. Ariel is a 5x gestational carrier, who did not experience infertility with her own family building, but has experienced many aspects of it while conceiving children for other families. Since 2015, she had 7 IVF transfers, a miscarriage, 2 chemical pregnancies, a failed transfer, and three beautiful baby boys. Befor...

In this week's episode, we hear from Sharon Feingold - a career voiceover actress and the voice of the "Plane Train” at one of the world’s busiest airports, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Sharon is also the voice of the ATL SkyTrain and the voice of the Incline Railway in Chattanooga, TN. Aside from voicing trains, she also provides voice imaging for many tv and radio stations a...

In this episode, we spoke with Amy Klein, author of “The Trying Game: Get Through Fertility Treatment and Get Pregnant without Losing Your Mind” which is based on her successful New York Times “Fertility Diary” column, in which she chronicled her journey to have a baby. Amy's journey involved nine rounds of IVF and four miscarriages, with ten doctors in three countries. Amy shares what it was like...

In this episode of Fruitful & Multiplying, we heard from the incredible Dr. Aimee Baron, pediatrician turned Executive Director of "I Was Supposed to Have a Baby.” Aimee shares the many lessons she learned from her experience with secondary infertility as a medical professional, the decision to leave her career as a pediatrician, and grief management through multiple second-trimester miscarria...