Infertile AF: Infertility and Modern Family Building through ART

Today, Ali talks to Michelle, who went through IVF in the late Nineties, about how much things have changed between now and then. At 31, Michelle was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure and told, "You might as well go straight to donor eggs." But she didn't--and today she shares everything she went through, including IUIs, frozen embryo transfers, "assisted hatching," a ps...

Today, Ali hears all about Rachel's long and winding road to motherhood, including her diagnosis of Asherman's Syndrome and the "missed miscarriage" she suffered at the beginning of her fertility journey. Rachel goes on to talk about all the things, including the frustrations of starting IVF in March 2020 right as the world was shutting down, a pregnancy that included placenta prev...

Nicola Salmon is a self-proclaimed " Fat-positive fertility coach, a Fat Activist and Author of, "The Person’s Guide to Getting Pregnant.” Today, she talks to Ali about her own personal fertility journey, from being diagnosed with PCOS at the age of 16 to facing lifelong discrimination from doctors because of her weight. She talks about having her two sons, the anxiety she faced during pre...

Becky Fawcett is a mama of two via adoption, an  #infertilitywarrior , a three time  #miscarriage  survivor and the founder of  @helpusadopt  — which gives grants to people who are building their families through adoption. It is an AMAZING org that you’ll hear about today, as Becky talks to Ali about her nine-year infertility journey -- and how she ultimately ended up with two amazing children thr...

On this episode, Ali is talking to Jon Waldman, author of the book, "Swimming Aimlessly," which takes a deep dive into the six year infertility journey he went through with his wife. "It was a space that needs to be filled," he says of writing the book. "There isn't a lot of talk about what men go through." Jon talks about mental health, inner turmoil, and going through...

Dacia James Lewis is a Hollywood choreographer and author of the book, "The Game of Life: Releasing the Weight When God Says Wait." Today, she tells Ali about her infertility journey and how, although she's been trying to have a baby for several years, it hasn't yet happened. Dacia says, "I want people to know that there's somebody still waiting with them. There's someb...

Today Ali is talking to her friend Elizabeth King, who she met through Instagram, and who is a Certified Fertility Health Coach, Birth & Bereavement Doula and New Parent Educator. Elizabeth tells Ali about her  journey to becoming a mother over 40 to her three littles. Along the way: Freezing her eggs when she was single in her 30s, meeting her husband at 39 and feeling ashamed, guilty and bro...

Today, Ali talks to cult-fave jewelry designer Stephanie Gottlieb @stephaniegottlieb about the journey to having her two babies, which includes marrying her high school sweetheart, her devastating chemical pregnancy, "skinny PCOS," and the pure rage she felt at certain points during her journey. She also talks about the importance of great bedside manner and a confident doctor, what happen...

Today, Ali talks to Nicole about dealing with cancer and infertility at the same time. Nicole explains how she went to a chiropractor who found a bump under her jawline--and just hours later, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, which meant doing chemo every other week for two months. At the same time, Nicole was battling PCOS and an infertility journey--all the while wondering how the c...

Today, Ali talks to Claire, who reached out via email, about her roller coaster infertility journey. Included: Four IUIs, IVf, how it all took a toll on her marriage (but also made them stronger), her fresh embryo transfer, her diagnosis of Stage 3 Endometriosis, how her bible study helped her get through it all, and what her husband said when her surgeon said to him, "Claire’s tubes look terr...

Sarah and Cody met freshman year in high school and have been dating since they were 14. Today, they're telling us all about their family building journey, including how it started taking over their day to day lives, the five medicated cycles they did, and how Sarah was shocked by how much she didn't know about her own body before going through infertility. They also talk about experiencin...

Today, Ali talks to Bailey, who is in her mid-20s, and who says, "I don't see a lot of women out there who are going through exactly what I'm going through." A few years ago, Bailey was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve and POI. And although she's not actively trying to conceive right now, she is going through fertility preservation. She and her husband want to have a f...

Today, Ali talks to Susan Ruediger,  Founder and CEO of The CMT Research Foundation, about her family building journey. Susan was  diagnosed with CMT, a genetic nerve disease that affects the nerves outside the spinal cord and brain, when she was 2 years old. Today she tells us about how this progressive disease affected her family building journey--and ultimately lead to her decision to do IVF. S...

Ali talks today to fellow journalist and Brookyn mom Amy Gallo Ryan about her long and painful infertility journey, which includes IUIs, feeling brushed off by doctors because she was "too young," even though she knew there was a problem; unexplained infertility; a chemical pregnancy; a "pseudo sac;" and an ectopic pregnancy. Amy talks about the isolation she felt when she was navi...

Today, Ali is talking to Melissa and Erik, aka on IG @livechildfree. Four years after making the decision to live childless, Melissa and Erik tell Ali all about the infertility journey that led to this point. Included: Lots of negative pregnancy tests, IVF, and an operation for Erik that had so many complications that he nearly lost his life and was in the hospital for 25 days. Melissa talks about...

On today’s episode, Ali talks to her friend Arden Cartrette, bereavement doula & trauma support specialist, about everything she went through to have her baby son, Cameron. Arden, who you might know on IG as @themiscarriagedoula, works with women to get through miscarriage and grief--and she goes there—and tells it like it is—like no other.  Arden talks about what she calls her “morbidly beaut...

TODAY, Ali is talking to Hannah Johnson, Chief Strategy Officer at VIOS and mom of two, about her "reverse infertility journey," starting with the two egg retrievals she did as a volunteer, in the name of science. Hannah also discusses her diagnosis of PCOS, her first devastating miscarriage, how she and her partner handled the trauma differently, the shame and guilt she felt, the lack of...

Today Ali is talking to her incredible friend Alex Fain, who is the guy behind @pursuingfatherhood on IG. Alex is one of the few very vocal guys in this infertility community; he's spoken at Fertility Rally Live, and he's been very open about he and his wife, Laurin's, infertility journey. Alex talks about his male factor infertility, how they used donor sperm to conceive their baby gi...

Today, Ali is talking to Lindsey Halliday, who is sharing her story about the infertility journey that she and her partner, Bea, who is transgender, are currently going through. They two have been married since 2010, and in 2016, Bea came out to Lindsey, as Lindsey says, "kind of out of nowhere." Ali and Lindsey talk about how they navigated this as a couple, and what one can do when a lov...

Today, Ali is talking to Elena Ridley, a proud Donor Egg Mama and one of the OG members of the infertility Instagram community. Elena tells Ali her entire story, starting with meeting her husband in high school, the horrible motorcycle accident that delayed their family building plans, and what went wrong when they did start to try. She also talks about IUIs, why she started posting about infertil...

Today, Ali is talking to a phenomenal woman who you will no doubt recognize from her various TV and movie roles. Her name is Missi Pyle, and she has appeared in such movies as Dodgeball, Galaxy Quest, Big Fish, 50 First Dates, Anchorman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Artist and Gone Girl. Her list of TV credits is absolutely insane too, including roles on Friends, Frasier, Two and a Half...

On this Season Three Finale, Ali talks to Venus Morris Griffin, mother of seven, six of whom were conceived via artificial insemination. Venus tells Ali all about her extraordinary life, which includes a lifetime of abuse, having to use ART because of her husband's male factor infertility, and how she was ostracized by the Catholic community when they found out her children were conceived via...

Today, Ali talks to her friend Heidy Best, a fellow Chicagoan and Fertility Rally member, about her four miscarriages, genetic testing, battling secondary infertility, the shitty sex education they both got as young women, and how Heidy and her husband dealt with loss after loss and loss after loss after loss. She tells Ali about having her amazing son, Oliver, the heartbreak of not being able to...

Dr. Sunita Osborn is a clinical psychologist and the author of two books on miscarriage, "The Miscarriage Map: What To Expect When You're No Longer Expecting," and "The Miscarriage Map Workbook." Today, she tells us about her infertility journey, including two miscarriages, being "such a dick" and aggressively playing baby games at her best friend's baby shower, how...

Amber Bailey is a brilliant environmental scientist, a dear friend of Ali's through Instagram and Fertility Rally, and an #infertilitywarrior. Today, the two talk about her long road to pregnancy, including how infertility really harmed her mental health, the importance of talking to your embryologist, the two PGS tested normal embryos that tragically died during thaw, her three back-to-back r...