Infertile AF: Infertility and Modern Family Building through ART

Ali's guest today, Pam Schumann, is CEO of SMP Pharmacy, a groundbreaking fertility and specialty pharmacy that is dedicated to empowering patients and clinics throughout their fertility journeys. Pam talks about how she joined the fertility community from a professional perspective before enduring her own infertility struggles. She talks about her low ovarian reserve, going through IVF more t...

Alex Kornswiet is an infertility advocate, a mental health advocate, a miscarriage survivor and a surrogacy warrior, and today, she and Ali are getting into all of her family building deets. Alex talks about marrying her high school sweetheart, finding out they had infertility issues, doing a fresh IVF transfer with her first son (it worked!), and why, at one point, she felt like a  "fraud&#34...

Today, Ali is talking to her friend and one of the Fertility Rally founding members, Michelle G. Michelle is a full spectrum doula, a yoga teacher, a reiki healer, an IVF warrior, a pregnancy loss survivor and a foster parent, and on this episode, they're getting into all of it. What Michelle and her husband, Lucas, thought was a simple Male factor diagnosis turned into multiple surgeries, IVF...

It's been two and a half years, and lot has happened since Ali last talked to her friend, Victoria Nino @expectinganything. Today, Victoria brings us up to speed on where she is now (spoiler alert: 8 and a half months pregnant!). She talks about what she did when her doctor said, "Don't get your hopes up, Victoria, because it's not that great of an embryo," another transfer tha...

Jenna Cuccionilli has one of the biggest hearts Ali has encountered in this community, and today, Jenna and Ali are talking about Jenna's 5-plus year infertility journey, including being diagnosed with PCOS at the age of 16, five miscarriages, one stillbirth and how now, they have five embryos left. Jenna gets into the details of her first miscarriage, one week before she and her husband Pete&...

Ali's guest today is the incredible interior designer, photographer, mom of two, and wife of magician and "Magic for Humans" star Justin Willman. Jill shares all the details of her family building journey, from being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 18 to her first miscarriage, to finally getting pregnant with her son -- although it was far from an easy pregnancy. Jill talk...

Ali's guest today is Kristin Marsoli, a loyal Target shopper, an aspiring novelist, and a cancer survivor. Knowing she couldn’t carry a baby because of her medical history, when Kristin and her husband were ready to start their family, they turned to surrogacy. After a long journey with many bumps in the road, they finally welcomed their beautiful son into the world in 2014. Kristin then turne...

Today's guest, Deja Riley Izydorczyk, is a a fitness instructor and an ambassador for Lululemon, she was named one of Forbes' Black Women Changing the Face of Fitness. She is also a huge influencer on social, with almost 100,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 105,000 followers on TikTok, where she and her husband, Jimmy, have been chronicling their fertility journey. Deja tells Ali all...

Today, Ali is talking to warrior mom Erin Bulcao about her real and raw fertility journey. Erin talks about how not ovulating led her to see a fertility specialist when she was in her late 20s, and why they recommended she start with IUIs. She talks about getting pregnant with triplets via IUI, and why it was recommended by her medical team, for the health of both Erin and her babies, that they re...

Today, Ali is talking to Monica Bivas, IVF warrior and advocate, mindset and holistic fertility coach, and author of "The IVF Planner." Monica talks about her stage-four endometriosis, finding out that IVF was her only option to have healthy pregnancies, the several IVF cycles she went through, and how IVF can be considered taboo in the Latina community. She talks about having her now-17 y...

April Christina is one of the biggest endometriosis advocates in this community and today, Ali hears April's entire fertility journey, from when she first got her period at the age of 9 to where she is today -- still in the midst of it all. April talks about her very early menstruation; her endometriosis diagnosis in her early 20s (and how when she was diagnosed, she had never even heard of en...

Today, Ali is talking to her incredible PIBAC (Partner in Biz and Claw), Fertility Rally co-founder Blair Nelson, aka @fabivfmama. Blair was on Ali's 8th episode three and a half years ago, and sooooo much has happened since then: Blair did many more rounds of IVF, Blair had her baby girl, Hadley, Blair and Ali launched Fertility Rally in 2020, Blair got pregnant again in the fall of 2022, and...

On this episode, Ali talks to Sarah, a U.S. citizen who's been living --and going through secondary infertility -- in Shanghai, China. Sarah emailed Ali, " I have always had good access to mental health support and friends in the US, but the past two years I have been living in Shanghai, China. The border remains closed due to covid so we have not been able to travel out at all. I recently...

Today Ali is talking to a very dear friend of hers, Payal @payalponders, who she met when Payal joined the Fertility Rally family. Payal is mama to Zion Edward, who was with us earthside from  7/4-7/6/22 --and she's going to tell us all about her sweet son, as well as her entire fertility journey. Payal talks about meeting her husband Ron, why she had a feeling she might need fertility treatme...

Today Ali is talking to a dear friend of hers who she met through Instagram. Her name is Jess Veit,and she is an IVF Warrior and advocate, a bright light in the IG community, and mama to her rainbow baby, whose nickname is Sunny. You probably know her from IG @onesunnystory. On this episode, Jess tells Ali how she got to where she is today, including 9 years of trying,  𝟼 𝙸𝚄𝙸s, 𝟼 𝙵𝙴𝚃s (frozen embr...

Ali is talking to best friends this week! Today, her guests are  Ronit and Vida, who met while working together at Nike in Los Angeles, who both come from health and fitness backgrounds, and who both found themselves going through infertility at the same time.  Today, they both share their infertility journeys, including how they each had a miscarriage one week apart, how they supported each other...

Get ready for a very entertaining conversation! Today Ali is talking to Lauren Massarella, a wellness and lifestyle blogger from Chicago, who co-hosts "Cozy Conversations," a bi-weekly podcast about everyday life experiences, pop culture, current events, and everything in between, with her sister, Michelle. Ali and Lauren dive deep into Lauren's infertility struggles, starting with &#3...

Today, Ali is talking to Keegan Prue, whose book, "The IVF Dad," chronicles he and his wife's  struggle with infertility, going through two rounds of IVF, two miscarriages, and three embryo transfers before the birth of their first daughter--and then even more before having their next baby girl, who was just born less than a month ago. Keegan talks about how to be a supportive partner...

Lisa White is an author, an IVF mentor and an occupational therapist, and today, she's going to talk about riding the emotional rollercoaster of the infertility and IVF journey, and how it can feel incredibly overwhelming, lonely and painful. Lisa asks, "How do you stay hopeful and not lose yourself or your dreams for your family in this process?"  Lisa tells Ali about being told they...

Reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Lora Shahine is on the show today! You guys probably know her from TikTok, IG, and also her passion for educating and supporting the fertility community. Today, she's talking about all the things, including her own infertility journey--and why so many doctors (one in four actually!) face infertility. Lora talks about the importance of social media in her medica...

Today, Ali is talking to Samantha Bloom, who, in March 2020, learned she had the  BRCA gene variant after taking a 23andMe test. Samantha, a mother of twins, was trying to have a third child. And it was mid-Covid, so once she was finally able to see her OBGYN a few months later and confirm she was BRCA positive, her gynecologist advised that she stop trying to get pregnant and instead consider sta...

Priscilla Brown is an incredible mama of four kiddos named  Liam, Bear, Ziggy and Olive. But it took Priscilla a long time to become a mom of four, and included a lot of heartbreak, and many twists and turns along the way. Today, Priscilla tells Ali all the things, including being diagnosed with unexplained infertility; doing five back-to-back IUIs; giving up big important life events because of t...

Today, Ali is talking to "Tales of the Walking Dead" actress and "Egg Party" director Kersti Bryan about her new short film, "Egg Party." Egg Party (click link below to watch it!)  tackles the incredibly tough topic of pregnancy and infertility—and so much more.  The movie is about six women in their late-thirties gathering together for a not-so-sober afternoon to laugh and...

Today, Ali is talking to Cristy Murray, an Infertility warrior who has a passion for helping women who struggle with infertility. As a veteran and women's health provider, Cristy has made it her mission to give back and empower women to be their own advocates for their health. Cristy talks about ways to boost fertility, toxin-Free living, and of course, her own experience while going through t...

Today, Ali is talking to Stephanie Levich, founder of Family Match, a fertility consulting firm for A-List celebrities, CEOs, and prominent sports and political figures who require extra support and privacy as they navigate their family-building journeys. Stephanie talks about growing up as one of three adopted children, how and when her parents told her she was adopted, and how she has worked in...