Infertility And Me: Stories of Infertility Survivors, IVF, & TTC

Have you been stuck on where to start with your nutritional lifestyle changes? Are you overwhelmed by the amount of information on the internet and social media? If so, you're in the right place. Today's episode features September Burton. September is a survivor of recurrent miscarriage. She started her career as a U.S. Navy personal chef to 4-star Admirals, stationed in Sicily, Italy. She...

Have you been searching for ways to connect with fellow (in)fertility friends and get more involved in the community? The Cade Foundation offers a wide range of virtual events to support and help you feel connected during your journey. Today's BONUS episode 11, we feature Dr. Camille Hammond, the founder of the Tinina Q. Cade Foundation. A strong resource and support system for (in)fertility s...

If you Friend have an auto-immune disease or maybe someone you, this episode is for you! Imagine being a survivor of two autoimmune diseases-fibromyalgia and lupus. Surprisingly, Ashley's autoimmune diseases are not the culprits for her infertile diagnosis; PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is to blame, as well as male-factor. Ashley's TTC journey to motherhood began at a time when she ha...

"You're watching everything from the sidelines and you want to do so much, but there's only so much that you can do." Josephine is an expert in meditation and in overcoming adversity to find joy. She is also the creator and host of the podcast, "Responding to Life: Living Reflectively Through a Journey of Health, Fertility, and Parenthood." On the show, Josephine highlights...

Maiclaire became pregnant naturally really quickly, but miscarried at nearly 12 weeks. She and her husband then started fertility treatments with IUI. She got pregnant with the second Intrauterine insemination, but sadly miscarried at 9 weeks. Maiclaire completed 5 rounds of IVF. Her first 3 cycles did not produce any blastocysts, so she has never been able to do an embryo transfer. Recently, 3 of...

Our guest Eli Weinstein and his wife knew from the very beginning that their path to parenthood may be a bit of a struggle, due to her diagnosis of PCOS before they were married. After three years they began to try naturally for a baby, but after some time they began to wonder if there may be a bigger issue brewing with her PCOS. Much to Eli's surprise, it was both he and his wife that contrib...

Imagine being told during your second cycle of IVF treatment that you have OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome) and it is because your patient records were accidentally switched with another patients. That happened to today's guest Monica Bivas. Monica and her husband were eager to conceive their first child together, but she was diagnosed through the HSG (Hysterosalpingography ) with blo...

"A part of me felt like I needed to suffer through this. If I wasn't suffering, I wasn't going to get the result that I wanted." After ten long months of trying to conceive naturally, Millie and her husband Rowan decided it was time to see a reproductive endocrinologist about their fertility. It was determined after four different consultations, that they had male factor infertilit...

"You do all of the work, but you're standing on the sideline and you don't even get the chance to play." A quote from today's guest Jasmine Katatikarn, in relation to her first IVF treatment cycle, and unsuccessful embryo development after egg retrieval. Jasmine is a computer animation artist living in New York City, who suffered nearly six years of TTC. She was given the cripp...

After five years of marriage, it was discovered that TJ's husband was the factor in their inability to conceive. Frustrated at the lack of support and resources available for those struggling with male infertility, TJ used her journal as an outlet to deal with the pain. After several years of coping with their infertility through her journal, she finally mustered the courage to share her story...

Fertility Rally creators Ali Prato and Blair Nelson—discuss the importance of community, inclusiveness, diversity whether its race or LGBTQ+, and why they went into business together. We have a little girl chat and Ali shares with us some funny times with her IVF miracle four year old boy. Blair also gives us an update on her current fertility cycle and the purpose of an ERA (endometrial receptivi...

"Infertility robs you of the optimism that things will improve." If you haven't listened to "It's Okay To Be Angry," go back to episode 5, and have a listen to Amanda's first episode with us. Amanda so graciously agreed to come back on the show and give us an update of her fertility story over the last seven months. We also speak about the pressure we put upon ourselves...

Have you been slacking lately in the healthy lifestyle department? We hear it time and time again, eat well, exercise, and get 7-8 hours of sleep. Optimizing your whole self while TTC is so important to prepare for natural pregnancy, IUI, or IVF. Dr. Mary from Brown & Brown Chiropractic, shares actionable steps and tools that we can use right now to take back control and regain our emotional,...

"It's okay, if you want to stop, stop. If you want to put your health first, that's okay."-Katy Seppi, the creator of "Chasing Creation" childless not by choice community, joins us. Katy and her partner endured four years of infertility before deciding to live childfree. After many years of life-altering pain, Katy finally received a diagnosis of stage four endometriosis an...

Imagine being over the age of 35 and finding yourself tangled in the webs of miscarriage, and infertility. Natalie takes us on her journey through an unexpected miscarriage and four years of infertility before giving birth to her youngest daughter. After one unsuccessful cycle of IVF treatment, Natalie began to seek naturopathic methods to increase her fertility. From acupuncture to yoni steams, N...

Have you experienced pregnancy loss, stillbirth, or abortion? If so, episode 34 is for you. We are joined by coach Kimberlee Klein to discuss the ways you can heal spiritually from said losses. Healing from grief has no linear path, which is why Kimberlee reminds us of the importance to acknowledge and celebrate the life of the baby/babies. Whether your loss was years ago or recently, total healin...

Have you ever felt silenced by the pain of Infertility and or loss? Our Nigerian friend Olajumoke Iba, tells us about her journey through five medicated clomid cycles, one missed-miscarriage, three IVF treatment cycles, and the difficult decision to be childless not by choice. Infertility often deceives us into believing that our story and journey isn't needed or that no one wants to hear it....

Joanna Pendergrass joins us to discuss her battle with multiple losses due to chromosomal egg abnormalities and unsuccessful IVF cycles. Joanna's journey is unlike many we hear about in the fertility community because she once held uncertainty about motherhood and how that would affect the career she worked arduously to achieve. We explore the expectations society forces onto women to bare chi...

Do you ever feel like you're stuck, desperately seeking answers to your emotional, mental, and physical well-being during family building? Pradeepa is a fertility coach who survived 12 years of infertility, loss, and repeated unsuccessful cycles. Navigating the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual trauma of infertility is no easy task. We're often left searching for the many question...

Are you a couple or single individual considering adoption to grow your family? If so, you'll want to tune-in to today's episode with Sharika Kellogg. Sharika shares with us her unique journey to motherhood as a single woman. She is an angel mom who has suffered multiple miscarriages, IUI's, and IVF treatment cycles- totaling more than one-hundred thousand dollars. She is a single moth...

LaKeisha has over 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing and developed her toxic-free, plant derived, US based product line as a sufferer of sensitive skin due to PCOS, and after her battle with infertility.  LaKeisha reminds us in this episode, why it is so important to live toxic-free during and after fertility treatments. After conceiving her eldest child via IUI, Lakeisha and h...

This episode is for the Moms who have suffered through losing a baby from miscarriage, stillbirth, or any type of child-loss. You are not alone Momma and Jasmine has so graciously offered her story through two losses, one from miscarriage at 11wks, and stillbirth at 19w 5d gestation while in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Through her journey, Jasmine created the JMason Foundation meant t...

Attorney Jackson shares his wealth of knowledge and expertise for families considering surrogacy, egg, and sperm donation. Attorney Jackson has witnessed first-hand the selfless impact surrogacy and egg donation has on families by his mother and also his wife. When preparing for the process, it is important to note that there are three pillars: 1.) The legalities 2.) Agency 3.) The medical end/cli...

"Every cycle is not the same, won't be the same, and to be able to try again is a humbling privilege." Nikita shares the success of conceiving her and her wife's son through IUI, after being diagnosed with irreversible tubal blockages, and battling with insurance companies as a same-sex couple. When she decided it was time to try again for a sibling, Nikita's journey would prov...

It's National Infertility Awareness Week, so I am bringing you a special BONUS episode with Margaret Rogers. Margaret is the Marketing Director at Natalist. Natalist creates "Fertility and pregnancy products; inspired by beauty and backed by science." Finding the right products that you can trust while trying to conceive and during infertility treatments, can be overwhelming. Natalist&...