Infertility Crossroads

I’ve been seeing in Facebook groups recently comments about how people who are choosing to use donor eggs, donor sperm, or donor embryo don’t want to tell their kids they are donor conceived. To be very clear - I 1000% believe that not telling your children or future children they are donor conceived is not an option and if you feel that way then donor conception is not for you. What I do talk abo...

March is Surrogacy Awareness Month and what better way to kick off the month is this episode all about surrogacy! Today I'm joined by surrogacy expert and mom via surrogacy, Jessie Jaskulsky. Jessie experienced the devastating loss of her son at 22 weeks pregnant which led to secondary infertility and learning about her inability to carry a pregnancy to term. She chose surrogacy as the route t...

It's been all over the news and spreading through the infertility community online. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos have the same rights as children. In the episode today, I'm getting pretty raw and personal about my feelings on this topic. I am sharing my frustrations and speaking out about my opinions and what I think. I'm also sharing what we can do about this. It can f...

Today I'm sharing 4 things you should consider or keep in mind when you are thinking about or planning to switch fertility clinics. There are a lot of reasons to switch: maybe it's not feeling quite right, maybe you want a second opinion, maybe you are moving and need to find a new provider. Regardless, keep these 4 tips in mind. Remember: I'm not a doctor or a medical professional, th...

How many times has someone said "let me know how I can help!" and you've been left thinking..."thanks but I have NO idea how you can help". Today on the show I'm giving you 9 responses you can say when people ask how they can help you or how they can support you while you are trying to build your family. Some of these ideas may resonate with you. Some may not. What I wa...

I didn’t realize until recently how important knowing where you came from was. I’m not donor conceived. I have had the privilege to grow up and be around my family. I had heard from donor conceived people how important that was or how jarring of an experience it was to not be around people genetically connected to them but I had never really connected the dots. I’ll never know what it really feels...

Today we're exploring the power of advocacy within the infertility community. In the politically charged U.S., I won't dive into politics, but let's discuss supporting bills and laws for positive change. After overcoming my fears, participating in Resolve's Advocacy Day in May 2023 empowered me, showcasing that anyone can make a difference with zero experience. Infertility often st...

This week we are diving into a topic we can all relate to - feeling left out. I share some personal stories of feeling left out and how those feelings get exacerbated while we are struggling to build our families. I also share with you why we say “my feelings are hurt” and what is actually happening in our brains when we are left out of events, groups, or life events - like everyone around us havi...

Today, we're diving into a topic many of you have messaged me about—secondary infertility and the decision to pursue donor conception for a second child. It's a journey filled with complexities and considerations. In this episode, we explore key questions: How does bonding differ with a donor-conceived child? Will your second pregnancy be different? How to talk to your biological child abo...

Today I’m joined by Miraya Gran, a fertility warrior and patient advocate who has taken her fertility story and brought it to the Minnesota State Capitol! Miraya and her husband have gone through multiple treatments and eventually had their daughter but not without a lot of heartache and costs. Miraya shares her story, her passion for helping others as they navigate their infertility journey and h...

It’s been a while since I published a podcast and today I’m revealing to you why! In May 2023, I realized that I was heading down a path of severe burnout. Life was a lot and I needed to make a hard decision - to step aside from some of the things I loved to find space to rest, relax and heal. It is hard to recognize burnout in ourselves or to admit that we need a break. Especially from fertility...

Today we dive into the fascinating world of egg quality as it relates to your fertility and you’ll walk away with five things you can start doing today to improve your egg quality. Our egg counts are going down by the month, even from the moment we are born. For some of us we have more eggs than we could ever imagine needing or using. For others, like myself, we don’t have enough eggs and the ones...

Today on the show we are talking about genetic grief as it relates to egg donation. At the core of who we are, when we are not able to conceive a child using our own DNA or our partner’s DNA there is a deep sense of loss. One that can only be described as grief. But it can be so hard to manage when going through infertility because a lot of time that grief is not validated by those around us becau...

So often we think that self advocacy is finding a different doctor or speaking up when we have questions and those are true but there is SO much more to being able to advocate for yourself during your infertility journey. On today’s episode I’m joined by Lucy Lines, a clinically experienced embryologist and award winning IVF coach. Through her 17 years working in the fertility industry and her pas...

If you’ve been trying for a baby and you feel like life has thrown some tough punches at you, you are not alone. Infertility is heartbreaking and frustrating especially when you keep trying with no success. Through each of these failures, each doctor’s appointment, and as time ticks on it can feel like you are losing control. Control over what is happening to your body, how you spend your time, ho...

Today is part 2 of my two part series with Jennifer Robertson. If you missed part 1, make sure to go back and check it out 39. Jennifer’s Story: Two Paths to Parenthood Through Surrogacy and Pregnancy. In our conversation on this episode we are switching gears away from Jennifer’s personal story and talking about the work Jennifer does with her coaching clients, specifically around pregnancy after...

In this heartfelt episode Meta delves into Jennifer Robertson's inspiring journey of resilience and determination in her quest to build her dream family. Just when she least expected it, Jennifer found herself facing the challenging reality of infertility, longing to experience the joy of carrying a pregnancy while simultaneously exploring the possibilities of surrogacy. Jennifer openly shares...

Season 2 of Infertility Crossroads is coming next week and I'm so excited to start sharing new episodes with you! Join me as I continue to bring you information about infertility, alternative paths to becoming a parent, help with your mindset and more.

You don’t have to jump when there are stairs. It sounds so simple yet so often we are standing on the edge of a cliff and we think and believe our only option is to jump. I made the mistake of jumping off the cliff of my fertility journey. But you don’t have to. Join me in this short episode where I share my cliff, share what I think the stairs look like and challenge you to find your own set of s...

I recently did a poll on my instagram and I wanted to share the results with you.  I've personally been feeling tired.  Burnt out.  And I asked if others were feeling the same thing.  I got an overwhelming response of YES! You are feeling burnt out just like me.  It got me thinking...when we are feeling tired, burned out, or are forced to take a pause on our fertility journey it can feel so fr...

To me, infertility = failure. Failed cycles, failed blood tests, failed pregnancy tests. But what if we switched our mindset from failure to possibility?? What would happen? On the podcast today, I’m joined by Kristin Dillensynder, a certified mindset coach who helps high achieving women thrive while on the rollercoaster of infertility. Kristin breaks why your mindset matters, helps you redefine f...

Failed IVF cycle after failed IVF cycle is the absolute worst for so many reasons. For me, it was because I thought IVF with my own eggs was going to work, no questions asked. The reality is that IVF doesn't always work and in fact, only works about 45% of the time for people under the age of 35. On the podcast today I'm talking about 5 reasons why your IVF cycles with your own gametes (eg...

Infertility can be incredibly challenging on your relationships - especially your relationship with your partner. Today I'm sharing six tips for building better connection with your partner during infertility. Infertility is typically one of the first really hard things couples go through. Up until now, it's probably been really good! And now, not only are you struggling to build a family...

Did you know that your brain is wired to fill in the gaps when you don't know things? Did you also know that the fear of the unknown is known as the biggest fear of all? Infertility is full of unknowns. Things we don't know. Things we can't control. And because our brains want to fill in the gaps we are wired to worry and spiral and try to fill in what is missing. On today's episod...

Hayley is an amazing human who is not only donor conceived but is also a mom to donor conceived twins.  In today's episode, Hayley and I talk about her story of learning she was donor conceived, how her own experiences have shaped the way her and her wife approach parenting their children, and our shared thoughts on how, as recipient parents, we have to do our own work in navigating our feelin...