Sorry for the radio silence but life has taken an unexpected turn and we're ready to share some big news! This episode comes with a trigger warning. Please only listen if you are feeling in a good place and able to listen to positive news. Although this is the last podcast episode you can still keep up with our adventures on Youtube. If you enjoy our videos please subscribe to our channel 'Romana and Ewan'. You can watch all the vlogs here Thanks for all of your support over the years. We are et...
May 26, 2024•43 min
It's been a while. We thought it was about time that we returned for an update. We've been quiet on socials and felt we owed it to you guys to let you know where we're at with things. Check out our Vlogs on Youtube. They are released once a week on a Friday. If you enjoy them please subscribe to our channel 'Romana and Ewan'. You can watch all the vlogs here If you'd like to buy us a coffee please visit www.buymeacoffee.com/romanaandewan You can also donate directly through Paypal by clicking he...
Feb 17, 2023•49 min
We've missed you! Thanks for tuning back in for our update. The last few months have been busy so it was great to finally get back to the podcast. In this episode we chat about how our most recent transfer went in Bulgaria. This was our 7th transfer and our 8th embryo. Thanks for sticking with us! We really appreciate it! Check out our Vlogs on Youtube. They are released weekly every Friday. If you enjoy them please subscribe to our channel 'Romana and Ewan'. You can watch all the vlogs here Tha...
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 10 min
It's the final episode of Season 3 and in this weeks bumper episode we answer some listener questions. Romana also chats to fellow IVF warrior Saira (@ivfmyeggshatesperm). Saira has been a great support buddy (something everyone going through IVF needs) over the last 18 months so it seemed fitting to chat to her for this final episode. Plus, Saira's an avid researcher and after being on a mega long journey herself, her IVF knowledge is on point. We chat about lots of things including chemical pr...
Jul 16, 2021•1 hr 51 min
We're going solo this week as we reflect on the past 5 years. It's not been an easy few years so we thought it was time to take stock and ponder on some of the highs and lows. We ask each other some thought provoking questions and as always, we answer with complete honesty and hope in doing so it is helpful to you, the listener. Check out our Vlogs on Youtube. They are released weekly every Friday. If you enjoy them please subscribe to the channel Romana and Ewan. You can watch all the vlogs her...
Jul 02, 2021•1 hr 1 min
After an epic four and a half months away we're back on home turf. Today we discuss how our follow up went at our clinic in Bulgaria and what the plan is moving forward. Romana also chats to Anita Beckwith (@anitab_rd and @fertility.hormone.dietitian). Anita is a UK Clinical Lead Dietitian specialising in diabetes and fertility, practising in both the NHS and her own private practice. Anita qualified as a dietitian over two decades ago, of which 17 of those years she has specialised in diabetes,...
Jun 18, 2021•1 hr
We're back in Sofia and back at the clinic. This time for a Hysteroscopy. Find out why Romana really enjoyed it!! Ewan also chats to Tony aka @thehopefulfather. Tony is a big advocate for raising awareness around male infertility and in this chat he opens up about his own personal journey. It's an extremely moving but also funny discussion. The Wank Room being one such topic covered!! You can find Tony's vlog at www.infertilitysucks.net To support Tony's Everest Base Camp trek for Fertility Netw...
Jun 04, 2021•1 hr 15 min
3 back to back rounds of IVF is bound to have an impact and in this episode we discuss how it has affected us both individually. Romana also chats to Tracy Weiss, Executive Director of The Chick Mission @chickmission. Tracy is a cancer survivor who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at age 30. She definitely knew what the cervix did, no matter what anyone tells you. Tracy was pretty annoyed when her insurance company denied her claim to preserve her fertility under it being ‘elective’ -- as if h...
May 21, 2021•58 min
This is it! The results of our 7th and final IVF round are in! Do we have any normal embryos? Tune in to find out. Romana also chats to Hayley @hayleybanxy Hayley has been trying to conceive for a few years and has had multiple rounds of IVF. She shares everything she has learnt so far. Like us, she is a big believer in advocating for yourself. We discuss PCOS, Adenomyosis, travelling abroad for IVF, coping with failed IVF cycles and loads more. Here's a link to the podcast Ewan mentioned https:...
May 07, 2021•1 hr 7 min
This week we update you on our 7th and FINAL round of IVF. Romana also chats to Ravid Israel (@embie2baby) founder of Embie, the first app exclusively designed for women going through fertility treatments. Ravid’s fertility journey began in 2012 with a Cervical Cancer diagnosis, followed by severe endometriosis, multiple fibroids, and an MTHFR mutation. This prompted a move abroad for more affordable reproductive care which was followed by six full IVF cycles, 4 transfers and a lot of experiment...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 32 min
The results are in from IVF cycle #6 We discuss the implications of our Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening and the Natural Killer Cell Test. Romana also chats to Sylvia Kang. Sylvia is the co-founder and CEO of Mira www.miracare.com Mira (@mirafertility) is the first FDA and CE registered comprehensive women’s health monitoring platform with 99% of accuracy in clinical trials. Mira allows users to see the numeric fertility hormone concentrations and uses AI learning to provide personalised insig...
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Lots has been happening in Bulgaria since the last episode. As always we share the highs and the lows! Romana also chats to author of new graphic novel Catalogue Baby: A Memoir of (in)fertility, Myriam Steinberg. In her past life, Myriam was a visual artist, and event organizer. For 11 years, she was the brains and brawn of the In the House Festival, which brought live performances of all kinds into people’s living rooms and backyards throughout her hometown of Vancouver, Canada. Myriam was nomi...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 28 min
Thanks for listening! If you're new to the podcast we highly recommend listening from the very beginning. We share our story from episode 1 right up until present day and there is ALOT! We also chat to lots of really brilliant guests who also share their stories and offer information and support to anyone going through Infertility. In this episode, the start of series 3, we share what's been happening for us in Bulgaria. There's been highs and there's been lows and lots in between. What is IVF r...
Mar 12, 2021•1 hr 3 min
It's Christmas and it's also the last episode of this Series. Christmas and the holiday season can be a tough time for many of us going through infertility so we hope this episode helps (even just a little bit). We bring you messages of hope and love from past guests, share some Christmas presents with each other and as always keep you up to date on what is happening in our lives. We're delighted to have Molly Nichols www.mollynichols.com on the podcast this week. Molly is a mama of four, busine...
Dec 25, 2020•1 hr 43 min
Ever feel sluggish and generally yucky at the end of an IVF/ICSI cycle? That's because our bodies are having to deal with lots of extra hormones. In this episode Coral Dabarera Edelson, MS, RD shares some tips for detoxing our bodies after fertility treatment. Coral is a registered dietitian nutritionist and nutrition coach. Specializing in women’s health and fertility, and practicing from a holistic and functional perspective, Coral aims to meet the unique needs of Black women in her virtual pr...
Dec 11, 2020•51 min
Today we talk Clomid and TSH Levels. Ewan chats to Jasmine Katatikarn (@jazzkatat). Jasmine is a fertility warrior who struggled to have a child for 6 years. After multiple IUIs and her 2nd IVF, she was told that she had a less than 1% chance of having a baby and to stop trying. However, Jasmine didn’t give up. Using her background as an artist, she applied a strategy, through her FREEdom method to overcome her roadblocks and design a life that gave control of her fertility journey and life movi...
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 16 min
It's all about upleveling your fertility tracking this week as we chat all things BBT (Basal Body Temperature), CM (Cervical Mucus) and Hormones. Chantelle Meikle is a registered Naturopath and Fertility Educator who loves to help women and couples conceive healthy and happy babies. Chantelle lives with her husband and 2 very spoilt cats in West Auckland, New Zealand. Connect with Chantelle on Instagram @myfertilitynz or visit her website https://www.fertilitykeys.com/ (for some reason at the st...
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 12 min
The nights are drawing in. It's getting dark. So grab a cuppa, get cosy and listen to this weeks chat with Zoe Jones (@zoe_joneshft). Zoe is a holistic therapist and specialises in helping women with fertility challenges. After enduring 8 years of fertility treatment, which finally resulted in her son Lloyd, Zoe has the experience to empathise, support and inspire other women to succeed in their own fertility journey. Zoe has recently left the Army (after 25 years) and has trained in Hypnotherap...
Oct 30, 2020•1 hr 13 min
Ewan is back and this week we reflect on how we're feeling after being sucker punched by our last round of IVF! The winners of the soap competition are announced and Ewan chats to Eli Weinstein, LMSW (@elivation_therapist) Eli is a Social Work therapist who has worked in a psych hospital, intense outpatient clinic and currently works in a community clinic in Queens, NY. Previously he worked in NY and West Coast NCSY (Youth Organization) for over 7 years. Eli has created ELIvation ( www.elivation...
Oct 16, 2020•1 hr 5 min
We got some really awful news today and although it was a tough episode to record we felt it was important to share. On a lighter note Romana chats to the wonderful Helen @at_the_fold. Helen is a ray of sunshine and discusses yoga for fertility alongside her passion for essential oils. She also shares some beautiful self care tips to help ease the disappointment of cycle day one!
Oct 02, 2020•55 min
This episode Romana chats to the brilliant Dr Trolice www.myfertilitycare.com Dr Mark Trolice is the director of Fertility Care: The IVF Centre in Orlando, Florida and is Board Certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. As well as being a leader in his field he has also experienced the trauma of infertility on a personal level and shares his story on this episode. We also discuss the developments in fertility treatments over the years and how things may progress in future years whi...
Sep 18, 2020•1 hr 18 min
We're relaxing in the Scottish highlands this week and taking a break from all things TTC. We highly recommend a change of scenery and some fresh mountain air when the grind of infertility starts to get you down. It's definitely helping us! Andrea Clarke (www.rootmedicine.co.uk) returns to the podcast this week to chat all things Vaginal Steaming! This ancient practice can benefit women in all stages of their life through the menstruating years all the way to menopause and beyond. In particular ...
Sep 04, 2020•57 min
This week we reflect on what we've been through over the last few weeks and look forward to the future. Ewan also chats to Russell Davis https://thefertilemind.net Russell Davis is a Fertility Coach and Cognitive Hypnotherapist, Author and Speaker with personal experience of infertility from pretty much every angle (resulting in the birth of his son against all odds). Russell removes psychological blocks to getting pregnant and has helped hundreds of couples all over the world fast-track their j...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 7 min
This week we discuss our PGS results. Did our 3 embryos make the grade? Romana also chats to Genevieve Uys from Traveling Donors www.travelingdonors.com about what it's like to be an egg donor, IVF and how her company helps clients to find the perfect egg donor. Here's the link to Romana's interview with Tony from The Broonfords https://youtu.be/whGVZAUHGlk And don't forget to purchase your face coverings from www.screenandshield.co.uk/trying and enter Trying10 at check out for 10% off....
Aug 07, 2020•1 hr
This week Romana chats to the wonderful Jessica Bourke aka @thefertilitydetective. With over fourteen years of experience in the field of reproductive health, Jessica has gained a reputation for helping women to successfully conceive where everything else has failed. Jessica provides a unique, individualised service that is founded on her in-depth knowledge of all aspects of male and female fertility. Based on the latest scientific research, she uses a combination of acupuncture and nutritional ...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 15 min
Welcome to our warts and all account of IVF Round 3. We've been through 2 fresh rounds of IVF and 5 transfers in total. Will it be third time lucky?! In this episode we take you through our third fresh IVF round from start to finish with a few dramas along the way! And don't forget, visit www.screenandshield.co.uk/trying and enter code TRYING10 at checkout for 10% off all face masks.
Jul 10, 2020•1 hr 3 min
This week we chat about the endless cycle of hope and disappointment whilst battling infertility. We also mention the 'P' word and discuss its role when trying to conceive. Romana talks to Emma from www.yourivfabroad.co.uk all about travelling abroad for IVF and also about what led her and her husband Adam to start their company. Emma also discusses egg and sperm donation and embryo adoption. Your IVF Abroad offers practical and emotional support to help match you to the right world class clinic...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 3 min
This week we bring you fabulous Melanie Brown ( www.melaniebrownnutrition.com ) Mel has specialised in nutrition for fertility, IVF and pregnancy for 20 years. Having experienced miscarriage, secondary infertility and premature menopause she has a great empathy with her clients. She has a special interest in male fertility; her MSc research thesis was on the effects of male obesity on IVF outcome. She loves food and cooking and strongly believes that good nutrition positively affects eggs, sperm...
Jun 12, 2020•1 hr 17 min
Welcome back to Season 2! Thanks for listening and continuing to support the podcast. We've really missed you and we can't wait to bring you lots of great content over the next few months. The podcast will be coming to you once a fortnight from now on but the format won't be changing and we'll continue to bring you real life stories and lots of useful advice and information. This week we talk about staying sane during lockdown and the highs and lows of TTC whilst trying to survive a global pande...
May 29, 2020•1 hr 2 min
We wanted to bring out this Update episode to let you know what's been happening with us over the last few months. Despite the title it's not all been doom and gloom and we have managed to still find the happy moments in amongst the hard times. This episode contains very honest chat about pregnancy and about loss so please only listen if you think that's something you can deal with right now. We won't be offended if you decide to skip it or come back to it another time. This is a standalone epis...
Mar 22, 2020•1 hr 7 min
