With a focus on her career and a determination to find the right "other half” for her child, today’s guest shares her journey to being a single parent by choice. Navigating the stress of her ticking biological clock, Gloria Soler went from realizing that the perfect parenting partner was not yet on her horizon to manifesting her own dreams of parenthood. Gloria went to find the doctor, the right sperm donor , the right treatment, and with a comprehensive employer-sponsored benefit, Gloria met th...
Apr 08, 2024•16 min•Season 7Ep. 180
The journey to ideal health is a constant battle. And when emergency surgery is needed, most may not think twice about the impact this will have on their future fertility. In today’s episode, we hear from Haley, who shares her family building journey. It’s one marked by multiple diagnoses, surgeries, and financial strain. Despite these setbacks, Haley was determined to become a parent. She advocated for herself and found a doctor that she could trust. She then learned her employer had a fertilit...
Mar 25, 2024•22 min•Season 7Ep. 179
The Fertility 101 Series, because there’s no shortage of daunting terms to keep your mind running, is a quick and dirty breakdown on a specific topic with insights from a fertility expert. This week's guest, Dr. Paul Dudley, Medical Director of Pinnacle Fertility Atlanta, dives into what tests are expected during an initial consultation, including the need for a blood test, semen analysis (if a partner is involved), and comprehensive assessments like an ovarian reserve evaluation. He also shares...
Mar 11, 2024•20 min•Season 7Ep. 178
Today’s episode delves into a supportive yet often overlooked contributor to the birthing process and much more: the role of doulas. Our guest, Latham Thomas, Founder of Mama Glow , elaborates on the diverse responsibilities of doulas, ranging from offering emotional and physical support in co-creating your birth plan, to advocating for individuals and facilitating communication between patients and healthcare providers. She explains what to keep in mind when finding the right doula for you. And...
Feb 26, 2024•24 min•Season 7Ep. 177
Times are changing, and more employers are choosing to prioritize fertility and family building benefits to attract and retain talent. Investing in employee benefits isn't just about cost, it’s about fostering a positive employee experience, driving engagement, and ultimately enhancing business performance. Today's guest, Purvi Tailor, Vice President of Human Resources at Ferring U.S., describes Ferring’s groundbreaking approach to employee benefits. With a focus on enhancing the family building...
Feb 12, 2024•14 min•Season 7Ep. 176
Struggling with disbelief, enduring back-to-back treatments, cancelled appointments, and an overwhelming emotional toll - these experiences are all part of Sonya Heer's journey to building a family. How did she get here? Sonya and her husband embarked on what most couples do: they got married, spent some quality time together, and then wanted to expand their family. But, after months of not having success, Sonya turned to a specialist where she was diagnosed with unexplained infertility . This l...
Jan 29, 2024•15 min•Season 7Ep. 175
Today’s guest spent a great deal of time juggling a lot of things many tasks on a tight schedule – she was busy creating a successful career for herself , as she was creating a successful career for herself as a senior producer at a media and entertainment companySenior Producer at Warner Brothers Discovery Sports. Lakia Holmes At 37 years old, Lakia Holmes realized one day that her to-do's at work may not be the only thing functioning on a tight schedule. Aware of her biological clock, Lakia lo...
Jan 16, 2024•18 min•Season 7Ep. 174
As the sixth season of This Is Infertility comes to a close, we wanted to thank all of our incredible listeners for keeping us part of your journey. This episode has been requested by many of our listeners, and certainly could not have been made without you. Today our host sits down with 30 of our amazing in-network reproductive endocrinologist to answer your burning questions. Wondering what these doctors are thinking along your journey? Tune in for their expert medical opinions, taste in waiti...
Dec 18, 2023•17 min•Season 6Ep. 173
Almost three years ago, we published a list of our Top 17 Favorite Fertility Podcasts. Topping that list was a podcast called, If These Ovaries Could Talk, a show centered around the lesbian experience of fertility and family building. Today’s guest, Jaimie Kelton, created this podcast after going through the journey to build her family, and struggling to find relatable content and education for queer identities. As her following has grown, so has her podcast. Jaimie explains how her show has no...
Dec 04, 2023•22 min•Season 6Ep. 172
Today’s guest walks us through her experience with the wrong physician, the wrong clinic, the wrong treatment, the wrong coverage, and the wrong...well, everything. Sherri Sawyerr describes her experience of trial and error in pursuing parenthood, and how taking the wrong path can often pave the way for the right one. During her journey with multiple physicians and IVF cycles , inadequate coverage , limited representation , and ultimately, the decision to use donor eggs : Sherri realized that it...
Nov 20, 2023•20 min•Season 6Ep. 171
This Veteran’s Day, we’re featuring Brian Tucker, a Veteran who is outspoken about his experience with male factor infertility. He is also an HR disruptor who knows that employers, are, in part, responsible for executing the American Dream. On the path to building a family, Brian and his wife, Jenny, found themselves at a financial crossroad. Their coverage for fertility treatment was miscommunicated, which left them confused about what they actually need to pay vs what was covered. Left complet...
Nov 06, 2023•22 min•Season 6Ep. 170
In the LGBTQIA+ community, options for family building are often limited – some by the ways employers choose to define infertility, and who can gain access to the benefit. Today’s guest, Stephanie Kalili, always knew she wanted to be a mom, but she didn’t know what this journey might look like for her. After meeting her wife and building a life together, Stephanie knew she was interested in conception through reciprocal IVF . The only problem was access and affordability. Luckily for Stephanie, ...
Oct 23, 2023•19 min•Season 6Ep. 169
The Fertility 101 Series, because there’s no shortage of daunting terms to keep your mind running, is a quick and dirty breakdown on a specific topic with insights from a fertility expert. In today’s episode, our host speaks with Dr. Anate Brauer, IVF Director at Shady Grove Fertility New York about all things egg freezing . She answers questions ranging from, “Why do people freeze their eggs?” to “How does it even work?” If you’re questioning whether you would like to freeze your eggs, or just ...
Oct 09, 2023•20 min•Season 6Ep. 168
People are increasingly having children later in life and for some, the decision is to have no children at all. Those who teeter between the options, unsure of their decision, know that one thing is true; time is ticking. Today’s guest, Shannon Fender, wasn’t always certain about parenthood, but at one point she realized she should put things in place in case that was something she wanted to pursue in the future. In this episode, Shannon dives into her experience with egg freezing and her gratit...
Sep 25, 2023•24 min•Season 6Ep. 167
September is Urology Awareness Month, which is quite necessary considering there are less than four hundred practicing Reproductive Urologists in the United States. This episode serves as an opportunity to understand the intense training it takes to become a Reproductive Urologist (RU), what role they play in men’s health and reproductive health, as well as how they work in conjunction with Reproductive Endocrinologists. In today’s episode, Progyny’s Chief Medical Officer and Reproductive Endocr...
Sep 11, 2023•17 min•Season 6Ep. 166
The Fertility 101 Series, because there’s no shortage of daunting terms to keep your mind running, is a quick and dirty breakdown on a specific topic with insights from a fertility expert. In today’s episode, Progyny’s Chief Medical Officer and Reproductive Endocrinologist, Dr. Janet Choi gives an overview about all the things you need to know about menopause. Menopause has long been an undiscussed and overlooked medical issue despite the fact that it will impact half of the population after the...
Aug 28, 2023•29 min•Season 6Ep. 165
Football is a waiting game. Fans all over America watch their teams anxiously for months with one common desire, a chance to win. Today’s guest, Patriots fan, Chris Callahan, knows this waiting game quite well and it may have even prepared him for the most worthwhile wait of his life – the journey to his son, Brady. In this episode, Chris dives into their dual diagnosis of endometriosis and male-factor infertility , and the obstacles he and his wife faced on their path to parenthood. While they ...
Aug 14, 2023•22 min•Season 6Ep. 164
In Episode 86: The Broken Brown Egg , we were introduced to Regina Townsend, the passionate voice behind The Broken Brown Egg; a blog, resource hub, community, and nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering, informing, and advocating for those who are questioning or dealing with infertility, with a particular focus on the Black experience. Today, we meet Sametra Thompson, an active-duty service member in the U.S Army. After receiving a diagnosis of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ( PCOS) and exper...
Jul 31, 2023•27 min•Season 6Ep. 163
The Fertility 101 Series, because there’s no shortage of daunting terms to keep your mind running, is a quick and dirty breakdown on a specific topic with insights from a fertility expert. In today’s episode, Dr. Callum Potts breaks down the unexplained infertility diagnosis. He walks us through the four factors of fertility, how they work collectively to create a natural pregnancy, and why these four factors could test normally without positive results. Dr. Pott’s discusses treatment options su...
Jul 17, 2023•19 min•Season 6Ep. 162
Jessica Hadwin, like many in this community, was given an incredibly frustrating diagnosis – unexplained infertility. Answers are typically comforting and for Jessica there were none until she experienced two devasting miscarriages. But how do we find the answers? For Jessica it was through additional research from the lab. After a few tests, it revealed chromosomal abnormalities to be the reason why her previous pregnancies ended in a loss. In this episode hear how Jessica navigated her family ...
Jul 03, 2023•31 min•Season 6Ep. 161
Today’s guest, Lizzy Colas, went into her marriage knowing she would likely need IVF to have a baby since her partner was diagnosed with male-factor infertility . What the couple didn’t know was how frustrating this process would be. Lizzy shares how they were able to navigate their journey, the support from their loved ones, and why they advocated for themselves throughout the entire process. Lizzy makes a few things clear – the impact of having access to a comprehensive family building benefit...
Jun 19, 2023•26 min•Season 6Ep. 160
June is Pride Month and with all the different paths to parenthood available for LGBTQ+ couples and individuals , it’s a great time to elevate these voices within the community. Today’s episode features Mia Cooley, a Black, queer, mother of three whose desire to connect with families that looked like hers, created an inclusive community called xHood. xHood is a safe space that supports Black and queer families through the journey of parenthood. It’s an area that’s often challenged by a lack of r...
Jun 05, 2023•18 min•Season 6Ep. 159
Seven years ago, Michelle Meyer and her husband, Alex, had no idea what was in store for them and their dreams of starting a family. Those years were filled with multiple diagnoses (from male factor infertility, Hashimoto thyroiditis, and endometriosis ), fertility treatments ( IUI , medicated cycles, and IVF) , and a mix of emotions from failed transfers and miscarriages . In this episode, Michelle shares the journey they’ve been on, the impact of Wayfair’s family building benefit through Progy...
May 22, 2023•32 min•Season 6Ep. 158
We always talk about enacting change on this podcast and that’s exactly what today’s guest did when she felt her journey was at a halt. In honor of National Teacher’s Appreciation Week, meet Tara Stark, a teacher, who shares her experience after being diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve , faced multiple failed rounds of IVF , and a pregnancy loss. Tara was frustrated and knew she needed a change. She also needed financial support to afford these treatments. So that’s exactly what Tara did....
May 08, 2023•18 min•Season 6Ep. 157
Today’s episode is a great example of the magic some people experience on their path to parenthood. When Sarah and her husband Brian started trying at a time that felt right for them, they realized other factors may be at play, in this case, male factor , to be exact. For Sarah, the IVF process ran smoothly and successfully. And part of this was due to the fact that she had access to an employer-sponsored benefit through AT&T, so her financial burden of treatment was relieved by the Progyny ...
Apr 24, 2023•31 min•Season 6Ep. 156
It’s National Infertility Awareness Week and this year we have one central theme – one we discuss frequently on this podcast – the importance and need for employer-sponsored fertility and family building benefits. We’ve heard from previous guests about how to advocate for coverage from within an organization , the view point from a benefits consultant on why it’s important , and today’s guest sheds light on what it was like to find a family building benefit while being a patient herself. In this...
Apr 10, 2023•21 min•Season 6Ep. 155
Today’s guest was thrusted into the world of infertility and soon became a co-founder to address the lack of education when it came to reproductive health. Kristyn Hodgdon was first diagnosed with PCOS after getting married and embarked on a long journey which included IUI , IVF , miscarriage , twins, and everything in between. Along this journey, Kristyn came to the conclusion that there was no reason to bear the experience of fertility treatment alone. A cathartic blog turned into something bi...
Mar 27, 2023•22 min•Season 6Ep. 154
This episode features a guest who is not new to this podcast, or to Progyny at all. You may remember her from Episode 34: Transforming Pain into Bundles of Joy, where she described turning her experience with infertility into the Bundles of Joy foundation which has now distributed a million dollars in grant money to those struggling with infertility. Today Samantha Busch joins us to discuss her most recent step on her family building journey, gestational surrogacy . She shares what’s been happen...
Mar 13, 2023•35 min•Season 6Ep. 153
In today’s episode our guest, Carolynn Dubé, shares her family building journey with a few universal themes and emotions that many of our guests and this community has shared – the frustration, disappointment, sadness, and moments of hope. Carolynn also opens the question of, is Canada doing enough to support those struggling with infertility ? Join us as Carolynn shares her experience with male factor infertility , multiple rounds of IVF , the emotional and financial toll this journey took on h...
Feb 27, 2023•25 min•Season 6Ep. 152
In honor of Black History Month, we’re highlighting a story that we know all too well – the fight with fibroids . This condition impacts about 80% of Black women and while it’s common, many will never know they have it or require medical intervention. In today’s episode, we speak to Shannon Walker about the barriers to expanding her family. She’s challenged with secondary infertility, fibroids , the COVID-19 pandemic, financial barriers, and physicians who didn’t understand her needs. Shannon wa...
Feb 13, 2023•28 min•Season 6Ep. 151
