How do you make life-changing decisions when your heart and the science pull in different directions? In IVF, every choice carries both hope and heartbreak so how do you decide when to keep going, change course, or let go? In this episode of Empowered Fertility, we explore the emotional and practical realities of decision-making in IVF.

Leigh Arthur shares her deeply personal journey from pursuing IVF with her own eggs at 47 to ultimately choosing donor conception. She’s joined by reproductive health researchers Dr Tessa Copp and Dr Michelle Peate, who unpack how information, hope, and emotion intersect when navigating fertility treatment choices. A conversation about evidence, empathy, and finding your own version of empowered choice. Claire and Devora then discuss the concept of hopeful pessimism balancing optimism with realism and how evidence, emotion, and self-compassion can guide fertility decisions. A conversation about clarity, courage, and the power of making choices that honour both your heart and the science.

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Contact Dr Devora Lieberman: www.drdevora.com.au or @dr_devora

Contact Claire Hall: www.authenticempowerment.com.au or @clairehallcoach

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Dr Tessa Copp’s paper ‘Your hopes can run away with your realistic expectations’: a qualitative study of women and men’s decision-making when undergoing multiple cycles of IVF’ Link

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