Content Warning: There is discussion of animal testing some listeners may find difficult.

Continuing our digital/audio tour of a fertility clinic, we're stopping off at the Lab, a place full of lovely humans, according to Ruby and Anne.

One of those lovely humans is Embryologist, Julia Aliabadi. Julia graduated from the University of Washington in 1992 with a Zoology degree (which apparently is a common path for folks who end up in Embryology). She first worked in andrology before joining Seattle Reproductive Medicine in 2005.

So, what actually happens in the lab with the sperm and eggs and embryos? Well, life in the lab has changed as technology has evolved. For example, Embryologists used to test sperm's penetrative abilities by introducing it to animal eggs and see if it could get through. These days, there's a process called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) where a tiny needle injects the sperm directly into the center of the egg.

Why do this? Well, as Anne says, "Life is a struggle!" and there's a lot more involved in reproduction (no matter how it's achieved) than most of us know.

If you're curious what goes on in a fertility lab, this is a great introduction and tour. It's also a great mini-tour of some of the history of fertility treatments: imagine making your own pipettes! Or doing all your embryo freezing at one time because the freezer took three hours to complete a cycle. Or realizing embryos actually do better when we look at them less.

So since we no longer get a daily update, what happens between Day Zero and Day Five? And how do strippers work into all this???

Take a listen to hear how far Embryology has come and what life is like in the lab now. And find out more about Julia Aliabadi and hosts Anne and Ruby at Seattle Reproductive Medicine: www.seattlefertility.com. As always, listen and share episodes of The Whole Pineapple at thewholepineapple.com.