Fertility Forward

So much of women’s health is based solely on conventional medicine, leaving little room for other evidence-based methods. Today we talk to Dr. Anna Barbieri who has a passion for truly personalized patient-centered care for women from preventative care to complex gynecologic issues. Dr. Barbieri is a board-certified gynecologist with additional training in integrative medicine. She completed a residency in OB-GYN at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, where she is now an assistant clinical professor and a member of the Mount Sinai Center of Excellence for Menopause and Integrative Gynecology. Together with Dr. Suzanne Fenske, Dr. Barbieri is a co-founder and physician at TārāMD, an innovative gynecology practice in New York City. Dr. Barbieri believes that the patient is the most important member of their healthcare team and she partners with them to help them maintain or restore optimal gynecologic health. Today, she dispels some of the many misconceptions about integrative healthcare and lists some of the evidence-based methods that she uses in addition to conventional medicine, such as nutrition, behavioral and lifestyle changes, stress reduction techniques, and acupuncture. Tune in to find out the three things you should keep in mind at your next annual appointment and how integrative healthcare can help you take control of your health.

Key Points From This Episode:

• An introduction to Dr. Anna Barbieri and some of her background in healthcare.
• How TārāMD was established out of a passion for a holistic approach to women’s health.
• TārāMD’s focus on gynecology beyond fertility and how it is different from other practices.   
• Some of the evidence-based methods they use in addition to conventional medicine. 
• Other team members include a nutritionist, health coach, and acupuncturist. 
• The role of educating women on good health practices in their practice. 
• Why the patient is the most important member of their healthcare team.
• Why women should not be afraid to ask questions.
• The prevalence of alternative treatments used by women and how few discuss this with their doctors.
• Dr. Barbieri dispels misconceptions about integrative health. 
• How this school of thought relates to hormones and conditions like PCOS.
• How PCOS is not a fertility issue but a lifelong condition that needs to be treated as such.
• Why your annual check-up is not about the pap smear.
• Dr. Barbieri’s gratitude for the discovery and awareness that so many people share really positive goals.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dr. Anna Barbieri 

TārāMD 

Mount Sinai Hospital

The North American Menopause Society 

Dr. Suzanne Fenske

RMA of New York

RMA of New York on Twitter

RMA of New York on Instagram

RMA of New York on YouTube

Rena Gower LinkedIn

Rena Gower Instagram

Dara Godfrey LinkedIn

Dara Godfrey Instagram

Fertility Forward on Instagram

Every child will eventually ask the question, “Where do babies come from?” Your answer will have a lasting impact on the way they think about what it means to be part of a family, especially if they were adopted or conceived with a donated sperm or egg, also known as third-party reproduction. Today’s guest believes that compassion, love, and honesty are critical in helping families come to greater acceptance, understanding, and celebration of their journey with third-party family building. Lori Metz is a psychotherapist, licensed clinical social worker, certified case manager, and a Board Certified TeleMental Health Provider, as well as an author and the host of the LIFE Podcast. Lori specializes in infertility and works with individuals, couples, and groups to identify what might be interfering with their ability to move forward in achieving what they want. In this episode, Lori shares some of the exciting projects she has been working on, including her recent title, I Dreamed of You: The Story of an Egg Donor Baby, and the petition she has created to normalize third-party family building in healthcare. Tuning in, you’ll learn why this initiative is essential, the emotional impact it will have on those who have built their families using this option, and how to advocate for yourself and your family, as well as a whole lot more! We hope you’ll join us.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Lori shares the process of writing her book and the topics she has addressed in it.
• The secrecy often associated with donor-assisted reproduction and Lori’s advice for parents.
• The three paths of a donor-conceived fertility journey: mother’s, father’s, and child's.
• Why Lori believes that every case is unique; there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
• Empowering parents with the understanding that they bring children into the world with love as the starting point of normalizing third-party reproduction.
• Understanding the important differences between secrecy and privacy.
• Hear about the petition Lori created to normalize third-party family building in healthcare.
• The impact that this initiative will have on families who have chosen third-party reproduction.
• Emphasizing the importance of listening to the needs of patients. 
• Why infertility is such an important issue and of the isolation many people feel.
• Lori encourages anyone going through donor-assisted reproduction to write their story.
• Hear why Lori believes that DNA does not make a family.
• Gratitudes to close the show: Lori shares why she is grateful for Rena and Dara.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Lori Metz

Lori Metz on LinkedIn

Lori Metz on Twitter

Lori Metz on Instagram

LIFE Podcast

Tia Jackson-Bey on Instagram

RMA of New York

RMA of New York on Twitter

RMA of New York on Instagram

RMA of New York on YouTube

Rena Gower on LinkedIn

Rena Gower on Instagram

Dara Godfrey on LinkedIn

Dara Godfrey on Instagram

There’s plenty of information out there on the health challenges that accompany being overweight, but being underweight comes with its own set of challenges, especially on a fertility journey. In today’s episode, a previous guest, Nicole, visits us to talk about her journey with weight gain and nutrition. She gets real about the role of being underweight as a factor in her fertility journey and tells us about the window you need to be in to support your fertility journey. We touch on false perceptions around weight and health, and how receiving positive feedback on being thin can have a negative impact. Nicole introduces us to the metaphor of a spider web to illustrate food fears and food avoidance and gives us some insights into her own history with food aversions. Next, we dive into the essential role of fat in satiety, and the dangers of faking your health, before exploring the impact that peers and parents can have on food perceptions. Nicole gives us her thoughts on control as a driving force for food choices, the power of being open-minded, and why magazines, shows, and social media should also be showing how diets work. Self-talk is our next topic, and we discuss its impact on those around us, as well as why we all know what it means to be willing to pursue something, for ourselves. We talk about why you should get rid of everything that encourages poor habits, until you don’t have to and what it means to change your perspective to eat intuitively. In closing, Nicole tells us why it is important for her to be an open book and wants to help others, and why she is so thankful for the progress she has made on her journey. 

Key Points From This Episode:

• The lack of information around being underweight and the impact on fertility. 
• How being underweight was a factor in Nicole’s fertility journey.
• The role of weight and the window you have to be in to support your fertility journey.
• False perceptions around weight and health.
• The metaphor of a spider web to illustrate food fears and food avoidance.
• The role of fat in satiety.
• Nicole’s lush, thick hair as a testament to her good health.
• Why eating low-calorie, ‘filler’ foods, doesn’t support nutrition.
• The impact that peers and parents can have on food perceptions and over or under-eating.
• Control as a driving force for food choices and the power of being open-minded about food. 
• Why magazines, shows, and social media should also be showing how things work.
• Thoughts on self-talk and how it influences those around you. 
• Why we all know what ‘willing to pursue it’ means for ourselves.
• Nicole’s sister’s positive perspective on weight fluctuations.
• Changing your approach to eat intuitively.
• Why Nicole considers herself to be an open book and wants to help others. 
• Why Nicole is thankful for her progress.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

RMA of New York

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole

Mount Sinai Hospital

Fertility Forward on Instagram

Part of what makes people in the US feel so alone after a miscarriage is that we have no cultural rites of passage to help us make sense of this experience. In 2017, Angela Elson’s article, The Japanese Art of Grieving A Miscarriage, was published in the New York Times, and we are so grateful to welcome her onto the show today as our guest. Angela’s piece is one of the most poignant articles about miscarriage and we recommend it to so many of our patients, so to get the opportunity to spend this time with her was really an honor. In Angela’s article, she chronicles her experience with a miscarriage and her journey of finding out about the Japanese custom that uses the Jizo figure to steward unborn babies into the afterlife. Angela got herself a Jizo statuette and talks about how she involved it in her life after her miscarriage. She describes the way it helped her turn her loss into something tangible and how this provided her with a way of processing it. We talk about the strangeness of American customs around grief and morning when it comes to miscarriages and the importance of having effective methods to share as well as process trauma. Our conversation also covers the relationships between friends and how we can learn to help each other through pain in the best possible ways. Be sure to tune in and hear Angela’s inspiring story today.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Angela’s experience with miscarriage and what prompted her to write her piece.
• The use of the Jizo figure in Japanese culture to steward stillborn children into the afterlife.
• Customs around pregnancy and miscarriage in the US versus Japan.
• Bizarre values around how to respond to miscarriages depending on when they happen.
• How the Jizo figure has helped Angela share her experiences of her miscarriage.
• The need to have more conversations around miscarriages and how this custom can help.
• Differences in how men and women grieve and how this affects relationships.
• The need to have tangible ways to express things as far as processing them.
• Advice from Angela for people who are going through a miscarriage.
• Other methods Angela used to process her grief and the need for more social support.
• The reality that having a successful pregnancy does not erase what happened.
• How to support your friends and how to show your friends how to support you.
• Angela weighs in on one thing she is grateful for right now.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

‘The Japanese Art of Grieving A Miscarriage’

RMA of New York

Mount Sinai Hospital

Fertility Forward on Instagram

Although rich in knowledge, many fertility professionals simply cannot relate to the lived experience of the complexities of a fertility journey. On today’s episode, we speak with fertility specialist and business development director at fertility benefits management company, Progyny, Julie Hunt, who suffers from PCOS and has been through two egg-freezing cycles. She shares her background and the unique role she has taken up at Progyny. We consider the three factors that accompany infertility; financial, physical, and emotional stress, and Julie tells us how Progyny serves its people by providing support for their fertility journey along with their overall wellbeing. Next, we dive into the educational components of a fertility journey and the importance of factoring in all elements of fertility as a service provider. Julie walks us through her decision to freeze her eggs twice and lets us know how her own experience has enriched her work, highlighting the importance of access to egg freezing for transgender patients. She shares her struggles with PCOS and why she switched from client advocacy to business development at Progyny, and finishes up by telling us why she is so passionate about the inclusive, life-changing work that Progyny does. We hope you join us today for a wealth of knowledge on fertility benefits from someone who is truly in the know!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Julie Hunt’s background and unique role at Progyny.
• What the team at Progyny do.
• How to advocate for yourself and your needs by being brave in your approach.
• Find out how Progyny is working to erase the stigma around infertility.
• The three factors that accompany infertility: financial, physical, and emotional stress.
• How Progyny serves its people by providing support for their fertility journey and their overall emotional wellbeing.
• The educational component of a fertility journey.
• The importance of factoring in all elements of fertility as a service provider.
• Who Progyny’s products are available to.
• What led to Julie’s decision to freeze her eggs.
• How Julie’s experience has helped her understand the importance of egg freezing.
• The importance of access to egg freezing for transgender patients.
• Hear about Julie’s journey with PCOS.
• The importance of education around fertility and the necessity of support.
• Why Julie switched from client advocacy to business development at Progyny.
• Why Julie is passionate about the inclusive, life-changing work being done at Progyny.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Julie Hunt on LinkedIn
Progyny

RMA of New York

Mount Sinai Hospital

Fertility Forward on Instagram

When Gena Jaffe had a baby using her wife’s egg, she learned that even though the baby was genetically her wife’s, only she, as the woman giving birth, was considered the legal parent. Gena discovered just how much confusion and misinformation is out there concerning the legalities of LGBTQ+ families, even among lawyers. As an entrepreneur and lawyer herself, as well as a mom who has gone through fertility treatments to conceive two children, Gena has a wealth of knowledge on both fertility treatments and the legal implications relating to them. It was this expertise that led her to establish Connecting Rainbows, an organization that helps those in the LGBTQ+ community start, grow, and protect their families by offering legal and fertility resources. Today on Fertility Forward, Gena sheds light on some of the confusion around what the law actually says about LGBTQ+ families. Hear about what second-parent adoption is and why you may need to do it, the importance of having a will, and things you need to know before using a sperm donor. She also shares her advice and encouragement for anyone starting out on their own fertility journey, so be sure to tune in today!

Each fertility story is unique and deserves to be heard. Today’s guest, Nicole, is not only a powerful warrior in the fertility space, but she is also a single mother by choice, a speech-language pathologist who works in numerous positions, and she is even getting her doctorate! In this episode, Nicole talks about her decision to become a mother despite not having a partner. She opens up about the sperm donor process and the complexities that come with making a life-altering decision such as this. All parents, no matter what their family structure looks like, need support, and we talk about the value of community and finding friends in unexpected places. There are numerous support groups and online forums for you to be a part of. Nicole also talks about the importance of speaking openly about the different forms families can take, why we should all be following our happiness, and her passion for the fertility community, which has given her so much. Nicole is the embodiment of a woman who leads with love and an open heart and shows us that we truly can have it all!

The importance of balanced blood sugar levels on both fertility and pregnancy is often overlooked. For this reason, today on Fertility Forward, we discuss blood sugar regulation, gestational diabetes mellitus (or GDM), and polycystic ovarian syndrome (or PCOS) with regard to pregnancy and fertility. We are joined by an expert in this field, Casey Seiden, who is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator at the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Associates in Manhattan. She helps women optimize nutrition during preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum, and also manages the Gestational Diabetes Program that receives referrals from doctors across New York City. She is also the owner of Casey Seiden Nutrition, a private practice that specializes in women's health and diabetes, as well as the author of the cookbook Meal Prep for Two. Casey discusses the impact of unbalanced blood sugar on our hormones and efforts to get pregnant. She explains what gestational diabetes is, what risk factors may make you more prone to it, what you should be aware of before getting pregnant, and the long-term risks of this for both mom and baby. Whether you are pregnant or not, learn some tips to help you balance your own blood sugar, find out why avoiding carbohydrates is not the answer, and hear why it’s okay to indulge in a nice dessert from time to time. For all this and more, tune in today!

Everyone’s fertility journey is different. Unfortunately, there is a lot of stigma around fertility issues and not a lot of support available to those who are dealing with them. Kristyn Hodgdon is on a mission to change this. The organization which Kristyn founded, The Fertility Tribe, empowers women through sharing fertility related stories and providing resources and support during all stages of the fertility journey. On today’s episode, Kristyn shares her own personal fertility story, which is filled with very high highs and very low lows, and she explains what motivated her to start the blog which turned into The Fertility Tribe. She is now the mother of twins conceived via IVF, but it took a lot of time and sacrifice to get there. Parenthood doesn’t always come easily, but The Fertility Tribe is a community which women can turn to in times of need, and that is one of the most valuable offerings imaginable.  

Anybody who has struggled with fertility knows how heartbreaking and emotionally tumultuous it can be. We all have to find coping mechanisms to deal with the pain. Today, we speak to Jennifer “Jay” Palumbo, a freelance writer, avid women's health advocate, and a ForbesWomen contributor. She frequently covers topics such as infertility, women's health, pregnancy, and being the mother of an autistic child in some of America’s biggest news outlets. She is also a standup comic who has used levity to cope with her own struggles. Today, she shares her personal struggles with infertility with the added pressure from her Catholic family and explains how she relied on her sense of humor to help her through some of the hardest moments of her life. She came to realize that her infertility was a medical diagnosis and not a personal commentary about her, and we talk about the many of the other ill-conceived misperceptions and stigmas associated with fertility treatments, how celebrities both challenge and reinforce these misperceptions, and the importance of advocacy. As the mother of an autistic child, Jennifer also sheds light on how fertility treatments are like autism, nothing is black or white, just different, and she elaborates on the importance of hope, empathy, and maintaining faith in yourself, no matter what you face. For some profound inspiration, wise advice, and a lot of laughs, tune in today!