Infertile AF: Infertility and Modern Family Building through ART

On today's episode, Ali talks to her childhood best friend, Michelle, about her years-long quest to have a baby. Included: Why she hates IUIs, getting a surprise diagnosis of PCOS, how to advocate when it comes to insurance, and how one night on a business trip in Hong Kong, her world came crashing down when she checked her medical portal. Michelle also details her six IVF cycles, how meditation finally helped her turn a corner, and why they named their frozen embryos Dwayne and Rerun.    Today's episode is sponsored by Extend Fertility, which offers egg freezing, IVF and more--with the goal of making fertility more accessible, and with services priced 20-40% lower than the national average. For more, visit https://extendfertility.com

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Today, Ali talks to L.A.-based former nanny Angela, whose infertility journey started at 39 and includes two "missed" miscarriages, a stimulated follicle that turned into a cyst, and three IVF cycles with varying results. Angela says that at times, she felt like such a failure that she apologized to her husband, saying, "Why did you marry me? I'm broken." She also explains why she thinks it's important for everyone to get their embryos tested, regardless of risk factors, age and history.    Today's episode is sponsored by Extend Fertility, which offers egg freezing, IVF and more--with the goal of making fertility more accessible, and with services priced 20-40% lower than the national average. For more, visit https://extendfertility.com.

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Joshua U. Klein is the Chief Clinical Officer at Extend Fertility, and he’s also Ali’s doctor, who worked with Ali and Vince on their one and only round of IVF—which brought them baby Sonny in Dec 2015. Four years later, Ali reunites with the Harvard Med School grad to unpack what they went through together, from Ali walking into his office as a "broken woman" to the emails she sent him at all hours of the day to what he’s doing now to make the fertility journey “less miserable." 

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On today's episode, Ali talks to Debbie about her unexpected pregnancy at the age of 36, how she dealt with the heartbreak of losing that baby in the third trimester, starting to have kids again at the age of 39, and the eight rounds of IVF--and 450 shots--that lead to where she is today. "When I put my hands on my hips, I can still feel the soreness of those 21-gauge needles," she says, years later.    This episode is sponsored by Binto, personalized supplements made for women by women, and delivered right to your door. For more, go to mybinto.com/infertileaf and use PROMO CODE infertileaf for 20% off.

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Ali goes deep with her friend Sam, who was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure three years ago, at age 25. Faced with the fact that if she wants to have a biological children, she’ll have to do IVF, Sam discusses how she's dealing with the challenges of her diagnosis, including how hormone replacement therapy has put her into pre-menopause, how she tells (or doesn't tell) guys she dates about her situation, and the very special family member who has offered to donate her eggs to Sam.

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America is an actress, singer and mama who has gone through hell—and back again—to finally have her beautiful baby daughter. Today, she talks to Ali about her years-long struggle to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery, including multiple miscarriages, multiple stillbirths, and what happened when they decided to pursue surrogacy in India. America talks about going through a very dark time—at one point even contemplating suicide—and how she and her husband, Christian, came out the other side. 

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Today, Ali talks to Holly about her unexplained infertility, including IUIs that didn't work, IVFs that didn't take, and an adoption that ultimately fell through. Holly, who's one of the strongest mamas Ali has ever met, discusses how she finally had her son--and how he was born with a very rare medical condition that has already required several surgeries and countless hospital visits. She explains that she wants to share her story because, after years of anguish, she promised she would pay it forward.

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Meg is the author of, “The Waiting Line: What to Do (and Not Do) When Someone You Love Is Struggling with Infertility.” Today, she talks to Ali about getting pregnant at age 37, back-to-back blighted ovums, the MTHFR gene, Hashimoto's disease, and finally having her son. Now in the midst of secondary infertility, Meg also reveals how she got ghosted by her doctor and the best and worst things to say to women who are struggling to have a baby. (Hint: "Have you thought about adoption?" is not okay.)

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Rebekah is a fellow NYC mama and infertility warrior who struggled to get pregnant in her mid-30s before going through "mini IVF." Today, the mom of three is focusing on supporting other women as a fertility coach, a doula and the creator of the website, https://its-conceivable.com/. Today, she talks to Ali about not wanting children when she was growing up, egg quality vs. egg quantity, why women need to advocate for themselves and the importance of going to Phish concerts.

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If you've been following the secondary infertility story of our beloved recurring guest, Stacy, you know that she’s gone through so much: multiple miscarriages, two IVF cycles, and sadness, disappointment and frustration that isn't quantifiable. Today, in parts 4 and 5, Stacy tells us what happened with her second retrieval (hint: it includes running down the freeway with a bag full of needles), the "whole new stress" she's been feeling, and the results of her first embryo transfer.

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