Today’s guest is Progyny’s own, Justin Smith. Prior to joining the Progyny team, Justin spent 17 years in the U.S. Military service as an Army Medic. During the peak of the war with Iraq and Afghanistan, Justin was on the brink of battling something he had yet to encounter, infertility.  In this episode, Justin takes us on the journey of what it was like to be in the military and go through fertility treatment. Looking back on the four IUI cycles and  three IVF cycles that he had endured with his partner at the time, Justin believes in the importance of speaking up about your infertility before treatment is no longer an option.  Guest: Justin Smith, Progyny  Host: Dan Bulger  For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Progyny’s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com.

Infertility in the Military: From the Male’s POV

This is Infertility is a bi-weekly podcast where we fuse narrative storytelling with experience and science to give you a new perspective on what it’s really like to go through a family building journey. Each episode dives into the emotional, physical, and financial burdens carried by those who experience infertility on their path to parenthood. Be it IVF, IUI, egg freezing, surrogacy, adoption, etc., the path is never the same and it can be long, painful, and lonely. It’s our mission to give those struggling a platform to be heard, a community connection, and an opportunity to raise awareness of the 1 in 8 who, for many reasons, struggle with infertility.

Science

Health & Fitness

 Today’s episode highlights the emotional toll that infertility can take on individuals and couples. Our guest speaks candidly on how her fertility journey affected her mental health, marriage, and perspective towards friends who found easy success with pregnancy.     Hana Peters and her husband started trying to have a baby and soon realized they needed to seek additional support. In this episode, Hana shares her journey. She speaks on the unsolicited advice she received along the way and how this impacted her relationships, her initial reaction to a diagnosis of unexplained infertility, and how she was able to pursue parenthood with a dedicated doctor and through her employer-sponsored benefit, Progyny.   For mental health support and resources, check out:      Progyny Article: Coping with stress during fertility care    This is Infertility Podcast episode: Bonus Episode 10: Prioritizing Your Mental Health During Your Fertility Journey    Employer guide: How to support employees with infertility mental health guide       Guest: Hana Peters, Progyny Member at Salesforce    Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny     For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Progyny’s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com.     This episode is also a video! Watch it here: https://youtu.be/o_-IvppWYK0    

Overcoming the Emotional Toll of Infertility

 In today’s episode, award-winning journalist, Rachel Lehmann-Haupt shares insights from her two books, which have ignited the knowledge and passion that came from her own family building journey.    Her latest book, Reconceptions: Modern Relationships, Reproductive Science, and the Unfolding Future of Family, calls upon her experience of becoming a single parent by choice. She dives into her own family building journey, how she’s navigated using a sperm donor and the relationships she’s built from this, and how she’s rethinking and redefining the meaning of family.      Guest: Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, award-winning journalist and author    Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny       For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Progyny’s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com.        

Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family

 Today’s guest embodies the purpose of National Infertility Awareness Week. Each year the infertility community, led by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, takes this week to amplify and educate the public about reproductive health and issues that make building a family difficult for many.      Danielle Zoll has dedicated herself to advocacy and awareness through her St. Louis based organization, Making a Miracle. The isolation Danielle felt along her path to parenthood with endometriosis, lack of coverage, and pregnancy loss, inspired her to build a community that supports others along their family building journeys.      Tune in for how Danielle made her miracle.     Guest: Danielle Zoll, founder of Making a Miracle    Host: Emma Gallagher, Progyny     For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Progyny’s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com.   

#NIAW: A Path to Parenthood Turned into a Path to Purpose

 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 the love she had been searching for all along, her son Emmet.      Tune into Gloria’s journey with Progyny to learn how she navigated her path to parenthood.     Guest: Gloria Soler, Progyny Member    Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny     For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Progyny’s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com.   

Becoming a Single Parent by Choice: How Gloria Met Emmet

 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 fertility benefit, which relieved the financial pressure and helped her to reach her goal.    Haley's journey embodies the realities that many face on the path to parenthood: a mix of setbacks, doubts, and ultimately, hard-won victories.     Guest: Haley, Progyny Member    Host: Shannon Zuber, Progyny     For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Progyny’s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com.   

Infertility in the Military: From the Male’s POV

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