Infertility Sisters

The gang is back together!! 

This week Lydia is back to have a catch up on how the last 3 months have been. Firstly, we have a quick update from both girls before discussing all of the emotions that come with years of Infertility.

The episode discusses;

• Lydia's Update (birth announcement)
• Jasmyn's IVF Round 2 
• Public Funding 
• Losing faith in your Body
• Anxiety Around Pregnancy Announcements 
• Loneliness 
• Feelings of Anger
• The Impact on Friendships 
• Infertility Taking over your Personality 
• Life Without Kids, not by Choice 

Today's episode touches on some heavy topics and at times some thoughts that were really hard to admit out loud.

This episode wraps up Season 3! We can't thank you all enough for the continued support you show us and we can't wait to be back in your ears next year!!

Mentioned in this episode is @twolinesfertility & @the_dietologist.

April has had to face an unimageable amount of heartbreak in her journey to grow her family.  

Her story involves; 

• Reduced movements at 37 weeks gestation
• Confirmation of no heartbeat 
• Labour experience
• Positive Sands experience 
• Autopsy results 
• Second pregnancy 
• Abnormalities at 18 week scan
• Further investigations including an Amniocentesis
•  Confirmation pregnancy is not viable
• Birth of her second angel baby 
• Autopsy results 
• L1CAM gene carrier confirmation 
• Third pregnancy and birth of their rainbow baby 
• IVF plans for future children 

April shows an immense amount of strength telling her story today. We can't thank her enough for being so open and raw. 

You can find April on Instagram @stillbornstillloved_

Today we are joined by the three authors of the newest Infertility book "When Sex is not Enough". This book tells the stories of all three girls, breaking down their personal experiences, their husbands perspectives and some great pointers for those helping someone through infertility. 

This episode discusses;

• Male Factor Infertility
• IVF (ICSI)
• Full Hysterectomy
• Adoption
• Surrogacy 
• Cervical Cancer 
• Unexplained Infertility 
• Multiple Round of IVF
• Infertility in the Workplace 

Plus so much more!!

You can purchase the book here; https://www.whensexisnotenough.co.nz/. 

Today we are joined by Laura who talks us through her first trimester miscarriage. Laura is very passionate about sharing and that will be obvious in this episode. She articulates herself so well, she really didn't need me there :).

Her story involves;

• The want for a large family 
• Coming off contraception 
• Bittersweet moments of telling their families 
• Missed miscarriage at 12 weeks 
• Spontaneous cramping and bleeding 
• D&C
• Honouring their baby (specifically in Tongan culture)
• Loss of control of the outcome

Laura is very passionate about sharing her story and breaking the stigma around miscarriage and loss. 

We know you will enjoy this one! 

Today we are joined by Emma who takes us through her story of recurrent miscarriage which has lead to a diagnosis of Asherman's Syndrome. Emma has had an intense past 12 months involving a lot of heartache and medical intervention. 

Her story involves; 

• Recurrent miscarriage (3)
• Spontaneous miscarriage
• HCG blood test indicating miscarriage 
• Multiple scans to diagnose miscarriage 
• MVAC (Manual Vacuum Aspiration Curettage)
• Miscarriage with no bleeding 
• Missing period (for 5 months)
• Cycling with no bleeding
• Asherman's Syndrome diagnosis 
• Surgery to repair Asherman's 
• Asherman's Syndrome medical management 
• Therapy to help with her losses

We learnt a lot from her story as I am sure many of you will too!

Today we are joined by Anne who talks us through her miscarriage. Tune in to hear what is it like to feel that your family is complete, only to then find out you are pregnant, getting to a place of acceptance and excitement for it all to be shattered by miscarriage.

This episode discusses;

• Surprise pregnancy
• Spontaneous bleeding
• Multiple trips to hospital 
• D & C surgery 
• Emotions of miscarriage 
• Miscarriage aftercare

Thanks Anne for sharing your story with us!

This week we are lucky to be joined by Lucy Lines from @twolinesfertility. Lucy is an embryologist now working independently to support people through pre-conception and fertility treatment. 

This episode discusses;

• Lucy's background 
• Embryo grading 
• Success rates
• How to choose a fertility clinic 
• Genetic testing 
• How to determine if there is an egg quality issue when doing IVF
• AMH
• 3 day transfer compared to a 5 day transfer
• IVF WTF programme
• How to work with Lucy 

We end this episode with a little chat about getting ourselves mentally in the right space for IVF and just how important our mental health really is. 

Lucy's intake for her next IVF WTF programme is now open with the course starting November. Follow the below link to visit her website and check out how she can help you. 

https://www.twolinesfertility.com.au/

We hope you enjoy this ep!

Today we are joined by Hayley who talks us through her Molar pregnancy. 

I am so grateful to Hayley for speaking with us today, her episode is very educational on a topic not often discussed. Molar pregnancies are very rare, one in one thousand pregnancies are affected so like me, you may not be aware of exactly what it entails. 

Today we discuss;

• An inconclusive first scan 
• Second scan confirmed Molar pregnancy 
• D&C
• Diagnosis of complete Molar pregnancy
• HCG monitoring
• Unable to TTC for 6 months  
• Increased chance of repeat Molar pregnancy 
• HSG procedure 
• Current pregnancy and the emotions around that 
• Online support groups 

We hope you enjoy this episode!

We had the pleasure of chatting to Aimee from @aimeekellyphotography to talk about her miscarriages. 

Aimee has unfortunately experienced two miscarriages, which were both very different experiences.  Her story covers:

• Natural Miscarriage 
• Missed Miscarriage of a twin pregnancy 
• Choice to take medication route 
• Prolonged bleeding ending in a D&C
• Feelings around pregnancy after miscarriage 

Aimee also talks about how she felt during her work as a Newborn photographer and how her photographing has changed .

Thanks so much Aimee for joining us, we know you will all enjoy this episode. 

Today we are joined by the wonderful Amy & Kaz who are volunteers for Sands Taranaki. They are both bereaved parents who now support others through miscarriage, baby and infant loss. 

Sands is a registered charity operated solely by volunteers. They provide meaningful support to bereaved families.  Tune in to hear about the support Sands offer plus so much more;

• Meet with families before and/or after loss
• Hospital Visits
• Free Photography 
• Castings - Hands & Feet
• Imprints - Hand, foot, finger Print
• Memory Boxes
• Support Meetings 
• Phone and Online Support 
• Baby loss Awareness Events 
• Their personal loss stories 
• How to support someone through a loss 
• How to become a volunteer 
• How to make a donation 

Baby Loss Awareness week takes place on the 9th to 15th of October.  Please check out the Sands Taranaki or Sands New Zealand Facebook pages to keep up to date with the events happening throughout this week. 

If you or someone you know are struggling and would like support please visit your GP who can make a referral to a counsellor. You can also text 1737 24 hours a day to be connected with a trained counsellor. 

We would like to thank Amy, Kaz and every volunteer who makes Sands possible. The work you do is invaluable.