Happy holidays from us! Thank you for listening superhumans and we'll be back on January 6th! 

Includes episodes recap for 2025.

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

Today we welcome Molly to our show! Molly describes her 8 year fertility journey as long, full of surprises and a crazy rollercoaster. Molly and her husband started trying to conceive in their mid to late twenties. Fast forward to a few years ago when they found themselves under the care of Dr. Garcia here at Markham Fertility Centre. At MFC, they did one retrieval, multiple transfers, and unfortunately had multiple losses, immune testing and treatments, that resulted in their beautiful rainbow baby Nia born in 2022.

In this particular episode, we refer a lot to fertility care and resources in Northern Ontario. We are very happy to announce that as of August 2025, which is the time of this recording, Markham Fertility Centre is officially offering satellite monitoring in partnership with NEO Women's Health Network in Sudbury. To learn more about the services we offer, please visit https://markhamfertility.com/locations.

Connect with Molly on Instagram @__molly.edwards__ 

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

Welcome back! Today we dive into the highly requested topic of reproductive immunology. We cover: What is the immune system? What exactly is immune testing and treatments?, associated costs, why this topic is so controversial and what to expect in future episodes in this series. 

You may also be interested in:
EP51: Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) Part 1: Risk factors & the 5 categories of causes
EP56: Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) Part 2: Testing & management options 
EP72: Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) Part 1: What causes RIF? And why all the controversy?
EP76: Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) Part 2: Diagnosis and treatment options

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

 Today we welcome to the show Marisa Bernardo. Marisa is an intended mother (IP), cancer survivor and surrogacy educator and advocate. Following a battle with cancer that took away her ability to become pregnant, she took on a surrogacy journey in the pursuit of motherhood. Along the way, she became an absolute pillar of the community, sharing her journey online with millions of people. Marisa is the founder of Defining Journeys: one space to go to for support from early surrogacy questions to matching all the way through to the postpartum phase. 

Connect with Marisa and Defining Journeys: Psychotherapy, Counselling, Fertility and Surrogacy Support
Instagram @definingjourneys
Website https://www.definingjourneys.ca/

You may also be interested in:
EP13: Infertility support groups made possible with OasisFSN 

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

Today we continue demystifying infertility by talking about the second part of RIF, which is looking into the diagnostic workup and the treatment options. We will start with the diagnostic workup and what do we actually do when we see a patient where we suspect they may have recurrent implantation failure? Our approach is really stepwise. We think about, what was the quality of the embryos? What was the genetics of the embryos like? Were these genetically tested embryos? Were they not? Were they euploid, were they not? We're also going to think about the types of transfer protocols that were used; were these fresh transfers, were they frozen transfers? And so on..

You may also be interested in:
EP72: Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) Part 1: What causes RIF? And why all the controversy?
EP11: The endometrium explained with Dr. Chan
EP30: Pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) explained with Diane Myles Reid, Genetic Counsellor

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

 Welcome back superhumans and thank you for joining us. Today we're diving into a topic that is often overlooked, but really important: fertilization failure during an IVF cycle. The WTF appointment is an informal, for very appropriate term, for a follow-up consultation that happens after an unsuccessful IVF cycle. We're going to explore why sometimes even with egg and sperm in the lab, fertilization doesn't happen or doesn't happen as expected. We're also going to talk in detail about egg maturity and how it can affect the IVF outcomes, and in particular, fertilization outcomes. 

You may also be interested in:
EP62: WTF Appt. Scenario 1: You get less eggs than expected at retrieval
EP14: IVF Part 1: Let's talk about IVF
EP16: PCOS Part 1: Symptoms, diagnosis & related risks
EP20: IVF Part 2: Risks related to the egg producer, procedure, pregnancy & baby
EP21: PCOS Part 2: Understanding treatment options
EP33: The impact of decreased ovarian reserve (DOR) on fertility and IVF treatments
EP44: Male factor infertility Part 1: Semen analysis & sperm DNA fragmentation explained with Dr. Jarvi
EP52: Male factor infertility Part 2: Ways to improve sperm health for fertility with Dr. Jarvi
EP54: IVF Part 3: IVF add-ons/adjuvant therapies to improve egg quality and embryo quality

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

Today we welcome Sara Cohen to our show. Sara is a leading fertility lawyer based in Toronto, working with clients across Canada and internationally. She advises intended parents, surrogates, donors, clinics, hospitals, and cryobanks on a wide range of fertility law matters.

Named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer Magazine and recognized by Lexpert as a Leading Lawyer to Watch, Sara combines deep expertise with a compassionate, collaborative approach. She serves on the ethics committee of a major fertility clinic, is past president of Fertility Matters Canada, and a fellow of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys.

An internationally sought-after speaker and published author, taught reproductive law at Osgoode Hall Law School and has been invited by international and domestic governments to consult on legal reform in fertility and parentage law. She’s committed to helping families grow with compassion, legal security, and integrity. 

Connect with Sara Cohen;
Instagram @fertilitylaw
Book a complimentary consultation https://calendly.com/fertilitylawcanada/one-hour-meeting
Email: [email protected]
Website contact page http://www.fertilitylawcanada.com/contact.html 

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

Today we welcome Black Fertility Agency or BFA. BFA was born from a deeply personal space, when Patricia, a black woman, navigating her own fertility journey in Canada, experienced firsthand the gaps and lack of representation in fertility care. She began documenting her journey and what started as a personal journal has since grown into a large movement!

Today, Black Fertility Agency is co-led by Patricia, it's Founder and Ekene, a fellow black woman and a strategist dedicated to health equity and systemic change. Together, they're working to build a future where black individuals in Canada and beyond have access to culturally safe, trustworthy fertility care, and where their stories, struggles and successes are fully seen and fully supported.

Connect with BFA;
Website https://www.blackfertilityagency.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/blackfertilityagency/
YouTube https://youtube.com/@blackfertilityagency
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/blackfertilityagency/ 

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

Welcome back and happy Tuesday! Today we are tackling one of the most frustrating and emotionally difficult topics in reproductive medicine, and that is recurrent implantation failure (RIF). We'll cover definitions, causes (both known and unknown), the controversies, future directions, and of course some of the guidelines. The important thing to know, as you will hear from the data, the vast majority of patients do achieve a successful pregnancy, even after experiencing multiple implantation failures. 

You may also be interested in:
EP11: The endometrium explained with Dr. Chan
EP30: Pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) explained with Diane Myles Reid, Genetic Counsellor
EP44: Male factor infertility Part 1: Semen analysis & sperm DNA fragmentation explained with Dr. Jarvi
EP52: Male factor infertility Part 2: Ways to improve sperm health for fertility with Dr. Jarvi

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com

We're back with another "I'm pregnant, now what?" series topic. Today we discuss beauty products and treatments. Are you enjoying this series? Drop us a review, comment or DM on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast.

You may also be interested in:
EP61: I'm pregnant, now what? Part 2: Nausea, medications, nutrition, exercise, weight & cats(!)
EP55: I'm pregnant, now what? Part 1: Initial testing, vitamins & diet

Follow us on Instagram @myfertilitypodcast, YouTube @MyFertilityPodcast, or reach out to us at [email protected]
Visit Markham Fertility Centre at markhamfertility.com