*Trigger Warning: Mentions of pregnancy loss*

In this episode of The Fertility Podcast I chat with the Infertile Midwife, Sophie Martin about infertility, IVF and pregnancy loss. Sophie’s experiences inspired her to write a deeply personal and moving memoir and changed her perspective on her practice as a midwife. Sophie shares how pregnancy loss can impact on the wider family, something we might not have the emotional energy to consider at the time. We also talk about the publication of the recent Pregnancy Loss Review and Sophie’s hopes for change as a result.

What we discussed:

• Sophie shares her infertility journey, including her gut feeling that she was going to struggle to conceive, and the ultimate decision to access privately funded IVF
• We talk about Sophie’s joy of finding out that she was pregnant with identical twins and then the devastation when she went into spontaneous labour at 21 weeks
• Sophie talks about her decision to share the story of Wilfred and Cecil because pregnancy loss is not something to be ashamed of.
• How her own experience has changed her practice as a midwife and that Sophie has gained a different level of understanding her patients.
• We talked about Sophie going back to work and how she coped with the inevitable triggers.
• Sophie shares her experience of further rounds of IVF, becoming pregnant again and how to cope with pregnancy after infertility and loss.
• We discussed the impact of loss on the wider family. Sophie shares how it is important to learn to lean on others and being open with your family.
• We discussed the recent Pregnancy Loss Review and our hopes for the future.
• And to finish, Sophie tells me about her book, to be released on the 31st of August 2023. Her book is a moving, hopeful and warm account of her work as a midwife in a busy London hospital whilst dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss

Socials:

Follow @TheFertilityPodcast on Instagram

Follow @YourFertilityNurse on Instagram

Follow Sophie Martin (@the.infertile.midwife) • Instagram photos and videos on Instagram

You can pre-order Sophie’s book here The Infertile Midwife: In Search of Motherhood - A Memoir (geni.us)

You can check out the Pregnancy Loss review here Pregnancy Loss Review - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

You can find out more about Sepsis here Symptoms of sepsis - NHS (www.nhs.uk)