How Lia de Feo turned her emotional journey of IVF, surrogacy, and loss into her purpose

A journey of pain to purpose

Imagine battling the heartache of infertility, navigating the complexities of IVF treatments, and lastly trusting someone else to carry your hopes for a family.

Now imagine losing it all. Twice.

This episode takes you deep into the raw, emotional journey of IVF, surrogacy, loss and grief.

Hear how Lia struggled to balance her high-pressure career as an executive with fertility treatments and how she moved through unimaginable heartbreak into hope—and why the conversation around workplace support, surrogacy, and IVF is more urgent than ever.

In todays episode of Mama, what's next? Lia de Feo shares her deeply personal journey through motherhood, fertility challenges, and the heartbreaking loss of her two children. She discusses the importance of self-advocacy in healthcare, and the importance of intuition when it comes to our own bodies. We talk about the complexities of surrogacy, and the emotional rollercoaster of IVF that many women have to go through. Lia talks about the need for support and understanding for those navigating similar paths and shares her mission to help others through their struggles.

Ultimately, she reflects on how her own grief and heartbreaking experiences have moved her to connect even deeper with spirituality and explore what deeper meaning her journey could have. Ultimately asking herself the question: can I make something positive, out of my pain? This then led her to advocate for womens reproductive rights in New York and now she work on a book about her own journey and the history of reproductive rights. 

Chapters

00:00 The Journey to Motherhood Begins

03:03 Navigating Fertility Challenges

06:10 The Heartbreaking Loss of a Child

12:02 The Importance of Self-Advocacy

15:00 Exploring Surrogacy as an Option

20:06 The Complexities of Surrogacy

24:46 The Emotional Rollercoaster of IVF

30:04 Finding Hope After Loss

36:01 The Birth of a New Hope

42:06 Turning Pain into Purpose

47:52 Supporting Others Through Their Journeys

53:56 Writing a New Chapter: The Book Project

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Mini Gift for you

8 Schritte zum Traumjob: So gelingt der Wiedereinstieg für Mütter spielend leicht