100 episodes
This is Infertility A Podcast by Progyny
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- Health & Fitness
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4.8 • 90 Ratings
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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.
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A Decade with Whitney: Freezing her Eggs, Winning the Bachelor, and Becoming a Mom
You may know her as the winner of ABC’s The Bachelor from season 19, but patients at OVA Egg Freezing Specialty Center in Chicago know Whitney Bischoff Angel as their fertility nurse who can also relate to their journey.
In this episode, Whitney tells us about her decision to freeze her eggs in 2013, a decision that provided her with peace of mind as she navigated life's uncertainties. She also shares where she is today, almost a decade later, and her journey to parenthood.
Whitney now uses her personal journey to empower women with choices and provide compassion and support to patients during their own egg freezing journeys.
Guest: Whitney Bischoff Angel, RN, BSN, OVA Egg Freezing
Host: Julie Campbell, 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/1yuxJ1if_9U -
Experiencing the Unexpected: Sarah's IVF Journey
Today’s episode is a story of trial and error. Sarah Freese was not expecting to have difficulty conceiving until she discontinued her birth control and found that her menstrual cycle didn’t return. She was suddenly thrusted into a new world, one filled with new medical terms, fertility doctors, and a treatment plan that came with a high price tag.
Sarah then discovered her employer, LinkedIn, offered coverage for fertility treatment through Progyny. This meant she didn’t need to make cost-based decisions and instead was able to pursue treatment that would result in the best possible outcome. Join us for this episode to hear how Sarah navigated her family building journey, the highs and lows that came with it, and how through trial and error, she found a path that worked.
Guest: Sarah Freese, Principal Customer Success Manager at LinkedIn, Infertility Advocate, and Progyny Member
Host: Lissa Kline, 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/zrTFKlhA7qs -
Fertility 101: Transgender Family Building Options
The Fertility 101 Series, because there’s no shortage of daunting terms to keep your mind running, is a quick and dirty breakdown on a specific topic with insights from a fertility expert.
This week’s episode answers all the questions around transgender family building options and how it works. Dr. Daniel Potter at HRC Fertility joins us to discuss the impact of hormone affirming therapy, the importance of fertility preservation, questions to consider if one is deciding to build a family, and how to better serve this community.
Guest: Dr. Daniel Potter, Regional Medical Director at HRC Fertility
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.
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Building Your Family; The Complete Guide to Donor Conception
In today’s episode, we explore the complex world of donor conception with experts Dr. Mark Leondires and Lisa Schuman, LCSW. They provide an overview of their book, Building Your Family; The Complete Guide to Donor Conception, which serves as a resource for those considering donor conception due to infertility, medical issues, same-sex partnerships, or gender orientation.
The book covers everything from initial considerations and emotions to the medical and genetic processes involved, selecting the right donor, and talking to children about their donor conception.
Tune in to hear how to manage the challenges of a donor conception journey.
Guest: Dr. Mark Leondires and Lisa Schuman, LCSW, authors of Building Your Family; The Complete Guide to Donor Conception
Dr. Mark Leondires
Medical Director and Founding Partner
at Illume Fertility and Gay Parents to Be
Lisa Schuman, LCSW
Founder of The Center for Family Building
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/kX60smGnP9k -
Overcoming the Emotional Toll of Infertility
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 -
Single Parent by Choice: Rethinking the Notion of Family
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.
Customer Reviews
Love this podcast
I have been listening to this podcast for over a year and it has helped me to ask questions to my doctor while on my journey to motherhood. It’s really good to hear the SMC and fibroids stories as I am a SMC and have fibroids. Keep up the good work as I enjoy listening.
Spade and Gretchen’s episode
Love their story. I used to watch them in RHOC, and have followed them since I’m social media. Love the way they tell their story and how relatable it is. As a person who suffers with Premature ovarian failure, there have been quite a bit of similarities of struggles. Losses and especially Doubt of the relationship. But in my case it was more of letting my husband know if he wanted to end our relationship to pursue a family, I understood. Luckily, he disagreed and he said this is OUR issue and whatever our fate is we’re going through it together. Here we are a couple years later and are happily 5 months pregnant!
Not everyone can try IVF
It would be nice to find a podcast that focuses on people who can’t afford IVF, and/or even if they could, still have an extremely LOW chance of success, hence don’t try IVF. IVF is not an option for all, and it would nice to hear how to cope with the ongoing sadness of that once in a while.