100 episodes
This is Infertility A Podcast by Progyny
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- Health & Fitness
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4.8 • 83 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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Fertility 101: Acupuncture and Eastern Medicine
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.
In today’s episode, we explain holistic approaches that can often be additive when trying to conceive or struggling with infertility. Acupuncture, bodywork, and Eastern Medicine are used to treat stress, target inflammation, and promote energy flow, healing many ailments and potentially aiding in a healthy pregnancy. Dr. Daryl Thuroff from New York’s Yinova Center breaks down Eastern Medicine and fertility to how it works, what you can expect, and how it can integrate with treatment recommended by a fertility specialist.
Guest: Daryl Thuroff, DACM, LAc, LMT, Yinova Center
Host: Shannon Zuber
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. -
Bonus 17: It Takes a Village - Support on Your Family Building Journey
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#NIAW: It Takes a Village: The Importance of Support
It’s National Infertility Awareness Week, and this year, we’ve crafted two episodes that address the age-old truth: it takes a village. Not only does it take a village to raise a child as the saying goes, but it also often takes a village to start or grow a family, especially with an infertility diagnosis. Reproductive endocrinologists, nurses, Patient Care Advocates, managers, and HR leaders all play a crucial role in the journey, but a personal support system – friends, family, or a partner, can be the crux of someone’s village. Earlier this week, we talked to Cristina Loughrey, a Progyny Member who underwent IVF to conceive a baby girl, and while the journey was trying on Cristina, her partner, Ian, felt the emotional hardships of infertility, too. In today’s episode, Ian details his path to parenthood, from deciding to go through treatment, navigating the Progyny fertility benefit, supporting his partner through IVF, and the emotional burden infertility can have on a couple. Although their journey was difficult, their love and mutual support carried them through a successful pregnancy and healthy birth.
Guests: Ian Armstrong, UX Manager at Dell
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. -
#NIAW: It Takes a Village: It Starts with You
It’s National Infertility Awareness Week, and this year, we’ve crafted two episodes that address the age-old truth: it takes a village. Not only does it take a village to raise a child as the saying goes, but it also often takes a village to start or grow a family, especially when challenged with infertility. Reproductive Endocrinologists, Nurses, Patient Care Advocates, managers and HR leaders, partners, family members and friends may all step up, but at the end of the day, the journey starts with you.
That was certainly true for Cristina Loughrey on her journey to motherhood. Cristina spent much of her 20’s and 30’s focused on building her career, and not having found the perfect partner, she began to accept that motherhood may not be in the cards for her. Then Cristina found Ian, and together, they found Progyny.
Cristina’s village included her partner, her employer, her doctor, and care team who helped her through multiple rounds of IVF in a single year, and eventually a pregnancy. In this episode, Cristina details her journey through infertility, stress, and the possibility of the treatment being unsuccessful.
Guests: Cristina Loughrey, Senior Manager of Content Strategy and Narrative Architect at LinkedIn
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. -
Fighting for Fertility Coverage: Advocating from Within
Two years ago, we shared the story of Chrissy Hogie’s long fertility journey which included IVF, pregnancy loss, and all the ups and downs she went through in the process. If you haven’t listened yet, here is Episode 77: Heart Shaped Uterus, Low Sperm, and a Successful Pregnancy.
Like many who are on this journey, Chrissy was inspired to change the way people accessed care for fertility treatments. She realized that she could be the one to “push” and work with her employer to add comprehensive fertility and family building coverage. In this episode, Chrissy discusses how she was able to support her HR and benefits team to find a fertility benefit solution that addressed all the needs of a fertility patient and was inclusive of the entire workforce.
If you’re inspired by this episode and would like to make the case to bring fertility benefits to your organization, visit Progyny.com/TalktoHR to get started.
Guests: Chrissy Hogie, Infertility Advocate
Host: Dan Bulger
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. -
Finding Your Way Back To Your Partner
Intimacy may not feel like an important aspect of someone’s infertility journey, but ultimately, it can be critical. There are more conversations about the physical and financial struggles that people face as opposed to the mental and emotional struggle – which are equally as important. In today’s episode, Dr. Jacqueline Sherman, an Intimacy and Relationship Coach, shares how she helps coach her patients through this important but often neglected issue. Drawing inspiration from her own experiences with loss and infertility, Dr. Jac offers some tips on how to re-establish that emotional connection with your partner while going through a fertility journey.
Guest: Dr. Jac Sherman, Intimacy & Relationship Coach
Host: Dan Bulger
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
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.
Enlightening
This is incredibly enlightening to hear the struggles so many experience.