Infertile Af

Maggie, aka @bean.and.biscuit, has two baby sons who were born one month apart. Today, she tells Ali the incredible story of how this happened, starting with several failed rounds of IVF, including one round that ended in a miscarriage. Maggie and her husband then turned to surrogacy, and the surrogate got pregnant with one of their healthy male embryos. And then, soon after—in a miraculous turn of events—Maggie got pregnant with a boy, too.   Today we are partnering with Proov, the first 5 minute, at-home progesterone test to confirm ovulation. Go to proovtest.com, enter the code INFERTILEAF20, and you’ll get 20% off your first order.    We are also partnering with Extend Fertility, extendfertility.com/, the largest egg freezing practice in the nation. Extend has now expanded to offer a full range of infertility services—including IVF—in a small practice environment that is more personal, data driven, and higher quality.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inq

Today's guest is Michael Frank, a brilliant author whose novel, "What is Missing," takes on infertility as one of its central subjects. The reason Michael knows so much about infertility is that he went through it with his wife, and as he tells Ali, "I found it personally to be one of the hardest things I ever lived through." Find out about their three miscarriages, how he dealt with feeling "powerless and quite lonely," and the Buddhist refrain that changed his perspective.     Today's episode is brought to you by Beli Vitality for Men, which provides men with the right nutrients for optimal reproductive and sperm health. Use code InfertileAF to receive 25% off your first bottle at http://bit.ly/BelibabySupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ali's guest today is Nicole Lawson, who went through years of infertility, including three devastating miscarriages, before choosing to go the surrogacy route. Today, she has two healthy daughters via surrogacy--and she tells Ali all about the entire process, including some of the fears and reservations she had. Nicole was so moved by the surrogacy process that she started her own agency, called Abundant Beginnings, in L.A.   On this episode, we're partnering with Mom Culture, an online lifestyle brand created to spread positive vibes and to highlight both the salty and the sweet sides of parenthood—and the road to parenthood. Their Rainbow Mama tee and Rainbow Babe tee were created in collaboration with Dr. Zucker of the #IHadAMiscarriage campaign. Check them out at www.momculture.com and use code: INFERTILEAF for 20% off your entire purchase through February 29th.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & O

Not all of these stories end with babies. Today, Ali talks to Katy, who went through four years of infertility, including a failed IVF cycle and depression and anxiety, which left her feeling "stripped down" to her core. "I never thought the ending would be that i didn't have a kid," Katy says. But after a hysterectomy and some deep soul searching, Katy decided to stop trying, and now she is focusing on crafting a beautiful, childfree life, including her blog, chasingcreation.org.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today, Ali talks to Sarah Larson Levey, the founder and CEO of Y7 Studio. After talking about how Y7 yoga was a huge part of Ali's infertility story, they talk about Sarah's two devastating miscarriages, "being a complete hysterical fucking mess," the toll it took on her relationship, and how she managed this heavy emotional and physical stuff while building one of America's fastest-growing companies. Also: Sarah talks about how, even though she's five months pregnant now, it's still hard to fully relax.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Kristyn is the founder of The Fertility Tribe, an incredible online community based on "redefining fertility together." Today, Kristyn tells Ali about how "nothing on the road to motherhood was easy" for her, from the "Clomid crazies" to her first failed frozen embryo transfer. Now a mother of toddler twins, she also talks about the 25 nights she spent pregnant in the hospital, her "traumatic" birth situation, and the things she wishes she knew before starting infertility treatments.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this Season Two kickoff, Ali talks to Keeley, a producer in London, about her unexplained infertility journey, resulting in eight rounds of IVF in England, Spain, and finally, Russia. Keeley talks about her "total shitshow" of a second transfer, undergoing one traumatic "pregnancy in an unknown location," making the difficult decision to use donor eggs, and how her husband has been a "total legend" through it all. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Karen describes herself as part teacher, part mom, fully inappropriate and forever infertile. She is the creator of Hilariously Infertile, a brand that includes an Instagram with more than 66,000 followers, stand-up comedy gigs, and a book (see hilariouslyinfertile.com for more). Today, she talks to Ali about IUIs, Clomid, the dangers of Google searching, discovering leggings, and why when going through IVF, you should "set the bar low."   Today's episode is sponsored by Extend Fertility, which offers egg freezing, IVF and more--with the goal of making fertility more accessible, and with services priced 20-40% lower than the national average. For more, visit extendfertility.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jasmin is an entertainment editor and writer whose New York Times essay about egg freezing, "Great Eggspectations," caught Ali's attention this spring. Today, she talks to Ali about how, since most of her friends were doing it, she jumped at the chance to freeze her eggs at 36 (but what she wishes she knew then). Also discussed: her possible endometriosis, the fortune teller who changed her life path, getting leftover IVF drugs from her friends, and how every six months, she pays money to keep her eggs on ice.    Today's episode is sponsored by Extend Fertility, which offers egg freezing, IVF and more--with the goal of making fertility more accessible, and with services priced 20-40% lower than the national average. For more, visit extendfertility.com.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today, Ali talks to Dr. Dorette Noorhasan, the Medical Director and Co-Founder of CCRM Dallas-Fort Worth, about being an infertility specialist while going through her own infertility journey. Dorette discusses working with a surrogate as a single woman, the devastation when those two transfers didn't work out, needing a mental break, and how, after marrying her husband, they tried again with a surrogate. Dorette's memoir, "Miracle Baby: A Fertility Doctor's Fight for Motherhood," is out now.   Today's episode is sponsored by Extend Fertility, which offers egg freezing, IVF and more--with the goal of making fertility more accessible, and with services priced 20-40% lower than the national average. For more, visit https://extendfertility.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On today's episode, Ali talks to her childhood best friend, Michelle, about her years-long quest to have a baby. Included: Why she hates IUIs, getting a surprise diagnosis of PCOS, how to advocate when it comes to insurance, and how one night on a business trip in Hong Kong, her world came crashing down when she checked her medical portal. Michelle also details her six IVF cycles, how meditation finally helped her turn a corner, and why they named their frozen embryos Dwayne and Rerun.    Today's episode is sponsored by Extend Fertility, which offers egg freezing, IVF and more--with the goal of making fertility more accessible, and with services priced 20-40% lower than the national average. For more, visit https://extendfertility.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today, Ali talks to L.A.-based former nanny Angela, whose infertility journey started at 39 and includes two "missed" miscarriages, a stimulated follicle that turned into a cyst, and three IVF cycles with varying results. Angela says that at times, she felt like such a failure that she apologized to her husband, saying, "Why did you marry me? I'm broken." She also explains why she thinks it's important for everyone to get their embryos tested, regardless of risk factors, age and history.    Today's episode is sponsored by Extend Fertility, which offers egg freezing, IVF and more--with the goal of making fertility more accessible, and with services priced 20-40% lower than the national average. For more, visit https://extendfertility.com.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Joshua U. Klein is the Chief Clinical Officer at Extend Fertility, and he’s also Ali’s doctor, who worked with Ali and Vince on their one and only round of IVF—which brought them baby Sonny in Dec 2015. Four years later, Ali reunites with the Harvard Med School grad to unpack what they went through together, from Ali walking into his office as a "broken woman" to the emails she sent him at all hours of the day to what he’s doing now to make the fertility journey “less miserable." Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On today's episode, Ali talks to Debbie about her unexpected pregnancy at the age of 36, how she dealt with the heartbreak of losing that baby in the third trimester, starting to have kids again at the age of 39, and the eight rounds of IVF--and 450 shots--that lead to where she is today. "When I put my hands on my hips, I can still feel the soreness of those 21-gauge needles," she says, years later.    This episode is sponsored by Binto, personalized supplements made for women by women, and delivered right to your door. For more, go to mybinto.com/infertileaf and use PROMO CODE infertileaf for 20% off.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ali goes deep with her friend Sam, who was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure three years ago, at age 25. Faced with the fact that if she wants to have a biological children, she’ll have to do IVF, Sam discusses how she's dealing with the challenges of her diagnosis, including how hormone replacement therapy has put her into pre-menopause, how she tells (or doesn't tell) guys she dates about her situation, and the very special family member who has offered to donate her eggs to Sam.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

America is an actress, singer and mama who has gone through hell—and back again—to finally have her beautiful baby daughter. Today, she talks to Ali about her years-long struggle to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery, including multiple miscarriages, multiple stillbirths, and what happened when they decided to pursue surrogacy in India. America talks about going through a very dark time—at one point even contemplating suicide—and how she and her husband, Christian, came out the other side. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today, Ali talks to Holly about her unexplained infertility, including IUIs that didn't work, IVFs that didn't take, and an adoption that ultimately fell through. Holly, who's one of the strongest mamas Ali has ever met, discusses how she finally had her son--and how he was born with a very rare medical condition that has already required several surgeries and countless hospital visits. She explains that she wants to share her story because, after years of anguish, she promised she would pay it forward.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Meg is the author of, “The Waiting Line: What to Do (and Not Do) When Someone You Love Is Struggling with Infertility.” Today, she talks to Ali about getting pregnant at age 37, back-to-back blighted ovums, the MTHFR gene, Hashimoto's disease, and finally having her son. Now in the midst of secondary infertility, Meg also reveals how she got ghosted by her doctor and the best and worst things to say to women who are struggling to have a baby. (Hint: "Have you thought about adoption?" is not okay.)Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Rebekah is a fellow NYC mama and infertility warrior who struggled to get pregnant in her mid-30s before going through "mini IVF." Today, the mom of three is focusing on supporting other women as a fertility coach, a doula and the creator of the website, https://its-conceivable.com/. Today, she talks to Ali about not wanting children when she was growing up, egg quality vs. egg quantity, why women need to advocate for themselves and the importance of going to Phish concerts.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

If you've been following the secondary infertility story of our beloved recurring guest, Stacy, you know that she’s gone through so much: multiple miscarriages, two IVF cycles, and sadness, disappointment and frustration that isn't quantifiable. Today, in parts 4 and 5, Stacy tells us what happened with her second retrieval (hint: it includes running down the freeway with a bag full of needles), the "whole new stress" she's been feeling, and the results of her first embryo transfer.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertile-af/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy