Infertile Af

Today, Ali is talking to Samantha Bloom, who, in March 2020, learned she had the  BRCA gene variant after taking a 23andMe test. Samantha, a mother of twins, was trying to have a third child. And it was mid-Covid, so once she was finally able to see her OBGYN a few months later and confirm she was BRCA positive, her gynecologist advised that she stop trying to get pregnant and instead consider starting IVF.  Samantha tells us her entire story,  including how she was diagnosed with PCOS as a teenager, and what happened when she did go down the IVF road. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE: Genetic testing; PCOS; BRCA gene variant; 23andMe test; miscarriage; IVF. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY LIVEDo not miss our FREE VIRTUAL EVENT: Fertility Rally Live For Anyone Trying to Conceive and New Moms After Infertility on 10/22! The All-Day, Educational and Inspirational Event Returns to Support the ‘Worst Club with the Best Members’For the first time ever, tickets to the event are totally free. All ticket holders have

Priscilla Brown is an incredible mama of four kiddos named Liam, Bear, Ziggy and Olive. But it took Priscilla a long time to become a mom of four, and included a lot of heartbreak, and many twists and turns along the way. Today, Priscilla tells Ali all the things, including being diagnosed with unexplained infertility; doing five back-to-back IUIs; giving up big important life events because of treatment; having a miscarriage; being diagnosed with DOR; moving onto IVF; fresh transfers versus frozen transfers, and so much more. She also talks about her collection of poems, "Waiting on the Universe," which were written while she was going through her infertility journey, to help others feel less alone. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY and FERTILITY RALLY LIVE, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the Best Members at fertilityrally.com. We offer 4 support groups per week, 3 private Facebook groups, tons of curated events, and an entire community of more than

Today, Ali is talking to "Tales of the Walking Dead" actress and "Egg Party" director Kersti Bryan about her new short film, "Egg Party." Egg Party (click link below to watch it!) tackles the incredibly tough topic of pregnancy and infertility—and so much more. The movie is about six women in their late-thirties gathering together for a not-so-sober afternoon to laugh and dye Easter eggs—and to contemplate their fertility. Ali and Kersti about how she created the story behind Egg Party, filming during the Pandemic, the overturning of Roe V. Wade, the importance of good maternal health, miscarriages, egg freezing, the stigma of infertility, and where Kersti is now when it comes to family building.WATCH EGG PARTY MOVIE HERE: https://vimeo.com/589975618TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODEInfertility; fertility; egg freezing; miscarriage; maternal health; Egg Party movie; Kersti Bryan. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Clu

Today, Ali is talking to Cristy Murray, an Infertility warrior who has a passion for helping women who struggle with infertility. As a veteran and women's health provider, Cristy has made it her mission to give back and empower women to be their own advocates for their health. Cristy talks about ways to boost fertility, toxin-Free living, and of course, her own experience while going through the painful journey of trying to conceive. Cristy explains how her Catholic upbringing played into her family building journey. She is also a military veteran, and she talks about something that Ali has never talked about before on the show: how heavy metals may have affected her fertility, and the procedures she used to get them out of her body.  TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODEInfertility; military veterans; fertility; advocacy; heavy metals; toxin-feel living; Catholic faith; natural conception. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the B

Today, Ali is talking to Stephanie Levich, founder of Family Match, a fertility consulting firm for A-List celebrities, CEOs, and prominent sports and political figures who require extra support and privacy as they navigate their family-building journeys. Stephanie talks about growing up as one of three adopted children, how and when her parents told her she was adopted, and how she has worked in the fertility industry for more than 20 years. She also talks about finding herself in the throes of infertility when it came time to build her family, and what happened when she went through IVF. Stephanie also tells Ali about the children's book she wrote, "From the Start," about building families through assisted reproductive technology. For more, check out www.familymatchconsulting.comwww.fromthestartbook.comFollow Stephanie at: @familymatchconsulting@stephanielevich@fromthestartbookTOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODEAdoption; talking to kids about adoption; fertility; infertility; surrogacy; red flags whe

Today, Ali is talking to Cory Silverberg, sex educator and the author of You Know, Sex, a graphic style book that The NY Times recently called one of "The Books about Sex that Every Family Should Read." and Ali could not agree more. The New York Times Book review says, "Silverberg's writing is fearless . . . Here is that rare voice that can talk about the hardest things kids go through in ways that are thoughtful, lighthearted and always respectful of their intelligence." Ali and Cory talk about all of it, including how You Know, Sex is the first thoroughly modern sex education book for every body, covering not only the big three of puberty—hormones, reproduction, and development—but also power, pleasure, and how to be a decent human being. They also talk about the lack of good education we all got (and are still getting), talking to kids about fertility, infertility, and miscarriage -- and so much more. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODEMiscarriage; fertility; infertility; sex education; horm

Today, Ali is talking to Catie and Ryan, who she met when Catie joined the Fertility Rally family. Catie and Ryan talk about everything that lead up to having their baby, who is actually going to be here any day now — from unexplained infertility to five IUIs to Ryan's "super sperm" to miscarriage to the anxieties of pregnancy after loss. Ryan also talks about writing his book, "Finally! An infertility Book for Dudes," which is funny, relatable and so necessary in this infertility landscape. Check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/FINALLY-Infertility-Book-Dudes-Perspective/dp/B0B2TP64FM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ERAIP4F4X4PF&keywords=finally+an+infertility+book+for+dudes&qid=1661975450&sprefix=finally+an+infer%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-1TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Unexplained infertility; IUI; IVF; Clomid; sperm health; miscarriage; pregnancy after miscarriage; pregnancy after loss; men talking about infertility. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through

Today, Ali is talking to Ajima, who is calling from Belgium to share her very complicated family building story. It starts when Ajima's doctor went in to remove some fibroids, and mistakenly amputated her cervix, rendering her infertile. It also includes another traumatic medical experience, when Ajima's sister-in-law, who had agreed to be Ajima's surrogate, became paralyzed after receiving an epidural. This is not only a story about infertility and surrogacy, it's a story about racial disparities when it comes to black maternal health, of the injustice of medical mistreatment, and so much more. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Fibroids; cervical amputation; infertility; ovarian cysts; IVF; surrogacy; epidural; medical mistreatment; black maternal health disparities. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the Best Members at fertilityrally.com. We offer 4 support groups per week, 3 private Facebook groups, tons of cur

Today, Ali is talking to Allison, whose story begins with a diagnosis of leukemia at the age of three years old. Allison talks about her diagnosis, going through chemo and radiation, and getting a life-saving bone marrow transplant from her sister, who was just one year old at the time. Now a childhood cancer survivor, she talks about how her treatment came into play when it came time to try to have babies. She describes having heavy bleeding and cysts on her ovaries, deciding to freeze her eggs, and going through two unsuccessful rounds of IVF, because "there weren't any eggs to extract at that point." She talks about having a hysterectomy, using an egg donor and a surrogate to have her baby girl, and how today, she is the manager of the egg donor program at Conceiveabilities, helping others navigate egg donation and more. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Leukemia; childhood cancer; infertility; ovarian cysts; IVF; egg freezing; failed cycles; hysterectomy; egg donation; surrogacy.EPISODE SPONSORS:

Cheyna Roth is a Senior producer at Slate, where she produces podcasts for a living. Ali first heard about her and her story when she talked about her own infertility struggles on a podcast that she frequently co-hosts, called "The Waves." Today, she shares that story with us, talking about endometriosis, the random places she's injected meds in her ass, retrievals, transfers, IUIs, miscarriage, pregnancy after loss, secondary infertility and so much more. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; endometriosis; IUI; IVf; egg retrievals; embryo transfers; secondary infertility; pregnancy after loss; grief; guilt. EPISODE SPONSORS:INCIRCLE FERTILITY @incirclefertilityAbbe Feder founded InCircle fertility after her own 6 year struggle with infertility. InCircle provides a holistic approach – from guidance on planning and decision making, to patient advocacy and day-to-day emotional support. All of this from someone who’s BEEN THERE. InCircle is giving Infertile AF listeners a free 30 minute suppor

Michelle V. is the proud mom of her angel baby Sweet Pea, who she lost due to miscarriage, her angel daughter Colette Louise who she lost at nine days old, and her only living child, her rainbow baby, Elliott Miguel. Today she tells Ali all about her journey, including infertility, miscarriage, giving birth to her daughter at just 24 weeks, their nine-day stay in the NICU, the devastating loss of Colette, and so much more. She's also going to tell us about how she and her husband founded The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation, whose mission is to improve outcomes of pregnancy, childbirth, prematurity, and infancy, as well as aid in the grieving process through financial assistance, education, and advocacy. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; IVF; miscarriage; IUIs; NICU; infant loss; grief; advocacy. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the Best Members at fertilityrally.com. We offer support groups, private Facebook g

Today, Ali is talking to Miscarriage Awareness advocate Chauncey Ellis about her two very different losses. Chauncey talks about growing up as part of the LDS church, how she was one of eight children in her family, and having her first daughter at a young age. She also talks about trying again seven years later, the two miscarriages she experienced, the grief she deals with to this day, and later, having another daughter, named Indigo. Today, Chauncey is a huge cheerleader for others in the #TTCcommunity, sharing education, advice and her own experiences. Follow her @chaunceyellis TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Miscarriage; multiple miscarriages; meditation; grief; pregnancy after loss. EPISODE SPONSOR:THE CLASS. The Class is a fun and challenging workout that combines strength-training, cardio, and mindfulness to help you feel better. Check out The Class’ recent Fertility Series, backed by CCRM. Whether you’re curious about conceiving or actively trying to have a child, The Fertility Series strengthens your

Today, Ali is talking to Dancing With the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd about the secondary infertility journey she is currently experiencing, after she and her husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, another DWTS pro, had their son, Shai, who is now five years old. Peta talks about her three miscarriages, dealing with loss in the middle of her Dancing with the Stars season, why she felt embarrassed and ashamed by having miscarriages, why she feels it's so important to talk about it now, how she and Maks have dealt with it together, and what happened when she started IVF this past June. She also talks about balancing work with raising a family (and the regrets she has in that area), wondering how and why miscarriage could happen to her, listening to her gut, why she thought IVF was "a broken woman-type of thing" and how her body and mind have responded so far during her IVF journey. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; secondary infertility; miscarriage; multiple miscarriages; IVF; egg retrievals; relati

On this episode, Ali talks to Ashley Gildin Spitzer about her four-year-long infertility journey, which ended with she calls her "twiblings," two babies born four months apart. Ashley starts with her diagnosis of hypothalamic amenorrhea (loss of her period), then talks about her IUI which ended in a blighted ovum. She then talks about her IVF journey, which included several retrievals, several transfers, and several devastating losses. She talks about seeing an immunologist, going gluten and dairy-free, and what happened when they pivoted to looking for a surrogate. She then explains how, in a wild twist, she became pregnant, and so did her surrogate--and how the two babies were born four months apart. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; hypothalamic amenorrhea; IUIs; IVF; accupuncture; surrogacy; miscarriage; immunology; ReceptivaDX; blighted ovum; chemical pregnancy; ectopic pregnancy; twiblings; NICU babies. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertili

HOW WILL OVERTURNING ROE V. WADE IMPACT IVF PATIENTS AND THE INFERTILITY COMMUNITY AT LARGE?On today's special bonus episode, Ali is joined by Dr. Sahar Wertheimer, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist practicing in Los Angeles, and InCircle Fertility founder, fertility coach and infertility warrior Abbe Feder to discuss the implications of the overturning of Roe V. Wade. Among the things they discuss: If life begins at fertilization, what does that mean for embryos, creating embryos, discarding embryos and things of that nature? Are women supposed to stock up on the abortion pill? How do we deal with losing bodily autonomy? What it's like to be "waiting to be unpregnant" after a loss, and how young women today will come of age with fewer rights than her mothers and grandmothers. Dr. Werthemier also tells Ali and Abbe what doctors are saying behind the scenes, and what the next few years might look like. Then Abbe talks about how she had to take the abortion pill at one po

Today, Ali's friend Monica tells us all about her infertility journey, including how she discovered she has uterus didelphys, a rare congenital condition where you're born with two uteruses and pelvic kidney--both of which make it difficult and unsafe for her to carry her own pregnancy. Monica talks about meeting her husband, when they started to try having babies, starting IVF, falling down a Google rabbit hole, pivoting to a new clinic, going through PRP treatment, finding and matching with a surrogate (and then another, and then another, and then another), and where she is now. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; uterus didelphys; pelvic kidney: PRP; surrogacy; advocacy; loss and anxiety. EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the Best Members at fertilityrally.com. We offer support groups, private Facebook groups, curated events, and an entire of more than 325 women available to support you, no matter where you

On today's show, Jaime shares her infertility journey, including how she lost her baby girl, Emily, at 23 weeks gestation in December 2020 due to getting Covid while pregnant. Both Emily and Jaime's placenta tested positive for Covid. "It was an absolutely devastating loss," Jaime says. "Prior to losing her we had five early miscarriages. We finally brought home a baby this February - my son Brody is now four months old." Jaime says her journey is "to help promote awareness of Covid and Pregnancy to help prevent this from happening to others." NOTE FROM ALI: Please guard your heart -- this is a sad and difficult episode. But it's so important, and I can't thank Jaime enough for sharing her story. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; unexplained infertility; miscarriage; RPL; Covid; IVF; still birth; IVF successEPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the Best Members at fertilityrally.co

Today, Ali is talking to Lilliana Vazquez, host of E! News, style expert and founder of The LV Guide, about the six years she spent battling infertility. Lilliana gets super candid about all the things: how she met her husband, how her first retrieval got messed up, how it's difficult to talk about infertility in her Latin community, how IVF is "a thief," being your own health advocate, the importance of getting a second opinion, how infertility almost "broke" her marriage, and finally, how she had her baby boy, Santi. "In my head, I had told myself, 'This one IVF round is going to lead to a beautiful, healthy baby,' which I think a lot of women do," she says. "It's very expensive, it's emotionally taxing, it's a huge sacrifice, and then to get that news, you're like—this was supposed to be my baby." TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; IVF; egg retrievals; relationship issues; advocating; the anxiety of motherhood after infertilityEPISODE SPO

On today's show, Meg, aka @creating.crawfords, tells us all about her infertility journey, her heart condition, and the spinal injury she endured—all of which have made it so that she is unable to carry a baby. Meg talks about her miscarriage, trying for another year and half, the car accident that left her with chronic pain and in a neck brace, and how she and her husband pivoted to both surrogacy and donor eggs. Then, Meg explains how they found both their egg donor and their surrogate through social media — and how the surrogate is due with their baby in July. TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; unexplained infertility; miscarriage; chronic pain; surrogacy; donor eggs; donor egg transfer; IVF; IVF successEPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through infertility alone. Join the Worst Club with the Best Members at fertilityrally.com. We offer support groups, private Facebook groups, curated events, and an entire of more than 325 women available to support you, no matte

Today Ali is talking to Jade, an amazing friend she met through Fertility Rally, and who works as a school counselor. Jade explains her entire infertility journey, including her hysteroscopy, "huffing" essentials oils, what happened when her doctor found uterine polyps, multiple failed IUIs, her laparoscopy and the discovery of endometriosis, and how all of this affected her relationship with her husband, Justin. Jade is about her have her first baby any day now, and she talks about her experience with IVF, panic attacks, what it felt like to finally be told she was pregnant, and of course, the anxieties that come with pregnancy after infertility. At one point, Jade asks, "Why am I setting myself up to get slapped in the face again and again?" TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:Infertility; hysteroscopy; essentials oils; uterine polyps; failed IUIs; laparoscopy; endometriosis; IVF; panic attacks; pregnancy after infertility EPISODE SPONSORS:FERTILITY RALLY, @fertilityrallyNo one should go through