This Is Infertility

Mental health awareness and prioritization are certainly on the rise.  As May was Mental Health Awareness Month, we at Progyny wanted to shed light on the serious intersection of mental health and fertility.  Family building and fertility treatment can be incredibly stressful. In fact, 55% of people feel infertility is more stressful than unemployment and 61% feel it is more stressful than divorce. That is why, on May 26, Progyny hosted a webinar featuring Dr. Alice Domar, Mollie Walker, and Dr. Georgia Witkin, dedicated to prioritizing mental health while on a fertility journey.   A fertility journey can feel all consuming, so in this episode, our experts emphasize putting yourself first, advise on how to maintain relationships with loved ones, and share resources for mental health support.   While this webinar is definitely worth the listen, we understand that life gets busy and have provided a summary for you here.   Experts: Alice Domar, Executive Director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health

For some, infertility is a complete surprise, but for others, they know going into it that they might have trouble conceiving down the line. The latter situation is common for those who are diagnosed with endometriosis, PCOS, and other conditions that may lead to infertility. These diagnoses absolutely don’t guarantee a negative impact, and each condition is treatable. Fertility troubles or not, endometriosis can cause serious pain in your everyday life, a topic we will get into with this week’s guest.   In this episode, we hear from Andrea Ford about her experience with an endometriosis diagnosis, and how having access to fertility coverage enabled her to make better decisions about treatment. While more research is needed,  Dr. Colleen Casey discusses current treatment options available for endometriosis, and explains core fertility testing options such as PGT-A and PGT-M.   We also hear from Andrea how she was able to afford treatment through employer sponsored coverage from Progyny.   Guest: Andrea

Nothing makes you feel more deflated, angry, and misunderstood than when someone tells you to ‘just relax.’ This reaction can be expected in many situations, especially from someone who is struggling with building their family.   In this episode, Bethany Johnson discusses her experience with infertility and how women have historically been blamed for "barrenness.” Over time, this blame has trickled down through generations, lingering in the language we use to discuss women’s health and consistently disregarding how male factor infertility contributes 30% to 40% of the time. Bethany and her colleague, Margaret Quinlan, took this historical context and applied it to the modern phrases and attitudes society has normalized surrounding a woman’s life. They co-authored the book, You're Doing it Wrong! Mothering, Media, and Medical Expertise, to educate others on the constant barraging of unsolicited advice the world seems to dump on motherhood constantly.   As Dr. Georgia Witkin taught us last episode, there’s

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.  Today’s topic focuses on the link between stress and fertility. People often assume that stress is the cause of infertility, but stress frequently follows fertility treatments, as our expert will tell you. But stress is natural – there is no research to suggest that it is a direct cause of infertility. In this episode, you will learn how to make small changes in your lifestyle to relieve unhelpful stress, support yourself and support others during this taxing journey.   There’s no better person to join us for this episode than Dr. Georgia Witkin. Dr. Witkin is a clinical psychologist, educator, and director, with roles at Progyny, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and RMA of New York. She has her own column dedicated to mental health and fertility in Psychology Today.     Feeling stressed out? Give this episode a l

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW), and Progyny is hosting a six-part series of back-to-back episodes featuring several experts who are fighting for fertility coverage. Our goal is to educate others on how they can advocate for themselves and ask for the support that's needed from their employer or state to build the family of their dreams.  This is the last episode of the series, and it’s all about advocating for yourself. Today we hear from Sarah Barnes; she realized early on her employer didn’t provide coverage for fertility treatment. She first reached out to HR and asked, ‘why don’t you offer fertility coverage?’ It turns out they weren’t even aware this was something employees wanted in their plans. So, Sarah consistently reached out to HR, spoke to colleagues, gathered informative data, and accumulated over 100 signatures to show that this was a benefit that employees needed.   Whether you are currently looking for fertility coverage or know someone who is, or you’re just here to lear

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW), and Progyny is hosting a six-part series of back-to-back episodes featuring several experts who are fighting for fertility coverage. Our goal is to educate others on how they can advocate for themselves and ask for the support that's needed from their employer or state to build the family of their dreams.  This episode features Davina Fankhauser, the co-founder and President of Fertility Within Reach. Davina started her organization after struggling with infertility herself. Since the age of 22, she knew she would have trouble conceiving due to an endometriosis diagnosis. Still, once she and her husband started trying, they discovered that male factor infertility was also a contributor. She went through countless treatments, spending all her savings, but eventually had two successful pregnancies. Thinking back on her experience, she felt she had suffered a deep injustice by not having access to sufficient fertility coverage. Her position on RESOLVE’s support

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW), and Progyny is hosting a six-part series of back-to-back episodes featuring several experts who are fighting for fertility coverage. Our goal is to educate others on how they can advocate for themselves and ask for the support that's needed from their employer or state to build the family of their dreams.  In this episode, you’ll hear from Christina Yannetsos, a key advocate for the expansion of fertility coverage in Colorado. Christina is a fighter in every sense of the word, competing in Judo at an Olympic level, putting her energy towards injured athletes, then lobbying for fertility warriors like herself. Since she made such an impact on families in Colorado, you’d think she would have coverage for her own fertility healthcare, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Although she made progress on the state level, her employer is self-insured, so the state mandates don’t apply.   As you can see, there is still much more work to be done! Christina is

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW), and Progyny is hosting a six-part series of back-to-back episodes featuring several experts who are fighting for fertility coverage. Our goal is to educate others on how they can advocate for themselves and ask for the support that's needed from their employer or state to build the family of their dreams.  This marks our 100th episode, and we wanted to make this one extra special by hosting an extraordinary guest. Today you'll hear from Risa Levine, a fertility advocacy superstar who's working with RESOLVE (Barb Collura, CEO of RESOLVE, was our first guest – listen here). Risa is a practicing attorney in New York City and is mainly responsible for New York's state mandate for fertility coverage. Risa's efforts stemmed from her own experience with infertility, which resulted in her spending roughly $270,000 out of pocket for treatment. With her background in advocacy and ties to Capitol Hill, Risa decided to organize the facts about fertility coverage (or lac

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW), and Progyny is hosting a six-part series of back-to-back episodes featuring several experts who are fighting for fertility coverage. Our goal is to educate others on how they can advocate for themselves and ask for the support that's needed from their employer or state to build the family of their dreams.  This episode will dive into how benefits consultants can help drive this change. Elaine-Marie Cannella, from Willis Towers Watson, recognizes employees are the force behind a successful company. So, providing employees with the benefits they need to be fulfilled and to lead healthy lives is extremely important. All too often, fertility benefits are overlooked. It’s seen as expensive and unnecessary when in reality, people are silently struggling to make ends meet for treatment and medication, which ultimately can crossover into the workplace. So how do you get your employer to listen? In this episode and our special NIAW series, you’ll learn how to approac

The cost of healthcare can be exorbitant, especially for fertility treatments. There are some incredible grants, funds, and forward-thinking employers that provide support for fertility and family building care, but more and more states are starting to mandate that coverage be offered. While this idea might seem expensive at first glance, providing fertility coverage saves everyone money, not to mention it lessens the stress of fertility treatment for those going through it. This National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW), Progyny is hosting a six-part series featuring several experts who are fighting for fertility coverage. This first episode focuses on Tara Brandner, the founder of the non-profit, Everlasting Hope, and her fight for fertility coverage in North Dakota.    Tara Brandner knew firsthand what it was like to struggle with infertility. Her experience involved an endometriosis diagnosis, several miscarriages, three failed IUI cycles, and IVF. Soon after giving birth, Tara reflected on her turbu

Motherhood has no set definition in this day and age because the modern family has evolved. It’s much more open-ended than the singular idea of having to carry your baby after conceiving through intercourse “naturally.” There are several different options and ways in which children can come into your life. Once we accept this fact and shift the focus towards being the best parent possible, it becomes much easier to build your family.   In this episode, you'll hear Candace Wohl talk about this concept and her challenging path that led her to be a mom.     Candace and her husband launched a blog called, Our Misconception, which gives perspective from both the male and female on the daily struggles that stem from infertility. Their road was long, filled with six IUIs, several IVFs, two cancer diagnoses, unexplained infertility, an attempt to adopt, and a gestational carrier. Everything about this journey was complex and emotional, but at the end of it all, Candace found motherhood when she opened a door

This February, Progyny hosted the webinar, “Infertility in the Black Community: Understanding Your Health Conditions and Finding the Right Doctor,” to honor Black History Month and shed some light on the racial disparities in healthcare. This is an expansion on the July webinar, “Fertility and Maternal Health in the Black Community.”   Progyny’s moderator, Lissa Kline, guides experts Dr. Kanika Harris, Director of Maternal Health at Black Women's Health Imperative (and previous guest on Episode 93), and Dr. Isiah Harris, a reproductive endocrinologist at Spring Fertility in a discussion around myths about Black women and infertility, conditions like uterine fibroids that disproportionately affect Black women, access to care, how to find the right doctor, and much more.   While this webinar is definitely worth the listen, we understand that life gets busy and have provided a summary for you here.   Experts: Dr. Kanika Harris, Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI), Dr. Isiah Harris, Spring Fertility 

Support is going to be a prevalent theme in today’s episode. Why? Because it’s the support of our family, friends, employers, and physicians that help us get through tough times, especially when it comes to infertility.   Amanda Lesesne is a veteran guest here on This Is Infertility. This will be her third time joining us, and (spoiler!) today, she comes with good news! However, it wasn’t an easy journey getting here. She struggled with endometriosis, went through six rounds of failed IVF cycles, an ectopic pregnancy, and then just when she thought she found her solution through a gestational carrier, they backed out. Despite these setbacks, Amanda kept moving forward. She decided to reevaluate her current setup and look for a more supportive clinic that would be confident in her family building goals. Luckily, she found Dr. Klatsky and his team at Spring Fertility, who would get to the bottom of her infertility.   So, as you listen to this episode, think about your current support system. Maybe you’re g

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 this episode, you’ll learn about endometriosis, a condition in which a woman’s endometrial tissue grows inside of her abdomen. Each woman is different, but it’s common that endometriosis generates pelvic pain around a woman’s menstrual cycle or during sex, and it can cause infertility. Although it sounds intimidating for someone trying to conceive, many women facing endometriosis have found success through IVF and other treatments. And, ironically enough, pregnancy has been found to be an effective relief from symptoms.  Dr. Ravi Gada, Fertility Specialist at Dallas Fort Worth Fertility Associates, part of the Progyny Provider Network, joins us to cover everything you need to know about endometriosis including what it is, how to diagnosis, treatment, why it can cause infertility, and where to start if you think you

As most people with infertility know through experience, treatments can be very expensive. One round of IVF alone can cost thousands of dollars, and it’s usually the last step after trying multiple other pathways like IUI or timed intercourse beforehand, which can drain your resources. Fortunately, there are some options for funding. More employers are adding fertility coverage to their employee benefits, and there is an abundance of organizations that help by providing grants. In this episode, Dr. Camille Hammond joins us to spotlight her pride and joy, the Tinina Q. Cade Foundation, a nonprofit that supports families struggling with infertility. Dr. Hammond was diagnosed with endometriosis before trying to get pregnant, so she knew from the onset that conception wouldn’t come easily. Additionally, infertility as a Black woman can be especially intimidating, but she found helpful resources and community through the Broken Brown Egg (whose founder we featured on the and Fertility for Colored Girls. During he

Today’s bonus episode comes from a recent Progny webinar, “Building a Family in 2021.” It’s the start of the new year, which might mean access to new benefits and new opportunities to start or continue building the family of their dreams.   Moderated by Progyny’s Selena Campbell and experts Dr. Susanna Park, a reproductive endocrinologist at San Diego Fertility Center, Kayleigh Hajny – a Progyny success story, and Joni Vick,  Clinical Educator Supervisor at Progyny, they discuss how the Progyny benefit works, an overview of fertility treatments,  and answers to frequently asked questions during the journey. Plus, you will hear directly from Kayleigh about her experience conceiving her daughter, Liv, with help from Progyny.    Don’t have time to listen? Don’t worry, we broke down the webinar into a summary here.   Guests: Kayleigh Hajny, Progyny member, Joni Vick, Progyny  Expert: Dr. Susanna Park, San Diego Fertility Center  Host: Selena Campbell, Dan Bulger (Intro)  For more information, visit P

It’s Black History Month, and while we should always be thinking about the current climate of racial inequality, February reminds us of how far we have come and how very far we still need to go. One especially urgent matter that you’ll hear about today is implicit bias towards Black women in healthcare. Right now, a Black woman with cancer is 40% more likely to die than a White woman, and similar statistics apply to other areas in health like heart disease and pregnancy. As a result, seeking care from a physician or professional can be a terrifying experience for a Person of Color. How can we change our system to reflect a more diverse and caring society? This episode features Dr. Kanika Harris of the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI), an organization that addresses the pressing health policy issues facing Black women and girls nationwide through youth education, advocacy movements, and signature programs. Dr. Harris will talk about anecdotes from her own pregnancy, offer advice on how to advocate for y

We’re launching a new series called, Fertility 101, because there’s no shortage of daunting terms to keep your mind running. In this series, we’ll do a quick and dirty breakdown on a specific topic with insights from a fertility expert. The first episode covers Uterine Fibroids, a condition that is way more common than you might think. In fact, about 70% of women will be diagnosed with fibroids in their lifetime — for Black women, It's about 80%. Depending on their size and location, fibroids can cause infertility, or bring on uncomfortable symptoms like irregular bleeding or pelvic pain. While it’s common, many people will never know they have them or will never require medical intervention. Dr. Desiree McCarthy-Keith, a fertility expert and Medical Director at Shady Grover Fertility of Atlanta, gives us a clear overview of uterine fibroids, the treatments, how it affects black women differently, and how it can cause infertility. Guest: Dr. Desiree McCarthy-Keith, Shady Grove Fertility in Atlanta Host: Dan

“You don’t need a child to live.”   That is a direct quote from an insurance representative when asked why fertility treatments weren’t included in the caller’s healthcare coverage. Infertility isn’t a choice; it’s a disease. Yet, when couples and individuals seek help, they’re told by their insurers to deal with it on their own. As it stands, there is no national mandate for fertility coverage, which leads us to today’s guests, Kara Edwards and Mollie Walker. They’re working to bring a mandate to Tennessee and formed the Tennessee Fertility Advocates.  Both Kara and Mollie experienced their fair share of family building hurdles. Kara had a difficult start with endometriosis on her side and male factor infertility on her husband’s side. Four IUIs, multiple rounds of IVF, and over $110,000 later, she had twins. For Mollie, she took the medication Clomid, an estrogen modulator, to assist in conceiving her first child. Then, after two miscarriages, doctors diagnosed her with a blood clotting disorder called

We talk a lot about the statistic that 1 in 8 struggle with infertility, but the thing is, that number represents the general public and not specific demographics within it. Take physicians, for instance. The people on the front lines, helping others with infertility, COVID, and any other medical issue. Their infertility stat? 1 in 4. As elucidated in Physician Fertility: A Call to Action and One in Four — The Importance of Comprehensive Fertility Benefits for the Medical Workforce, doctors struggle with infertility at higher rates because their family planning takes a backseat during their extensive schooling and residency programs. Even those who work directly in the fertility space often need ART for family building. In today’s episode, three doctors in the Progyny Provider Network share their stories with infertility, ART, and parenthood. Their experiences straddle both sides of the examination table, calling on a need for both fertility coverage and education. Guests: Dr. Dorette Noorhasan, Medical Dir