Infertility And Me: Stories of Infertility Survivors, IVF, & TTC – Details, episodes & analysis

Monique returns after a long hiatus to discuss the emotional challenges faced during infertility treatments. She emphasizes the importance of feeling safe in one's body, the role of energy centers in emotional regulation, and the power of self-love. Monique also guides listeners through a visualization meditation to help them connect with their inner selves and find peace amidst the struggles of family building.

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Emma and her husband found themselves at a crossroads when deciding to proceed with IVF with their dual-factor infertility diagnosis. In the U.K., where they lived, specialists were hell-bent on Emma's BMI because of the NHS's guidelines. After losing over 80 lbs, her RE refused to proceed with IVF and told her she needed to lose more weight. It was clear to Emma and her husband that with the cost of IVF in the U.K. and the BMI restrictions, they would need an alternative method for becoming parents. It was then their story of IVF abroad began. 

*Follow Emma here! Emma's FREE resources for IVF abroad

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Tasha Van Howe, a wife, author, and repeated loss mom, shares her tumultuous battle with unexplained infertility that began two years after she and her high school sweetheart & husband married. Tasha goes into great detail about caring for her mom, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's & dementia while going through a complicated pregnancy, newborn loss, repeated grief, IVF, and an unbelievable adoption story to which she and Jeff are still fighting. 

-You can purchase a copy of Tasha's book, Miss Me Always here & connect with her on Instagram!

*It's going down (D)C, (M)aryland, and (V)irginia Friends! Hang with your girl in Annapolis, MD, for our first IRL event: No more Silent Silent Suffering Sip N Party, a fun night of socializing and painting. Since this will be an intimate and PRIVATE party, tickets can only be purchased with this link. Spaces are VERY limited see ya soon!

*Submit your story to Monique for a chance to record and help end the stigma surrounding infertility. Connect on Instagram & SUBSCRIBE on YouTube

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*Learn more about the Mosie Baby Kit and read some of the amazing stories from the Mosie Community at try.mosiebaby.com/InfertilityAndMe. *Use code INFERTILITYANDME for [15% off] your order at checkout and join the 100,000 plus families who have included Mosie on their journey to conceive.

Have you been stuck on where to start with your nutritional lifestyle changes? Are you overwhelmed by the amount of information on the internet and social media? If so, you're in the right place. Today's episode features September Burton. September is a survivor of recurrent miscarriage.

She started her career as a U.S. Navy personal chef to 4-star Admirals, stationed in Sicily, Italy. She has since shared her expertise and passion for nutrition as a recurring guest on KCMJ 93.9 radio show, 'Happy News Now,' and developed a 6-week "Eating for Fertility" nutrition plan for prospective parents. She is the Founder and CEO of "4-months-to-Fertile", working with couples and mothers struggling with primary or secondary infertility, and is the organizer of the first-ever Colorado Fertility Conference.

September is passionate about living a life of purpose, helping others build and complete their families, and sharing her knowledge on the healing power of food.

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Have you been searching for ways to connect with fellow (in)fertility friends and get more involved in the community? The Cade Foundation offers a wide range of virtual events to support and help you feel connected during your journey.

Today's BONUS episode 11, we feature Dr. Camille Hammond, the founder of the Tinina Q. Cade Foundation. A strong resource and support system for (in)fertility sufferers and their families. Dr. Camille Hammond is the current CEO of the Cade Foundation. Before Camille and her husband, Dr. Jason Hammond, co-founded in 2005 the Cade Foundation,

Camille practiced as a General Practitioner for several years. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Richmond, medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and residency and fellowship at Johns Hopkins and the National Cancer Institute (respectively). Camille's passion and desire to open the Cade Foundation came when she and her husband, Dr. Jason Hammond, had their own unfortunate experience with infertility.

Following five years of infertility, Dr.Tinina Cade, Camille's mother, thankfully carried and delivered their triplets. Camille and her family were so overjoyed, they knew they not only had to share their story, but they had to help others. The Cade Foundation was then founded to provide support to families with infertility. Located in Owings Mills, MD, Camille and her family continue to support families overcome infertility across the nation. In addition, Dr. Hammond is actively engaged in social, civic, community, and philanthropic efforts throughout the nation.

The Cade Foundation

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If you Friend have an auto-immune disease or maybe someone you, this episode is for you! Imagine being a survivor of two autoimmune diseases-fibromyalgia and lupus. Surprisingly, Ashley's autoimmune diseases are not the culprits for her infertile diagnosis; PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is to blame, as well as male-factor.

Ashley's TTC journey to motherhood began at a time when she had her life perfectly planned and executed. Finished grad school, married to the love of her life, and a place to call home. But that quickly changed after stopping birth control to try and conceive naturally. Within a matter of months, Ashley was diagnosed with PCOS. She had been on birth control for over 15 years; which she believes helped to mask the symptoms of the condition.

After more tests, Ashley's doctor concluded that her body did not ovulate on its own and she would need reproductive assistance to become pregnant. After four medicated cycles with a fertility medication called Letrozole, Ashley and her husband finally had their BFP (big fat positive). But sadly the results of the second beta test concluded that Ashley was going to miscarry. After her miscarriage, a cyst was found on Ashley's ovary which forced her and hubby to take a month off from fertility treatment.

Ashley's instagram

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"You're watching everything from the sidelines and you want to do so much, but there's only so much that you can do." Josephine is an expert in meditation and in overcoming adversity to find joy. She is also the creator and host of the podcast, "Responding to Life: Living Reflectively Through a Journey of Health, Fertility, and Parenthood." On the show, Josephine highlights learnings from her thirteen-year journey of love, loss, resilience, and hope to create her modern-day family including five children through non-traditional methods of IVF, adoption, and surrogacy as well as inspirations from guests who have also navigated life’s curve-balls to find joy.

Josephine’s passion is to help her meditation clients and podcast listeners channel the power of perseverance, positivity, calm, and courage to overcome obstacles, live joyfully, and mindfully.

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Maiclaire became pregnant naturally really quickly, but miscarried at nearly 12 weeks. She and her husband then started fertility treatments with IUI. She got pregnant with the second Intrauterine insemination, but sadly miscarried at 9 weeks. Maiclaire completed 5 rounds of IVF. Her first 3 cycles did not produce any blastocysts, so she has never been able to do an embryo transfer. Recently, 3 of her blastocysts were sent for PGS testing. PGS testing: Pre-implantation genetic screening, also known as comprehensive chromosome screening or CCS, is a genetic test designed to examine embryos for chromosomal abnormalities. Embryos are biopsied at the blastocyst stage and all the chromosomes are examined. We also discuss egg donorship and epigenetics.

“After the 2 miscarriages and the 2nd IVF cycle with no embryos, I was in a really low place and I was frustrated that no one talks about infertility and recurrent loss so I wrote my book "prequel to parenthood: an infertility story". The book aims to raise awareness about infertility and miscarriage. I wrote it to help others going through this crazy infertility world, but also for those supporting them. One of the most important chapters I wrote is about things people say when they mean well, but it's not well. Several people supporting me during this journey told me that chapter was very powerful because it helped them understand what they should and shouldn't say."

Our guest Eli Weinstein and his wife knew from the very beginning that their path to parenthood may be a bit of a struggle, due to her diagnosis of PCOS before they were married.

After three years they began to try naturally for a baby, but after some time they began to wonder if there may be a bigger issue brewing with her PCOS. Much to Eli's surprise, it was both he and his wife that contributed to their infertility. A shocking truth that forever changed the way this therapist would view fertility.

Within this episode, Eli offers some great insight for men on how to be a supportive spouse during fertility issues, as well as how to hold yourself accountable emotionally.

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Imagine being told during your second cycle of IVF treatment that you have OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome) and it is because your patient records were accidentally switched with another patients. That happened to today's guest Monica Bivas.

Monica and her husband were eager to conceive their first child together, but she was diagnosed through the HSG (Hysterosalpingography ) with blocked fallopian tubes. Monica's third IVF cycle would be the charm and she was pregnant with a babygirl. Sadly though, Monica and her husband suffered great loss at 39w gestation, due to a blood clot in the umbilical cord.

After successfully becoming pregnant again, Monica realized she wanted to help others emotionally heal from fertility trauma. Monica is a fertility Coach and mentor. She helps women and couples (no matter the sexual preferences ) all over the world going through IVF and teaches them how to squeeze the sweetness of this journey.

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