Infertility: Don't Believe Everything You Hear
IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast
Release Date: 03/12/2025
IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast
How to tell your story with pride when IVF failed and you are living childless after infertility. When IVF fails and motherhood did not happen, it is so easy to feel like your only option is to hide. You spent years doing everything you possibly could—fertility treatments, doctors’ appointments, lifestyle changes, endless waiting. You gave your body, your money, your heart, and your time to the dream of becoming a mom. And despite all of it, you find yourself living childless after infertility. In those moments, it can feel impossible to talk about what really happened. Maybe you...
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When IVF fails and you’re childless after infertility, people often try to cheer you up with “at least you can…” comments. But what these comments really reveal is how uncomfortable our society is with sadness. In this episode, I share how a recent injury reminded me of that cultural reflex, why sadness is not a flaw, and how you can create room for both grief and growth as a childless woman. Plus: details on my free class September 17 and my World Childless Week panel on September 20, Rediscovering Your Identity as a Childless Woman. Sadness and Infertility: When It Feels...
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When IVF fails, your brain can feel like the enemy, spiraling with infertility triggers, constant comparison, and the grief of being childless after infertility. In this episode, you will discover why your brain reacts this way when fertility treatments do not work, and three simple practices to begin calming your mind and finding peace. Have you ever felt fine one moment, and then a single pregnancy announcement, bump photo, or piece of unsolicited advice left you spiraling? If IVF failed you and you are now childless, your brain may feel like the enemy. But the truth is, your brain is just...
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Episode 181: Childless Legacy – How to Create One If you are childless after infertility, what kind of legacy are you leaving? When IVF, IUI, or years of trying to conceive did not lead to the family you dreamed of, it can feel like your story has nowhere to go. Like your legacy disappeared along with the possibility of motherhood. But what if you could create a legacy that does not depend on having a child? In this episode of The “So Now What?” Podcast, Lana shares a deeply personal reflection on what legacy really means when you are childless not by choice. Inspired by her...
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Infertility and Othering: When You Don’t Belong Have you ever walked into a room and instantly thought, “I’m the only one here without kids”? That sinking feeling in your body is what is known as othering. Othering happens when you are seen, or you see yourself, as separate because you do not fit a societal mold. If you are childless after infertility or your IVF journey ended without the child you dreamed of, you know how often othering can happen. You get left out of conversations, your life experiences are dismissed, or someone makes a comment that forces you to explain why you do...
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Your Infertility Journey: How to Stop Explaining It If you are childless after infertility, you have probably been on both sides of the spectrum: staying silent because you do not have the words or emotional energy to talk about your journey, and then overexplaining to justify that you “did enough” to try to become a mom. In this episode of The So Now What? Podcast, we talk about the exhausting pressure to explain why you did not keep going with fertility treatments, adoption, or donor eggs, and how to protect your peace when people ask intrusive questions. I share a personal passage from...
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What if the hardest part of infertility wasn’t just the treatments… but the fact that no one even knew how hard you tried? In this episode of The "So Now What?" Podcast, we’re talking about an overlooked reality: what it feels like to go through years of IVF and fertility treatments and never even get a positive pregnancy test. No bump. No loss others can see. Just you, quietly rearranging your life around the hope of motherhood… with nothing to show for it when it didn’t work. This is for you if you’re childless after infertility and have felt the sting of being dismissed,...
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You love your friends. You’ve grown up together, lived through milestones, and shared so many memories. But now they’re raising kids, and you’re navigating life after infertility. You’re the only one in the group chat without a child, and suddenly, the conversations feel distant. Do you go and feel left out? Or do you stay home and feel even more alone? In this episode of The "So Now What?" Podcast, Lana shares the story of reuniting with three of her closest college friends (all moms) and what it now feels like to show up to these friendships as a proud, childless woman. Years ago,...
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If you are a woman who is childless not by choice, you know the heartbreak of infertility does not end when treatments stop. You might still feel like shame and guilt are following you around every day. In this episode, you will hear why infertility shame and secrecy can stay with you for years after IVF or other fertility treatments. Lana shares insights from a 1998 doctoral thesis that described shame as the central emotion of infertility and explains why so little has changed in how women feel about themselves today. You will discover how guilt convinces you that infertility was your fault,...
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If you have spent years going through fertility treatments like IVF, pouring everything into your dream of motherhood, and still found yourself without a child, you know how heavy it feels to imagine a future that could ever feel as meaningful. In this week’s episode, Lana shares a deeply personal story about standing on a piece of vacant land in Michigan, a place she and her husband dreamed of building their future home, and realizing that the path to something beautiful isn't coming without obstacles. If you’re childless after infertility, it’s so easy to believe your life will always...
info_outlineYou’ve done it all—IVF, IUI, every possible fertility treatment. You’ve spent years hoping, praying, and planning for a baby that never arrived. Now, you find yourself in a place you never prepared for—life without the children you dreamed of. And you keep asking yourself, So now what?
If those words have been circling in your mind, you are not alone. I remember when they consumed me. When I was told my only frozen embryo wasn’t viable, I was convinced I had failed at everything. I believed I had let my husband down, that I had cheated my in-laws out of becoming grandparents, and that I would grow old alone, pitied by everyone. Most of all, I believed that my life would never feel full again because I didn’t become a mother.
But what if those beliefs aren’t actually true?
In this episode, I’m giving you a sneak peek into So Now What?, my upcoming book that I have poured my heart into. It’s not just words on a page—it’s a guide, a companion, and an invitation to create a life you love, even though it looks nothing like what you expected. Today, we’re talking about something that changed everything for me: your beliefs.
Are Your Beliefs Holding You Back?
The way you see yourself, your future, and your worth is shaped by what you believe. And most of the time, we don’t even realize how much our thoughts are controlling our reality.
- Do you believe that because you didn’t become a mom, you’ll never experience deep love?
- Do you believe your marriage is doomed without children?
- Do you believe that you’ll always be on the outside looking in while your friends celebrate milestones with their families?
If you’ve been carrying these beliefs, it’s not your fault. Society, family, religion, and the stories we’ve been told about what makes a woman’s life meaningful have shaped them. But here’s the truth: just because you’ve believed something for a long time doesn’t make it true.
I want you to start questioning the beliefs that have been keeping you stuck. Who told you these things had to be true? What if they aren’t?
Rewriting Your Story
When I first realized that my beliefs were shaping my happiness (or in my case, my deep sadness), I had to do the uncomfortable work of questioning them. I had to ask myself:
- If I wasn’t a failure, then what?
- If my life wasn’t actually over, what could it look like?
- If I didn’t let my husband down, what was still possible for us?
These questions were scary, but they were the key to setting myself free. They were the key to creating a life that, while different from what I imagined, is still full, meaningful, and beautiful.
In So Now What?, I walk you through exactly how I did this. How I stopped letting these outdated beliefs define me. How I learned to see myself in a new light. How I discovered that I was still whole, still worthy, and still capable of creating a future that felt deeply fulfilling.
And if this episode has you realizing that you’ve been carrying beliefs that no longer serve you, let’s talk.
Join Me for a Free Thrive Call
Maybe no one has ever offered you 45 minutes of their time, free of charge, to help you start creating a plan for your next chapter. But I do.
During our Thrive Call, we will:
✅ Look at the beliefs that have been keeping you stuck
✅ Create a plan for what comes next
✅ Start shifting your mindset so you can move forward in a way that feels real and authentic to you
You don’t have to keep feeling like your life is over. You don’t have to stay in this place of uncertainty and grief. There is another way forward, and I’d love to help you take that first step. Schedule your free Thrive Call here.
Win a Free Signed Copy of So Now What?
I am beyond excited for this book to be in your hands, and I want to give 10 lucky listeners a signed copy for free! Enter the giveaway now: Enter to win here.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
📖 So Now What? (Available April 2) – Preorder coming soon!
📞 Book a Free Thrive Call: Click here
📥 Download The Top 27 Things People Say When You Are Childless (...and How to Respond): Get it here
You are not broken. Your life is not over. You get to create something beautiful for yourself, and I’d love to help you take that first step. 💛
See you next week. Remember, it’s never too late to discover your meaning.