loader from loading.io

Infertility Takes Everything From You… Or Does It?

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

Release Date: 03/25/2025

How to Feel Like You Belong Again When You Are Childless After Infertility show art How to Feel Like You Belong Again When You Are Childless After Infertility

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

How to Feel Like You Belong Again When You Are Childless After Infertility If you have ever walked into a room and instantly wondered where you fit, this episode is going to speak directly to you. When you are childless after infertility or you are still in the middle of your fertility journey, it can feel like everyone around you is living a chapter you hoped would be yours. Conversations about kids, family schedules and milestones can leave you feeling two inches outside the circle and unsure how to take your place in the room. In this episode, you learn why this happens and how to reconnect...

info_outline
Infertility and Imposter Syndrome- When You Wonder If You Really Belong show art Infertility and Imposter Syndrome- When You Wonder If You Really Belong

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

Infertility and Imposter Syndrome- When You Wonder If You Really Belong Have you ever walked into a room and instantly questioned whether you belonged there? That is exactly what happened to me t at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in San Antonio. I was surrounded by fertility doctors, clinic directors, psychologists, and researchers, all experts in reproductive medicine. And for a moment, that familiar voice whispered, Who do you think you are? In this episode, I am taking you behind the scenes of what it felt like to show up as a woman who...

info_outline
Childless After Infertility: The Shift That Changes Everything show art Childless After Infertility: The Shift That Changes Everything

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

Episode 189 | Childless After Infertility: The Shift That Changes Everything What if you could stop living in regret after infertility and start creating a life that feels amazing to wake up to? In this episode of The “So Now What?” Podcast, Lana Manikowski shares the realization that changed everything: the moment she stopped identifying as a victim of infertility and began shaping a new story for her life after IVF failed. If you have ever wondered whether it is possible to feel fulfilled without motherhood, this episode will show you how. You will learn how to shift your mindset from...

info_outline
When IVF Fails: How to Ask Your Fertility Clinic for the Support You Still Need show art When IVF Fails: How to Ask Your Fertility Clinic for the Support You Still Need

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

When IVF Fails: How to Ask Your Fertility Clinic for the Support You Still Need When IVF fails, it can feel like your clinic disappears but you still deserve care. In this episode, learn how to ask for what you need from your fertility doctor even after fertility treatment ends. Discover how to advocate for yourself, share resources, and help your clinic better support women who are childless after infertility. If your fertility treatment ended without the baby you dreamed of, you are not alone and you are not forgotten. In this episode of The So Now What Podcast, host Lana Manikowski shares...

info_outline
IVF Failed: A Fertility Doctor’s Thoughts About What Comes Next show art IVF Failed: A Fertility Doctor’s Thoughts About What Comes Next

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

IVF Failed: A Fertility Doctor’s Thoughts About What Comes Next When IVF fails, both patients and doctors are left asking, “What now?” In this conversation, infertility and life coach Lana Manikowski and fertility doctor Erica Bove, MD, explore what patients wish doctors understood after failed IVF, what doctors feel but rarely say, and how to create support and meaning after infertility. When IVF failed, you were not just handed a result. You were handed decisions with very little support. If you have ever left a fertility clinic wondering whether your fertility doctor truly saw your...

info_outline
When IVF Fails: Your Questions for a Fertility Doctor show art When IVF Fails: Your Questions for a Fertility Doctor

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

When you’re going through fertility treatments, you never imagine they will end without a baby. I didn’t. I believed that if I tried hard enough, followed every step, and stayed committed, eventually I would have the child I dreamed of. But when IVF failed and motherhood didn’t happen, I was completely unprepared and unsupported. That gap, the silence that follows when treatments end without children, is why I became a member of ASRM, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and serve in their Mental Health Providers group.  In October I am attending the ASRM annual congress...

info_outline
Why Infertility Feels So Shameful show art Why Infertility Feels So Shameful

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

Why does infertility feel so shameful? In this episode of The "So Now What?" Podcast, Lana Manikowski unpacks the weight of shame after IVF fails and motherhood does not happen. She explains why shame shows up for women who are childless not by choice, why it is optional, and how you can release it. Learn four steps to stop carrying shame so you can feel grounded, confident, and whole in the life you are creating. If you are childless after infertility, you may know the weight of shame all too well. Shame convinces you that you are the problem. That your body failed. That you let your husband...

info_outline
The Story a Childless, Infertile Woman Tells show art The Story a Childless, Infertile Woman Tells

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...

info_outline
Sadness and Infertility: When It Feels Uncomfortable show art Sadness and Infertility: When It Feels Uncomfortable

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

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...

info_outline
IVF Failed: Calm Your Brain and Find Peace when Childless show art IVF Failed: Calm Your Brain and Find Peace when Childless

IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

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...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

Are you childless after infertility, feeling stuck in the “in-between” after years of fertility treatments and IVF?


Have you spent years yearning for motherhood, only to be left wondering what life looks like now?

If that sounds like you, this episode was created with your heart in mind.

In Episode 162 of The So Now What? Podcast, I share a deeply personal reflection that started on a seemingly ordinary Saturday. It was a day filled with movement, joy, connection, and the kind of freedom I never expected to feel in a life without children. But by the end of the night, everything changed. That moment forced me to think about what I had built and who I had become.

You’ll hear how that experience helped me step even more deeply into ownership of a life I never imagined living, and how you can do the same.

💬 In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • Why your life without children can still feel full, meaningful, and chosen

  • How waiting for time to heal might be keeping you stuck

  • An excerpt from Chapter 9 of my new book So Now What? called "Learning Not to Fear Change"

  • How fear of failure, shaped by the language of fertility treatments, impacts your ability to move forward

  • Why So Now What? is already a Top New Best Seller on Amazon before it has even launched

  • A heartfelt invitation to stop waiting and start rebuilding your life

📘 So Now What? is the guide you didn’t know you needed

If you’ve ever said, “I thought I’d be a mom by now,” this book was written for you.

So Now What? is more than a book. It is a guide, a lifeline, and a blueprint for the woman who never received the tools to navigate a future without motherhood. This book meets you where you are and shows you that you do not have to stay there.

It is already being celebrated as a Top New Best Seller on Amazon, even before the official launch on April 2.

🛒 Pre-order your copy of So Now What? 📅 Release Date: April 2

 

💬 Ready to stop wondering what’s next?

If you feel stuck or unsure how to begin, I invite you to schedule a free 45-minute Thrive Call with me.

This is your opportunity to map out a personalized plan and walk away with clarity and direction. You will not be asked to have all the answers, only the willingness to start.

📞 Book your free Thrive Call here

 

🎁 Free Download:

Not sure how to respond when people offer advice or make assumptions about your childlessness?

Download my free guide: The Top 27 Things People Say When You’re Childless (...and how to respond)
📥 Get your copy here

❤️ You are not alone

If your fertility journey has left you childless, and you feel like you are the only one navigating this unexpected life, this episode will remind you that you are not alone.

You have found your community. You have a coach who understands. You have a starting point.

Your story is not over. It is just beginning.
Let today be the day you take ownership of what is next.

🎧 Press play now and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it.

📱 Let’s stay connected:
Instagram: @lana.manikowski
TikTok: @lana.manikowski
YouTube: Lana Manikowski
Website: https://www.lanamanikowski.com

#childlessnotbychoice #infertilitysupport #ivfwarrior #childlessafterinfertility #lifecoachforinfertility #soNowWhat #infertilityjourney #lifeafterivf #thrivingafterinfertility #purposewithoutmotherhood #navigatingchildlessness #ivf