Childless After Infertility: You’re Not Meant to Just Survive This
IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast
Release Date: 06/18/2025
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
info_outlineIf you’ve ever wondered if this is just how life feels when you don’t become a mom, this episode is for you.
- Maybe your fertility journey ended with heartbreak instead of a baby.
- Maybe you’ve been told (by the world, by your inner voice) that life will always feel incomplete, lonely, or second-best now.
- Maybe you scroll past pregnancy announcements and family vacation photos, not because you’re bitter, but because they hurt.
- And maybe you’ve started to believe the quiet story that society tells women like us: That life without children will always feel like you’re just holding on.
But what if that story isn’t true?
In episode 172 of The “So Now What?” Podcast, Lana shares:
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The truth about the emotional aftermath of IVF and infertility that no one talks about.
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Her own story of navigating the grief of a chromosomally abnormal embryo (Trisomy 16) and what came after fertility treatments ended.
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Why the world’s attempts to “fix” you with adoption, donor eggs, or surrogacy often leave you feeling more invisible.
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How guilt, shame, and comparison can keep you frozen in time, and what it takes to finally move forward.
You'll hear how women inside her 12-week coaching program, go from surviving each day to actually loving their lives again. One client shares how she stopped obsessing over what people with kids were doing and started finding confidence, peace, and simple joys in her everyday life.
This episode invites you to imagine a summer, and a life, where:
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You wake up excited for your day, not dreading another reminder of what’s missing
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You reconnect with your body and stop treating it like it failed you
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You feel connected to your partner again, building a future that feels like yours
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You finally stop pretending to be okay, and actually are
If you’re ready to stop surviving and start living a life that feels meaningful and fulfilling—even without the children you always dreamed of—this episode will show you what’s possible.
💬 Ready to Take the Next Step?
Don’t let another summer pass you by in a fog of comparison and sadness.
✨ Book your free 45-minute Thrive Call with Lana to create a plan for what comes next:
👉 Click here to schedule your call
This is your first step toward creating a life that fits again...one that you love, even though it turned out differently than you expected.
📲 Stay Connected with Lana
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💻 Website & Coaching Info: lanamanikowski.com
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📕 Buy the book "So Now What?" HERE!
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📥 Free Download: The Top 27 Things People Say When You’re Childless (...and How to Respond) → Download Here
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📸 Instagram: @lana.manikowski
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🎥 YouTube: Lana Manikowski
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🎵 TikTok: @lana.manikowski