Protecting Her Fertility Future in the Face of Breast Cancer
Release Date: 10/07/2024
Reimagining LGBTQ+ Family Building: A Midwife’s Perspective
This is Infertility
Guest: Marea Goodman, Co-Founder of PregnantTogether Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny For LGBTQ+ individuals and couples going through their family building journeys, having a medical support system that truly understand their lived experience can make all the difference. In this episode, we hear from Marea Goodman, a licensed midwife, parent of three, and co-author of about the role and importance of a midwife. Marea explains how midwives operate across a wide range of settings, from hospitals and fertility clinics to birth centers and home births. While midwives...
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Family Building Without Barriers: Maggie’s Reciprocal IVF Journey
This is Infertility
Guest: Maggie Garnsey, Progyny Member at Santander Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny For LGBTQ+ couples, traditional with little to no access to the actual coverage. Many are forced to undergo unnecessary, emotionally taxing procedures to meet outdated definitions of infertility. For Maggie and her wife, Alli, they thought they would need to pursue , like many of their friends. However, Maggie discovered that her employer, Santander Bank, offered through Progyny and that they had something rare: options. In this episode, Maggie takes us through their family...
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From Struggle to Storybook: The Journey Behind Cupcakes Everywhere
This is Infertility
Guest: Erin Sarris, Progyny Member Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny When Erin Sarris and her husband first visited a fertility clinic, they were hit with unexpected news: severe male factor infertility and an immediate recommendation to pursue IVF. What followed was a long, winding, and often painful journey filled with setbacks, from failed cycles to loss and emotional isolation. Now a mother of three and author of , Erin shares how infertility reshaped her view and inspired a metaphorical children's book that captures the bittersweet reality of struggling to...
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Building Better Benefits—for Bread Financial and Herself
This is Infertility
In this episode, we hear a deeply personal and professional journey. As a benefit’s leader, Deanna Allison was on a mission to bring better fertility and family building benefits to her company, Bread Financial. Simultaneously, Deanna had also just set out on her own path to parenthood, realizing she would likely need support to build a family. Deanna shares how her team's search for better benefits led them to adopt Progyny, a decision driven by lived experience, better outcomes, and the desire to truly meet their associates' needs. Deanna was able to utilize...
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Love & Surrogacy: A Broken Brown Egg AHA Grant Winner's Story
This is Infertility
When Kristina and Lorenzo set out to build their family, they knew their path wouldn’t be traditional. Kristina’s complex medical history including epilepsy, , and thalassemia made pregnancy unsafe, but that didn’t stop them from pursuing their dream of having a child. In this episode, they share their deeply personal journey of sacrifice in pursuit of a surrogate—highlighting the emotional highs and lows along the way, from downsizing their apartment to postponing their wedding. They open up about the importance of trust in the surrogacy process and the unwavering love...
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Healing Through Song: Nelly Joy’s Journey Through Endometriosis, IVF, and Grief
This is Infertility
Infertility is a deeply personal and often isolating experience, but for singer-songwriter Nelly Joy, music became both an outlet and a source of connection. In this episode, Nelly shares her raw and emotional journey with and the struggles she faced while , which pushed her limits physically and emotionally. From touring with country music legends to navigating the complexities of infertility, Nelly’s story is one of physical resilience, partner support, and using art to heal. Listen to her song to discover how Nelly Joy is turning her experiences into then reminder that we are not alone....
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Secondary Infertility, Surrogacy, Surprise!
This is Infertility
For Alex Kornswiet, the path to parenthood started with unexpected ease, having her first son after one round of IVF, following a blocked fallopian tube diagnosis. Trying to have their second child wasn’t as smooth sailing. Alex and her husband experienced secondary infertility and a frustrating path including canceled cycles, recurrent pregnancy loss, and emotional isolation. As challenges continued to mount and her doctor recommended the couple pursue surrogacy. Amid the challenges of the pandemic, Alex and her husband welcomed their second son with the help of a selfless...
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AMH, IVF, OMG: How an At-Home Fertility Test Fast-Tracked Erin’s Path to Motherhood
This is Infertility
Newly engaged and nearing her thirties, today’s guest knew she wanted children in the future, so she opted for an at-home fertility test. The results shocked her, revealing something that changed everything - her biological clock was ticking faster than she had expected. What started as curiosity quickly became a call to action. In this episode, Erin Antoniak takes us along her journey of preserving her fertility as a back-up plan, which then evolved into a complex path to parenthood. She explains how Progyny’s family building coverage through her husband’s...
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Single Parent by Choice: Choosing Solo Motherhood and Overcoming Loss
This is Infertility
For today’s guest, becoming a mother wasn’t just a dream—it was a promise she made to herself. In her mid-30s, Erica Ward knew she wanted to be a parent more than she wanted to be a wife. By 40, she made the decision to pursue , despite the challenges ahead. Her path wasn’t easy, from , failed IUIs to IVF, and devastating loss. While Erica grieved for her pregnancies and felt the financial toll, she never gave up. Tune in to hear how support from Progyny’s fertility benefits and led to her happy ending of becoming a mom. Guest: Erica Ward, Progyny...
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How Laura Overcame Infertility and Postpartum Depression
This is Infertility
What happens when the path to parenthood takes unexpected turns? For Laura, it meant navigating the heartbreak of unexplained infertility, the frustrations of multiple failed IUIs, and the surprising joy of a positive pregnancy test during the unlikeliest of cycles. But as her story unfolds, it becomes clear that getting pregnant was just the beginning. For our 200th episode, Laura shares the honest reality of facing after her first pregnancy—an experience she never thought she would have after fighting to conceive. With fertility benefits through Progyny she welcomed a second...
info_outlineIn honor of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we’re highlighting Joyelle Fleming’s story with breast cancer, which began at the young age of 31. During her journey, Joyelle was faced with a difficult decision – what to do about her future fertility given the impact of cancer treatment. With the support of her doctors and access to fertility benefits through Progyny, Joyelle was able to freeze her eggs and focus on fighting cancer.
In this episode, Joyelle reflects on her experience, from navigating fertility preservation to finding strength and support from loved ones and breast cancer advocacy groups. Her story highlights the power of proactive choices and the peace of mind they can provide in the face of life’s toughest moments.
To learn more about oncofertiltiy, check out resources here
Breast cancer resources mentioned in this episode:
Guest: Joyelle Flemming, Progyny Member at Genentech
Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny
For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Progyny’s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at [email protected].