A Very Special Thanksgiving Episode

Some women can get pregnant all they want, but being able to carry it to term is another story entirely. On this episode, Simon and Anna go beyond miscarriage to talk about when a pregnancy becomes a physical health risk for the mother. Along with one woman’s personal story, experts weigh in on why more women die in America during or after childbirth than in any other industrialized country, and how racial prejudice plays a role. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After years of infertility, people can be tapped out both financially and emotionally. On this episode, Anna and Simon speak to a couple that decided enough was enough after one of them almost died from a fertility-related procedure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not every infertility story is about a couple fighting their biology. People who want to have children take for granted that those children are going to be the fruit of a loving relationship. What if you haven’t met the right person but you still want kids? On this episode, we hear from a comedian who is using her podcast to find a sperm donor, and a woman who found strength and independence through her choice to become a single mother. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Normally on this show we focus on people who struggle to have a baby, but this week we want to look at infertility from the donor’s perspective. What motivates people to donate eggs and sperm? Is it just about the money? Is the money even worth it? And how do they feel years later about the experience?On this episode we talk to a couple who donated sperm and eggs to pay their bills, a woman who deeply regrets donating her eggs, and a medical anthropologist who is tracking the impact of egg donation on donors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Infertility can sometimes feel like waging a battle against your own body. And for a dedicated few, the only solution is to change the battlefield itself. On this episode, we follow one family’s journey through gestational surrogacy, one of the most expensive and difficult fertility treatments out there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this ~very special~ Thanksgiving bonus episode, Anna and Simon take a look at some of the latest infertility headlines, including Michelle Obama’s IVF history, and Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade’s birth via a surrogate. Later, they read emails and tweets from listeners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon and Anna realize that having a child doesn’t cure infertility. To get advice, they catch up with the parents they interviewed last season and discuss what sucks about secondary infertility. Later in the episode, they argue over whether they should do another round of IVF or just implant their genetically abnormal embryos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a suggestion infertile people hate receiving. And yet, fostering and adoption offer an alternative path for some people to form their families. On this episode, Anna and Simon break down the costs and timeline of a typical adoption, interview an adoptive mother, and talk to experts about the complexities of transracial adoption. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the third episode of IVFML Becoming Family, Shea and Sienna Gilliam tell the story of how they met, fell in love and decided to start building a family. When Shea comes out as transgender, Sienna has difficult choices to make about whether she should stay with her and whether to continue pursuing parenthood. Trystan Reese, Director of Family Formation at the Family Equality Council, joins the episode to talk about the barriers that LGBTQ people face when it comes to infertility treatments and acceptance of their families.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When people think about fertility preservation, they think of young women who freeze their eggs so they can focus on their career. But it's so much more. On this episode, Simon and Anna interview a woman whose sudden cancer diagnosis forced a race against the clock to freeze her eggs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.