Infertile AF: Infertility and Modern Family Building

Today, Ali is talking to Dr. Nirali Jain, a Reproductive Endocrinologist at RMA, about the importance of fertility preservation for cancer patients. "I do feel like the system failed us a little bit, and I tell all my patients when they come in for their first visit, your entire life, you learned how to not get pregnant, and you never thought you'd be sitting in this office learning about timed intercourse and figurin...

On this episode, Ali talks to Julia Midwinter, a Fertility and Pregnancy Mindset Coach who supports women struggling to conceive or who are pregnant after IVF or miscarriage. Julia shares her own infertility journey, including her diagnosis of endometriosis, her five year journey to conceive her son through IVF, and her two miscarriages. She talks about ovarian cysts, fertility acupuncture, and how she felt navigating all of the ab...

Today, Ali is talking to Marea Goodman, licensed midwife, author, and founder of PregnantTogether, a virtual community supporting queer folks and solo parents from preconception through parenting. Marea co-authored the book,  Baby Making for Everybody–Fertility and Family Building for LGBTQ+ and Solo Parents, and today, they share their family building story, including having an early loss via IUI, and also having their son through...

It's another Expert Minisode! Did you know that when it comes to storing your reproductive tissue—including eggs, sperm, and embryos—you have a choice? Most clinics automatically store your tissues—or hand you off to their partner. But guess what? It doesn’t have to be that way. Today, Ali is talking to Courtney Dennewitz, Chief Operations Officer and Co-Founder of Generations CryoVault, which is driven by a deep passion ...

On today's episode, Ali talks to Whitney, a surrogate, and her husband, Geremi, about working with ConceiveAbilities, a leading egg donor and surrogacy agency. When people think about surrogacy, they often focus on the surrogate herself—but what about her partner? The truth is, a strong, supportive partner can make all the difference. Emotional strength, physical support, shared sacrifice—surrogacy is a team effort in eve...

Welcome back to another expert minisode! Today Ali is talking to Dr. Molly Quinn, is a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist with HRC Fertility. Dr, Quinn prioritizes direct communication with patients and will always make herself available to patients for any questions, and today, she is answering ALL the things about Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, or "RPL." Ali and Dr. Quinn talk about how 

recurren...

Do not miss our celeb guest today! Ali is talking to the incredible Riki Lindome, a prolific, Emmy nominated comedian and actress from Knives Out; Wednesday; The Big Bang Theory; her musical duo, Garfunkel and Oates; and her one-woman show about her infertility journey, Dead Inside. Riki gets real with Ali about her family building journey, including how she navigated infertility, IVF, a devastating pregnancy loss, an adoption jour...

Today, Ali sits down with her dear friend and Fertility Rally member, Caitlin Trabert, for a raw and powerful conversation about her long and deeply emotional path to parenthood. Caitlin opens up about the heartbreak of multiple pregnancies and subsequent losses, her husband's balanced translocation, and the toll of IVF—physically, emotionally, and mentally. From the crushing "egg winner" high to the "zero embryos&#...

Today, Ali is talking to Lana Manikowski, a fellow Chicagoan, a certified life coach and the author of "So Now What?" -- a roadmap to help you create a life you love without the children you always dreamed about. Lana tells Ali about her years-long infertility journey, starting with an "unexplained infertility" diagnosis and 7 IUIs. Lana explains moving on to IVF, traveling to get treatment in Colorado, doing severa...

Today Ali is talking to Libby Wicks, a surrogacy mama who went through a five-plus year struggle to have her baby girl. Libby talks about her not one, but two ectopic pregnancies, her emergency tube removal, and being diagnosed (wrongly, she would find out much later) with Asherman's Syndrome. She also talks about IVF and how her infertility journey affected her mental health. "I was suffering from anxiety," she says. &...

Dr. Jessica Zucker is a Los Angeles-based psychologist specializing in reproductive and maternal mental health. Today, Ali is talking to Jessica about her new book, "Normalize It," her first book, "I Had a Miscarriage," and Jessica's own infertility journey, including a devastating pregnancy loss at 16 weeks. "I felt like I was living in a documentary, like, How is this my life?"...

It's another Infertile AF expert minisode! On today's episode, Ali welcomes Emily Oster, a Professor of Economics at Brown University, a bestselling author, and the founder of ParentData.org. Emily has a talent for translating complex data into practical advice—an approach that has made her a trusted voice for millions of parents. Today, she and Ali talk about sex ed, fertility, birth control, secondary infertility, endomet...

On today's episode, Ali interviews Kristin Duncan, a single mom by choice, about the journey to having her 2 1/2 year old son, Blake. Kristin explains why she made the decision to have a kiddo on her own and talks us through the entire process, from having a "sperm donor choosing party" with her sisters to finding out she had stage two silent endometriosis (but no symptoms). She talks about connecting with others in the...

Today, Ali is talking to the "Vanderpump Rules" and "The Valley" GOAT: Kristen Doute. Kristen shares her entire family building story, starting with back in the day, when she and co-star Scheana Shay talked about freezing their eggs (although Kristen didn't do it then) to today, when she is happily engaged and expecting her first baby, a daughter, in June. Kristen talks about the sex education (or lack thereof) ...

Today, Ali is talking to Roxy Earle, an entrepreneur, influencer, and star of The Real Housewives of Toronto, alongside her husband, Dr. Arnold Mahesan, a respected fertility specialist. Roxy and Arnold share their family building journey, including how Roxy was told by a few doctors, before she met and fell in love with Arnold, that in order to have children, she'd have to "lose weight and do IVF." R...

Today, Ali is talking to Fertility Rally member Keren, who is still in the thick of her years-long infertility journey. Keren talks about growing up with seven siblings in "evangelical spaces," how her parents opted her out of sex ed in school; and having one of her ovaries removed, due to a cyst, at the age of 16. She talks about having a chemical pregnancy, followed by a "lot of disappointing cycles." She shares h...

Today, Ali is catching up with Mrs. North Carolina 2018 and IVF mom of two, Nichelle Sublett. Ali and Nichelle first spoke on Infertile AF back in 2019 -- and a lot has happened since then! At the time, Nichelle was 32 weeks pregnant with her first baby, son Hudson, who is now five. Nichelle had suffered five miscarriages and felt like her body was broken before Hudson -- and she fills Ali in on the rest of her infertility journey,...

It's a very special crossover episode! Today, Ali talks to the three brilliant and badass board certified reproductive endocrinologists from Fertility Doctors Uncensored, Dr. Carrie Bedient, Dr. Abby Eblen and Dr. Susan Hudson. Ali and the Doctors talk about separating fact from fiction, why community is so important in the infertility community, and why Ali wrote her children's book about IVF, "Work ...

On today's episode, Ali talks to Intended Parent, Maggie, and Surrogate, Jessie, about working with ConceiveAbilities, a leading egg donor and surrogacy agency. Maggie explains how she and her husband, Matt, started trying to conceive more than five years ago. She talks about seven rounds of Clomid, multiple miscarriages, and moving on to IVF. When that wasn't successful, she pivoted to surrogacy, after she and Matt were ma...