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October 21, 2025 43 mins

What happens when you’re managing a busy job or running a business and quietly going through IVF at the same time?

In this powerful episode, Carina sits down with Marianne Marchesi, founder and Managing Director of Legalite, to talk about the emotional and practical realities of balancing fertility treatment and career.

Marianne shares what it was really like to lead a growing law firm while navigating IVF during COVID - from countless appointments, injections, and heartbreak, to showing up at work trying to keep it all together.

She opens up about being diagnosed with endometriosis, the emotional toll of fertility struggles, and how the experience reshaped her definition of resilience, leadership, and success. Marianne also shares how her journey inspired her to introduce a 12-day reproductive health leave policy at Legalite, setting a new benchmark for workplace support.

If you’ve ever wondered how anyone does it all, or felt the silent weight of trying to balance work and fertility, this conversation will make you feel seen, supported, and a little less alone.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

  • The emotional toll of IVF and infertility while working
  • Managing the juggle of appointments, deadlines, and hormones
  • The power of vulnerability and how it changed Marianne’s leadership style
  • Why workplaces must evolve to support fertility and reproductive health
  • How IVF reshaped her outlook on success, motherhood, and what really matters

 

MORE LINKS

Connect with Marianne on LinkedIn or Instagram @mariannemarchesi or via her website legalite.com.au.

Follow Working Mumma on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or @workingmummapodcast or on LinkedIn 

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