Battling infertility can lead to self-hate, self-shaming, and a muddled body image if you let it. After years of failed cycles, there were times when I would look at myself in the mirror and become completely disgusted with the shell of a body I was trapped in. I was so angry; why could she not just do what she was supposed to do and what so many other women’s bodies could do? I had so much animosity built up because my body had failed me month after month and year after year. Our relationship became...

I never thought I would deal with infertility. My earliest memories are of me playing with my dolls and dreaming of the day when I would become a mother. In 2009, my dream of becoming a mom was realized, but what followed was more of a nightmare. On November 4, I gave birth to my oldest daughter and only biological child. I went into my birth believing that simply hiring a midwife and watching a few documentaries was enough to prepare for childbirth, but I quickly found out that I was mistaken.  After spending 11 hours in...

Making the decision to donate our frozen embryos to science was the hardest thing I have had to do in my life so far. Even starting to write this is something I originally put off, as it makes me feel numb and sad and I have been trying to protect my heart.  The day after my son turned five, I headed to my fertility clinic to make a video with them talking about the decision we made to donate our remaining embryos to science. I spoke to the counselor who helped us with the decision...

I love sharing the story of the creation of my modern-day family because I want to open up the conversation on the different ways families are made. For my husband and I, our unique path to parenthood spanned the course of 13 years and involved IVF, miscarriages, international adoption, and surrogacy, resulting in our wonderful family of five children. Every step of the way was challenging but also so rewarding. Along the way, we learned some invaluable life lessons along with the true meaning of parenthood.  Our journey to start our family began immediately with...

With both COVID-19 vaccines now approved by the FDA to be delivered and administered across the country, there are still many people with questions. None more so than the trying to conceive, pregnant, and breastfeeding population. So we thought we’d help out with this guide to the vaccines. Now before we start, I’m going to state the obvious: I am an OBGYN. That means I am not a virologist, immunologist, or infectious disease specialist. However, I am a trained medical professional who can read research papers and clinical trials to assess how significant their findings...

It’s no secret that many couples struggle to conceive. While this used to be a topic barely anyone discussed, thanks to the incredible community of women and healthcare professionals the world of fertility is becoming much more open and transparent. It is estimated that 1 in 8 couples in the U.S. struggles to get pregnant or sustain a pregnancy. As an OB-GYN, my office is usually one of the first stops for a woman when she thinks something may not be going according to plan and she begins to face fertility problems.  Often times, when...