Bethany C. Meyers always imagined she’d get pregnant immediately.  “I was very much like ‘we’re going to do it once and we’re going to be pregnant. And that’s it,” says Meyers, who is the founder of the be.come project, an inclusive, body-neutral fitness platform.  But Meyers and their partner, actor Nico Tortorella, were shocked when it didn’t unfold that way. “We tried for about two years to get pregnant before we conceived. It was definitely a very unexpected thing for both my partner and [me],” says Meyers. “We’d dreamt about having children, we’ve known each...

Zara Hanawalt • Mar 7, 2023

Infertility — it's a tough journey: physically, emotionally, and financially. But did you know that you may be able to deduct some of the costs of fertility treatments, like in-vitro fertilization (IVF), from your taxes? You heard that right — the IRS recognizes the financial burden that infertility can place on families, and some tax deductions and credits are available to help ease some of the stress.  Before we get into the nitty-gritty and start throwing words at you like "adjusted gross income," "itemized deductions," and other terms that will make your head spin, let's begin...

Brighid Flynn • Mar 6, 2023

Elite athletes have spoken out about how training at the highest level of a sport can affect a person’s mental health and lifestyle in some really damaging ways. We’re aware that many athletes are robbed of their childhood and teen years —  instead of going to prom and homecoming and hanging out by their lockers with friends, they’re training around the clock and carrying enormous pressure on their shoulders.  But there’s one aspect of the athlete experience people may not be aware of: The way athletes often face barriers when building their families due to the...

Zara Hanawalt • Mar 5, 2023

If you’ve ever been diagnosed with unexplained infertility, you know how frustrating that lack of clarity is. Not having a concrete example for why your body isn’t doing the one thing you want it to do can feel so defeating — and in some ways, when there’s no medical cause that experts can point to, it puts even more pressure on the patient to fix the problem.  Speaking of vague, tough-to-understand medical issues: Enter inflammation. Inflammation has become something of a buzzword, both on social media and in real life. But despite how often it...

Zara Hanawalt • Mar 4, 2023

No matter how far along you are in your pregnancy, miscarriages are heartbreaking. They take an immeasurable toll on your physical and emotional health, and for those pursuing Assisted Reproductive Technology like IVF, there is a financial burden on top of it.  A miscarriage, generally classified as spontaneous pregnancy loss before 20 weeks, is hard enough to cope with, let alone experience multiple times. Now let’s explore some of the possible reasons for recurrent pregnancy loss, as well as some diagnostic tests and treatment options that are in your control.  What is Recurrent Pregnancy Loss?...

Brighid Flynn • Mar 2, 2023

Ten years ago, miscarriages were largely suffered in silence. People carried on in the wake of heartbreaking losses, often not sharing their stories — which led to a vicious cycle that left so many people feeling alone after miscarrying. The good news? We’ve come a long way where normalizing pregnancy loss is concerned. Much of that has to do with public figures stepping up to share their stories. By speaking out about their miscarriages, celebrities are creating space for others to do the same — and they’re helping people understand that they’re not alone in...

Zara Hanawalt • Mar 1, 2023

Being able to have a baby via IVF, or in vitro fertilization, is based on so many factors — enough to make your head spin. However, as it relates to the female side of the equation, two factors that have the biggest impact on whether or not IVF will be successful for you come down to your eggs — specifically, the number of eggs retrieved and the quality of those eggs. How Does the Number of Eggs Retrieved Impact IVF Success? The success rate of IVF is based on your chances of having a baby after...

Jennifer “Jay” Palumbo • Feb 28, 2023

Whether you’re new to fertility treatments or an IVF veteran, chances are good that you’re familiar with Preimplantation Genetic Testing, more commonly known as PGT. PGT is a genetic screening test that can be performed on embryos created through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Its purpose is to analyze the genetic material of the embryos to determine whether or not they have an incorrect number of chromosomes or aneuploidy.  In addition to standard PGT for aneuploidy (PGT-A), there are enhanced offerings that IVF patients can now consider. But are these additional options right for your family? And...

Brighid Flynn • Feb 28, 2023

Trying to explain what going through infertility feels like is a nearly impossible task.  For all of the fiction and non-fiction films, TV shows, books, podcasts, and articles that cover this topic, so few truly convey the specific shade of pain, grief, isolation, frustration, shame, anxiety, and loss that infertility can trigger.  So how can we effectively communicate to others what we’re going through? How can we paint a picture that demonstrates the odd mixture of hope and loss and jealousy and shame and impatience that so many of us feel? Metaphors.  Metaphors For What...

Elyse Ash • Feb 27, 2023

Infertility can have many different causes or no explained cause at all (unexplained infertility), which is of no comfort to those who are living through it. It’s human to want to know the root cause of an issue (or who to blame when anger arises). But unlike certain genetic conditions or family diseases, like diabetes or a propensity for heart disease, infertility is not necessarily inherited.  According to the CDC, 1 in 5 women are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying, but all of those women are struggling for reasons that are...

Vivian Nunez • Feb 20, 2023