Like so many things in life, our expectations of what family building is going to look like may differ greatly from our reality. For our patient Angela, even though she knew that fertility treatment was going to be part of her story from the start, there were still some surprises along the way. We are so grateful to Angela for openly sharing her journey and for demonstrating the power of perseverance and believing in yourself. Read the full story in her own words below.

Taking a break during fertility treatment can be a real gift to yourself (if you can bring yourself to actually take the time off). One might even think of "time off" as, gasp, a vacation! A vacation from the doctor's appointments, monitoring, testing, procedures, blood draws, and more.

1 in 8 couples experience infertility, which likely means you or someone you know has gone through or is currently navigating this experience. It can be a short journey for some, long for others, but at some point, it's mentally and physically draining for almost everyone going through the process.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we've had to adapt to "new normals" like wearing masks in public, forgoing large family gatherings and not blowing out birthday candles. It often feels like many memories from the past few years just aren't the same as they once were. When you add infertility struggles to that already overwhelming mental load, well - it's a lot to manage.

Wellness influencer Hannah Bronfman and her husband, Brendan Fallis, have been open and honest about their pregnancy journey. After a miscarriage, multiple IUI cycles, and then IVF, they give us an update on their family-building story.

Does infertility ever go away? That was the big question I asked myself at certain strategic points in my fertility journey. One such point? When I was ready to give up and go cry myself to sleep under the covers. Another? When I looked in the mirror and could not recognize myself. When it was all over, one way or another, would infertility ever really go away?

In honor of Veterans Day, we asked Tyler and Crystal Wilson, who have worked tirelessly for necessary medical coverage for “wounded warriors” (military personnel injured in active service who have been denied fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization), to use their voice as a shining example of how advocacy works. The Wilsons know, from their own personal experience, the pain and frustration of having injuries that make it impossible to have children without medical treatment due to active military service. Thank you, Tyler, both for your service to our country and to your fellow service people, regarding building a family after a debilitating injury.

One of the hardest decisions Dan and I faced during fertility treatment was making the transition from IUI (intrauterine insemination) to IVF (in vitro fertilization). I remember after failing our third round of IUI treatment (yes, I know, the politically correct way of putting this is, “after my third failed cycle”, but let’s face it, it felt like a personal failure when there was no positive pregnancy test!), my husband and I came face to face with a decision making moment: to pursue another round of IUI or bust out the big guns, moving ahead with IVF. There was a lot of time discussing this potentially life changing decision. We made tons of pros and cons lists because we wanted to ensure we were choosing the best option for the two of us and our situation. We considered lots of factors, but two kept rising to the top of importance: financial cost and our emotional sanity.