According to newly released data from the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 6 people globally now experience infertility, meaning millions of individuals and couples all over the world are struggling to grow their families. In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, seven Illume Fertility patients opened up to share their own stories.

As a fertility specialist, I never expected to encounter my own roadblocks when my wife and I decided to grow our family. While it wasn't an easy journey, it allowed me to gain a new perspective on infertility that has given me even more compassion for my patients.

When Sarah and her husband began trying to conceive six years ago, they never imagined they'd end up needing the help of fertility treatment. After a long, winding road through multiple pregnancy losses, egg retrievals, embryo transfers, and countless tests and appointments, Sarah shares how this journey has shifted her perspective and turned her into a courageous fertility advocate - as well as what's next for their family.

Discovering you need the help of a fertility specialist to conceive can be overwhelming to anyone - throw in a global pandemic, and the experience becomes even more stressful. In this story, Alicia shares her fertility journey and the unexpected challenges along the way.

As awareness around infertility and fertility treatment grows, many people are becoming more familiar with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). But what about all the other ways to make a family? While IVF is a great pathway to parenthood for many parents, it's not the only one!

This is Part 3 of Katie's Story, a series where one fertility patient takes you through her entire IVF journey in real-time, from start to finish. To catch up, read Part 1 and Part 2 or follow along here.

While every fertility patient's journey is different, there's one thing they all typically have in common: none of them expected to need the help of fertility treatments, doctors and an entire team of healthcare professionals in order to have a baby. In this story, Illume Fertility mom Azana shares the highs and lows of her experience and what she learned along her unique path to motherhood.

This is Part 2 of our Katie's Story series. Read Part 1 and Part 3. After a long journey involving multiple pregnancy losses, three rounds of IVF and lots of waiting, we finally welcomed our daughter Nora in 2020. But we were anxious about what it would take for us to try and give Nora a little brother or sister. This is Part 2 of my story, which includes some updates about whether our fourth frozen embryo transfer was successful, the emotional roller coaster of early pregnancy and what's next for our family. Skip to a specific section: July 2021: Planning for Baby #2 Navigating Insurance & the Emotions of Starting Again My Second Egg Retrieval December 2021: Frozen Embryo Transfer January 2022: Am I Pregnant? Pregnancy Ultrasound #1 Pregnancy Ultrasound #2 Where Am I Now? More Infertility Resources