The Pineapple Podcast: Stories of Infertility

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. In honor of all those who have lost a little one, Monica, today's guest, shares her story. Monica is an IVF coach, speaker, author, and infertility warrior. In this episode, Monica shares the story of going through infertility as well as the loss of her daughter. She opens up and honestly speaks about how her marriage and relationships suffered from the grief of her experiences. I appreciate the bravery and courage it takes to talk about this subject and am so grateful to have been able to talk with her. Thank you so much Monica for sharing your story! To connect with Monica: https://www.monicabivas.com https://www.facebook.com/monica.bivas https://twitter.com/MonicaBivas @monicabivas on Instagram You can also find her book at, www.theivfplanner.com.

Tarryn and her husband, who live in Australia, began the TTC process just as we all do, hopeful that they would soon be pregnant. After months of no luck, Tarryn reached out to her doctor to try and get some answers. ⁠After multiple tests, her doctor diagnosed her with diminished ovarian reserve. Onto IVF they went. Multiple rounds later and still they were no closer to growing their family. Her doctor ended up doing a laparoscopy and eventually gave her a diagnosis of stage 4 endometriosis. ⁠While taking a break from IVF Tarryn had an inkling that something was up so she went and took a pregnancy test. IT WAS POSITIVE!! Now she and her husband have their perfect little boy. ⁠Tarryn is an advocate for infertility and endometriosis awareness after she went undiagnosed for so long. Thank you so much for sharing your story!! ⁠

In ep. 18 we heard the beginning of Alana and Amanda's story. When we left off, Alana had just had an awful experience with her care provider and was in the process of changing providers. In today's episode, we hear how Alana changed providers and what her experience was like. Alana discusses how after multiple rounds she and Amanda switched gears and began reciprocal IVF, with Amanda going through the egg retrieval process. You can follow along with Alana and Amanda's story on Instagram at @mummyplusmumma.

This week's guest is Alana. Alana and Amanda are a same-sex couple who began their family building back in 2017. ⁠ In this part 1 episode, Alana shares her experiences going through multiple sperm donors, clinics, procedures, failed IVF transfers, and miscarriages. Listening to her speak about all she went through made my heart break for her and Amanda. Her story shows how IVF is not a guarantee, like so many not in the infertility community believe. ⁠ *Alana mentioned an organization in Australia called Pink Elephants Support Network. You can find them on Instagram @pinkelephantssupport. Thank you, Alana, for sharing your story!

This girl is the definition of an #infertilitywarrior. Katie and her husband have undergone 6 rounds of IVF. After not getting pregnant for months after getting married, Katie and her husband went in and got tested for all the things. To their surprise, they had both male factor infertility and diminished ovarian reserve. So began their infertility story. ⁠Katie shares her experience through all 6 cycles and describes the various protocols and changes her doctor made to each cycle. ⁠ ⁠ Katie also talks about how during the COVID-19 infertility treatment shutdown, she and some other women developed an alliance to advocate for the infertility community and to get treatments going again. She is amazing!!