This is Infertility is a bi-weekly podcast where we fuse narrative storytelling with experience and science to give you a new perspective on what it’s really like to go through a family building journey. Each episode dives into the emotional, physical, and financial burdens carried by those who experience infertility on their path to parenthood. Be it IVF, IUI, egg freezing, surrogacy, adoption, etc., the path is never the same and it can be long, painful, and lonely. It’s our mission to give those struggling a platform to be heard, a community connection, and an opportunity to raise awareness of the 1 in 8 who, for many reasons, struggle with infertility.
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This is Infertility

Bonus Episode 16: Navigating Your Family Building Journey Through the Holidays

When it comes to family building, the holidays can be a time of heightened anxiety, sensitive conversations, and awkward family encounters. Dealing with infertility can prove to be challenging on its own but paired with pressing questions from relatives can really make one feel as though it’s their fault. 

Today’s episode features tips on how to handle tough situations and challenging questions about family building this holiday season, as well as leaning on partner support, distancing yourself when need be, and creating new traditions. Being around family during the holidays can bring up many emotions but it is important to remember that you are not alone. 

While this episode is definitely worth the listen, we understand that life gets busy and have provided a summary for you here. 

Experts: Dr. Georgia Witkin, Progyny; Regina Townsend, The Broken Brown Egg; Khaled Kteily, Legacy 

Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny 

For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Progyny’s Education page for more resources. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @ThisisInfertilityPodcast and use the #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com. 

Dan Bulger

Host

Dan Bulger
Producer at Progyny

Dan has been in the healthcare industry for the last six years as a multimedia content producer. Better known as ‘Video Dan’ he as interviewed numerous doctors, patients and other experts in the world of fertility. He’s also the producer for this podcast, This is Infertility. On a personal note Dan’s parents started fostering kids when he was four years old, and he considers himself a proud older brother to over 100 foster children. 

Dr. Georgia Witkin

Guest

Dr. Georgia Witkin
Head of Member Services Development at Progyny, Assistant Professor of OB-GYN and Reproductive Sciences and Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai 

Georgia is the author of 12 acclaimed books, including The Female Stress Survival Guide, The Male Stress Survival Guide, and Stress Relief for Disasters Great and Small, and is a prolific writer of research articles about women, stress, and reproductive medicine. She has been honored by the AIA, AFA, Resolve, and City of Hope. She has also served as a health reporter/host for CNBC, WNBC, and the Fox News Channel, and has been featured as a guest expert on 20/20, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and CNN.

Podcast-Headshot-20200617_170641

Guest

Regina Townsend
Founder of the Broken Brown Egg

Regina Townsend is the founder of The Broken Brown Egg, an awareness and service organization founded in the summer of 2009 to increase awareness of African American Infertility and Reproductive Health. As a black woman, Regina found a very quiet life in infertility. She believed that should change, so that no one else will have to feel like the lone wolf of their family. Infertility is lonely enough without feeling like a minority inside of a minority.  

Regina’s infertility was due to PCOS, Hypothyroidism, blocked fallopian tubes, and Type 2 diabetes. She and her husband dabbled with pill abuse (Clomid), lied to all their family members, “NO, we are NOT nearly ready for children!”, and took a painful trip into parenting purgatory (Foster Care/Kinship Placement). In 2015, they were blessed with the opportunity to try IVF, and had their son in 2016. Librarian by profession and writer by passion, Regina considers writing and reading to be one of the most personal forms of communication, entertainment and education. 

Kteily-Headshot

Guest

Khaled Kteily
Founder & CEO of Legacy

Khaled Kteily is the CEO of Legacy (www.givelegacy.com), a digital fertility clinic for men helping change the outdated view that fertility is a “women’s issue”. Legacy is a graduate of Harvard’s Innovation Labs and Y Combinator, has raised over $20M from top-tier investors like FirstMark Capital & Bain Capital Ventures, as well as celebrities like Justin Bieber and DJ Khaled. 

The company works with leading insurers (e.g. UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, etc.), leading military partners (e.g. Navy SEALs) and leading clinics (e.g. Memorial Sloan Kettering) in additions to its Direct to Consumer offering. 

Khaled previous worked at the World Economic Forum (Davos) in Geneva, Switzerland and as a healthcare consultant at Oliver Wyman in Toronto, Canada. He studied public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he received a full scholarship and graduated with distinction, and graduated with a triple concentration from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. 

Khaled is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), is an Aspen Ideas Health Scholar, and has been awarded 40 under 40 (Arab America Foundation). He was recently selected by the World Government Summit as one of the top 100 Arab Pioneers. He serves on the boards of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership (Alumni Council) and the Harvard Arab Alumni Association.