Episode 190: How Lauren Turned Her Infertility Story into an Infertility Non-profit

Lauren Clements: I was told that I had PCOS and I think that there was a bit of unexplained infertility as well. I really wanted to find a provider that was willing to invest time into doing additional testing. And I had an HSG test where they put the dye in your tubes, and that is where I found out that my tubes were blocked. That was a very devastating day.

Dan Bulger: Lauren had the surgery to remove her fallopian tubes, and she was ready to move ahead with IVF.

Lauren: I think the one thing that maybe mentally, I wasn’t prepared for was the first round not working. By the time you get to IVF, you think, this is going to be it. So, we were excited, and we had a lot of expectations on that first round, and we had found, after six weeks, that there was no heartbeat, and that was again, just another devastating day in the journey. I think that was a learning curve you know: each route, each IUI that you do, each round that you do, each testing, the doctors are gaining more and more insight and information based on how you respond to medications, and how your body is and everything else. So, I wish that I maybe would have looked at it differently in that, it was still a step in the right direction, even if it was unsuccessful the first round.

Dan Bulger: Sometimes, IVF can work in some ways while not working in others. They still had other embryos, so after about a month to let Lauren’s body recover, they went back in for another frozen embryo transfer, and this time, Lauren became pregnant with twins. Twin pregnancies can be a bit scary and even risky at times, but everyone was healthy, and down the line, they welcomed their twin baby girls into the world, and that is where we pivot from Lauren’s infertility story to her infertility nonprofit.Lauren: It was always heavy on my heart to start a nonprofit. I was very passionate about sharing my story, being open about it, and talking with other people. When the pandemic hit my husband actually was working from home, and he has always been such a huge support with my vision. So, it was at that point that I said, I’m just gonna start with the small things. I’m going to do monthly support groups, and I’m going to be on social media and just really start making that network that way. And then I would say, from very early on, I had also told my doctors at RMA (of Michigan) about wanting to start this nonprofit, and they were super supportive. I said, I’m not going to do it without you. So, I was very thankful, very blessed that they have been a partner from the very beginning stages of doing all of this, and it’s become such an awesome thing to see it evolve and see where it’s gone.

Mental support 

• We are partnered with North Star Psychological Services. So, for those within our group that are struggling and need some help on the mental health front, we have therapists that are such amazing souls that can really help people go through that. They also join us every other month with our support socials to kind of help with the dialog and the conversation surrounding that.

Acupuncture

• Then we’ve got an acupuncturist, Acupuncture of Michigan and they also work closely with RMA for supplemental treatment.

Support socials

• Our monthly support socials are really just a way to get everybody together, to network, share, resources, referrals, advice and feed that emotional support. It’s been incredible to see how many friendships and relationships have come from those I’ve had some, quite a few of my girls. You know, I always encourage everyone to slap phone numbers and text just. A lot of them have become close friends to this day.

Fundraising

• The other part of it is our fundraising. We hold a gala every year. It’s called, In the Spirit of Infertility, it’s just really one big, great space for all those to come and support the cause.