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 6 who, for many reasons, struggle with infertility.
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This is Infertility

Episode 219: Building Military Families: Julie’s Journey from Loss to Community

Guest: Julie Eshelman, Founder & CEO, Building Military Families Network
Host: Dan Bulger, Progyny

Today’s guest always dreamed of building a family. But when she and her husband began trying to conceive, they faced years of unanswered questions and a string of devastating losses.

Like many military families, Julie Eshelman’s journey was shaped not just by infertility, but by deployments, changing doctors, starting over in new states, and a healthcare system that doesn’t always recognize the unique challenges military families face in building a family. Julie and her husband were unable to access full fertility coverage under TRICARE, creating a financial burden to top up the physical and emotional stress they were already experiencing.  

These years of heartbreak also led to joy and purpose. Julie is now the mom of a rambunctious three-year-old, and she founded the Building Military Families Network, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting military and veteran families through infertility, loss, and family building. Through resources, education, and support groups, she’s working to ensure others in her position don’t walk this path alone.  

In this episode, Julie shares her story of why she’s determined to help others navigate a system that has historically overlooked the reproductive needs of those who serve. 

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 #ThisisInfertility. Have a question, comment, or want to share your story? Email us at thisisinfertility@progyny.com.

Watch this episode on YouTube:

Dan Bulger

Host

Dan Bulger
Producer at Progyny

Dan has been in the healthcare industry for the past ten plus years as a multimedia content producer. Better known as ‘Video Dan’ he has interviewed numerous doctors, patients and other experts in the world of fertility. He’s also the producer for this podcast, This is Infertility and the producer behind the Progyny YouTube Channel which features interviews with dozens of the nation’s leading fertility specialists. 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.

Julie Eshelmen

Guest

Julie Eshelman
Founder, CEO, and President of Building Military Families Network

Julie Eshelman is the Founder, CEO, and President of Building Military Families Network where she took her struggles and lack of support in family building and created an organization to fill that gap for military and veteran families. She uses her infertility and pregnancy loss journey to help others realize that they are not alone and advocate for insurance coverage and care for military and veteran families. Julie believes in breaking the chains of shame and embarrassment that these topics carry and instead empowering others to share their journeys and advocate for the next generation. In 2022 she was named the Armed Forces Insurance Fort Leavenworth Spouse of the Year for her awareness, advocacy, and leadership in infertility and military family building.