Episode 52: Not Another Instagram Ad: How Doctors are Serving Fertility Education
People use social media for several reasons. For Instagram, most use it to keep in touch with friends and families while others use it to highlight their culture or connect with their fans. They’re also turning to Instagram to get information, get inspired, and build communities. It’s become a place for people to voice their opinions and share info, especially when it comes to infertility.
Some will use Instagram to document their IVF journey (#IVF has over 1M posts) or talk about their loss (#miscarriage has over 360K posts). Regardless of where someone is in their journey, they can share their experiences (the highs and lows) with a community they build from the ground up.
But with all of this knowledge and community building, people are also being served ads. These ads might gloss over heavy topics like infertility. Some have been reported talking about financing procedures like it’s a walk in the park. When this information isn’t coming from a reproductive endocrinologist, how do you know the information is accurate?
In today’s episode, we hear from Dr. Natalie Crawford about why it’s important for fertility doctors to use popular social media platforms to educate patients and the general public about fertility, and we’ll also hear from Julie R., one of Dr. Crawford’s patients and a Progyny member, about how the patient and doctor relationship is enhanced through social media.
Guest: Julie R., Progyny Member
Expert: Dr. Natalie Crawford, Aspire Fertility Austin
Host: Taylor Burbach, Manager of Member Services at Progyny
For more information, visit Progyny’s Podcast page and Aspire Fertility Austin.
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.

Host
As a patient care supervisor, Taylor helps oversee a team of dedicated patient care advocates. She is also recognized as a reproductive health advocate in her community as a Clue Ambassador. Prior to joining Progyny she organized two Darwin Day Colloquiums in 2014 and 2015 and helped organize the inaugural meeting of the Southeastern Evolutionary Perspectives Society. She recently discovered Krav Maga, which she practices in her free time.

Guest
Dr. Crawford completed her undergraduate education at Auburn University obtaining a degree in nutrition science, medical school at University of Texas Medical Branch, residency in obstetrics and gynecology at University of Texas Southwestern, and her fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of North Carolina while concurrently obtaining a masters degree in clinical research. Dr. Crawford values developing close connections with her patients throughout their infertility journeys and incorporates evidence-based medicine to help patients achieve their dreams of family building. She is passionate about educating and empowering women and promotes fertility awareness through social media and community outreach. She is married to Austin native Jason Crawford, and they have two young children. She also hosts the “As a Woman” podcast with the goal to empower women through education and encourage them to pursue their dreams.

Guest
Julie and her husband are a pair of patent attorneys who met at work, they both love doing strongman workouts and lifting weights. Their shared interests also include travel, reading, good whiskey, and great films. They started their IVF journey about three years ago and last year welcomed their first child. The addition of their son was welcome especially by their dog, Nacho, who now enjoys being chased around the house by the excited screeching of a kiddo who just learned to walk and catching the not-so-occasional stray piece of food flung from the high chair during meal times. While they look forward to growing their family (via more rounds of IVF), Julie and her husband right now feel happy and content as they enjoy the day-to-day happenings of the family life.
Music From This Episode:
Artist: Komiku
Track: Chill Out Theme
URL: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Komiku
Track: I got 99 broadswords but this one isn’t one store’s theme
URL :https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Komiku
Artist: Andy G. Cohen
Track: A Perceptible Shift
URL: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Andy_G_Cohen
Artist: Kai Engel
Track: Scenery
URL: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel
Artist: Lee Rosevere
Track: What Have You Done
URL: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_For_Podcasts
Track: Completely Lost
URL: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_For_Podcasts
Track: Night Caves
URL: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_For_Podcasts
Track: I thought of Pills
URL: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_For_Podcasts