Mother’s Day is not a celebration for everyone. When struggling with infertility and miscarriage - this particular holiday can be full of many mixed emotions. In this special episode of the Baby or Bust Fertility Podcast, Dr. Shahine shares many personal reflections on how tough Mother’s Day can be for the fertility community and leaves you with tips on how to cope. Finish this episode with ideas and inspiration to care for yourself this Mother’s Day weekend.  In this episode you’ll hear: ...

Did you know that 1 in 5 Americans have tried marijuana at least once in their life? It is the most commonly used recreational drug in the U.S. but many do not realize how it impacts fertility, success with IVF, miscarriage risk, and pregnancy health.  It’s easy to assume that something that is legal medically and sometimes recreationally in many states could be harmful to your health, especially your reproductive health.   If you’ve been curious about marijuana use and fertility - this...

Candles can be romantic, even sexy. But ironically, some can make it harder for you to get pregnant. Many common candles can have an impact on fertility, so if you’re trying to build your family, you may want to reconsider how you set the mood. Candles and scents may impact fertility, but never fear: information is power. On this episode of Baby or Bust, you will learn what you need to know about fertility and candles.  In this episode, Dr. Lora Shahine is chatting with Tristan Weholt,...

For many struggling with infertility, building a family may take more than two people. Egg donation, sperm donation, surrogacy or using a gestational carrier can be a beautiful way to build a family, but the process can be full of many questions and misconceptions along the way.  Why do egg and sperm donors donate? Can third-party donors really be anonymous in this age of in-home genetic testing? Should parents be open with their children about their biological origins? If so, when is the...

Trying is supposed to be the fun part, right? Ask anyone struggling with infertility and they may share that intimacy can start to feel like a job after a while. Many fertility patients have found that at-home inseminations can be an option for trying to conceive at home. At-home inseminations are not the same as intrauterine inseminations in a fertility clinic and cannot substitute for consults, testing, and guidance from a reproductive endocrinologist. However, they can be an option to...

There are many fertility misconceptions, but when you’re trying to conceive, it is tough to tell the truth from the myths. What really will help you get pregnant? Stay pregnant?  And have a healthy baby?  Your friends can be convinced that certain positions helped them. Instagram can make you feel you are to blame for your miscarriage. In this episode, first shared on Lisa Schuman’s podcast, Building Your Family, Dr. Lora Shahine and host Lisa debunk some common fertility myths.  You’ll...

Endometriosis is a common yet often misdiagnosed chronic inflammatory disease associated with pain and infertility.. Never heard of endometriosis? You’re not alone. Despite it being a painful condition, it can take, on average 7 - 8 years to get a correct diagnosis.  March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, and given the often debilitating pain this condition can cause — and how hard it can be for people in pain to be HEARD by medical professionals — we think it’s really important for...

In the wake of the Dobbs decision that effectively ended federal abortion rights protection under Roe v Wade, the fate of IVF and fertility treatments has been hanging in the balance. In Alabama in February/March of 2024, a decision on the rights of a fetus brought IVF to a halt. Was this was the “pro-life” movement had in mind? To prohibit people from building the families they envision? Fortunately, that outcome was “patched,” thanks to activism by reproductive rights’ advocates, among...

Learn about a different kind of support resource for miscarriage and pregnancy loss on this week’s episode of the Baby or Bust Fertility podcast. Dr. Shahine interviews Emily Carrington, founder of the Early Pregnancy Loss Association. Emily has turned her own story of confusion and payment plans for her miscarriages into a support system to educate women on the realities of miscarriage and navigate the medical bills that can pile up.   Learn about the unique miscarriage care kits that...

Secondary infertility — difficulty conceiving or carrying a subsequent pregnancy — comes with a unique set of challenges. Being a parent with infertility can create tension between feeling grateful for the family you have yet grieving the family you desire.  In this episode, Dr. Lora Shahine talks with Allie Karagozian, occupational therapist, business owner, and podcaster. Allie shares her own fertility journey and why she created a special way to support those suffering with secondary...

“I am so sorry, but the baby has stopped developing.” A  “missed” or “silent” miscarriage is when the fetus has stopped developing, but the body hasn’t gotten the message to end the pregnancy yet. It can be devastating, and unfortunately, there are often decisions that the pregnant person will need to make. In this episode, Dr. Lora Shahine talks about what a missed miscarriage is, what actions you may need to take if diagnosed with a missed miscarriage, and what the pros, cons, and risks...

How much does what we eat impact our fertility? Certainly food influences pregnancy and fertility much more than most of us know, possibly more than our doctors know! Fortunately, a book is coming that can change all that, and in this episode, Dr. Lora Shahine is talking with the authors about fertility, food, nutrition, the science of food and fertility, the myths surrounding nutrition and reproduction (hint: it’s NOT all about BMI), and so much more. Dr. Angela Thyer is a reproductive...

Whether you’re convinced of their medicinal properties or not, the pineapple is a wonderful and long-lived symbol of hope and strength in the fertility community.  In this episode, Dr. Lora Shahine explains a little about where the symbol comes from, a couple myths to watch out for, and how the pineapple symbol can help you on your fertility journey,  In this episode you’ll hear: [1:14] Pineapples are everywhere in the fertility community! [2:37] The medical connection to the pineapple...

Many people struggling with infertility are curious about the claims that acupuncture will improve fertility and decrease time to pregnancy, but they don’t explore this option because of…needles.  What if you could get the potential fertility-boosting benefits of acupuncture without the sticks?  In this episode, doctor of acupuncture, teacher, researcher, and practitioner of integrative East-Asian Medicine Dr. Lee Hullender Rubin talks with Dr. Shahine about the recent research and claims...

Many say raising children “takes a village,” but what about the team you create on your family building journey through infertility, miscarriage, IVF and early pregnancy? The “trying to conceive” village can include doctors, nurses, therapists, acupuncturists, friends, family, and maybe a fertility coach.  If you’re curious about what a fertility coach is and are considering working with one, you’ll learn all about it in this episode in which Dr. Shahine interviews fertility coach Ceire...

PGT-A, PGT-M, PGT-SR, Carrier Screening, Karyotype — oh my! The options available for genetic screening in fertility testing and IVF treatment can get confusing. Understanding testing available to you BEFORE treatment as well as DURING the IVF process is key. These tests can decrease risk of disease and miscarriage and improve success rates with a single embryo transfer, but there are pros and cons for every intervention. It can be difficult to keep it all straight and overwhelming to know...

Infertility advocate and health enthusiast Adelaide White is an invaluable source of light and hope to so many on TikTok and Instagram, Dr. Shahine included. In this episode, the tables are flipped as Adelaide interviews Lora on All Things Fertility Journey, from the educational journey of a reproductive endocrinologist to the differences among the fertility treatment choices to the many causes of infertility to the heartbreak of recurrent pregnancy loss. Through it all, one message is...

Those undergoing IVF sometimes hear they shouldn’t exercise or they might put the process at risk. However, we know a sedentary lifestyle isn’t healthy for your fertility either. For many, exercise doesn’t just keep their bodies healthy, it’s also critical to managing stress, aiding with sleep, and managing mental health — which can also impact fertility. So how much exercise is too much when trying to conceive and in early pregnancy? In this episode, Dr. Shahine helps us understand the...

We considered posting this episode on New Year's Eve, when toasting in the New Year is likely to happen, rather than New Year's Day, when many celebrants are waking up to a sore head, a fuzzy tongue, and second thoughts about that third round of shots. It's OK to celebrate — but alcohol is a tricky question when it comes to fertility. How much is too much?   In this episode you’ll hear: [00:00] Intro [2:20] Stopping alcohol in pregnancy message is out but what about while trying [4:28]...

If you’ve ever wondered where Dr. Shahine gets her ferocity from, well, meet Charlene.  Inspired by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Wiser Than Me podcast, Dr. Shahine interviews a woman she truly admires: her mother, Charlene Kelly Ewing.  Despite being “all of 5 feet,” according to daughter Lora, Charlene meets every challenge head-on and, at age 79, still pushes herself to do what she’s afraid of. The diminutive Southern belle may have a soft voice, but Dr Shahine knows to listen: her mom has been...

“Why didn’t I know all this already?”        - Pretty much everyone who reads Toni Weschler’s book  The stigma around women’s reproductive systems isn’t just an inconvenience, it removes a critical way women get insight into their bodies and health overall: period power.  The menstrual cycle tells us a whole lot more than if we’re pregnant or not, or menopausal or not, says author Toni Weschler. Her seminal (oh, the irony of that adjective!) work, Taking Charge of Your Fertility, is all...

No two fertility journeys are alike, but Tara Lipinski’s experience is perhaps even more unique than most. The champion, gold-medal-ice-skater-turned-sports-analyst was 35 and still not necessarily ready to start building her family. So she decided to put her options “on ice” — literally preserving eggs and/or embryos until she and her husband Todd were ready. However, the process turned out to be more complicated than it appeared when a diagnosis of endometriosis sent them down a different...

The good news: IUIs can work! Intrauterine insemination (sometimes laughingly referred to as “the turkey baster method”), or IUI, can help overcome issues like low sperm count or low sperm motility by getting sperm closer to where it needs to be around the time of ovulation. This method of dealing with infertility is also less expensive and much less invasive for the person hoping to carry the pregnancy. It can also be a great method if you’re planning on using donor sperm. The harder news...

Ep 47: Weight and Fertility: Optimizing Heath NOT Restriction and Shame with Dr. Stephanie Fein  Weight loss for fertility is controversial and complicated, and to be perfectly honest, more research is needed to fully understand the link between body weight and fertility. Whatever studies find, weight loss for fertility should never involve shaming or guilt.  In this episode, Dr. Shahine talks weight and fertility with Stephanie Fein, MD. Dr. Fein started in social psychology, then moved to...