Messy in the Middle: The Journey of Infertility Podcast

Katrina's first pregnancy devastatingly ended up being ectopic, resulting in emergent surgery. After 18 months trying to conceive naturally, Katrina and her husband discovered after further testing that his sperm wasn't optimal. It was a shock to them both, especially when Katrina had blamed herself for so long that they weren't getting a positive pregnancy test. It was then they decided that IVF was their best chance to conceive. After struggling mentally for some time around this decision, Katrina shares her positive IVF story, resulting in the birth of a healthy baby girl. Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY= And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

Jessica Leigh shares the story of her son's birth and it was nothing like she could have planned or ever imagined. It was found that her cervix was starting to shorten at 28 weeks, then with funneling at 32 weeks. This ultimately resulted in the premature rupture of membranes at 35 weeks. The birth of her son was fast and the story doesn't end there – what followed was a postpartum hemorrhage, surgery…then more surgery at 3 weeks postpartum.Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

Liss is a 30 year old woman who shares her long journey of trying to conceive. After trying and not succeeding to fall pregnant naturally over a 2 year time period, she finally sought help from a fertility specialist and at 29 years of age was classified as medically infertile and had no choice but to proceed with IVF. After another 3 years and 5 transfers, she is currently pregnant with her first child.Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com New Messy in the Middle Facebook Support Groups:Community Grouphttps://m.facebook.com/groups/260521623533545/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBTIVF Support Group https://m.facebook.com/groups/986956492386520/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBTTrying to Conceivehttps://m.facebook.com/groups/6579163665499384/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBTPregnancy Support Grouphttps://m.facebook.com/groups/816231440230130/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBTMiscarriage & Baby Loss Support Grouphttps://m.facebook.com/groups/2033246727024390/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

I had a lovely chat with Jen, who is not only a Fertility Coach and founder of Your Pregnancy Haven - but she also has her own story of infertility and the struggles it took to conceive her two children. Jen and her husband tried for many years, with no found explanation to their infertility struggles and it got a point where her sister-in-law offered to be a surrogate for them. This resulted in the birth of their son. Amazingly, 4 weeks after his birth, Jen fell pregnant naturally, but unfortunately this pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. 6 months later, she fell pregnant again and this resulted in the birth of their daughter.We go on to discuss how to manage anxiety during pregnancy after loss, how important it is to have a goal outside of your fertility and pregnancy journey and how it helps to break the pregnancy down into milestones.Jen is a wealth of knowledge and such a really is a valuable pillar of support to her coaching clients – she teaches effective strategies to not only see you through what ever stage in your journey that you're at, but they are invaluable life skills that you will take with you long into your journey as a parent.Jen has a book available to purchase from all major online outlets called - The Injustice of Infertility and offers both 1:1 coaching and online programs.Make sure you follow Jen on the socials below:Ms Jennifer Robertsonhttps://instagram.com/msjenniferrobertson?igshid=MmU2YjMzNjRlOQ==Your Pregnancy Havenhttps://instagram.com/yourpregnancyhaven?igshid=MmU2YjMzNjRlOQ==Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com New Messy in the Middle Facebook Support Groups:Community Grouphttps://m.facebook.com/groups/260521623533545/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBTIVF Support Group https://m.facebook.com/groups/986956492386520/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBTTrying to Conceive Support Group https://m.facebook.com/groups/6579163665499384/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBTPregnancy Support Grouphttps://m.facebook.com/groups/816231440230130/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBTMiscarriage & Baby Loss Support Grouphttps://m.facebook.com/groups/2033246727024390/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

Ashley is still in her messy middle. She is coming up to the year mark of when she was last pregnant and in that time, has had to come to terms with a diagnosis she never even knew existed. Ashley tried for 7 months to fall pregnant, she wasn't sure that she was consistently ovulating. After being referred to a fertility specialist to do formal ovulation tracking, she confirmed ovulation, went through her TWW and was surprised to find out she was pregnant. Unfortunately, this pregnancy was not meant to last. She had a scan at 6.5 weeks and there was a fetal pole, a heartbeat, but there wasn't a yolk sac. She had a gut feeling that she may have had a missed miscarriage, as she did slightly lose symptoms at 9 weeks. At 11 weeks went to first OB appt and it was during that scan she was told that the pregnancy wasn't viable and was booked in for a D&C that same day.If only her heartache ended there. Ashley goes on to tell her story of how it took over 5 months to get her period back, she had an abnormal ultrasound which showed retained products as well as an enlarged uterus with abnormal vascularity. Her OB at the time completely disregarded her concerns and it took seeing a new OB and an interventional radiologist for her to finally be diagnosed with an AVM. As much as it is a rare condition and no one can definitely confirm how she came to have one, Ashley felt it was so important to bring awareness to the condition, which anyone could possibly get as a result of a D&C or retained products.Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

Louise is a Fertility Coach who has her own background of struggling to conceive. After years of negative tests and failed IUI and IVF cycles, Louise was told by her fertility specialist to take 6 months off to focus on healing her mental and physical health. As hard as it was for her to “take a break”, that's exactly what she did. She enlisted the help from acupuncturists, hypnotherapists and energy healers. She took the time and did the inner work to heal her mind and her body and once the 6 months was up, she returned to her fertility specialist only to find out that she had fallen pregnant naturally.Her journey was the catalyst for her career path – she discovered how your mindset is a powerful asset when it comes to fertility and your success when trying to conceive.Through her work as a coach, she supports women through psychological blocks and limiting beliefs that may be affecting their ability to conceive.She also highlights why it is so important to learn the tools to work on your mindset – to not only get through the trying to conceive journey, but also to be better emotionally and mentally prepared to go through the really hard stages of parenting.She is a wealth of knowledge and a true asset to all women struggling to conceive.Be sure to follow Louise on Instagram -https://instagram.com/louise.siwicki?igshid=MmU2YjMzNjRlOQ==Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

Leticia and her husband did all the right things, even started pre-conception care where her doctor told her that she is young and will fall pregnant in a flash.Yet after 12 months of trying, with no positive pregnancy tests, they decided to enlist the help of a fertility specialist. After the general fertility testing, where nothing showed of concern, Leticia started on letrozole and fell pregnant after her second month of trying. Unfortunately, after 5 days, she started bleeding and had a spontaneous miscarriage.Another 2 years pass and there are no positive pregnancy tests to be found. The letrozole was proving ineffective, so their fertility specialist conducted more testing and it was found that the morphology and motility of the sperm was less than ideal. It was at this time they decided to move onto IVF.Her first cycle produced 2 embryos, both resulting in failed cycles.After moving to a private IVF clinic in 2020, they gave Leticia a more tailored approach to her protocol and her body responded really well, they got 9 embryo's from that found and after the first transfer, she fell pregnant with her daughter.Leticia was diagnosed with post-natal anxiety and it's so brave of her to share, but it's also so common within the infertility community that our fear and anxiety can carry through to after the baby is born.Once Leticia got her period back after the birth of her daughter, it was coming every 2 weeks. When she had it investigated, her ovaries looked textbook polycystic.In late 2022, they did another embryo transfer, but sadly it didn't take and all the feelings of disappointment came flooding back from all those years of trying.What I love about Leticia, is that it took her 4 years to fall pregnant and have a baby, yet she felt so lucky and grateful that she fell pregnant on her third cycle of IVF.Be sure to check out Leticia's newly released workbook “Tired of Trying to Conceive” An interactive workbook filled with writing, drawing and colouring exercises.https://instagram.com/tiredoftryingtoconceive?igshid=MmU2YjMzNjRloQ==https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C9S7K125/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2DH3K37A6HSQI&keywords=leticia+robers&qid=1688281423&sprefix=leticia+roberts%2Caps%2C264&sr=8-1Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

In this episode I chat with Samantha – she is the epitome of the quote “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it”. Samantha's first pregnancy ended in a tragic second trimester loss at 22 weeks due to placental abruption and due to retained products, she contracted a severe infection that left her in ICU. Samantha's coping mechanism was to create a plan and start taking action on how to move forward. Unfortunately, her second pregnancy ended at 20 weeks due to premature rupture of waters and it was found that her infection had returned. Her third pregnancy miraculously turned out to be twins…after her first scan only showed 1 baby and heartbeat. Her second scan though showed that there were actually 2 babies in there and as her luck would have it, they were the most high-risk twins below conjoined twins and they had a 75% mortality rate. Samantha and her partner were advised to terminate due to the high risk and her history, but they decided to ride it out and see how it went. The twins passed at 15 weeks due to cord entanglement. After the birth of the twins, Samantha spent 3 years trying with no success. She then fell pregnant a fourth time with her son Noah and devastatingly went into active labour at 22 weeks. Despite all the tragic loss that she has endured, Samantha was still determined to have a living child. As they had spent so long without any luck, it was decided they would try donor eggs, which they got from the Ukraine. This was her first experience with IVF. They implanted 2 embryos and did fall pregnant, but then miscarried 7 days later. By now, we are into COVID days and it was difficult to make the trip to Canberra from Melbourne, where she was getting the IVF treatment and made the decision to look into surrogacy. Shortly after, her and her partner separated and this left Samantha in a really dark hole and she described this loss as being harder than losing the babies – because now in her 40's, she felt as though all hope of her dreams of having a living child left when he did. She did end up transferring the last embryo they had and when it didn't take, she decided that IVF wasn't for her and it was time to seriously explore her surrogacy options. Australia was out of the question, simply as it was going to take too much time – so it was off to Greece! She used an organisation that only take on people that have tried all other avenues and have been unsuccessful in birthing a live child. At the time of recording in February 2023, her surrogate was pregnant – with twins!! Unfortunately, twin A – Baby Grace, passed due to a heart condition and there was a real chance she could lose both babies if the surrogates body recognised that one of the twins had died. Some good news though! Twin B, who is a baby boy is thriving and at the time of release, Samantha is on her way to Greece for the birth of her baby boy. This is an incredibly devastating and heart-wrenching journey that spanned 10 years and I'm so overjoyed to follow Samantha's journey and watch her bring her baby home.If you want to follow Samantha, she has a page on Facebook – Memories of an Angel – https://www.facebook.com/MemoriesofanAngelMake sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

In this episode welcome back episode, I give a brief update on how my current pregnancy is progressing and I provide some helpful tools in how to navigate the surprisingly difficult mental battle of pregnancy after loss. I share some recent revelations and ask the question – should I get a co-host??Thank you all so much for your patience during the break. Hopefully that will be it now until bubs is born. Stay tuned in, there are some really great episodes coming your way!Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

In this episode I speak with Lauren, she takes us on her journey of how she miraculously fell pregnant with her first child and how the struggle truly began when they were wanting to have their second baby. Lauren had an exploratory laparoscopy at 22, where the doctor also performed a D&C and burned the wall of her uterus to stop the heavy and painful periods she was experiencing. Little did she know, how much of an impact this would have on her future fertility. When they struggled to conceive their second child, she was finally given a diagnosis of Ashermans Syndrome. Lauren saw the best ashermans specialist in the country and soon after her surgery, with renewed hope, she fell pregnant. Unfortunately, this resulted in a very long-winded miscarriage experience where she didn't stop bleeding for 4 months. Another saline sonogram confirmed that her ashermans had returned and 2 weeks following the procedure, she was pregnant again and this pregnancy resulted in another miscarriage. At this point, Lauren was feeling heartbroken and defeated. She felt like a failure as a woman because she couldn't have children. Just after Christmas that year, she got another positive pregnancy test, but instead of elation, there was fear. She had a small bleed, but everything was going well. The baby was growing, she had morning sickness, which she hadn't experienced before…and at the 6-week scan, there was a heartbeat. This pregnancy thankfully resulted in the birth of her second son. The road was rough and she wasn't sure that she would ever reach the light at the end of the tunnel, but Lauren finally got there and is able to give us all hope of holding our much wanted babies in our arms.Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

In this bonus episode, your host, Jessica Leigh, gives an update on her current suspected miscarriage experience. She describes in detail all the symptoms she was feeling to lead her to having no doubt in her mind that this pregnancy was as good as over. But so far, there isn't enough evidence to make the official call as her HCG is still rising and an early scan showing only a gestational sac. This is raw, this is vulnerable and we still don't know the outcome and that's what makes this the messiest middle of them all…the tortuous wait of, am I pregnant or am I not?Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

In this episode I speak with Shelby, she takes us through her heart wrenching journey of 5 years trying to grow their family. In this time, she was diagnosed with a unicornuate uterus and decided that IVF would give them the best chance of success. After 9 failed cycles, she finally fell pregnant and unfortunately this resulted in a missed miscarriage at 10 weeks. She fell pregnant again the next cycle after having a D&C and at 9 weeks, she had another missed miscarriage – after seeing her baby's heartbeat the day before. After trying for 5 years – 14 IVF cycles and 8 miscarriages, she had a beautiful Aunt who offered to be their surrogate. After her Aunt miscarried after their first transfer, they decided they could only try one more time and thankfully, this resulted in their beautiful baby girl. Shelby takes us through what it was like to face the one future that none of us want to face – being childless and even though this is no longer her reality, she has still had to come to terms that she won't be having any more children and that it is and will be, ok.If you'd like to listen to the podcast Shelby was on talking about her HA recovery, you can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0JMfTRUiiPRoCJoLxaZ3zQ?si=Kx3u0hRITaWzJlYGpr8VfAMake sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

In this episode I speak with Sasha, her first pregnancy was a happy accident with no concerns that would have ever eluded to the struggles that were to come. When trying for a sibling, Sasha suffered a miscarriage at 11 weeks and it is hands down, the most traumatic miscarriage experience I have ever heard. She then went on to lose another pregnancy at 5 weeks and subsequently went on to have an ectopic pregnancy. We talk marriage breakdowns, the dark depression that she found herself in and the lengths she had to go to in order to heal from her trauma. Sasha is a psychic medium who turned to her spiritual practice to ultimately save her life. This is such a beautiful conversation with deep insights on how to heal, grow and evolve from the trauma's we experience in life. She never envisioned her life to have the struggles that she has faced, but she is a true testament that you can rise from the ashes. If you want more information about womb healing or the other healing experiences that Sasha offers, you can find her at https://www.facebook.com/sashahayleypsychicmedium Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY= And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

In this episode I speak with Heather, who takes us through her struggles of trying to conceive. She tried for 12 months unsuccessfully when she finally went and consulted with a fertility specialist who discovered she had a blocked tube and rather than going through the process of rectifying the issue, decided IVF would be the path they would take. Unfortunately, she had to go through 5 rounds of IUI before her insurance would cover her IVF treatment. But luckily for her, Heather fell pregnant on her first round. The struggles didn't end there though, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, had a bleed at 28 weeks and later developed cholestasis which resulted in the induction of her son, but not the end of her harrowing journey. Right after birth, her son was rushed to the NICU and the following morning had to be airlifted to another hospital to be put on life saving machines, where he stayed for the first 30 days of his life. Heather has since had 3 unsuccessful embryo transfers and has discovered she has scarring in her uterus. She has one embryo left, but is still undecided if they will go ahead and try again.Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

In this episode, Megan takes us through her completely unexpected and heartbreaking journey of secondary infertility. Megan fell pregnant easily with her first daughter and had a textbook pregnancy, so when things didn't come so easily the second time around, she almost gave up as positive pregnancy tests brought nothing but pain. Megan endured 4 losses before deciding to see a Fertility Specialist who was able to diagnose her asymptomatic endometriosis. We also get into the discussion of mental health while trying to navigate not only pregnancy loss, but the anxiety that also comes with being pregnant after loss. It's a harrowing tale of recounting multiple losses and the treatment that finally led her to having another beautiful baby girl to complete their family. If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, please know that there are resources available to support you on your journey - Lifeline Australia – 13 11 14 PANDA – 1300 726 306 Pink Elephant - https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/ Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY= And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com

The first episode of Messy in the Middle kicks off with the telling of my story. I always thought my first miscarriage was just a little hiccup in the road as I successfully went on to give birth to my son. I never imagined that secondary infertility would become a part of my reality. I walk you through my second miscarriage, how the 3 consecutive loss rule is absolute crap and the subsequent diagnosis of Ashermans Syndrome and the discovery of a unicornuate uterus. I am in the trenches, still completely unsure if my dreams of another baby will ever come to fruition. Make sure you follow the Messy in the Middle Instagram page: https://instagram.com/_messyinthemiddle_?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY= And if you want to share your story, please get in contact with me either through the Instagram page or email me at messyinthemiddle.fertility@gmail.com