When you’re going through fertility treatments, you never imagine they will end without a baby. I didn’t. I believed that if I tried hard enough, followed every step, and stayed committed, eventually I would have the child I dreamed of. But when IVF failed and motherhood didn’t happen, I was completely unprepared and unsupported.

That gap, the silence that follows when treatments end without children, is why I became a member of ASRM, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and serve in their Mental Health Providers group.

In October I am attending the ASRM annual congress with thousands of reproductive Endocrinologists, fertility doctors, IVF nurses, and fertility specialists from around the world. My mission is to make sure the voices of women who are childless after infertility are part of the conversation.

For an upcoming podcast episode I will be interviewing a fertility doctor who not only treats patients but has gone through IVF herself. This is your opportunity to shape that conversation.

✨ What do you wish you had received when you left treatments without a baby?
✨ Were you offered support, and if yes what was most helpful?
✨ If you weren’t, what do you think would have made the biggest difference?
✨ And what is one question you would love me to ask a fertility doctor about life after treatment?

👉 Share your input here: Fill out the form

Your name will never be used on the podcast, but if you’d like me to thank you personally you’ll have the option to share your name and email at the end.

Your experience matters. What you went through is real, and if I can help bridge your story with the professionals shaping fertility care, we can change the way life after infertility is understood and supported.

🔗 Related Episodes:

• Ep 147: Support After IVF - What Childless Women Really Want (click here to listen)

• Ep 146: Finding Closure After IVF (click here to listen)

💜 Free Resource: The Top 27 Things People Say When You’re Childless (and How to Respond) → Click HERE!

Why does infertility feel so shameful? In this episode of The "So Now What?" Podcast, Lana Manikowski unpacks the weight of shame after IVF fails and motherhood does not happen.

She explains why shame shows up for women who are childless not by choice, why it is optional, and how you can release it. Learn four steps to stop carrying shame so you can feel grounded, confident, and whole in the life you are creating.

If you are childless after infertility, you may know the weight of shame all too well. Shame convinces you that you are the problem. That your body failed. That you let your husband or partner down. That you disappointed your parents by not giving them grandchildren. That your family name ends with you.

Shame after infertility is common, but here is the truth most women do not realize: shame is optional.

In this episode, I share why infertility feels so shameful, how shame sneaks into your identity, and why you do not have to carry it as part of who you are. I tell my own story of IVF failing me and the moment I believed I had let everyone down. I also share the four steps that helped me rewrite that story and start living without shame.

You will learn:

• Why shame shows up after infertility and IVF fails

• The difference between facts and the shame stories your brain creates

• How to talk back to shame so it no longer runs your life

• How to choose your own headline and live into your values

• What shifts when you stop letting infertility define your worth
  
  

When you release shame, you stop shrinking in family gatherings.

You stop questioning your marriage.

You begin to walk through the world with confidence and live as the whole, worthy woman you already are.

If you are tired of carrying shame for something you never chose, this episode is for you.

Read Chapter 1 of my bestselling book, "So Now What?" HERE.

📺 Watch the replay of the World Childless Week webinar I moderated: https://youtu.be/PZz_-H9A47U?feature=shared

💌 Free Resource: The Top 27 Things People Say When You Are Childless (...and How to Respond) Click here to download!

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How to tell your story with pride when IVF failed and you are living childless after infertility.

When IVF fails and motherhood did not happen, it is so easy to feel like your only option is to hide. You spent years doing everything you possibly could—fertility treatments, doctors’ appointments, lifestyle changes, endless waiting. You gave your body, your money, your heart, and your time to the dream of becoming a mom. And despite all of it, you find yourself living childless after infertility.

In those moments, it can feel impossible to talk about what really happened. Maybe you have learned to keep quiet because the pain feels too heavy. Maybe you are tired of comments like “You could always adopt” or “At least you can sleep in.” Maybe you worry about making others uncomfortable.

But here is the truth: hiding from your infertility story will never create the life you crave.

In this episode, I share why there is nothing more beautiful than telling your story, even when IVF failed and motherhood didn’t happen. I will show you how owning your infertility story changes the way you see yourself and how others see you, and how telling your story can open the door to a future that feels powerful, grounded, and deeply meaningful.

• Why you can feel proud of your infertility story even if IVF failed

• How hiding keeps you small and why telling your truth sets you free

• What life can feel like when the question “Do you have kids” no longer holds power over you

• How sharing your story helps you reconnect with your body, your friendships, and your future

You may not have the children you dreamed of, but you can still live a life that feels rich, purposeful, and joyful. Your story is not one of failure. Your story is one of strength. And there is nothing more beautiful than learning how to tell it.

• Register for my free masterclass (Wednesday 9/17): Things People Say When You Are Childless - click HERE

• Join my World Childless Week webinar (Saturday, Sept 20): Register here

• Download my free guide: The Top 27 Things People Say When You’re Childless (and How to Respond) click HERE.