Advocating For Your Fertility: What Patients Need to Know

This episode is dropping during National Infertility Awareness Week, and we could not think of a more fitting week to bring you this conversation.If you have ever felt like the system was not built for you, like you were too exhausted to fight, or like your voice was too small to matter, this episode is going to change the way you think about advocacy. We sat down with Barb Collura, founder of Vital Voices Consulting and former President and CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, where she served for 18 years. Barb has spent more than two decades fighting for the rights of fertility patients at every level, from clinic hallways to Capitol Hill. And in this conversation, she brings all of it directly to you.In this episode, we cover:Barb's own infertility journey and how a mental health provider changed the course of her life and careerWhat 18 years of leading the nation's most prominent infertility advocacy organization actually looked like, including the wins, the losses, and the moments that still stay with herWhy the stigma around infertility has not gone away and what it costs patients when they go quietThe difference between advocacy with a capital A and advocacy with a small a, and why your story is the most powerful tool you haveWhat is really happening in fertility policy right now, what the threats to IVF access look like, and what patients in states without coverage can doThe story of what happened on the ground in Alabama and why patients and providers showing up together made all the differenceWhat Barb is building now through Vital Voices Consulting and why she believes the entire fertility industry needs to get off the sidelinesThe status quo is still not acceptable. But as Barb says, this is fixable. And it starts with doing something.This episode is for every patient who has ever felt too tired to fight, every nurse and clinician who sees the gaps every single day, and everyone who believes that people deserve better on this journey. Find us on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if this episode moved you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it this week.