Today on The Egg Whisperer Show, I'm really excited to be joined by Dr. Ellen Vora. I feel we are very much alike. She's passionate about easing the real suffering that people experience from anxiety and mental health issues. I can't wait to have her come on and share some new insights about anxiety (it turns out it's not just a "neck up" problem), the difference between "false" anxiety and true anxiety, and how to handle the anxiety that often comes up as a fertility patient. We'll also be talking more about her book, which came out this year, titled "The Anatomy of Anxiety." Dr. Ellen Vora is a holistic psychiatrist, acupuncturist, and yoga teacher. She takes a functional medicine approach to mental health—considering the whole person and addressing imbalance at the root. Dr. Vora received her B.A. from Yale University and her M.D. from Columbia University, and she is board-certified in psychiatry and integrative holistic medicine. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter. Read the full transcript on Dr. Aimee's Website. Visit Dr. Ellen Vora's site. Do you have questions about IVF, and what to expect? Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 27th, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom. Click to find The Egg Whisperer Show podcast on your favorite podcasting app.   Watch videos of Dr. Aimee answer Ask the Egg Whisperer Questions on YouTube.  Sign up for The Egg Whisperer newsletter to get updates  Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

I’m so excited to share my latest episode of The Egg Whisperer Show with you! This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Schuman, a leading therapist, award-winning researcher, and author who specializes in family building, donor conception, and surrogacy.

Lisa and I dive deep into the critical role mental health plays in fertility treatments, especially when third-party reproduction, like egg or sperm donation and gestational carriers, is involved. She shares her personal journey and decades of professional expertise, introducing us to The Center for Family Building and its new expert-guided community platform.

In this episode, we cover:

• What inspired Lisa to specialize in family building and fertility counseling.
• The mission behind The Center for Family Building and its resources for patients.
• Why mental health support is essential for individuals and couples navigating fertility treatments, surrogacy, or adoption.
• Unique ways Lisa supports diverse family structures, including LGBTQIA+ and single-parent families.
• Lisa’s five-step process for choosing a donor and why it’s so important to consider the psychological and genetic aspects of family building.

Read the full show notes and transcript on Dr. Aimee's website. You can find Lisa Schuman's site: The Center for Family Building

Do you have questions about IVF? Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.   Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org  where you can schedule a consultation. More ways to connect with Dr. Aimee: Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Subscribe to the newsletter to get updatesFollow on Instagram

Amanda Troxler has been practicing family formation law since 2013. She represents hundreds of Intended Parents, Donors, and Surrogates a year. Additionally, Amanda has personal experience in third party assisted reproduction, having been an egg donor. In today’s show we are going to explain what family formation law is. As a fertility patient, it’s important that you understand some of the basic legal pieces that you might want to have in place for your journey, whether that be for IVF, or if you’re going to be using donor eggs, donor sperm, or using a gestational carrier. I very much love Amanda’s thoughtful and caring approach to making family formation law approachable. As she says, “healthy families are formed through honest communication and centering the needs of the future child." Amanda received her J.D. from UCLA law on a Dean’s Merit Scholarship in 2012. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in 2008. Amanda is a member of the Academy of California Adoption-ART Lawyers (“ACAL”), Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy (“SEEDS”), and American Society of Reproductive Medicine (“ASRM”). Thank you for joining me, Amanda!

Read the full show notes and transcript on Dr. Aimee's website. You can find Amanda's site at troxlaw.com

Do you have questions about IVF? Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.   Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org  where you can schedule a consultation. More ways to connect with Dr. Aimee: Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Subscribe to the newsletter to get updatesFollow on Instagram

Regardless of who you see for fertility care, you deserve the best—personalized treatment. I realize that not everyone can come to see me, and I won’t be around forever. This information is a valuable resource as you begin your fertility journey, whoever it is with and whenever it takes place. The inspiration behind this topic? Well—it started with some snooping. Several times each day, I hear my receptionist answer the phone and new patients on the other end asking what they can expect at a new patient consult. The mystery is about to be revealed! Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website   Do you have questions about IVF?Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class.  The next live class call is on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain Egg Freezing and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.   Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org. Other ways to connect with Dr. Aimee and The Egg Whisperer Show: Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips!Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates

Whether you’re local to me (San Francisco) or halfway around the world, it doesn’t matter. I’m sharing science-based information with you today so that you don’t have to turn to Google, tarot cards, or your co-worker when it comes to fertility advice. Your situation is unique. I want you to keep that in mind. What you need may be different than someone else. What you need is based on you. In a sense, your path to fertility treatment should be as customized as your coffee order.So this is what I do with my patients. I start by getting to know them, and their fertility health. Have you been starting with you? What I mean is, do you know what your diagnosis is? Is there a clear and compelling answer for why you may not be getting pregnant? I don’t believe in “unexplained infertility”. There is an answer and my job is to help you find it. In this episode, you'll learn all about how to pick the best fertility treatment plan for you. Read the full transcript and get more information on the website. Do you have questions about IVF? Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and egg freezing and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom. Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org. Other ways to connect: Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates

Talking about your fertility when you’re over 40 is not easy, but I want women to stop apologizing for desiring a family. Times have changed. It’s okay to want a baby over 40. It’s not crazy, nor selfish.  My approach is for all of my patients to be given their best chance at a healthy pregnancy in the shortest period of time. How do we do this? It starts by not believing everything you read.  There’s an international headline I saw recently on BBC news that fertility doctors are exploiting older women and “dealing false hope”. Do I believe that fertility doctors deliver false hope? No way! I do not. Do I believe that it’s imperative to get a diagnosis before treatment, regardless of who you are and your age? Yes! Diagnosis before treatment. Please! I want my patients over 40 to understand their follicle count. Then I want them to decide if moving forward with treatment using their own eggs is the best path forward. There are so many ways to have a baby if your own body is not making it happen there are other creative paths to explore. Egg and embryo donation and adoption are a few examples. Click here to read the full show notes for this episode. Do you have questions about IVF? Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and egg freezing and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.   Watch videos of Dr. Aimee answer Ask the Egg Whisperer Questions on YouTube.  Sign up for The Egg Whisperer newsletter to get updates  Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

Would you like to learn how to get pregnant, The Egg Whisperer Way? What you learn from this show has the potential to change your life forever.  Ask yourself: 1. What do I want?  Be specific. example: I’m 32 years old and I want to have a baby. I want to do it naturally. 2. What is it going to take to get what I want?  example: It’s going to take knowing my fertility diagnosis first (enter the TUSHY Method),  having a healthy lifestyle, taking prenatal vitamins, getting preconception tests done, and having sex. 3. Am I willing to do what it takes to get what I want? If you’re not willing to do the things to get what you want, then you have to change #1. If at 37 someone says they want three kids and then I ask them what it’s going to take to get what they want. Some people know what it will take. Others may not.  Want to learn more?  Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website   Do you have questions about IVF?Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 13th, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.   Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org. Other ways to connect with Dr. Aimee and The Egg Whisperer Show: Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips!Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates

Hosted by Dr. Ban, I'm sharing everything you need to know about getting precision fertility care.... in ten minutes. You'll hear all about the TUSHY Method, the specifics of the BALLS Method, along with the Egg Whisperer DIET and your fertility TEAM.

Read the full show notes on my website.

Find Dr. Ban at Weightless 4 Life: https://www.weightless4life.com/

Do you have questions about IVF, and what to expect? Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips!

Join Egg Whisperer School Checkout the podcast Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates

Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

 

What do you need to know before IVF? In this episode, I'm sharing everything you need to know, including: The secrets of IVF stimulation The medications you might take Why you might take birth control pills during IVF The kinds of needles that are used for IVF injections The timeline for IVF (looking at an actual calendar)  Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website Do you have questions about IVF, and what to expect? Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.   Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org  where you can schedule a consultation. Other ways to connect: Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates 

I have patients that come to me from all over the world. There’s one question I always ask when reviewing their IVF cycle history.

What was your embryo quality?

I hear time and time again from patients that they don’t know it because their doctor told them embryo quality doesn’t matter with IVF. That’s simply not true!

Just like diamonds in a jewelry store. Quality matters. Just like there is a grading system for diamonds, there is also a grading system for embryos. It’s important for you to know that this exists and to ask for your embryo grade.

When it comes to getting pregnant and IVF, the implantation rate is determined by the embryo quality and rating. 

Read the full show notes at Dr. Aimee's website.

Do you have questions about how embryo quality plays a role in IVF?Dr. Aimee will answer your questions in The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom. Click to find The Egg Whisperer Show podcast on your favorite podcasting app.   Watch videos of Dr. Aimee answer Ask the Egg Whisperer Questions on YouTube.  Sign up for The Egg Whisperer newsletter to get updates   Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

IVF is a very emotional journey. It can be riddled with fear, doubt, and is full of periods of waiting and wondering. For my patients, I want to reduce any emotional or physical burdens by creating an IVF checklist for them. It covers the core essentials of everything we need to do, so there are no conversations that begin with, “I wish I would have…” down the road.

I don’t want you to have to wonder if you’ve done everything you can to have a successful IVF outcome. This is true if you’re my patient, or you live half-way across the world.

I want to equip you with a complete IVF checklist. I want you to feel prepared going into IVF so there is less chance of having any regrets if things don’t pan out as you hope they will. Of course, this can’t serve as your only guidance during IVF. Please discuss anything and everything with your doctor!

Read all of the show notes on Dr. Aimee's website

Do you have questions about IVF?Click here to join Dr. Aimee for The IVF Class. The next live class call is on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 4pm PST, where Dr. Aimee will explain IVF and there will be time to ask her your questions live on Zoom.   Click to find The Egg Whisperer Show podcast on your favorite podcasting app.   Watch videos of Dr. Aimee answer Ask the Egg Whisperer Questions on YouTube.  Sign up for The Egg Whisperer newsletter to get updates Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America’s most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.