Eve Feinberg Of Northwestern Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine On Navigating the Challenges of Infertility and IVF
An Interview With Lucinda Koza
You need a team. There is not a single person that can support you in every way in this journey. Different people will support you in different ways. Your physician will support you medically, your partner will support you emotionally and you should also lean into a psychologist or mental health professional. Your friends will support you and lift you up and hopefully help you to laugh.
Infertility and the journey through IVF are challenges that many individuals and couples face, often accompanied by emotional, physical, and financial stress. Despite advancements in reproductive technology, the process can be isolating and fraught with uncertainty. How can we better support those navigating infertility and IVF, and what strategies can help manage the various challenges along the way? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eve Feinberg, MD.
Dr. Feinberg is a Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and serves as the REI Fellowship Program Director and the Medical Director for Northwestern Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine. She formerly served as the President of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She is an Editorial Editor for Fertility and Sterility and the creator and co-host of Fertility and Sterility On-Air podcast. Dr. Feinberg currently serves on the National Medical Committee for Planned Parenthood and on the Executive Board of American Society for Reproductive Medicine as a Director-At-Large and Chair of the Publications Committee. Dr. Feinberg is also the founder and president of the Chicago Coalition for Family Building, a not for profit that awards financial grants for fertility treatment and adoption.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you tell us a bit about you and your backstory?
I am a practicing full-time physician, but also wife and mom of three children that were born as a result of lots of love and quite a bit science, including in vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic testing. Each of my children was born as the result of fertility treatment and I have a real understanding of what it takes to be a patient and the importance of both the physician patient relationship and the clinic team are in navigating treatment.
How did you get involved in this field?
I rotated through the fertility clinic when I was a third-year medical student, and it was love at first sight. There was nothing in the world I wanted to do more than be a part of this field. It combined complex ethical issues with technology and science, it is very much a field about the struggles we face as part of being human.
From your experience working with individuals and couples navigating infertility and IVF, what are some of the most common emotional challenges they face, and how can healthcare providers best support them in managing these emotions?
Anger, fear, shock, sadness, grief, jealousy, denial. Basically, every emotion is a part of the infertility journey. The patient will be most successful when they have a team of people caring for them including an honest and caring physician but also (if applicable) and engaged partner, a trusted mental health professional and family and friends to provide support.
Fertility treatments often come with significant physical and hormonal impacts on the body. What strategies do you recommend to patients for managing the physical toll of IVF, and how can healthcare professionals better assist in minimizing these side effects?
I personally think the mental toll is far greater than the physical toll. But the basics I share with patients are to get enough sleep, eat unprocessed whole foods, walk and get fresh air and surround yourself with people who make you feel good about yourself.
Following through with the complete process of fertility testing and treatment can be absolutely grueling for the body for what could be years. How can someone cope with constant procedures, medications, hormones?
Pregnancy is not easy either, this is the prequel. Women unfortunately have to go through a LOT to have children. I always encourage my patients to think about this as a means to an end. This is what we do to have a family. And it’s worth it. We just keep moving forward until we get to where we need to be.
Financial stress is a major factor for many couples undergoing fertility treatments. How can healthcare providers and therapists address this stress proactively, and are there any resources or advice you offer to help patients navigate the financial challenges of IVF?
I am intimately familiar with the financial challenges and am the founder and president of the Chicago Coalition for Family Building, a non-profit that gives individual and couples financial grants to assist with the cost of treatment or adoption. I also think that organizations like the Jones Foundation are critical in fundraising to make IVF more accessible to all and more successful by increasing research funding in the field of reproductive medicine.
If we as a collective invest and emphasize the importance of increased research, we can make treatments more affordable and accessible for our friends, families, coworkers and broader communities, and could ultimately help lower the overall costs of IVF and reduce the financial toll that patients can face during IVF treatments.
Can you please share “5 Things You Need to Navigate the Challenges of Infertility and IVF”?
1. You need a team. There is not a single person that can support you in every way in this journey. Different people will support you in different ways. Your physician will support you medically, your partner will support you emotionally and you should also lean into a psychologist or mental health professional. Your friends will support you and lift you up and hopefully help you to laugh.
2. A good calendar to track all of your appointments.
3. A hobby or distraction (think a good TV series or great books).
4. If you are partnered then date nights where you don’t talk about treatment. If you are single, then nights out with friends where you take a break from talking about treatment.
5. Small ways to take care of yourself — a pedicure, nature walks, making a concerted effort to do things you really enjoy when you are going through treatment.
The isolation that often accompanies infertility can be overwhelming. What role does mental health support play in the IVF journey, and what can healthcare professionals do to create a more connected and supported experience for patients going through this process?
I mentioned above that I feel the mental toll is far greater than the physical toll. The emotional challenges and intense highs and lows, the uncertainty, the financial strain and several other factors all contribute to that. Healthcare professionals are responsible for fostering a compassionate environment, integrating mental health services, offering support groups, and educating patients on the different options they have.
Wonderful. We are nearly done. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)?
Melinda French Gates — I would love to convince her to invest in the future of reproductive medicine by supporting independent organizations, like the Jones Foundation. By investing in the future of reproductive medicine will benefit millions of current and future patients, improving the treatment prospects, affordability, and accessibility for many.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Honestly, just be nice to people. It goes a very long way towards making people’s days better. You never know how much someone is hurting or struggling and sometimes just smiling and being kind goes a very long way. If everyone were nicer and kinder to each other I think we would all be a little happier. And happiness is ultimately what many of us are striving towards
How can our readers follow your work online?
I’m on LinkedIn, and you can also follow the work of the Chicago Coalition through coalitionforfamilybuilding.org, we try to keep the website current and update our recipients’ stories as they evolve.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
About the Interviewer: After becoming her father’s sole caregiver at a young age, Lucinda Koza founded I-Ally, a community-based app that provides access to services and support for millennial family caregivers. Mrs. Koza has had essays published in Thought Catalog, Medium Women, Caregiving.com and Hackernoon.com. She was featured in ‘Founded by Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Female Founders’ by Sydney Horton. A filmmaker, Mrs. Koza premiered short film ‘Laura Point’ at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and recently co-directed ‘Caregivers: A Story About Them’ with Egyptian filmmaker Roshdy Ahmed. Her most notable achievement, however, has been becoming a mother to fraternal twins in 2023. Reach out to Lucinda via social media or directly by email: [email protected].
Eve Feinberg Of Northwestern Center for Fertility and Reproductive Medicine On Navigating the… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.