IVF is often talked about as a medical journey to having a baby. But what happens when IVF becomes years of waiting, anxiety, loss, miscarriage, financial pressure and emotional exhaustion?
In this deeply honest conversation, Karmel shares her experience of infertility, seven IVF cycles, miscarriage, pregnancy after IVF, and the emotional trauma that continued even after becoming a mother. She opens up about the anxiety that followed her pregnancy, why baby showers and pregnancy announcements can still be triggering, and what it feels like when your body remembers what your mind knows is over.
Karmel also talks about the biggest misconceptions about IVF, including the belief that IVF guarantees a baby, the loneliness of infertility, the pressure of forced positivity, and the comments women going through IVF and miscarriage wish people would stop making.
We also talk about miscarriage grief, suppressed grief, healing after pregnancy loss, therapy during IVF, finding support at work, and why there is no timeline for grief. Karmel shares how she learned to process her emotions rather than hide them, and how she now supports other women going through IVF who need to feel heard, understood and less alone.
If you are going through IVF, infertility, miscarriage or pregnancy after loss—or supporting someone who is—this conversation is a reminder that you don't have to pretend you're okay, and that your experience doesn't have to look like anyone else's.
Topics covered: IVF and infertility, seven IVF cycles, miscarriage, pregnancy after IVF, IVF anxiety, infertility grief, miscarriage grief, IVF trauma, pregnancy after loss, emotional healing, fertility treatment, fertility journey, therapy during IVF, forced positivity, and motherhood after infertility.