{"podcast":{"title":"AllPaths Podcast","slug":"allpaths-podcast-7028681","podcast_index_feed_id":7028681,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/allpaths/","website_url":"https://allpathsfb.org","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/deec4420-b495-4e23-a8bf-63722a5915c2/APFB-Podcast-Cover-8-2025-SM.png","author":"AllPaths Family Building","episode_count":90,"summary":"Building a family can be a complicated, messy, lonely, and sometimes heartbreaking process, but you don't have to navigate this challenging journey alone. Join the AllPaths Family Building community as we talk with people who are currently trying to grow their family, those whose family building journey has come to an end, and experts in the fertility and family building space. Together we'll: *Hear family stories, providing real-life perspectives that highlight the many different paths a family building journey can take. *Explore different fertility treatments and family building options with experts in this space. *Get connected to a variety of supportive resources so you feel better equipped to tackle any challenges that may arise in your family building journey. *Learn about ongoing advocacy work that promotes access to fertility care and family building options - and you can get involved. No matter what you encounter on your journey - struggles while TTC, IUI, IVF, donor conception, surrogacy, adoption, pregnancy loss, pregnancy and parenting after, or remaining childless not by choice - the real-life insights from people who have traveled those paths can provide connection,…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-01T02:20:59.914112+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/allpaths-podcast-7028681"},"episode":{"title":"Sex, (IVF) Drugs, and Communication","slug":"sex-ivf-drugs-and-communication","published_at":"2026-02-10T13:15:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/allpaths-podcast-7028681/sex-ivf-drugs-and-communication","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/allpaths-podcast-7028681","url":"https://allpathsfb.org","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/8fc829db-35a0-4721-8387-ea68ae1f8a76.mp3","summary":"In this special Valentine’s Day episode of the AllPaths podcast, host Emily is joined by her husband, Andy, for a candid conversation about the impact of fertility and family building challenges on relationships. Now 20 years into their marriage and parents to 13-year-old triplets via IVF, they draw on their own experience to answer a series of questions submitted by the community regarding the strain family building can place on a partnership. They tackle the difficult realities of the process, which they describe as a \"0 out of 10\" experience that fundamentally redefines one's understanding of being a partner and forces couples to reckon with constant, high-stakes stress. By addressing these listener concerns, they hope to help others navigating the \"utter grind\" of treatments feel less isolated in their struggle. The discussion dives deep into the impact of medicalized family building on communication, intimacy, and grief. Emily and Andy address community-submitted queries regarding the \"profound sense of powerlessness\" often felt by non-carrying partners and the frustration of receiving a diagnosis of \"unexplained infertility\". They offer unflinchingly honest reflections on the pressure of \"scheduled sex,\" the self-consciousness that arises when a partner feels their body is \"failing,\" and the friction caused by different grieving styles. The couple shares practical strategies for maintaining connection, such as carving out intentional time to enjoy being with each other without talking about family building and using long walks to facilitate difficult conversations. Ultimately, Emily and Andy emphasize the necessity of approaching your partner with curiosity rather than assumptions and treating each other with grace throughout a process that can fundamentally chan…","meta_description":"In this special Valentine’s Day episode of the AllPaths podcast, host Emily is joined by her husband, Andy, for a candid conversation about the impact of…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3056,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/allpaths-podcast-7028681/episodes/sex-ivf-drugs-and-communication/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/allpaths-podcast-7028681/sex-ivf-drugs-and-communication.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}