Fertility challenges can come with a whole range of griefs — not just the loss of a pregnancy or the hopes of genetically related children, though those losses can be devastating.

There can also be grief around losing trust in one's body, around decisions made in the past that may or may not have impacts now, around identity and sense of self, or even around just not having things happen the way they seem to happen "for everyone else."

In this episode with hosts of the incredible fertility podcast The Whole Pineapple, Grief Coach Wendy Sloneker and guests Ruby Booras and Anne Judge talk about not just the grief — they also talk about the many many reasons for hope.

We hope you'll share this very special episode with anyone in your life who may be struggling to build their family.

You can find Ruby and Anne and their catalog of episodes all around fertility and wellness at https://thewholepineapple.com/. And if you're looking for support for grief of any kind, make an appointment now for a complimentary consult with Wendy at https://www.wendysloneker.com/.

About our guests:

Ruby Booras, DNP, ARNP, FNP-BC, DipACLM/DipIBLM (She/her, They/them), is a Doctor of Nursing Practice, Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a self-proclaimed nutrition nerd. She specializes in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and has been in clinical practice at Seattle Reproductive Medicine since 2012. Over the course of her career, Ruby has experienced personal and professional growth, unexpected challenges, mental health struggles, pregnancy loss, and the various ups and downs of her own journey toward wellness. Ruby has a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell School of Nutrition Studies at Cornell University and is an American College of Lifestyle Medicine Diplomat, holding Certification as a Lifestyle Medicine Professional. She has been integral to the launch of the Wellness Program at SRM. As creator and co-host of The Whole Pineapple podcast, Ruby’s goal is to provide a reliable, supportive and science-based resource to guide people to their fertility and wellness goals and to power their WHOLE lives.

Anne Judge, DNP, ARNP, WHNP-BC (She/her), is a Doctor of Nursing Practice, board-certified Women’s Health Practitioner, who has been working in the fertility field since 2007. She first graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Human Biology. She completed nursing school at the University of Washington and was working as a labor and delivery nurse when her own experiences with infertility led her to change paths into reproductive medicine. After almost 15 years working in the fertility field, she is excited to share her knowledge and compassion with our listeners. While finishing her graduate training she struggled with whether to complete her original dream and Nurse Midwife program, but ultimately felt called to stay in the fertility field as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. While she is still always happy to talk about all things birth, she finds the process of creating families most valuable. She is reminded of the wise words from one of her midwife instructors, “Let someone else catch the babies, you will catch the mothers.”