Today's conversation is a thoughtful and informative conversation with Dr. Lauren Fogel Mersy and it surrounds intimacy.  Dr. Mersy is a psychologist and a sex therapist.  We talk about what intimacy really means and how we deal with that in the world of infertility.

I first had this thought when Monica of waitingforbabywunder posted about how no one talks about what infertility does to intimacy and your sex drive.  I thought what a great way to discuss this than with a sex therapist.  

So, if you’ve been struggling with intimacy and your deep in infertility, know that you’re not alone and know that there are different definitions of intimacy and ways we can deal with some of these struggles.  

Thank you Dr. Mersy for joining us and for sharing your expertise. 

As always, please share with people who may find value in our conversations and if the mood strikes you, please feel free to donate to the podcast or leave a review, so we can get more listeners to hear these stories and resources.  I will have a link in the show notes along with the books that we discuss on this episode.  They’ll be linked in my Amazon shop.  Your purchase with that link helps me offset the costs of running the podcast, so I would be so grateful if you opted to buy any of the books we discuss on the show, if you could please use the link.  Thank you to everyone who is a part of the 40 and Infertile community!  I am so grateful for all of you and I hope to continue bringing you more content that helps you on your quest to parenthood.  

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To round out your IVF survival guide, I would recommend the following episodes before your first IVF cycle:

1. Episode 23:  What Happens to Your Fertility in your 20s, 30s, and 40s

   
   



2. Episode 19:  All About Sperm

   
   



3. Episode 24:  Controlling Your Weigh During IVF

   
   



4. Episode 20:  Stimulation Protocols

   
   



5. Episode 21:  All About Your Embryos in the lab

   
   



6. Episode 33:  All About Genetic Testing

   
   



7. Episode 38:  The Emotions of Infertility and How to Manage These Feelings

   
   

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Episodes about the Emotional Aspects of Infertility:

1. Episode 12: WARRIOR STORY - The Infertility Journey of LuckyBabyLam AKA Annie at age 42

   
   



2. Episode 14 - ASK THE EXPERT - Grief, Trauma and Mother's Day Triggers with Dr. Wiyatta Fahnbulleh, PsyD

   
   



3. Episode 26: WARRIOR STORY When a therapist is infertile. @Infertile_therapist_in_therapy shares her infertility struggle at 40, her experience with immunotherapy abroad, and struggling as a therapist

   
   



4. Episode 28 - ASK THE EXPERT - The Emotions of Infertility and How to Manage Your Emotions and The Expectations of Yourself and Others with Miss Conception Coach AKA Chiemi

   
   



5. Episode 30 - Infertility Man Jon Summers Talks Getting A Cancer Diagnosis, Dating While Going Through IVF with Male Factor Infertility, and Mindset in the Face of Your Medical Challenges.

   
   



6. Episode 32 - WARRIOR STORY - Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, Müllerian Anomaly and Finding Humor, Your Voice and Sanity During Infertility with @for_the_barreness - Meghan Faith

   
   



7. Episode 37: WARRIOR STORY with Annie Kuo, DO - Integrative Medicine Physician discussing her 20 IVF Cycles Along with Endometriosis, Surrogacy, and Male Factor Infertility Episode 47: WARRIOR STORY with Dr. Dina - Unexplained Infertility, Infertility in 40s, Struggle AFTER IVF and Finding the Right Clinic

   
   

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RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Books mentioned in this episode and previously mentioned can be found here:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amazon.com/shop/40andinfertile⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

DONATE HERE:  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/40andinfertile

SPECIAL LISTENER OFFER FOR PRANAMAT:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://pranamat.com/af/ynkjmqzx?coupon=40andinfertile⁠⁠⁠⁠  (CODE: 40andinfertile)

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ON THIS EPISODE:

Dr. Lauren Fogel Mersy, PsyD 

https://www.instagram.com/drlaurenfogelmersy/

About Dr. Mercy:  https://drlaurenfogel.com/about/

Work with Dr. Mercy:  https://drlaurenfogel.com/