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IVF Failed You - The "So Now What?" Podcast

I am a Fertility Survivor.  The kind you enter into treatments hoping you will never be... childless.  After several rounds of IUI and IVF, at some of the leading Fertility Centers, I was told I was no longer a candidate for fertility treatment.  It left me asking myself...

So now what?

For the years that followed, I tried to put myself back together and tell myself I would be OK, but I wasn't.  I was shattered - I felt alone and failed by the whole process and especially, my body.  I yearned for others that felt the pain I felt and someone that could help me navigate a life without a child. 

I didn't find it, so I decide to create it.  

Fast forward to today. I am still childless, but my beliefs about my life have changed.  I decided that I can create meaning and purpose in my life even though I am not a mother.  I've learned to love myself and the body I felt failed me as a woman.

If you've been on this journey, hop on and join me as we create something we were not offered.  Let's create a sisterhood for the bravest women I know.  We brush ourselves off and don't let terms like: Failed, Unexplained, Miscarriage, Not-viable or Advanced Maternal Age define us anymore.  

 

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Childless After Infertility? You Still Belong

May 19, 2026

Childless After Infertility? You Still Belong

If you’ve ever felt like everyone else moved forward after IVF while you were left trying to figure out where you fit… this episode is for you.

In Episode 205 of The “So Now What?” Podcast, Lana Manikowski shares a deeply personal recap of The Other’s Day® weekend in Chicago, where women from 13 states gathered for connection, friendship, healing, and belonging after infertility and childlessness.

But this episode is about much more than a weekend event.

It’s about what happens when you stop seeing yourself as the outsider.

You’ll hear honest conversation about the emotional aftermath of infertility, the loneliness many women experience after fertility treatments end without a baby, and why so many women quietly question who they are now once the future they imagined never happened.

Lana shares:
• Why Mother’s Day weekend can feel emotionally exhausting when you are childless not by choice.
• The hidden identity shifts that happen after IVF failed.
• How infertility impacts friendships, marriage, confidence, and connection.
• What it was like watching women who once felt disconnected instantly connect during The Other’s Day® celebrations.
• Why you already belong, even if motherhood didn’t happen.
• The emotional experience of meeting Thrive After Infertility clients in person after years of coaching together online.
• Why healing is not about becoming someone different, but reconnecting to yourself and your life again.
• How women are building meaningful, connected, joy-filled lives after infertility.

This episode is for you if:
• You feel disconnected from friends after infertility.
• Mother’s Day still feels hard after IVF failed.
• You wonder where you fit now that fertility treatments are over.
• You are struggling to picture a meaningful future without children.
• You want to feel connected, grounded, and hopeful again.

You are not broken.
You are not behind.
And you do not have to keep navigating this alone.

✨ Mentioned in this episode:

Join the waitlist for The Other’s Day® 2027 in Chicago (May 7–8, 2027):
The Other’s Day® Waitlist

Participate in the confidential Northwestern University research study for women whose fertility treatment ended without a live birth:
Northwestern Fertility Treatment Research Study

Schedule a free Thrive Call with Lana:
Book a Thrive Call

Download the free guide: The Top 27 Things People Say When You’re Childless and How to Respond
Get the Free Guide Here

Learn more about Thrive After Infertility

Connect with Lana on Instagram:
Instagram @lana.manikowski