In this week’s episode of our podcast So Glad You Asked, Allie and I sit down with Dr. Pooja Lakshmin to talk about how infertility affects mental health. Infertility affects about one in six couples, yet the psychological toll it takes — the grief, the anxiety, the sense of isolation — is too often left out of the conversation surrounding infertility and its treatment.
Pooja Lakshmin, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist, clinical assistant professor at George Washington University School of Medicine, and a leading expert in reproductive psychiatry. Dr. Lakshmin is also the author of the national best-seller Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included), in which she challenges the wellness industry’s version of self-care and offers instead an evidence-based framework.
In this episode, we explore several key themes from Dr. Lakshmin’s clinical work, research, and personal experience:
- How the uncertainty and repeated disappointments of fertility treatment can take a distinct psychological toll
- Why infertility-related grief is often unacknowledged or dismissed, even by well-meaning friends, family, and providers
- Practical strategies for coping with the emotional demands of IVF and other fertility treatments
- What partners and support systems can do differently to show up for someone experiencing infertility
Dr. Lakshmin emphasizes that attending to one’s mental health is an essential element of fertility care. She also speaks candidly about her own path through infertility, offering a perspective that is both clinically informed and personally lived. Her hope is that more open conversations like this one will help patients feel less alone and encourage clinicians to better recognize the mental health dimensions of fertility care.
It was a pleasure to have this conversation with Dr. Lakshmin, and we hope that you also enjoy this episode. Thanks so much for joining us!
—Ruta Nonacs, MD PhD
