61. Battling Infertility in a Small Town with Tara Brandner

On the show today, Tara Brandner, nurse practitioner and passionate infertility advocate, joins us to talk about how her own journey of infertility in a town of around 750 people led her to form a non-profit to help other women feel less alone and to reduce the stigma associated with infertility.   About Tara Brandner: Tara Brandner currently practices at Ashley Medical Center in her rural hometown of Ashley, North Dakota. Tara serves as the co-legislative liaison and president for the North Dakota Nurse Practitioner Association. She also served as the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Fall 2016 Health Policy Fellow. Tara and her husband endured a long road of infertility. This prompted Tara to take action and she introduced a bill to North Dakota State Legislation to mandate insurance coverage for   infertility care and cancer preservation. She soon realized the need for a nonprofit in North Dakota supporting those diagnosed with infertility and from this Everlasting Hope was born.    Everlasting Hope is the first and only in the state raising awareness on infertility, connecting with infertility patients across the entire state, and awarding financial assistance to patients.   In this episode, we tackle...   What effect does being in a small, rural town have on the journey of infertility?   Tara is proud to be back in her hometown of Ashley, ND, and while there are many things to love, she shared how being in a rural community added a degree of difficulty in accessing the medical professionals she needed and she often felt more isolated than she might have living in a larger city.   Listen to this episode to hear more about: The stats regarding infertility in the US  How to advocate for yourself if you end up battling infertility Advice for friends and family who are supporting a loved one battling infertility The fears most people face when receiving the diagnosis of infertility   Connect with Tara: Websites: raisingeverlastinghope.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raisingeverlastinghope/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingeverlastinghope/