What do you wish you'd known about fertility treatment before you started?

Kathryn Blaze Baum is a Canadian journalist who wrote about her experience having children with the help of the fertility industry. Her book was published earlier this year:

Kathryn Blaze Baum. In Fertility: The Story of a Miracle and the Big Business Behind It. 2026.

Just before the book came out, she published this article in the Globe:

Kathryn Blaze Baum. “IVF is not a silver bullet.” The Globe and Mail. 04 Apr 2026.

She was also interviewed for this podcast by The Decibel:

Sherrill Sutherland, Kathryn Blaze Baum and staff. “Navigating Canada’s fertility industry.” The Decibel. 06 Apr 2026.

I was already considering rounding all of that up for a post, when last week I chanced upon the final 45 minutes of the province-wide lunchtime call-in show, Ontario Today. I listen to it regularly, to find out about goings-on outside my field. But on this day, it was about fertility treatment in the province. There was some great commentary by Blaze Baum, but also some really thoughtful comments from people calling in — including the woman who only wanted one embryo transferred but whose physician insisted on at least two (she ended up having twins), the man who described the early morning line for his wife’s bloodwork that stretched out the clinic doors and back to the elevator, and the many people who described huge inconsistencies across clinics operating in Ontario:

Amanda Pfeffer. “What callers wish they knew about IVF before trying to have a baby.” Ontario Today, CBC. 14 May 2026.