We meet New York director and filmmaker Kate Phelan who’s award-winning short-film, Visit 57, provides a window into the realities of fertility treatment.
* Before we start, both Kate and I want to warn you – the film is pretty full-on! If you’re going through fertility treatment right now, you may wish to not watch it right now or pick your time to watch it.
What we mean is – it very accurately portrays the stress and emotion of IVF and as a viewer that’s quite confronting.
But that’s one reason it’s been such a huge success, winning multiple awards, and a success in opening up the much-needed conversation about just how ‘brutal’ fertility treatment can be on your emotions.
In this revealing podcast episode, Kate opens up about her journey through 6 IUIs and 1 IVF cycle to finally get pregnant with her second daughter.
She opens up about the impact on her emotions, the absolute need for emotional support/therapy and how she coped with the massive rollercoaster that is infertility.
Kate shares how she used her creative energy as an outlet during treatment, transplanting her experience of IVF into a film script and how helpful that was for her.
After fundraising and two hectic days of filming in downtown New York, the film was launched to much acclaim, followed by another highly successful online launch.
We discuss how one of the most wonderful effects of the film was how people responded by telling Kate their stories, which they’d never shared before. Or for the people in her life to reach out and say how they never understood what it was truly like for someone to go through fertility treatment and how grateful they are to now have that knowledge so they can go on to support others in their lives.
I truly encourage everyone to watch this film and share with those around you. The more we can open up the stigma (and shame as Kate calls it) around infertility – we can help those going through it to feel less alone, more supported and more understood by society in general and those close to them.
In this episode:
- Meet award-winning filmmaker Kate Phelan
- Her fertility journey
- IUI success the first time
- Not so lucky the second time – 6 xIUIs + 1 IVF
- How infertility impacted Kate and her family
- The birth of the ‘Visit57’ film
- How Visit 57 is opening up the conversation about infertility
You may also like:
- EP23 – Managing emotions during IVF – https://yourfertilityhub.com/managing-emotions-ivf/
- EP42 – Paige’s heartbreaking journey through IVF & Beyond – https://yourfertilityhub.com/podcast-42-paige/
- EP2 – Stress & Fertility – https://yourfertilityhub.com/podcast-episode-2-stress-fertility/
Links mentioned in the podcast:
- Watch Visit 57 here – https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2018/06/06/visit-57/
- More about Kate and her work here – https://katephelan.net/
- Email Karenna directly at karenna@yourfertilityhub.com
- Fertility Coaching – Book your call here – https://yourfertilityhub.com/fertility-coaching/
- Your Fertility Toolbox – Free resources, tools and exclusive community for emotional support during infertility – https://yourfertilityhub.com/join-toolbox/
Connect with us on social media:
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- YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbjEG761nvI3WNT9J3j0IYw
For more insight, subscribe to the show for regular episodes and please leave a review on i-tunes so we can share the message and help more women find their way through and out of infertility.
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Your Fertility Toolbox is a web-based app and online fertility wellness centre that helps women trying to conceive endure and overcome the challenges of infertility through community support, coaching, and MIND+BODY tools.
