On this episode of Talking Away The Taboo, Rachel Shanken joins Aimee Baron, MD to talk about...

-her journey to becoming an adoptive parent, something she never envisioned herself doing

-the heartbreaking conversation as a single woman in her 30s when her doctors said that she may never have biological children

-getting married, but then struggled through the ups and downs of umpteen failed cycles to try to get pregnant, first with her eggs and then with donor eggs (and a devastating miscarriage)

-her three adopted children and her journey to bring them into her life

This is a story of persistence, hope and resilience that you are not going to want to miss.

More about Rachel:

Rachel Shanken, a devoted mother, embraced adoption after a challenging journey through IVF with her husband. Their unwavering desire for a family led them to choose adoption as their path to parenthood. With 15+ years of experience as a NYC-based somatic therapist (www.MindBodyWise.com), Rachel blends her deep understanding of infertility and assisted reproduction with her therapeutic knowledge to assist people with the complex emotional terrain of fertility, offering compassionate and non-judgmental support along their unique paths to parenthood.

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On this episode of Talking Away The Taboo, Ellie Levi, joins Aimee Baron, MD to talk about...

-her story of becoming a SIM: Single Intentional Mom to her 3 year old daughter, Ayelet HaShachar

-her thought process and emotions about each stage of the process

-the experience of being one of the first to her freeze eggs in her community

-how she tried to stay true to halacha (jewish law) throughout

-the many ups (some very funny moments!) and downs (lack of support from some people in her life, insensitive comments, etc.)

The thing about Ellie is that she's so articulate, meticulous and intelligent - it's clear that she has investigated every area of this journey, and just like Rachel said to Yaakov/Jacob, "I am dead without children," Ellie felt that being a mother was her calling. This is her remarkable journey.

More about Ellie:

Elisheva [Ellie] Levi is a licensed architect in the state of New York and has designed schools, hospitals , high rise residential, transportation and infrastructure facilities. She is a self-described life-long student of Tanach and to that end she has given Torah lectures in Jewish communities across the US and in several countries around the world. You can listen to recordings of her shiurim on yutorah.org and OU Women’s Initiative. She has been published in the YU Torah to Go, the Times of Israel blog, the New York Times Metropolitan Diary and Architectural Record Magazine. Ellie also serves as the past President of the American Friends of Bat Melech, a domestic violence shelter serving the religious community in Israel, an organization for which she continues to volunteer. She is also the lucky SMBC (Single Mom by Choice) of her daughter Ayelet HaShachar and they reside in Northern New Jersey.

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On this episode of Talking Away The Taboo, Elissa Felder joins Aimee Baron, MD to talk about...

-her years of primary infertility, coupled with the devastating loss of her infant son

-her book, “From One Life to the Next Life: The Sacred Passage After Death,” which has become a lifeline for those navigating the churning waters of grief

-her raw, soul-baring journey from paralyzing grief to living a life infused with purpose and passion

-words of wisdom gathered from Elissa's personal life and expertise on living a fuller, more intentional life

More about Elissa:

Elissa started and actively manages the only international community of practice for women engaged with traditional Chevra Kadisha (Burial Society). The community mission is to share experiences, give encouragement, network, learn together and help to develop and support each other. She is responsible for building the community and providing on-going professional development. The knowledge she has acquired motivated her to write a personal memoir of loss and grief weaving in Jewish teachings about life, death and afterlife. Her book, “From One Life to the Next Life: The Sacred Passage After Death,” was published by Mosaica Press. She is also the head of the women’s division of the Rhode Island Chevra Kadisha and is a sought after speaker on topics of life, death, the work of the Chevra Kadisha and grief. In addition, Elissa is the Coordinator for all of Core’s Communities of Practice. These communities offer training, resources and support for those who want to strengthen their communities on an intentional and ongoing basis. In her role, Elissa helps each of these many international communities grow and thrive. Locally, Elissa Founder and Director of Core Connects RI, a non-profit organization that aims to deepen women’s connections to one another, to Jewish wisdom and Jewish values, to empower each other to find greater meaning, purpose and possibility in life and to cultivate unity without uniformity. As director she is passionate about providing others with opportunities to grow and become. She runs programming both online and in person. Elissa works tirelessly to bring Jews together and celebrates the commonalities rather than the differences. Through all of these experiences Elissa mentors and encourages others on their journeys and even finds time to teach a weekly Parsha class.

Connect with Elissa:

-Contact her via email

-Check out her website

-Purchase her book

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On this episode of Talking Away The Taboo, Shirel Korobkin and Shani Weinmann Kay join Aimee Baron, MD to talk about...

-the realities of the fertility community in Israel, one year after October 7th

-what the last 365 days has been for them personally and as individuals who have taken active roles in trying to hold space for others

-advice to those of us who live in the diaspora, as to how we can best support our friends and family there, and be a light to them and they manage this difficult time

-Shirel speaks about her grief work @IWSTHAB

-Shani speaks about sharing her miscarriage publicly with @timesofisrael

More about Shirel:

Shirel Korobkin moved from Toronto to Israel in 2020 and now lives in Harish. She works as a Grief Educator and Group Support Lead for English speakers at "I Was Supposed To Have A Baby," a Jewish fertility and pregnancy loss organization. Shirel is also actively involved in building the English-speaking community in Harish through events and shiurim.

Connect with Shirel:

-Follow her on Instagram

-Join one of Shirel's support groups

More about Shani:

Shani Weinmann Kay was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in the Jewish community of Toco Hills. She attended Torah Day School of Atlanta and Yeshiva Atlanta before coming to Midreshet Harova and then joining the IDF, serving as a Combat Medic in the Artillery Brigade. She has a degree in Dance, is studying Psychology, and is a reservist in Search and Rescue.

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-Follow her on Instagram

-Learn more about her family's nonprofit The Eli Kay Project

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On this episode of Talking Away The Taboo, Aliza Tropper, LMHC, joins Aimee Baron, MD to talk about...

-the emotions that come up during the quest to build a family

-the guilt, shame, sadness, anxiety, inadequacy, etc., and how they manifest

-suggestions on how to make these deep feelings more manageable, like self-soothing, mini-breaks, reaching out for support and even medication if things become too overwhelming

This line really stuck with me- “if you don’t grieve, you spend the rest of your life grieving.” We all need to take the time and space to feel all the feelings, but make sure you are taking care of yourself in the process too!

More about Aliza:

Aliza Tropper, LMHC, is a Licensed Psychotherapist with over 12 years of experience. Based in Cedarhurst, NY, her practice specializes in helping adolescents and adults navigate anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, life transitions, and trauma. Aliza takes a holistic approach, incorporating techniques like EMDR, Sensorimotor (somatic) psychotherapy, CBT, and DBT to facilitate long-lasting transformation in alignment with personal values. Aliza’s practice also runs DBT groups for both adolescents and adults and offers online therapy in NY, NJ and Florida.

Connect with Aliza:

-Take a look at her website

-Check out her women's DBT groups

-Follow her on Instagram

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On this episode of Talking Away The Taboo, Tee Simpser joins Aimee Baron, MD to talk about...

-her diabetes diagnosis which she received when she was 12, which made it natural for her to share when she had trouble getting pregnant

-her 6 years of primary infertility

-heartbreaking disappointments, life-threatening complications and all kinds of insensitive comments

-how she saw herself in the Chana/Penina story from the Book of Shmuel (book of Samuel), as she longed to be a mother, while watching everyone else around her get pregnant

-her consideration of adoption at one point

Spoiler alert: Tee does have two children, but her story teaches so many powerful lessons- 1- share your pain so that you can get the support you need 2-Call people out when they are making you uncomfortable

More about Tee:

Tee Simpser is a Jewish, modern Orthodox woman living the happily hectic life of an educator, wife, and mom to 2 miracle babies. One of Tee’s biggest goals in life is to destroy stigmas by talking about taboo topics like physical/mental health and infertility awareness.

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On this episode of Talking Away The Taboo, Esther Rollhaus, MD, joins Aimee Baron, MD to talk about...

-all aspects of reproductive psychiatry

-the reasons why someone would reach out

-how meds are used as an adjunct to therapy

-the many safe and effective treatments that can be used before, during and after pregnancy

-many of the myths about meds

More about Esther Rollhaus, MD:

Dr. Esther Rollhaus is an adult, child, and reproductive psychiatrist in private practice in Riverdale, NY and via telepsychiatry to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Florida. A graduate of Stern College for Women, Icahn School of Medicine, and Montefiore Medical Center, she has a particular interest in reproductive and perinatal psychiatry. She has presented at national and international conferences on women’s mental health, infertility, and family therapy.

Connect with Dr. Rollhaus:

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-Give her a call at (347) 380-5714

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On this episode of Talking Away The Taboo, Rachel Daar Cohen joins Aimee Baron, MD to talk about...

-a powerful, raw, and deeply emotional story of resilience after a tremendous amount of struggle

-her struggle with infertility, trauma, grief, addiction, and endometriosis

-how kindness is so important as we never know what people are really going through

More about Rachel:

Rachel Cohen is a firm believer that sharing some of her life experiences and struggles will help other women feel less alone. Preschool special ed teacher by day and writer by night, Rachel is dedicated to shining a light on difficult topics and shattering stigmas through her written and spoken word. Since struggling with endometriosis, infertility and medical trauma for many years, Rachel has become a proud advocate for others with endo and she now works hard to arm women with the accurate information necessary to take control of their own disease and get the proper medical care they deserve. Rachel lives with her husband, two children and dog in Houston, TX.

Connect with Rachel:

-Check out her blog

-Send her an email

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