If you've ever felt like friendships got harder after infertility, you're not imagining it.

When IVF failed and your life didn't include children, you didn't just lose the dream of motherhood. You also lost the built-in ways friendships often form.

No school drop-offs.
No sports schedules.
No automatic community.

So now you're left wondering… how do you actually make meaningful friendships as a childless woman?

In this episode, you hear a real, honest conversation about what it looks like to create connection when your life doesn't follow the traditional path.

💛 What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why friendships can feel more complicated when you're childless after infertility

• The hidden ways IVF failed can impact your sense of belonging

• How to form real friendships with other childless women, even online

• The key to building connection as an adult

• What it looks like to turn Instagram connections into real-life friendships

• How to stop waiting for connection and start creating it

🌿 Meet Melissa Miller @autoimmuneresilience on IG

Melissa Miller joins this episode to share her experience of becoming childless not by choice after years of infertility, IVF, and surrogacy.

After leaving fertility treatments without a baby, she found herself asking the same question so many women do:

Where are the others like me?

What she discovered was a community of women who are building full, connected, meaningful lives without children and creating friendships that feel just as deep, if not deeper, than the ones they expected to have.

✨ The Other's Day® — Chicago (May 8–9, 2026)

If you've been craving connection with other women who don't have kids, this is where it happens.

The Other's Day® is a two-day experience created specifically for women who are childless, whether by choice or not, to feel welcomed, connected, and completely themselves.

A restorative evening designed to help you arrive into Other's Day weekend feeling grounded and supported.

You'll experience:

• Beginner-friendly yoga

• Guided meditation

• A sound bath experience

The signature experience where women gather, connect, and leave feeling like they belong.

You'll walk into a room where:

• No one asks if you have kids

• No one assumes your life is easier

• You don't have to explain your story

👉 Get your Chicago tickets here:
https://lanamanikowski.com/othersday/

🌿 Seattle Other's Day® Brunch (Hosted by Melissa Miller)

Seattle gathering is hosted by Melissa Miller, an Other's Day® Ambassador bringing this experience to the Pacific Northwest.

📅 Date: May 9, 2026
⏰ Time: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Location: The Locöl Kitchen & Bar
7902 35th Ave SW
West Seattle

You'll enjoy a private brunch experience with meaningful connection, great food, and a room full of women who understand life without children.

👉 Reserve your spot in Seattle:
https://lana-manikowski.myflodesk.com/seattlebrunch

🔗 Resources & Links

• Chicago Other's Day® Tickets: https://lanamanikowski.com/othersday/

• Seattle Other's Day® Brunch: https://lana-manikowski.myflodesk.com/seattlebrunch

• Free Guide: Top 27 Things People Say When You're Childless
  👉 Get the free guide here: https://lana-manikowski.myflodesk.com/thingspeoplesay

• Book: "So Now What?"
  👉 Learn more or grab your copy: https://www.lanamanikowski.com/book

💬 A Thought to Take With You

Friendships don't have to look the way you thought they would.

You don't need kids to create meaningful, lasting connections.

Sometimes it starts with a message.
Sometimes it starts with showing up.

🎧 Loved This Episode?

Follow the podcast so you don't miss what's next.

And if this episode resonated, share it with another woman navigating life after IVF failed who's ready to feel more connected.

If you went through IVF or fertility treatments and didn't leave with a baby, you already know this part of the story.

The treatments end… and then what?

No follow-up.
No plan.
No one checking in to ask how you're doing after years of trying.

In this episode, you hear the truth that so many women experience but rarely say out loud. When fertility treatment ends without a baby, you are often left to figure out your life on your own.

You'll hear why this gap in care exists, how it impacts women who are childless after infertility, and most importantly, how you now have the opportunity to help change it.

This episode introduces a research study from Northwestern University that is focused on understanding what actually happens after fertility treatment ends without a live birth.

Because your experience matters.
And it's time it was counted.

• What really happens after IVF failed and treatment ends
• Why women who are childless after infertility are often left without support
• The gap in fertility care that no one is tracking or measuring
• How your experience can directly influence future patient care
• Why taking 20 minutes to share your story can create real change

You spent years navigating fertility treatments, appointments, and uncertainty.

When it ended, you were expected to move on without guidance.

This study is your chance to make sure that experience is no longer ignored.

When your voice is included in research, it helps shape how clinics support women in the future so they are not left asking the same question you once did:

So now what?

If this is your experience, take the survey today.

👉 https://redcap.nubic.northwestern.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=LM4TX4MJN3HRR7ER

✨ Download: The Top 27 Things People Say When You're Childless (and How to Respond)
Get the free guide here: https://lana-manikowski.myflodesk.com/thingspeoplesay

✨ Book a Thrive Call
https://calendly.com/lanamanikowski/strategy-session

✨ Read Chapter 1 of "So Now What?"
https://lana-manikowski.myflodesk.com/chapter1

Northwestern University researchers are conducting a research study to understand the experiences and
support needs of women whose fertility treatment ended without a live birth.

Study: "A Needs Assessment of Women Who Remain Childless Following Infertility Treatment"
IRB #: STU00225720
Principal Investigator: Susan C. Klock, PhD

You may be eligible if you:
• Are 18+ years old and were biologically female at birth
• Previously underwent fertility treatment without a live birth
• Are currently childless and not planning additional treatment
• Can read and understand English

Participation:
• Confidential online survey (~20 minutes)
• Voluntary
• No compensation

Take the survey:
https://redcap.nubic.northwestern.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=LM4TX4MJN3HRR7ER

Questions? Alexandra Herweck, MD, MPH | alexandra.herweck@nm.org
PI: Susan C. Klock, PhD | 312-695-9939

This is a research study conducted through Northwestern University. This study has been reviewed and
approved by the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board.