Meet Alison Prato

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alison Prato. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alison below.

Hi Alison, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
It’s widely known that 1 in 6 people experience infertility in their lifetime. Despite these high numbers, they feel ashamed and alone. It’s my passion to normalize infertility and help people feel supported through their journey. Because we had a relatively easy time having our first child (Ever), we were confused, devastated, angry–you name it, we felt it–when we experienced four miscarriages the second time around. As I approached 40, we decided to try IVF–we had one shot and then only one healthy embryo…so the odds were low. Amazingly, the IVF worked and we had our son, Sonny. But the trauma and emotion from those dark days was real, and it stayed with me.
When a girlfriend who had a similar experience asked me to share my story to help others, I wrote an article for Health magazine and started getting feedback from women, and from some men, who were just like, “Wow, nobody talks about this!”
I realized quickly that there was a dearth of candid information about infertility and that there was still a stigma attached to it. So in 2019, I started the Infertile AF podcast, an unfiltered podcast about infertility.
I talk to people about the messy, frustrating, painful, heartbreaking, absurd and wild journeys to building their families. (Or in some cases, not having babies.) Each episode tells a different story and gets real about miscarriages and infant loss, egg and sperm freezing, IUIs, IVF, egg, sperm and embryo donors, adoption, surrogacy, endometriosis, cancer, advocating for oneself, relationships, genetic testing, money issues, depression and anxiety, grief, self-care, and so much more. She covers the happy endings, the soul-crushingly sad ones, and the ones still in limbo.
In addition to the podcast, I co-founded Fertility Rally, a safe, all-inclusive 24/7 community for anyone and everyone riding the roller coaster of infertility or building their modern families through assisted reproductive technology or ART. ˆt’s the place I had while I was going through infertility. In March,I released “Work of ART: An IVF Kiddo Learns about Assisted Reproductive Technology,” my first in a series of books sharing various stories about modern family building.
I’m building what I wish existed when we were going through our journey, and I plan to continue to develop new and better ways to create empathy and support within and for the infertility community.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Because of my 20+ years as a journalist and interviewer–and, of course, my openness about my personal infertility journey, I’ve learned how to earn trust and develop relationships with both guests and listeners. Infertile AF is an intimate medium where listeners develop real relationships with me as the host. I’ve been lucky enough to interview huge celebrities and also men and women who are just like you and me. Listeners have said it is refreshingly unlike how others talk about infertility. They describe it as honest and authentic, empathetic and relatable, educational, empowering, even “a best friend.” The podcast has been downloaded more than 1.4 milliion times. Fertility Rally has had nearly 2000 members since we launched in 2020, and to think that we have been able to help so many people with our virtual support groups, our twice-yearly Fertility Rally Live virtual events and our IRL events in New York, Austin, Chicago and other cities, is a dream come true. Our tagline is “Worst Club. Best Members.” because no one wants to be a part of infertility, or to be in this club, b ut we truly have the best, most supportive members in the world. It’s a family. Self-publishing my book, “Work of ART,” has been another incredible experience and a way to keep normalizing the conversation around IVF and Assisted Reproductive Technology. The response from readers and families has been incredible. As my son’s school librarian says,” “I love how you took a sensitive topic and presented it in an accessible way for children.” I have so much more to do: More children’s books, more events, and more partnerships within the fertility community. I feel like I’m just getting started.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three qualities that have been most impactiful in my journey are storytelling and listening skills, empathy and tenacity. I have build Infertile AF group, which encompasses the podcast, the community and the book, from scratch based on passion and wanting to help make the infertility journey suck less for the women and men coming behind me. My advice is to embrace your passion, no matter what it is, truly listen to what is needed in that area, and go for it. And don’t stop working and hustling, even when you might be asking yourself, “What did I get myself into?” If you are doing something you are truly passionate about, it will be worth it.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking to connect and collaborate with people and other brands and products in the infertility community. There are many ways to collab with me: Podcast partnerships; social partnerships; creative endeavors (for example, I did a collab with the bracelet company, Peak and Valley beads to create “ART Mama” and “Work of ART” kiddo bracelets that match the book); event hosting, and more. I’m always looking for people to share their family building journeys on my show, to join our Fertility Rally family and to speak at our Fertility Rally Live events. I am also a corporate speaker (I can do a “lunch and learn”-type infertility session for your company and a panel moderator at events. I love talking to people and sharing stories and experiences. It’s my favorite thing in the entire world.

If anyone wants to connect, they can email me at ali@infertileafgroup.com or on Instagram: @infertileafstories
I would love to hear from you.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Rashmi Gill Federico Bonafacini

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