How This Fertility Coach Created a Roadmap to Help Couples Navigate Through Infertility
Caryn Rich’s passion is helping women and couples who are struggling with infertility. After spending eight long years going through double-digit ART cycles, five miscarriages, and the heartbreaking loss of one of her twins, Caryn was able to fulfill her dream of building her family. Today, she’s a mom of three – a teenage boy and two girls. With the help of a step-by-step framework based on her own journey, she now helps others navigate through infertility, providing encouragement, and a sprinkle of humor along the way. I’ve loved getting to know Caryn over the last several months, as well as hearing all about her courses, one-on-one coaching and how she’s helping so many find success – while feeling supported along the way. Read on for Caryn’s story, her role as a Fertility Coach, and her advice for those still on their journey.
Fertility Coach Caryn Rich
1. As a Fertility Coach, you help women navigate their infertility journey with love, a little bit of humor, and a whole lot of grit’, drawing on your personal experience, which inspired your professional path. To start, can you share a bit about your own infertility journey?
Absolutely! When we decided to start our family, we were having a hard time due to my endometriosis. We did one round of IVF, which resulted in our first child. When we decided to try for baby #2, I naively thought it would be just as easy, but it was the complete opposite. It took us over 4 years, 15 ART treatments, and 5 miscarriages before we were able to achieve another viable pregnancy. Being stuck was hard, and I definitely had bad days, but overall I was so driven to find out why we were having trouble that I was not giving up. It wasn’t just about my desire anymore but about giving our son a sibling. The pregnancy was bittersweet and resulted in us losing our second son, and his twin spending 135 days in the NICU. So much of the grit from my infertility journey served me well during this time. Not long after my daughter turned 2, we learned that we had conceived naturally when I was in my early 40’s and with one fallopian tube after all that. In many ways, I was able to heal and take a step back and see how life happened for me, not to me. Through all the pain and emotion, I realized I had actually created a roadmap to follow to bring us success. I use that roadmap daily with my clients and students to help them navigate through their own journeys and on to success. It wasn’t until my open wounds had healed that I had this calling placed on my heart that I was meant to make an impact on others’ journeys and help them get there quicker and easier than I had.
2. What is your role as a Fertility Coach – ie. when is the best time for someone to start working with you, and how do you support each woman with her specific difficulties?
I guess because I had a long and challenging journey, typically, women seek out my services because they have been trying IUI or IVF, and it hasn’t worked, and they don’t know what to do next. Each of our journeys is different, and I work to help each woman and couple with what they need. I have done couples coaching so that partners can work through some of the emotions this journey can bring. I work on ways to help manage the stress. Still, most importantly, I am excellent at being an infertility journey strategist. By looking at the couple’s previous cycles testing, and where they are stuck, I can pinpoint things that may have been missed. For instance, 3 out of the 4 women I work with have an elevated TSH that has gone unchecked or has not received further testing. By simply addressing this one thing, I have had clients who have had success. There are also patterns of miscarriage or failure that I see, which require a different approach that many doctors don’t rely on. From my success and my client’s success, I know how important they are to have a successful cycle.
Caryn Rich and her beautiful family
3. I love that despite everything you went through, you say, ‘But mine is not a story of despair. It’s a story of success, of overcoming the odds.’ How did you employ the power of positive thought, and how do you relay this ability to others?
What a great question! It wasn’t always easy, but I firmly believe that any woman who wishes to be a mother can be as long as she is open to how she may need to get there. It was always remembering why I was going through my journey in the first place, and for my clients, I always bring them back to that place as well. We need to feel our feelings. We should never push them down, but we need to take our frustrations and anger and refocus them on finding ways to constantly problem solve, pivot, and move forward. Journaling is one powerful exercise that can help you brain dump what you feel on paper, and I highly recommend it to everyone going through this journey. I also believe in having the proper support of someone who has walked the journey before you who can provide hope.
To help the community, I have several resources:
1) To help couples new to the infertility journey, I created a digital course that you can check out here and join the waitlist for.
learn.carynrich.com/waitlist
2) I have a free Facebook support group where I do trainings that anyone is welcome to join:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EnRichyourFertility
3) If private coaching feels right, I offer a free 30-minute discovery call that can be booked here:
https://calendly.com/carynmrich
4) And finally, I have a free resource to help anyone start to journal here:
https://carynrich.com/journaling-prompts/
Inspiring and supporting the infertility community
4. What is your advice for intended parents on GoStork, who are just beginning their own family building journey?
I guess my best advice is to never rush into a cycle because you want to get there quicker. This process is not for the faint at heart, and often 3 or more cycles are needed. If a cycle fails or ends in miscarriage, there is much to be learned from each step. You should always take time to look at the cycle closely along with your doctor. I see so many couples who do back-to-back cycles and miss this critical step which could save them money and heartache. If you learn to look at the failures as an opportunity, you will be in a better headspace and more prepared if and when the journey takes longer than you had hoped. I want to also add that this process will take over your entire life if you let it. Make sure you are taking the time to do things you love alone and with your partner. Do not let your whole world revolve around this one thing.
5. On a more personal note, the past year was far from ideal (though thankfully things are opening up now), but there are hopefully a few silver linings personally and professionally. Can you share any highlights … what has inspired you? Any favorite (or funniest) family memories from quarantine?
Another great question! It has been a roller coaster for sure. Unlike any other time, each and every person on the planet is in the same situation. We are all on a level playing field, so to speak. I went through stages and had to learn how to pivot once again because I had no choice but to move forward. As hard as it was, being together as a family was just as amazing as it was difficult. I will always treasure the time we had together. It forced us all to slow down and really spend time on the things that mattered. I also learned that I was not cut out to be a teacher, and working through an IEP with my middle daughter is something I wish to leave to the professionals. It also gave me time to really talk and connect with my almost 15-year-old son, which is sometimes hard to do at his age. But the thing that makes me smile the most is remembering my husband with painted toenails. My youngest daughter loved to paint her daddy’s toes. Each night I would look at the color of the day and think how lucky he is closing major deals and getting a Pedi at the same time. I genuinely hope we are never put in that situation again but, if for some reason we are, we will all be prepared.
Thank you for sharing your story, Caryn, and for supporting so many women and couples – including the infertility community on Instagram – as they navigate an emotional and trying journey.
Learn more about Caryn Rich and how she can support you at carynrich.com and on Instagram @carynrich.
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