Navigating Loss, Resilience, and Surrogacy: Dr. Andrea Panzarella’s Fertility Journey

Welcome back to another deeply moving episode of the Fertility in Focus podcast.

This week, Dr. Christina Burns sits down with Dr. Andrea Ali Panzarella—a pediatrician, mom of three, and author of Every Family is a Tree. Andrea opens up about her emotional journey through infertility, ectopic pregnancy, recurrent loss, and IVF, all while navigating a demanding medical career. Her candid reflections shed light on the physical, emotional, and mental toll of fertility challenges—and how her family came to be with the help of gestational carriers.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Andrea’s experience with ectopic pregnancy and her first encounter with miscarriage
• How medical knowledge helped—but didn’t shield—her from the emotional weight of fertility struggles
• The physical and emotional rollercoaster of multiple failed IVF cycles, D&Cs, and testing
• The complexities of embryo testing, immune protocols, and the shift in medical opinions over time
• What led Andrea and her husband to choose gestational surrogacy—and the hurdles they faced along the way
• How Andrea’s new children’s book is helping represent and empower families of all kinds
  
  
  

Timestamps:
[00:26] Meet Dr. Andrea Panzarella and hear how her fertility journey began
[02:16] Ectopic pregnancy and the emotional toll of early loss
[06:04] Discovering male factor infertility and beginning IVF
[10:45] First IVF cycle, twin pregnancy, and navigating miscarriage
[14:06] Exploring embryo testing and transferring genetically normal embryos
[20:25] The impact of IVF on the body, environment, and mental health
[29:04] Decision to pursue surrogacy and the legal/emotional steps involved

Connect with Dr. Christina Burns:

Website: https://www.christinaburns.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drchristinaburns/

Order the Ultimate Fertility Guidebook: https://a.co/d/hq0nFOo

Join the Eating for Optimal Fertility Course: https://naturna.mn.co/

Order Junk Juice: https://junkjuicemagic.com/

Follow along with the Naturna Institute:

Book an Appointment: https://naturna.janeapp.com/#/list

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturna_life/