Breaking the silence surrounding in/fertility in professional contexts

In/Fertility in the City has launched its new podcast exploring the complex relationship between in/fertility in professional contexts and how it can be managed effectively.

There is no doubt that in/fertility, baby loss, fertility treatment, and other such issues are taboo topics – not least in the workplace.

This new podcast aims to address this, with moving and thought-provoking discussions aiming to break the silence and inspire new attitudes and behaviours that will improve and normalise the management of fertility challenges in professional contexts.

Listen to the first episode here – just click the play button below

It is hosted by Natalie Sutherland, Somaya Ouazzani, and Emma Menzies, all of whom have had to navigate their own fertility challenges alongside professional life, and are united in their passion for ensuring that better quality information and support is made available to others doing the same.

Together they interview incredible guests, from a variety of industries, who generously share powerful stories and valuable insights into in/fertility at work issues.

Natalie Sutherland, co-founder of In/Fertility in the City, co-host of their podcast, family law solicitor and partner at Burgess Mee Family Law said:

“We are incredibly proud of this podcast and the work we do with In/Fertility in the City. The responses we have received thanking us for highlighting these issues and for driving change in this area have been humbling to say the least.”

About In/Fertility in the City

In/Fertility in the City is a movement borne of the need for radical change: a complete culture shift in all workplaces that better supports the millions of men and women around the world who are struggling with infertility whilst navigating professional careers.

All too often their struggle is made even tougher when organisations have little to no understanding of how to support their staff on these difficult journeys.

Natalie, Emma and Somaya have learnt first-hand just how isolating, difficult, and stressful it can be to undergo fertility struggles in a high-pressure, high-performance, professional environment.

Their combined fertility experiences include primary and secondary infertility, recurrent fertility treatment failure, recurrent pregnancy loss, missed miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, emergency surgery and subsequent near-fatal complications, all whilst working as City professionals with few, if any, of their work colleagues knowing of – much less understanding – what this meant for them personally and professionally.

Read more here.

About the hosts

Somaya Ouazzani

Somaya is the founder and CEO of an executive search firm, Mimoza Fleur; a search firm in the city of London dedicated to partner and senior-level searches within the legal industry. Prior to founding Mimoza Fleur, Somaya worked as a divorce lawyer representing clients around the world in their divorce, financial and children matters. She was invited to take up a teaching fellowship at UCL, which she did from 2010-2012.

Natalie Sutherland

Natalie Sutherland is a specialist family law solicitor and Partner at Burgess Mee Family Law, a boutique family law firm where she spearheads the firm’s Modern Family department dealing with surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology law. Natalie is passionate about helping clients create their families and whilst she is a mother to a six-year-old daughter, she has also suffered pregnancy loss and secondary infertility.

Emma Menzies

Emma is a Fertility at Work Coach and Consultant. She helps individuals manage the impact of fertility challenges on their career and working life, and she helps organisations manage fertility in their workplace.

After years of struggle, Emma successfully managed the impact of fertility challenges on her own career and working life. In the process, she qualified as a Coach and established her business, Ready Steady Coach. She now combines her personal and professional experience to make it possible for others to receive the fertility at work support that, for her, had been lacking.