Description

In this episode of Money Feels, we talk about something that's deeply personal and also big business: fertility, IVF and egg freezing. Having a baby is expensive no matter how you do it, and this way costs even more. A lot extra.

Alyssa and Bridget look at the IVF industry through a money lens: the real costs, the odds most people don't hear about, and why "I'll do whatever it takes" is the most expensive sentence in fertility care. They also take on egg freezing as a corporate perk, and why "empowering" might be the wrong word for it.

This one comes from a place of care, not judgment. If you're going through IVF or have experienced pregnancy loss, please look after yourself, and feel free to skip this one and tune in next week.

In today's episode, we discuss:

• How IVF actually works, step by step, and why there are fees at every stage
• The real odds of a live birth by age, and why they're so rarely talked about
• The Cut article: 11 rounds of IVF, $250,000 and no baby
• Why longing is never where anyone makes a clear money decision
• Add-ons, experimental treatments and clinics with no age cut-off
• What would happen if a financial product had IVF's odds
• Why egg freezing as a workplace perk is really an investment in not paying for maternity leave
• Egg freezing as "buying an option"
• Universal child care and fully paid parental leave 
• What repeated loss does to your relationships
• Public funding for IVF in Canada 

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