Talking Away The Taboo
Talking Away the Taboo is the podcast for anyone in the Jewish community struggling to have a child and seeking a place for emotional support and comfort. It is a show that will help you learn while validating your feelings and processing the hardship, and teach everyone else to be more sensitive. Each week, Dr. Aimee Baron and her guests talk away the taboo of infertility, pregnancy loss, infant loss, surrogacy, adoption, and more. We laugh, we cry, and we challenge the Jewish community to think differently about a topic that has for so long been shrouded in secrecy and shame. Join us on the wild, unpredictable, and gut-wrenching journey of creating a family.
More than 4 years and 83,603 downloads later, we’re celebrating 200 episodes!
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Topic Quick List
- Adoption 5
- Authors 9
- Body Image 11
- Childless Not By Choice 1
- Donor Conception 3
- Egg Freezing 3
- Genetics 6
- Grief 18
- Holidays 11
- IVF 5
- Infertility 19
- Influencers 22
- LGBTQ 4
- Loss 28
- Medical Health Professionals 16
- Men's Resources 12
- Mental Health Professionals 24
- Miscarriage 1
- Organizations 20
- Other 1
- PCOS 2
- Personal Stories 86
- Relationships 12
- Secondary Infertility 3
- Singledom 4
- Surrogacy 10
- Termination for Medical Reasons 1
203. How The Pain of Pregnancy Loss Helped Me Find My Purpose with Marla Rottenstreich
In this episode, Aimee sits down with Marla Rottenstreich, a fitness professional, doula, and COO of One Israel Fund. She opens up for the first time about her fertility journey, navigating a congenital uterine anomaly, pregnancy complications, and grief. This conversation is a vulnerable exploration of how deep medical trauma reshapes the path to parenthood.
202. Reclaiming Joy: Building a Life That’s Childless Not by Choice with Susan Kirshner-Sheldon
In this episode, Aimee sits down with Susan Kirshner-Sheldon to discuss her journey through later-in-life dating, making Aliyah, and navigating the challenges of infertility and pregnancy loss. Susan candidly shares her experience of dating, the joy of finding her husband Jeremy, and the subsequent roadblocks they faced while trying to build a family.
201. Aimee’s Reflection on 200 Episodes, and special guest, Jonah Platt, on Circumstantial Infertility
In this episode, Aimee sits down with Jonah Platt, actor, musician, and host of The Being Jewish Podcast. Aimee first reflects on the milestone of 200 episodes and impact of IWSTHAB on the Jewish community, before pivoting to Jonah’s personal story. Jonah Platt discusses the complexities of navigating health, faith, and the public eye while trying to grow a family. This conversation is a vulnerable exploration of how chronic health challenges reshape the path to parenthood.
200. From Loss to Advocacy: A TFMR Journey with Clare Molnar
In this episode, Aimee sits down with Clare, a mother of three and reproductive rights advocate to discuss her experience with termination for medical reasons (TFMR). Clare shares how a complex twin pregnancy led to a heartbreaking decision and explains why she feels it is vital to share her story openly.
199. Trusting Your Timeline: Claiming the Future on Your Own Terms with Emily Sklar
In this episode, Aimee sits down with Emily Sklar, a podcast producer and media personality, to discuss her proactive decision to freeze her eggs at age 35. After years of prioritizing her career, Emily opens up about her mother's influence and a professional pivot led her to claim her future by securing the possibility of motherhood on her own terms.
My Passover Miscarriage [Re-Release]
In this special re-released episode, Aimee Baron, MD, founder of I Was Supposed To Have A Baby, shares her deeply personal experience with a second-trimester miscarriage. She explores the unique trauma of navigating a medical crisis while away from home for the Passover holiday and the lasting impact that loss had.
198. Balancing Roles and Expectations: A Father’s Surrogacy Story with Samuel Konig and Aliza Abrams-Konig
In this episode, Aliza Abrams-Konig, surrogacy consultant for I Was Supposed to Have a Baby, sits down with her husband, Samuel Konig, to discuss the unique and often overlooked experiences of fathers during the surrogacy process.
197. Carrying for Family: A Cousin’s Gift of Surrogacy with Andrea Syrtash, Elana Syrtash-Ochs, and Aliza Abrams Konig
In this episode, IWSTHAB’s Surrogacy Support Consultant Aliza Abrams Konig sits down with Andrea Syrtash, a relationship expert and founder of Pregnantish, and her cousin Elana Syrtash-Ochs, an early childhood educator, to discuss their shared journey through gestational surrogacy. The conversation explores the profound emotional shift that occurs when a family member steps in after years of infertility, loss, and the heartbreak of being ghosted by a previous surrogate.
196. Not the After, the During: Telling the Truth From Inside Pregnancy After Loss with Sarah Guigue
In this two-part conversation, we return to Sarah Guigue’s fertility journey with honesty, vulnerability, and deep intention. In November 2025 Sarah made the brave choice to speak in the middle of her pregnancy, because she wanted to capture the raw intensity of her journey after loss. The fear. The hope. The constant calculations. The way joy and terror lived side by side.
How To Survive Purim with Dr. Romy Schulman [Re-Release]
On this re-released episode, Dr. Romy Shulman joins Aimee Baron, MD for a thoughtful and practical conversation about how to celebrate Purim while honoring your mental health.
195. When the Plan Changes: From Fertility Treatments to Adoption
In this episode, Aimee speaks with “Q” about infertility, identity, and redefining motherhood. She shares her diagnosis of PCOS, the emotional toll of years of fertility treatments, including multiple IUIs and her relationship with prayer during difficult moments.
194. Balancing Loss and Life: Navigating Pregnancy, Healing, and Parenthood
In this episode of Talking Away the Taboo, Aimee sits down with Shira Sussi, a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in pregnancy and postpartum nutrition, for an honest conversation about pregnancy loss, the challenges of returning to work afterward, and her journey of building a family while holding joy and grief simultaneously.
193. Not Broken, Just Wired Differently: The Quiet Fertility Struggle No One Talks About
In this episode of Talking Away the Taboo, Dr. Baron is joined by Hadassah Eventsur, an occupational therapist and life coach, for a deeply needed conversation about neurodiversity in Jewish life, and how that contributes to a smaller family size.
192. Adoption, Transparency, and Trust: Pamela Krooth’s Story (Part Two)
In this episode of Talking Away the Taboo, Dr. Baron is joined again by Pam Krooth as they pick up right where their first conversation ended, the moment Pam received the call about a little boy available for adoption.
191. Nothing About This Was Simple: Amanda Bryk on Miscarriage, Pregnancy After Loss Anxiety, and Finding Community
In this episode, Aimee sits down with Amanda Bryk, a new IWSTHAB board member, to talk honestly about miscarriage, anxiety, and the complicated reality of building a family after loss.
190. When the Waiting Becomes the Story
In this episode, Tamar and Giddy share their story - how they met, fell in love, and built a marriage shaped by multiple losses, 11 rounds of IVF, and the constant waiting that comes with not knowing what’s next.
189. BRCA: Understanding Risk and Reclaiming Control (in partnership with JScreen)
This episode brings together the science, medicine, and lived experience behind BRCA mutations. Emily Goldberg, JScreen’s Director of Genetic Counseling Services, breaks down what these mutations and what the risks look like. Dr. Melissa Frey, a GYN oncologist at Cornell, walks us through what happens after someone tests positive. We also hear from Heather Boussi, who shares her powerful story of living with both BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.
188. The Many Ways to Become a Mother: Pamela’s Story of Infertility, Postpartum Depression, and Adoption
Like so many, Pamela Krooth, LCSW, spent years trying not to get pregnant, only to find herself aching for the thing she once assumed would come easily. What followed was a long, emotional road marked by pain, heartbreak, and the slow, painful shift between expectation and reality.
187. Two Voices. Three Miscarriages. One Miraculous Ending
A husband and wife sit down together to share their full fertility journey - from trying earlier than expected, to three heartbreaking miscarriages, IVF, October 7th, and ultimately, welcoming two beautiful daughters.
186. Grief Without a Funeral: Emergency Hysterectomy and Reproductive Trauma with Danielle Mizrahi
In this episode, Danielle Mizrahi shares her unique fertility journey — one that challenges our assumptions about what “fertility struggles” look like. From the joy of welcoming her third child to the unexpected trauma that followed, Danielle opens up about grief that doesn’t come with a funeral, the profound loss of her ability to have more children, and the moments when her pain felt invisible.
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