Q&A with Kellie Gerardi

Astronaut & TIME 100 Creator’s List Honoree

Why has it been important for you to broadcast your IVF journey and story?

When I first turned to IVF, I felt like I had entered this secret, lonely club that no one had fully warned me about. The physical, mental, and emotional labor of trying to conceive month after month or year after year is like another full time job, and it’s labor that so many women in our lives carry invisibly while handling all other responsibilities at home and work. I wanted to make that a little bit more visible and destigmatize the topic for anyone else who might feel like they’re navigating this fertility odyssey alone. I’ve been so grateful to find such a wonderful community online. IVF might feel like the worst club, but it has the best people, and I feel lucky that my page has become a connection point for so much compassion and support.

When you think of the future of fertility - what do you wish?

My wish for the future of fertility is fairly simple: I wish that the path to parenthood, in all forms, moves from quiet stigma to loud support. I wish for a world where fertility care is accessible for everyone who wants to build a family, where fertility services are covered by insurance providers, where workplaces offer time and space and flexibility for treatment, and where the language we use around infertility in society carries more compassion than stigma. And most of all, I hope for a future where any woman on this journey knows she’s not walking it alone.