After trying to conceive for about two and a half years, Arielle Spiegel is pregnant! She shared the news with her Instagram followers when she was 21 weeks along, and the responses were many excited congratulatory messages. Arielle has a dedicated following on her account because of the informative and empowering website she created. Upon starting her fertility journey, she realized she had a lot of questions. She was trying to gain knowledge about her fertility, hormones, and potential treatments in order to better understand her options. When searching online for answers to her fertility questions, she felt that the resources available fell short. The trying to conceive community was missing an outlet that was made just for them, with information regarding their fertility and health concerns. This gap inspired Arielle to start CoFertility, a website that strives to answer every fertility question.  

While Arielle works as the CEO and founder of CoFertility, she has also been navigating her own fertility journey. Arielle was trying to conceive for about six months when she had her first chemical pregnancy. After this chemical pregnancy, she and her husband continued to try getting pregnant on their own for a while, eventually moving forward with a Hysterosalpingography (HSG) and MRI. These procedures revealed a septum in her uterus. She began working with a reproductive endocrinologist, who removed her septum and expressed that she should have no problems getting pregnant moving forward. A few months later, nothing had happened. They began trying strategies such as timed intercourse, and various medications. When these methods proved unhelpful, she moved into IUIs. She did three rounds of IUI, one of which ended in another chemical pregnancy. Last November, Arielle did two cycles of IVF, again ending in a chemical pregnancy. She did not do the full IVF protocol, because all of her tests looked very promising. Unfortunately, these cycles were not successful. A few months later, Arielle got pregnant on her own, and miscarried after seven weeks. Arielle’s next plan was to move forward with another IVF transfer attempt in September. “We’re still very hopeful, because this will be the first time we’re doing a transfer with a full protocol. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get ahead of any loss.” Arielle focused on moving forward and staying positive. This IVF cycle was successful, and Arielle is now pregnant!

Through all the ups and downs of infertility, Arielle has created a website for women to learn about their health, fertility, and treatment options. Arielle describes CoFertility as “a site that aims to provide answers to every fertility question out there”. Women can find answers to any questions on CoFertility, regardless of where they are in their journeys. The website is a one stop destination for fertility information. Not only does the site serve as a resource which answers questions about infertility, by providing reliable content, it also offers a variety of interactive tools. One important tool is the largest database for money saving opportunities and grants. This differentiates CoFertility from other resources, allowing women to learn about “grants, donation services, discounted services, and discounted medication” that could be available to them. They also have a tool in which users can select their state, and learn about the insurance mandates in non-legal, easy to understand terms. Arielle says that the most asked questions on the site are about money, funding, and cost, so this tool is very important and helpful for the site’s users. Her site gives women vital knowledge about their fertility treatment options. 

Arielle describes CoFertility as “a site that aims to provide answers to every fertility question out there”.

When it comes to online fertility resources, Arielle feels there is “information overload”. When searching for information, women will either come across outdated forums, personal anecdotes, or clinical information that is hard to understand. This was a big part of the inspiration behind CoFertility. She feels that there is a lack of reliable, and easy to comprehend information. “You don’t really know who or what to trust, and anything that’s out there really just brings out more questions.” Arielle felt that the fertility community deserved better. The information provided on CoFertility is informative yet not overwhelming. “When it came to the resources out there, I didn’t relate to them as a consumer. They didn’t resonate with me, I didn’t connect with them.” A lot of what Arielle found online were comprehensive, dense guides such as “everything you need to know about PCOS,” that she didn’t have time to read. Women who are trying to conceive are extremely busy with work, relationships, and fertility treatments. When they have fertility questions, they want reliable answers that don’t take hours to read or understand. “We want to make things as easy as possible for people who are short on time. Time is one thing you can never have enough of, especially when you’re facing fertility treatments”. CoFertility allows women to learn about their fertility concerns while keeping up with their lives and schedules. 

“We want to make things as easy as possible for people who are short on time. Time is one thing you can never have enough of, especially when you’re facing fertility treatments”. -Arielle

When reflecting on what inspired her to start CoFertility, Arielle said, “It really just boiled down to the fact that this community deserves better”. There’s a lot of fertility information on different types of outlets, such as women’s interests sites, or parenting and motherhood sites. “I just don’t feel like this fits in to any of those boxes,” Arielle said, “The fertility community deserves its own space.” Arielle reflected on the size and reach of the fertility community. “Infertility doesn’t discriminate”, Arielle said. It can affect anyone, and does affect so many women. CoFertility strives to provide this large, diverse community a space that gives them the resources, tools, and information they need. “The amount of questions around fertility is enormous,” Arielle said.  “I wanted to create a space not only where people feel supported, but they also feel like they’re getting the information that they need.” The site provides trustworthy and accurate information for women with fertility questions. Arielle has created a space that can improve the lives of women facing obstacles in their fertility, by empowering them with information and tools to make educated decisions.