Inside Reproductive Health Podcast

Patients are coming into fertility appointments more informed than ever.
They’ve talked to ChatGPT, researched their treatment options, and sometimes even come in with an idea of what they think their doctor should recommend.
So what does that mean for the REI?
That’s the question Dr. Maria Costantini explores. She’s a Partner REI and Medical Director at RMA, and she believes self-awareness may be one of the most important tools physicians have as the patient-physician relationship changes.
We dive into:
Why patient self-education is reshaping fertility care

How technology is changing physician decision making

Dr. Costantini’s belief that self-awareness may prevent provider burnout

The balance between authoritative and collaborative consultations

RMA’s new AI and how it supports the patient journey

AI may be changing what patients bring into the exam room, but Dr. Costantini argues that how physicians respond may come down to something much more human.

“You’ll never be able to make it on your own.”
A challenge issued by a network CEO to this week’s guest, Dr. Shvetha Zarek.
She left anyway, built Arbor Fertility in St. Louis, and co-founded AIRE, the Alliance of Independent Reproductive Endocrinologists. Now, she’s one of the loudest voices challenging the idea that corporate consolidation is inevitable.

We dive into:

The myths practice owners are told about going independent
Why independent REIs often take home 3-4 times more revenue than their corporate peers
What really happened when her venture-backed group quietly ran out of money
The debate over whether owning your lab makes you truly independent
Why AIRE is calling this a breaking point for corporate medicine

If this conversation resonates with you, leave us a review or share it with a colleague who's thinking about hanging their own shingle.

Behind every successful fertility journey is a team of nurses, administrators, and clinical staff working under intense pressure. 
Too often, the people holding the system together are the ones left without a safety net.
In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Debbra Keegan, full-time REI physician and Vice President of Clinical Partnerships and Strategy at CCRM, to discuss how to protect and empower healthcare teams from the ground up.
We dive into:
The hidden cost of burnout on fertility clinic staff 

How physicians, leadership, and staff can actively support their teams

The impact of CCRM's new patient navigator system

Why introducing mental health resources on initial visits elevates care

How wearables and microbiome tracking are transforming patient wellness

Restorative Reproductive Medicine isn't just a rebranding. It's a legal and legislative strategy aimed at IVF. And it's gaining ground.
A surprising number of fertility doctors have asked IRH to cover this topic, so we brought in the right person: Matt Maruca, Inception Fertility's chief legal counsel for seven years and a key figure in the Fertility Providers Alliance.
We dive into:
How Southern States approached IVF-hostile legislation in 2026

What tort reform could look like for IVF providers 

The donor-conceived community's growing influence on policy

What legislation the FPA is actively working to advance

How you can get involved, even if you don't work for Prelude or Inception

Is private practice making a comeback? More importantly, should it?
After five years at UCSF, Dr. Thalia Segal left academic medicine to launch Collab Fertility in one of the most competitive fertility markets in the country.
And she did it with no private equity and no venture capital.
Just a vision for building the kind of practice she believes both physicians and patients deserve.
We dive into:
Why some fertility physicians are reconsidering private equity-backed practices

Why Dr. Segal believes REIs should have greater oversight of the IVF lab

The financial realities of running a 300-cycle practice (without outside investors)

How she’s growing Collab Fertility and recruiting the next generation of REIs

Her 21 headcount payroll and the operational challenges she’s encountered along the way