IVF Girl Math: Astronaut Kellie Gerardi Timing Space Flight Around Fertility

Kellie Gerardi was the first person to pump breast milk in zero gravity. But she almost didn’t have her baby. This week on The Motherly Podcast, Kellie opens up about the nine-year journey between her two daughters: multiple IVF cycles, pregnancy losses, and the "girl math" of timing a spaceflight around fertility treatment. She talks with Motherly Co-founder Liz Tenety about destigmatizing infertility, pumping breast milk in microgravity, and the surreal moment when she wasn’t on the same planet as her baby. 

In this episode:

(00:00) Functional Hope

(2:10) Kellie Gerardi Interview Begins 

(04:08) Becoming an Astronaut

(08:36) Two Dreams: Motherhood and Space Travel

(09:28) Secondary Infertility Journey

(12:59) Sharing to Break Stigma

(16:57) Finding Support and Resources

(20:29) Workplace Fertility Benefits

(24:35) Spaceflight Timing vs IVF

(28:58) How Infertility Changed Me

(31:51) Cosmic Perspective on Life

(35:12) Pumping in Microgravity

(38:34) Risk and Talking to Kids

(44:42) Rapid Fire Questions

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