Changing Seasons Podcast
Changing Seasons is a podcast that gently explores the transitions we move through in life from fertility to menopause, surrogacy to grief, and the many shifts in between. Hosted by Jody Vassallo, Ayurvedic guide, intuitive cook, and founder of ‘Gather’. Each episode is an invitation to slow down, listen in, and reconnect with the wisdom of your body and the cycles of nature.
Through the lens of traditional medicine and lived experience, we dive into the big topics: perimenopause, menopause, fertility, gut health, grief and loss, surrogacy, Ayurveda, and food as medicine.
This is a space for real conversations, tender truths, and practical ways to nourish yourself no matter what season you're in.
Changing Seasons Podcast
39 - Lola Berry: So you want to freeze your embryos? You may need your therapist on speed dial.
Today Jody talks to nutritionist, actor and presenter Lola Berry about her and her partner Matt's decision to freeze her embryos instead of eggs. Their choice to delay having a family came after Lola chose to leave her life in Australia to pursue her dream career in acting and presenting in Los Angeles.
Lola is honest and totally open about the IVF process, the harvesting of the egg and the agonising days after the eggs are fertilised where Lola discovered that not all embryos will survive or be considered viable for freezing.
Mental health was something Lola was vigilant about throughout the entire egg cultivation process and she stresses that she believes anyone embarking on the IVF journey would benefit from the support of a mental health professional. Lola highlights how valuable her good friends were during the process, they listened and gave her information she needed. She talks about how she felt she made a mistake sharing her process in real time on social media as it put her in a situation where she was dealing with other people's experiences when she needed to be focused on her own.
Anyone who is considering freezing their eggs would benefit from the step by step description that Lola offers in this episode. She shares vulnerably and authentically about the parts she found difficult and the pieces that caught her by surprise and how she at times needed emergency appointments with her therapists to cope with the choice she had made.
How to connect with Lola:
Instagram: @yummololaberry
Podcast: Fearlessly Failing
✨ Gather: A Seasonal Membership for Women in Menopause ✨
Join Gather, a supportive online space for women navigating menopause, peri, and post-menopause. Connect through live calls, expert masterclasses, and curated seasonal resources designed to nourish and empower.
🌿 Learn more & join: jodyvassallo.com/gather
📩 Questions? Email Jody: hello@jodyvassallo.com