Maggie McKay (Host): Welcome to Time to Talk Fertility: Beyond the Lab Coat, a podcast from Fertility Centers of Illinois. Join us as we go behind the scenes with Dr. Jane Nani, reproductive endocrinologist to discover what inspires her work, how she connects with patients, and what drives her passion for helping families grow. Real stories, real purpose, real care.

I'm your host, Maggie McKay. Thank you so much for being here today. Would you please share your full name and credentials?

Dr. Jane Nani: My name is Dr. Jane Nani, and I'm a full-time reproductive endocrinologist working in the Fertility Centers of Illinois, which is a single fertility specialty group working in the Chicago area.

Host: And what inspired you to pursue medicine, specifically reproductive endocrinology?

Dr. Jane Nani: Oh, that's a great question and I can tell you exactly what inspired me to pursue reproductive endocrine. I had the opportunity while in medical school. And this goes back quite a number of years actually, when really reproductive endocrinologists was quite a bit younger than we think of it today. So, you know, I've been doing this for quite some time. But at that point, in medical school, I did have an opportunity to do a rotation in reproductive endocrinology at a certain hospital in our area. And it was intensely interesting because they were doing for very first-time at this center retrievals of eggs. And I was able to get there at one of the very first cases that they were doing egg retrievals on a patient. And it was intensely interesting and I've been hooked ever since.

Host: I bet. Wow, that's amazing. What do you find most rewarding about your work?

Dr. Jane Nani: What I think is most rewarding is when I can see couples come in who are so grateful to be finally pregnant after sometimes going through years of infertility. And more and more common that we have people becoming pregnant because the rates for fertility success are increasing all the time. From that early stage when I first saw the retrieval to now the rates are remarkably better. So, we see more and more couples coming in with a healthy pregnancy ongoing. And that is the greatest thing we can do for them, I think.

Host: I bet. Is there a particular moment that reaffirmed why you chose this field?

Dr. Jane Nani: When I think about many, many moments, but certainly some of the major moments where couples have had—and this is a difficult situation for certain couples to be in, people who've had what we call recurrent pregnancy loss. So, they maybe are not particularly infertile, but they've had recurrent pregnancy losses. And we can sometimes get to the bottom of why this occurs. And sometimes it's a relatively easy fix, and then they can find that they get pregnant the next time and go on to have a live birth. I find it intensely rewarding to kind of uncover what might be the malady for some of these couples that they might be able to conceive, but then have loss after loss, after loss. And often, not a hundred percent, but certainly often we can find a reason why this is happening and aid them in that respect.

Host: How do you hope to make a difference in your patients' lives?

Dr. Jane Nani: By having them go through fertility care and having a success, and I say this because I think about other fields where, "Oh, sometimes, you know, you're wanting to take care of some patient who might have an improvement in their blood sugar or blood pressure or this sort of thing. We see people who are wanting to have families. And so, I think that is a rewarding thing for me to understand that we can help them seek the goal, which is their goal of having a family. And that's particularly rewarding in my book.

Host: And what drives your passion for helping individuals and families on their journey to parenthood? Because it's got to be so emotional and probably one of the most significant things in their lives.

Dr. Jane Nani: Yeah. I think for me, what drives me, because I've had the experience myself of having my own children. I didn't have to go through fertility care. But I certainly felt like it was one of the best times in my life to have children. And so, I would say that was one of the things that made me particularly want to pursue this field, because I think all women who seek it should have the opportunity to have children. It's true. Not everyone perhaps wants to have children, but those that do and can't, that is a very difficult situation to be in. And we can often help those couples.

Host: Dr. Nani, how would you describe your approach to patient care?

Dr. Jane Nani: I would say my approach to patient care is very individualized. we can talk about couples in general as being infertile, and there's different reasons they might be infertile. But each one, each couple or even single people, they are all individual and have individual issues perhaps. But also, they come from different individual backgrounds. So, we don't treat everybody the same. You know, you have to understand where these patients are coming from, what their even cultural differences are. Sometimes it's a difference in language. We can help with that as well. But all of those sort of things, I think, lead to the art facing each couple as an individual. And you have to respect that they're not all the same. That they have their own each individual histories. And that's something that we take into consideration.

Host: Right. You have to custom tailor to each different scenario, I guess. What's most important to you when guiding a patient through treatment?

Dr. Jane Nani: When we take people through treatment, we try very hard to make sure that they feel that they have some control over what they're pursuing. So, we do try and educate them pretty intensely about what they're about to embark on in terms of the fertility journey, if you will.

And so, we do do a lot of education for them. And I think once they understand what's going to happen, it doesn't come as a surprise for example, they do tend to, I think, learn for themselves what it is that they're going to be undergoing. And that helps for them to take control and feel like they understand for themselves the experience that they're about to have.

Host: And how do you help patients feel supported and empowered throughout the journey?

Dr. Jane Nani: Well, patients are largely empowered, again, by our staff. You know, we have nursing staff and we have health educating staff and, of course, the physicians. I think we all try to do our best to make them feel comfortable, comfortable in terms of our approach to having them understand the care that they're undergoing. Understanding as well the issues that might have led to them not getting pregnant naturally. So, all of the diagnostic things that we do, that's all in terms of aiding them to understand for themselves why they ended up in the fertility doctor's office as opposed to those that, you know, get pregnant spontaneously.

Host: How do you balance science, technology, and empathy in your work?

Dr. Jane Nani: When you talk about empathy in particular, that's something that comes from, I think, my own background. I've always had this sort of sense of empathy growing up with a disabled sister. And, you know, you realize that we're not all the same.

But I do think because I had that experience, I feel i'm particularly, sensitive to the different issues that people bring and I think that lends itself to feeling empathic for these people because I think a lot of people get pregnant naturally, and many of these couples feel like there's something that may be intensely wrong with them. But just that we have ways that we can help them achieve it, achieve the pregnancy. So, those are all things that we can help them with.

Host: What are your special areas of clinical interest and what draws you to them?

Dr. Jane Nani: Well, we talk about one of the most common endocrinopathies in women of reproductive age, is what's called polycystic ovarian syndrome. And that is one of my fields of interest in particular.

Host: Let's talk a little bit about your education and your expertise. Where did you complete your medical education, your residency, and your fellowship training?

Dr. Jane Nani: I was lucky enough to go to medical school here in Illinois, so I went to the University of Illinois, Chicago for medical school. I did four years of medical school at the University of Illinois and I matched. And so, I went through the match and I matched obstetrics and gynecology at the Cook County Hospital here in Chicago. You may not know this, but there's a new hospital in Chicago called John Stroger. I was with the old Cook County Public Hospital So, it was a very busy place and wonderful place to do clinical obstetrics and gynecology. So, I was there for four years and basically, for those four years, more or less on call every fourth night. And I think with amazement that I was able to do that, but that was quite a while ago. After the four years of obstetrics and gynecology, then I did a fellowship at what's called the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and that was through the Harvard Medical School system.

Host: Dr. Nani, was there something you learned along the way that continues to shape your approach today?

Dr. Jane Nani: What I think I've learned over the course of my training in particular is to always consider my clinical team we are a team. In other words, I try not to be condescending to any of our nursing staff. They're very, very valuable members of our clinical team—and I learned that during my time, people or clinicians who did not take that approach. And I thought to myself when I saw that there's no reason to be condescending to a nurse. You know, they're part of the clinical team and they're very valuable. So, I think that's something that I still to this day take into consideration that we are a team and they are very, very vital to patient care.

Host: So important. What excites you most about the future of reproductive medicine?

Dr. Jane Nani: You know, I mentioned to you that I was there at one of the very first egg retrievals at this hospital, and the development of reproductive endocrinology has kind of exponentially developed over the time of my experience in the field. So, I've been doing this for over 26 years, and I've seen a tremendous changes in terms of fertility success. And so, that's been very exciting and we continue to see that. It's been such an amazing journey and as I mentioned, the rates are better than they've ever been. And in particular, we can screen for certain diseases in early embryos, for example, and get the entire genetic makeup of the early embryo so we can make sure these couples have healthy children.

And I think that continues to evolve, this kind of development. We can grow embryos out in the laboratory to five or six days. I don't know how much longer we'll be able to do that, but there might be some development that way. But the major thing, I think, is that we can choose from a cohort of embryos the healthiest embryo for that couple.

Host: What accomplishment in your practice or your career are you most proud of?

Dr. Jane Nani: I'm most proud that I work in a fertility practice where we are a team of physicians and have been responsible for the birth of thousands of babies in our area. I think that's a very shining thing for us, because we're a group of physicians that all do this. And as a group in particular, we have contributed over thousands of babies. Very excited and proud about that.

Host: Do you speak any additional languages?

Dr. Jane Nani: I can speak a little bit of Spanish, primarily medical Spanish, and I say that because I can take a history in Spanish and converse in the medical field. I don't have vocabulary, let's say, when I talk to the gardener, I notice, this sort of thing. But I can take a history in Spanish and understand when it stays in the medical realm.

Host: So personally, what do your patients often say they appreciate most about working with you?

Dr. Jane Nani: I think they say that I give them the time that they need. They schedule patients in a certain sequence, but I always try to give them whatever time they need and I always ask, "What other questions do you have? Anything I said that you need some clarification?" I always try to end by allowing them to continue in open-ended, you know, to ask questions of me, because this is often a new experience for them. And I think that questions do arise. Sometimes the questions don't arise until later. But certainly, I want them to understand that we're here to answer any questions that they may have.

Host: How do you build trust and meaningful connection with your patients because they're going through such a crucial point in their life? I would think.

Dr. Jane Nani: They are. And what builds trust is that we handhold them as they go through this journey. It's me, but it's also my clinical team. We are there for them. You are correct. It is an unusual thing for some couples to undergo. And we take them through step by step. They're not alone. We make them understand that they are not alone with this journey. That we're here for them. Whatever they need, we're going to be here for them.

Host: With patients who are feeling anxious or discouraged, what advice do you share with them?

Dr. Jane Nani: We do see some patients who are discouraged and it's easy to be discouraged, particularly when there's not a success that they're looking for. But still, we do offer psychology services and sometimes people do take advantage of that. We have psychologists that are on staff with us. And often that is a resource for them, but not everybody wants to do that. But I do think we understand that This is an intensely personal experience, and it can be frustrating. So, we do try to as best we can to help them manage that.

Host: What message of encouragement would you share with those still hoping to build their family?

Dr. Jane Nani: My main message is we have so many therapies for people that we've never had before. One of the major things that has occurred is we can now have egg banking the way we've always had sperm banking. So pretty much, I can state for almost all couples if they're willing to do certain things, we can all get almost anyone pregnant within a certain age group, of course. I think that's true though. Some people may have to do donor egg. But still, this is not avenue for them that, we can help them as well. So, we can get almost anybody pregnant, pretty much.

Host: And what's one lesson your patients have taught you?

Dr. Jane Nani: The lessons that they've taught me is that not one-size-fits-all. As I mentioned before, they're all individuals. They can't be treated the same way and that's very important. That's led to, I think, our treating them quite as unique cases, each one of them, because they're not all the same.

Host: And outside of medicine, what brings you joy or balance? What do you do for fun? Hobbies, interests?

Dr. Jane Nani: It doesn't sound all that fun, but I'm a good reader. I like to read and sometimes I'm more fiction oriented, I think more summertime reading. But in the winter time and this month that we're in now, I'm reading more of a histotrical novels. Like, I think I like to read primarily that's my kind of leisure activity.

Host: What's something people might be surprised to learn about you?

Dr. Jane Nani: I grew up in the Los Angeles area, and I grew up a Grateful Dead fan. But that is not what everybody would expect.

Host: What three words best describe you, Dr. Nani?

Dr. Jane Nani: I think they would describe me as introverted, kind—very kind—and probably compassionate.

Host: Those are three good things. So, let's switch gears a little bit and talk about some lighthearted topics, like, what's the best concert you've ever been to? I have a feeling I know what you're going to say.

Dr. Jane Nani: I happened to go to Soldier Field when the Jerry Garcia played his last concert at Soldier Field. And I wouldn't have called it the best one at the time. Soldier Field is huge, and it it's not an intimate setting, but he died some months after that. So, I think of that as being the best one.

Host: What was your first job?

Dr. Jane Nani: My very first job, believe it or not, I worked the counter at a McDonald's restaurant when I was 16 years old. That was my very first paying job.

Host: I'm sure you learned a lot, just how to deal with people. If you had to pick one ice cream flavor for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Dr. Jane Nani: I would say that's pretty easy. I love coffee ice cream. Now, I don't eat a lot of coffee ice cream, But when I have ice cream, I like coffee ice cream.

Host: Okay. And what's your favorite Disney character?

Dr. Jane Nani: Well, you know, I think about Disney characters as like characters in the movies. And I have to tell you my favorite, and this goes back to maybe the very first motion picture I ever saw, Mary Poppins. Maybe you don't think of her as Disney, but it is from the Disney company. So, I think Mary Poppins for me.

Host: How do you take your coffee?

Dr. Jane Nani: I take it black. I take my coffee black.

Host: What should patients look for when they're trying to choose a fertility clinic?

Dr. Jane Nani: I think the major thing a patient should look for is somebody who's taken care of a lot of patients and had a lot of success. And that's what I said, we've been responsible for a lot of babies being born. So, we have a lot of experience, and I think these patients have an opportunity to take advantage of a group that has done a lot of care in this field and had a lot of success in the field of infertility.

Host: And what would you say sets Fertility Centers of illinois apart from other fertility clinics?

Dr. Jane Nani: I think we are the one clinic in the area that has the most experience in doing this kind of fertility care. We offer some unique opportunities for patients that other clinics may not offer. And we have a lot of offices around the general area so that they can pretty much go close to their home to get the care that they need. There might be more travel to do a certain issue or procedure perhaps, but the actual care with their physician and their nursing staff can happen close to home.

Host: Well, thank you so much for making the time to be here, sharing your expertise. It's been a pleasure getting to know you, and we really appreciate your time today.

Dr. Jane Nani: Well, thank you, Maggie.

Host: Again, that's Dr. Jane Nani. To learn more, please visit fcionline.com/doctors. That's fcionline.com/doctors. I'm Maggie McKay. Thanks for listening to Time to Talk Fertility: Beyond the Lab Coat, a podcast from Fertility Centers of Illinois.