Baptist Health’s annual Sisisky-Kleppinger Lecture to focus on fertility challenges women face on the path to parenthood

Award-winning sportscaster Sara Walsh of FOX Sports gave birth to fraternal twins via In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) after suffering three miscarriages, including one while she was on-air.

Walsh will recount the setbacks she experienced and talk about the doctor who never lost faith throughout her journey at the Sisisky-Kleppinger Annual Endowed Lecture for Women's Health presented by Baptist Health on Tuesday, April 19, from 5:30 -- 8 pm at WJCT Studios.

"People would tell me how common it was to have a miscarriage, that it happened to them and they were fine the next time around. I wasn't," said Walsh. As she told health.com, she hid her struggle to get pregnant from everyone but her husband. "Infertility is a medical issue, and it shouldn't make anyone feel ashamed or embarrassed---and it definitely shouldn't be hidden. As much as those suffering need compassion and understanding from others, we also need to be kinder to ourselves during the process and allow space for our own grief." She hopes that by sharing her story, "One person may feel less alone in their fight."

In addition to Walsh's story, there will be a post-lecture Q&A session featuring a panel of experts who will discuss fertility issues in women and those close to them. The panel includes:

• Tra'Chella Johnson Foy, MD (Moderator) -- Family Medicine, Baptist Primary Care

• Jill Garrett, PsyD -- Psychologist, Baptist Behavioral Health

• Kendra Gillespie, MD -- Obstetrician and Gynecologist

• Dawn Mormak, MD -- Obstetrician and Gynecologist

• Samuel Brown, MD -- Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Reproductive Infertility Endocrinologist

The event is free and open to the public. For more details and to register, please visit: WomensLecture.com/2022.

To read more of Walsh's story, go to Juice, Baptist Health's health news hub.