Nurse who struggled with infertility helps other women start families
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- "I think everyone deserves the right to build a family that they choose," said Suzie Devine. "For some people, it's not always a straight line."
Devine was inspired to become a women's health nurse following an eye-opening trip to Africa during her teenage years. She eventually began working with Penn Fertility Care, learning about the struggles of starting a family from co-workers and patients.
Then, she learned about infertility first-hand.
"We had a couple of miscarriages," she said. "And then we had IVF and I just had our miracle baby, Pierce, six weeks ago."
During her time working with Penn Medicine, Devine noticed a need in the market for easy and affordable access to healthcare alternatives.
"I launched Binto to help women get access to safe and effective personalized products alongside access to health care providers," she said.
Since 2016, Binto has provided online services and research-supported supplements to subscribers.
"There is no magic pill you can take, but what the supplements do is boost your nutrients," said Devine.
According to National Institutes of Health, citing a study from 2013, roughly 9% of men and 11% of women of reproductive age have experienced issues with fertility in the United States.
Two women who met Devine through their own infertility journeys have become supporters of Binto and the community surrounding it.
"I could not have made it through four years without you, I really couldn't," said Becky Trubin-Barker to Suzie Devine, who was her fertility nurse with Penn Medicine.
Trubin-Barker had five miscarriages before successfully having a child.
"I still live with those memories and that pain even though I have two children now," she said. "Looking at them every day kind of reminds me of the journey that we went through and makes me appreciate being a parent."
While Trubin-Barker's infertility was determined to come from a rare chromosomal abnormality, there was no clear answer for McKenna Young.
"They really never found out what the reason was, which I think was also very difficult for us," said Young.
It took her three years of trying before having a baby girl through in vitro fertilization. Since then, she has become a subscriber of Binto and recently became naturally pregnant with her second child. She is currently 18 weeks along.
"When we were trying to get pregnant the second time, I felt more comfortable talking about what we had been through," said Young. "The more you talk about it, the more you meet people who are going through the same thing."
Anyone interested in learning more about fertility will have the chance to attend a free consultation/Q&A session with Suzie Devine on Thursday, April 28, from 5:30pm-8:00pm at The Indie Shelf in Graduate Hospital, Philadelphia. The event will also feature Main Line Fertility, Six Fishes Acupuncture, and WTHN Wellness. The "intimate talk and shop" is being hosted in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week.
To learn more about Binto, visit their website.
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