Gila Block

Follow Gila on Instagram @gilablock and the incredible work she does at @yesh_tikva.

Five sentences about me…

I am a native Angelino who loves the sun but has red hair. My whole life I dreamed of being a mom and somehow deep down had this feeling that it would be a struggle (though nothing prepared me for the world of infertility). I was the kid who held everyone else’s babies and started babysitting when I was 12. As an adult, I started my career working as a behavior therapist with neurodivergent children and their families. And 3 years into my own journey co-founded Yesh Tikva and haven't looked back.

Five sentences about what I've endured in the fertility realm...

My husband and I were 23 years old when we received our unexplained infertility diagnosis. We didn't know what it meant or what would lay ahead. It took us four years of treatment, multiple failed IUI and IVF cycles, the loss of multiple embryos in a single defrost, and 3 clinics/doctors before we had our first miracle a few weeks shy of my 28th birthday (and first pregnancy ever in 5 years of trying). It was our 3rd transfer/2nd fresh cycle. Three years in, no baby in sight and a desperate need for community - I co-founded Yesh Tikva (“There is Hope” in Hebrew) with an incredible team of dedicated and powerful women looking to make change in this space.

One thing I wish I knew going into my fertility journey...

What infertility was and how prevalent it was. No one spoke about it and social media didn’t really exist as it now does.

One funny moment or anecdote from my fertility journey.

I sprained my ankle a few days before transfer 2 and was high on valium and remember hobbling into that transfer only to come crashing down with the news of the loss of our embryos in that single defrost.

One thing about me that is forever changed because of my fertility journey...

My ability to hold space and empathy for the struggles of others.

One product, practice, or ritual I adopted during my fertility journey, which I have/have not kept a part of my life...

Chocolate, eating lots of it when I felt down (and still do)!