At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Gitanjali Banerjee for an exclusive interview with us. Gitanjali is an Entrepreneur and Founder & CEO at Fertility Dost. Let’s learn more about her background, journey and her advice for our community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Gitanjali:
Could you please talk us through your background and your journey?
This factor is an area I have experienced firsthand. I realized that, after a decade of infertility, juggling the alarmingly confusing world of doctors and lab work and tests or managing through hearing no one mention the word as if it was, in fact, a curse of its own, how isolating the journey to becoming a parent can be, especially for women.
My background is in media and communications. I worked with many reputed organisations until I decided that I needed to turn my struggle into my purpose. I started Fertility Dost in 2017 to help couples by sharing knowledge and empowering them to have healthy pregnancies.
From a blog, it has evolved into a complete digital health platform for fertility programs, consultations with our professionals, community support, and curated resources, affecting the lives of thousands across India and internationally.
Today, Fertility Dostis not only a startup but also a movement to plant seeds of empathy, awareness, and holistic care into our fertility conversations. We are on a mission to normalise infertility, especially for women, where the blame often lies silently, and provide science-backed, culturally rooted solutions that are the middle ground between modern medicine and traditional wisdom.
How did you discover your passion?
Pain gave birth to passion. Having faced my infertility, I knew how isolating, complex, and heart-wrenching the journey can be, especially in a culture that often sees motherhood as a woman’s most important role. There were not only medical challenges that we faced but also a substantial social stigma and lack of help.
And it was at that moment that I realised: if I am so lost in space, then all of you must be too. For me, this was a pivotal recognition. Not only did I want to find answers on how to heal myself, but I also wanted to make sure I built a community for those who had to walk a similar path as I did. And that is how Fertility Dost was born.
My blog about my personal journey progressed to become India’s largest fertility support platform. The pain became purpose, and the purpose became a passion. My work consists of helping couples navigate the fertility journey with confidence, dignity, and support—that is not just my work; it is my calling.
Who do you believe has been the most significant source of motivation in your daily life?
The women I serve, my family, and a small but steady faith—you know, the kind that sees me through all the challenging parts of life—are the three places where my motivation runs deepest.
First off, I am so inspired every day by the women and couples going through the various challenges of infertility. I know how lonely, confusing, and sad that process is, having been through it myself. When I battled to conceive, I often times felt like nobody really knew exactly what I was experiencing. Now, that suffering became my purpose, and that was the reason Fertility Dost was born.
Each story of survival from our community that I read today — every woman who will not be vanquished, every couple who believes in their love again — adds fuel to my fire. Even on the worst days, it drives me forward.
My family inspires me immensely, and they were with me through my darkest days and continue to be my backbone. I know this because I am a mother, and it is about the most profound longing that you could ever imagine, and I know this because I am a daughter. I am a wife, and I know how much weight infertility adds to every family, whether you are involved in the trying or not. My friends and family believed in me, helped me, and supported me relentlessly.
Finally, and this is a quieter thread running through all of the above, I have a spiritual component. I feel and believe that it has been upon me to walk this path — this purpose. Whenever I feel fatigued or unsure, I look inside and say, “This mission is larger than you.” I believe that divine timing, grace, and karma are always at work, and that belief gives me the strength to carry on.
In short, my motivation is not just one person or moment — it is a mixture of meaning, turning pain into power, the people in my life, and a bigger purpose I strive to live up to every day.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
Embracing vulnerability and turning your pain into purpose is one of the most powerful strategies I have implemented to grow. My journey through infertility was shrouded in distress and socio-cultural adversity.
Still, I knew that by speaking up, I would find a way to feel better, correlate with others to feel less alone, and eventually end up building Fertility Dost to serve people going through similar phases!
This brings us to our next strategy—continuous learning. From keeping up with reproductive health trends to mental health to how to run a business, I am certainly very curious and flexible about absorbing the information that comes my way.
Moreover, developing a reliable ecosystem of mentors, team players, and even women in our community has been an essential factor. One thought on personal growt,h I’ve learned the hard way: it never happens in a vacuum. It has made a world of difference to listen more deeply, ask for help when I need it, and surround myself with people who push and inspire me forward.
Finally, I am kind to myself. Being an entrepreneur and also wearing many hats as a woman, I learned that showing kindness to myself during setbacks isn’t merely important — it is crucial to long-term growth.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
For me, success comes from clarity, consistency, and courage. When times get tough, your “why” keeps you grounded. Creating Fertility Dost was a very personal motivation, and that clarity of purpose has guided my decisions to date.
Trust is created by consistency, relationships, team dynamics, and building a brand. Remember, raindrops make an ocean. Consistent efforts, small efforts daily, lead to significant results.
And lastly, courage. A willingness to break through taboos, to speak inconvenient truths, to ask for help, and also to fail. Courage is the thing that becomes your friend at the same time as you are building something that matters for you, and in this case, so we are all in the bitterness of this world for a better place in the future in fertility & the women’s health space.
Achieving a milestone does not equate to success; you have to go through the process with authenticity, empathy, and resilience.
What advice would you give to our readers?
If I were to give the best advice, it would be this: stop waiting for the right time to focus on your health because there is never a perfect time for fertility. Couples hold back and put off action because of fear, confusion, or social pressure, and by the time they realise that they need help, it might be irrelevant, and precious time is already lost.
Get ahead of the game, arm yourself with information, and be proactive. This is why I designed the Garbha Sankalp Workshop—a two—month program to prepare for a natural pregnancy based on the principles of Ayurveda, lifestyle science, and emotional support. This is to ensure couples are familiar with their bodies, know how to improve their chances of getting pregnant naturally, and avoid inconveniences in scheduling or feeling the need to panic.
This workshop is a one-stop mini guide with a path like the community to support you, whether it is the start of your pregnancy journey or a crisis like low amh, sperm, eggs, miscarriage etc.
I always emphasise that you need to learn before you plunge into treatment. This all-in-one strategy will save you time, money, and, most importantly, your sanity.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
