As marketing professionals working with fertility centers to drive patient acquisition, we’re often asked how to best use social media including Instagram.

The answer always includes tips to be authentic, share valuable information, and give prospective patients a look “behind the scenes” at parts of your practice and personal life that you are comfortable sharing. These things work to build trust and affinity with prospective patients even before they meet you.

Our client, Natalia Grindler, MD from Conceptions Reproductive Associates of Colorado is doing just that, consistently making high quality posts, including announcing her own pregnancy last week.

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I've been debating how much to share on IG, but had an amazing patient visit me today who inspired me to continue reaching out via IG (thank you!). ♥️ I'm pregnant! My third (and final!) son is expected in June 😊 . The irony of being a pregnant fertility specialist does not escape me. I get it. I understand that this may be hard for many of my patients to see. I get it. This was the right time and the right thing for my family. 💭 I want to be honest. I worried that this pregnancy would impact my referrals as a fertility specialist in private practice. I tried to hide my pregnancy as long as I could with outfits at work. I was hoping that no one would notice that I’m pregnant and that I could keep it my secret. Clearly, that was unrealistic with a healthy amount of denial mixed in! 😂 . 💭 I want to be sensitive to our patient population. I understand it's not easy.❤️ . 💭 I worry that many of my new followers on IG may unfollow me because of this pregnancy. I worry that my patients will make (incorrect) assumptions about my personal fertility and journey to have a family. I struggle to decide how much of my personal life to share with my patients and on social media. . 💭 I am vulnerable. And I don't have it all figured out. . 💭 Trying to conceive is not easy. Becoming a mom is not simple. Balancing medicine and motherhood is a never-ending challenge. Every #ttcjourney is unique, just as each child develops into a truly special individual, despite the similar biology and environment. I hope to use my personal experiences #asawoman , as a mom, and as a working mom to help me continue to deliver the very best care to my patients. I'm pregnant. But I'm still the same caring doctor that sincerely wants the best for my patients every day. #pregnant #fertility #workingmom #sometimeswesmile

A post shared by Natalia Grindler, MD (@nataliagrindler_md) on Apr 30, 2019 at 1:30pm PDT

As you might imagine, she struggled with the idea of sharing this announcements with her patients who are facing challenges with fertility. At the end of the day, however, her candor and compassion ring true and create a very authentic and engaging experience.