Jillian Kurtz, DO, is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at ORM Fertility’s Portland location. As a Portland native, she is “very excited to be back in the Pacific Northwest and to start serving patients here,” following her medical training in Colorado, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Dr. Kurtz’s passion for women’s health and overall reproductive health was sparked well before medical school when she worked at Planned Parenthood during college as a patient advocate. “Helping women through vulnerable situations has always felt natural and normal for me,” she says. “I grew up with three sisters and have always been drawn to taking care of women.”

Her interest in reproductive autonomy grew from there to include advocating for people’s right to build the families they desire.

It is so rewarding to help individuals and couples reach their reproductive goals. Everyone deserves to have a family, and it’s wonderful to see more and more non-traditional families growing and thriving.”

Dr. Kurtz empathizes with her patients, too, having experienced her own reproductive challenges. “My husband and I were trying to conceive at the end of my residency, but month after month went by and we didn’t get pregnant,” she says. The couple decided to move forward with IVF and experienced two unsuccessful embryo transfers before deciding to take some time to regroup. “We were devastated and decided to take a month off, and that’s when we spontaneously conceived—a testament to the value of reducing stress!”

When the couple began trying for baby number two, conception again proved difficult, so they decided to go back to the embryos they had created during their first IVF experience—and were successful on the first transfer. “I’m really happy I did IVF and had remaining embryos,” Dr. Kurtz says. “It took the pressure off of getting pregnant the second time.”

I’ve been there—assuming I was going to be able to get pregnant, and then met with unexpected difficulties and struggles. It was really hard. But now I can very personally and authentically empathize with my patients when the road to building a family isn’t a straight path.”

Her fertility challenges have also made Dr. Kurtz a strong advocate for a proactive approach to fertility and educating individuals on services like egg freezing. “For those who haven’t yet found a life partner or are unsure if they even want children, egg freezing is a fantastic way to gain some peace of mind,” she says.