Raising Awareness About Infertility

As you will have seen on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites, this is National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW).  Tweeters have been on a campaign of posting, commenting, blogging and retweeting information all day today, trying to make infertility a "trending,"  or most tweeted about, topic in the United States. I'm not in the U.S., but I was happy to retweet several of these messages to my followers, because public awareness is important. Why?

Looking back about 9 years, I became aware of secondary infertility, only because it happened to me. My girlfriends who wanted children had had them with few, if any, challenges. I was confused. I had, by that time, been pregnant 4 times.  I thought that miscarriage was my issue and couldn't understand why, after giving birth to my daughter, I couldn't conceive again. I had no one to talk to about it. Some of my friends, who had had their first child at the same time as I did, were already pregnant with their second. Though I had a computer, I wasn't proficient with anything but e-mail. There was no Facebook or Twitter.

My situation was not unique.  It seems like today, so much is known about infertility.  Maybe it's because it is my driving force; the subject I am most passionate about.  I see, hear and read about infertility every day. But, other people, who don't have a personal need to know about infertility, also seem to know a fair bit.  Or is it just that because the subject is open for discussion in my world, people feel it's okay to bring it up in conversation?  I'm asked questions all the time about why infertility is so common now, whether fertility medicine is progressing fast enough and whether I believe the NHS should cover a larger span of women, into their forties.

Does everyone have the need to know about infertility? I would suggest, that:

• infertility should not be a taboo subject on which people feel discuss in public. 
• There should be no embarrassment or shame attached to the condition.
• Knowing about infertility helps people use sensitivity in their treatment of people who are dealing with it.
• Common knowledge about infertility would help infertile people to not feel isolated and alone.
• Knowledge of the huge number of infertile people in the population can help a person decide which politician to lobby about the cost of treatment, drugs and insurance.
• Awareness that infertility affects a sizeable percentage of the population, will eventually trickle down to sex education classes given to teenagers in school, equipping them much earlier than ever before with information about what can cause infertilty.
• Knowledge is power. If young women become aware that their lives could be affected by infertility, they may decide to go to a gyanecologist for a well-woman check much earlier, to stay away from things that endanger the chance of conception and a healthier pregnancy.
• Awareness of infertility could reverse the trend to marry and/or begin trying to conceive later.
• It would be a great result to have infertility lifted to a status on equal footing with other medical conditions, for the purposes of funding research.
• The more that is known, the more can be addressed, by public health departments, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies and creators of products that ease the testing, self-injections, medicating of and operating on infertile people.
• The more comfort and ease with which the subject of infertility is discussed, the greater the ability to connect a person with others who are experiencing similar challenges for mutual support.
• Knowledge about the physiological aspect of infertility can help people make appropriate lifestyle choices, on subjects such as caffiene, alcohol, cigarettes, recreational drugs, nutrition, stress, etc.
• Peoplewho are undergoing chemotherapy and other drug treatment will be able to avail themselves more easily of processes like sperm, egg or embryo freezing.
• Knowledge of the emotional aspect of infertility will cause help to be directed in that direction; including articles, books, fertility websites, forums, seminars, exhibitions, products, education and treatment

I'm sure there is much more, but I'm too tired to think.  I don't need to anyway, because the IF community is out there and I will read my tweets tomorrow to see what they are doing for NIAW. I'm even more proud than usual to be a fertility coach and advocate.

Comments

[Edward Ramirez, MD]

Hello...pleased to visit your blog today. I agree with so many of your points, because my wife & I went through 12 years of infertility in the 80' - 90's. We had to finally accept the fact that there was a serious problem. Ironically, I was training to be an infertility specialist when we began IUIs and just finished with my training when my wife agreed to do IVF. She had no one to share her fears with & went into it pretty blind (which sometimes is not such a bad thing, she was less nervous!). We were lucky since ART was not as good as it is now & her chances were about 12% at 37. We got our IVF baby, though and we never regret it! I tell my patients not to lose sight of their goal, even if it takes many years, family building is possible for everyone..just depends on what how you want to go about it. Knowledge is power. See you on FB! ICLW #7

[Lisa]

Thank you for sharing that experience with me. When I hear about the choices that ART allows now, I can hardly believe that my husband and I went to the first specialist/clinic that we found. We were quite naive. None of us really knew what to expect, so, thinking that I might need the back-up, I brought my daughter to New Jersey with me and we moved in with my parents for 3 months while I was doing the IVF. We were lucky to have chosen a great medical practice, so even though the IVF wasn't successful, I haven't felt any regret about my choice.

I agree that clear vision, flexibility and commitment are essential for challenging family-building scenarios. Instead of thinking of giving up, I advocate that patients and their partners think about their options and make a positive, conscious choice about their next step on the path.