Don't Ignore Us

Don't ignore us.

Today kicks off National Infertility Awareness Week for this year. It goes through the 28th. No one ever grows up thinking their bodies might not work and they might have trouble having babies. But, it happens. It happens every year to millions of men and women. One in eight people struggle with some form of infertility

My infertility journey began eight years ago this year. I just turned twenty-eight last month. It doesn't take a mathematician to see that infertility can affect any women (or man!) of child bearing age. I didn't start blogging until a year after I started TTC, but I am blessed to be in this community. No one wants to be in this community, but its full of the most amazingly strong women (and men!) I have ever met. The information, support, and friendship is abounding. Infertility can often leave couples (and singles!) feeling very alone, but the infertility community I have found online is a blessing.

I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 22. I also have a chromosome mutation that may affect our ability to have a healthy child. Since we're both in school (him grad, me undergrad) we've decided to wait until after we graduate before we move forward with genetic testings and treatments. Last year, I did begin the Low Amylose diet for my PCOS which I believe was the only reason we were able to get pregnant for the first time. Unfortunately, we had a miscarriage before we even knew we were pregnant. It's hard to imagine we would be giving birth next month if things had worked out.

Infertility is such a roller coaster. The what-ifs and unknowns can leave people feeling defeated. The costs associated with trying to conceive often times leaves people struggling to find a way to become parents. The stigma attached to people with infertility can be down right cruel. We're often times told to relax, take a vacation, and to stop having a pity party, but until you've been down this road, or someone you care about struggles trying to create their family, it's hard to imagine the impact the diagnosis of infertility can mean to someone's life.

I hope you'll join me and the others as we speak out this week to make people aware that we won't be forgotten. Infertility is here and it hurts, but we will be heard.

To learn more about infertility, please visit Resolve.org.

For more information on the basic understanding of the disease of infertility, click here.

Click here for more information on National Infertility Awareness Week