For me, this post has been a long time coming. I want to give the facts about infertility. The definition of infertility, as defined by the CDC, is not being able to get pregnant after ONE year of unprotected sex. This means that anything past one year can result in seeing a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE for short). So, since the CDC recognizes it as a medical condition so do I. No amount of "relaxing", "not worrying about it", or even "putting your legs up" will fix the problem. I will say that the first year we spent trying, we did relax and have fun. However, at some point you start to think that something is wrong with you, and you get scared. After all having children and getting pregnant should be the easiest thing in the world. If only that were the case.
I find it utterly shocking that 1 in 10 women ages 15-44, in just the United States, have a difficult time getting pregnant. As most of you that will be reading this know, there are several steps in the process of getting pregnant. 1). A woman’s body must release an egg from one of her ovaries (ovulation). 2). A man's sperm must join with the egg along the way (fertilize). 3). The fertilized egg must go through a fallopian tube toward the uterus (womb). 4). The fertilized egg must attach to the inside of the uterus (implantation). So at any point something could go wrong. There are also other factors that can contribute to infertility like: irregular periods or no periods, painful periods, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or more than one miscarriage. All of this information is from the CDC.gov website if you would like to take a look. After all, I am an English teacher, and I teach my students to give credit where credit is due, so I will do the same. :)
Now, a little back story about yours truly. I'm pretty sure I fall into the category of irregular periods. When I was younger, in Jr. High, I started having a period early on. Not the regular every 28-32 days with about a week of bleeding. I'm talking at least 2 weeks of bleeding with mind blowing cramping. Doctors finally helped the issue by putting me on a form of birth control (unknown to me at the time, and honestly, I think my mother was scared to tell me what I was on for fear I would go wild). This helped and made me regular and I didn't need birth control again until I turned 18.
Fast forward several years, a wedding later, and my amazing husband and I are ready to have children. I go off of the pill and discover that I didn't have a period on my own. By that I mean I didn't bleed for 90 days; talk about a long cycle. After months of semi-normal cycles, tracking my ovulation, and timing intercourse, we had had enough. We finally talked to the doctor about our options and they led us to a simpler solution, medicine. When I was first put on the ovulation medication, we had been trying for a little over a year. It seemed like every cycle was a gamble, would it work or would we have wasted, yet again, another month. Finally, we had our answer in the spring of '14, my ovulation kit spiked and I almost cried. It was the first positive test I had ever taken. Trust me after peeing on 15 plus pregnancy tests and always getting a negative, a positive anything will lift your sprits.
With all of this being said, I just want it to be known that infertility is a medical condition. After all, you wouldn't tell someone who has cancer that they need to relax. NO, you would pray that they see the best doctors and get the best possible treatment out there. Infertility isn't any different. I found this funny, but depressing, definition on Pinterest that I had to share. Infertility (n): a medical condition that diminishes self-esteem, your social life, as well as checking and savings accounts. It causes sudden urges to pee on sticks, cry, scream, and a fear of pregnancy announcements: treated by a medical specialist who you pay to knock you up (this does not always work). Until next time, always Chasing Hope.
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