Picture this. You meet the man of your dreams, I'm talking about everything you could ever imagine. A second date is scheduled and then another and eventually you see a proposal on the horizon. With not a cloud in the sky prince charming drops to one knee and asks the big one "will you marry me"? Through tears in your eyes you answer yes and place the giant rock on your left ring finger.
Months of planning and your wedding day is finally here. Birds are signing and love is in the air. The ceremony went off without a hitch, pun intended, even your crazy uncle didn't get too wild at the reception. After a night of merriment and dancing you are whisked away to an uncharted destination for a week of relaxation with your new husband. Life couldn't be better, right?
With the honeymoon phase behind you, you and your husband begin to contemplate bringing the pitter patter of little feet into your home. You start eating right, cut out caffeine, drink plenty of water, start taking vitamins and even make sure to exercise. For the most part you're very relaxed and praying for a positive test soon. Then six months tick by, and a year. You start to wonder what's wrong? I am doing the right things to help me get pregnant but nothing is happening. A word pops into your vocabulary, a word only whispered about because no one wants to say it too loud or it might happen to them, infertility. Months pass by and more words enter into your vocabulary. Broken. Worthless. Scared. Anxious. Frustrated. Depressed. Empty. Alone.
Obviously, life isn't always like the cutesy nursery rhyme "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage". For 1 in 8 couples the baby carriage has been the most difficult part. So why hasn't anyone ever talked about the struggle to fill their baby carriage? Well, it's very simple. Would you want to admit to the world that you couldn't create life, the one thing that you have longed to do since you knew that you could? No, and I didn't either. It wasn't until I really started to research infertility did I fully understand the female body. They teach you about reproduction in school and make it sound so easy to get pregnant, but really who pays that much attention in health class? There are many factors that can contribute to why a couple isn't getting pregnant: little to no periods, not ovulating, low sperm count, and the list goes on. This isn't to say that the woman or man for that matter did something to cause the "problem" it's just something that happens. Yet, there is this nagging voice in the back of your head telling you that it's something you aren't doing. Here come the words again. Broken. Worthless. Alone.
This couldn't be further from the truth. In the three years that my amazing husband and I have been trying to get pregnant, I've not only done enough research to become an infertility specialist, but I have met women from all walks of life who are feeling the same things I am. Through various online forums I have come to know some really amazing and strong women who just want to fill their baby carriages and will do whatever it takes. For some it is easy to talk about their infertility, but to others it still stings. I completely understand that, this can be an extremely lonely journey but it doesn't have to be.
It's time to break the silence! This week is National Infertility Awareness Week (April 19-25) so what better time to raise more awareness. Never in a million years did I think that I would be traveling down the infertility road. When I first began this journey, I thought that well there's no way I would be able to do an IUI, and then I did. Well, there's NO way I would be able to give myself injections, and then I did. Through each of these major steps I had the support of my sweet husband but also women whom I have never met. By starting my blog and really talking about my infertility I hope I can bring more awareness and connect with more women who know how I am feeling. I know there will always be "those people" who think that by just "relaxing" we'll all get pregnant, but we can't let everyone bring us down. So friends, spread the word, infertility is a real disease and I'm not resting until it's recognized as one. Until next time always, Chasing Hope.
http://www.resolve.org/about-infertility/what-is-infertility/
http://www.resolve.org/national-infertility-awareness-week/about.html
No comments:
Post a Comment