Secondary infertility has been called the “step-child” of the overarching branch of infertility and loss. Although step-children are a real part of the family, they sometimes feel they cannot properly speak up and be heard.
I sometimes second guess myself about my degree of honesty with a younger child. Will I scare him? Will he believe that he will die like the baby did? Will he tell his friends and teachers?
Then I realize there’s a reason we advise people to be honest. Children are resilient. They can comprehend and embrace what we tell them more effortlessly than we give them credit for.
We need to own secondary infertility.
We need to talk about it.
We need to end the stigma and shame.
Our desires are just as valid. It’s as simple as that.
The Walk of Hope recognizes the many ways in which families are built, supports local support services and programs for the 7.3 million women and men living with infertility, and raises public understanding of how the disease of infertility impacts families nationwide.
In the infertility, childless not by choice, and pregnancy/infant/child loss world, there is a mixture of those who have chosen to publicly speak about their experience and those who have remained anonymous.
What causes someone to speak out and another to withhold? Why do some use their names in real life and others choose to remain anonymous?
There are many reasons people withhold and remain anonymous.
It has been five years, yet I can remember it so vividly. I can recall the raw emotions that pierced through every part of my being. Although life has moved on, I still long for what was not meant to be. And it still hurts.
I understood the havoc that infertility wreaks on millions of men, women, and couples, and I was not done after completing my family. I simply couldn’t walk away from the ability to support and empathize with those who continue to experience it.
I have been itching to write a post about the things I tried (other than Western fertility treatments) to get pregnant. When I was asked to write a guest post at Priya Ring , I knew this would be the perfect topic. Disclaimer: I was not compensated for writing the post. I have not used Priya Ring, nor […]
The moment I stepped into the Share meeting and was embraced with a massive bear hug from the leader, I was understood. Although I had not yet introduced myself to anyone in the room, I knew for certain that they got me. They too had experienced loss. It didn’t matter how that looked; loss of embryos, early loss, second and third trimester loss, after birth loss. Loss was loss was loss.
In grad school, I was taught to be careful about self-disclosure with therapy clients. Not only had I self-disclosed about a challenging time in my life, but I had gone into major detail about it.
Was this the best course of action in reaction to my situation? Could it potentially hurt my career?