It can take years to move through an infertility journey and start or build a family. Recently, 11 black women who passed through the journey shared their stories in hopes of increasing understanding and information about the process. One of the biggest problems these women faced, especially when they first started their journeys, was that the people around them did not know what “infertility” meant.
Monique Farook recalled that she eventually decided to tell her mother that she was struggling with the issue and her mother said “Infertility? What is that?” Farook tried to conceive naturally for six months and then spent four years convincing his wife that IVF was the best option. Once she agreed, she had an unsuccessful intrauterine insemination and then a successful round of IVF, which resulted in the birth of the couple’s son, Omar.
But Farook is far from alone in struggling with the lack of understanding and support needed for a journey as serious and difficult as loss. Many Black women deal with this issue and just don’t say anything, because it silences so many communities. In fact, it is often seen as shameful, and women do not want to be an anomaly in their families.
Telling the stories of their personal struggles with infertility is liberating for many Black women, and may help others in their community feel more comfortable talking about the issue, as well. A woman who had a child surrogacy because of lupus they said he and his wife sold their house, so they could pay the surrogate’s fees. Switching to different doctors was also common, with one woman saying she began to feel like just another number with a doctor who treated her poorly.
The common theme for all 11 women who share their struggles is that they are usually ignored and overlooked, at least at first. Many of them are told that they don’t know their own bodies, or that they may be doing something wrong. When they found the right doctors, however, they were given what they needed to begin creating the families they’d been longing for, sometimes for years.
We aim to give our clients a straightforward breakdown of what can seem like a complicated and scary process so they can enjoy the wonderful experience of bringing a child into the world through assisted reproductive technology. Contact us today to get started!
