Infertility: Share Your Stories to Change the Conversation

Most of us either know someone who has experienced infertility or we have experienced it ourselves. Despite how common infertility is, there is still so much stigma and misunderstanding about what it's like and who it affects. When people better understand the realities of infertility, they can better support those going through the experience. So let's start with some basic facts, as provided by RESOLVE, The National Infertility Association:

• 1 in 8 couples (or 12% of married women) have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. (2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, CDC)
• 7.4 million women, or 11.9% of women, have ever received any infertility services in their lifetime. (2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, CDC)
• Approximately one-third of infertility is attributed to the female partner, one-third attributed to the male partner and one-third is caused by a combination of problems in both partners or, is unexplained. (American Society For Reproductive Medicine)

In recognition of National Infertility Awareness Week, Lamaze encourages you to participate in sharing your story on social media (if you're ready and feel called) as a way to honor your own experience and help inform others, as well as encourage others who may be going through their own journey of infertility. RESOLVE, The National Infertility Association and the organization responsible for hosting National Infertility Awareness Week, encourages you to share your infertility story and consider including specific details that help shed light on how it impacted your life. Questions to consider include: 

• Lost time at work and/or lost income due to missing work
• Impact to relationships with friends and family
• Changes, big and small, to your life
• Lack of healthcare coverage and financial impacts
• Emotional impacts

To engage further with this story-telling movement, share your story using the hashtags #MyInfertilityStory and #NIAW2020. RESOLVE also offers some suggestions for sharing your story:

• Did you know infertility impacts 1 in 8 families in the U.S. today? It’s time to share the truths about #MyInfertilityStory to help others realize the far-reaching effects and consequences of turning a blind eye to a medical diagnosis.
• Did you know that most people struggling with infertility receive no coverage from their health insurance? This inhibits many people being able to move forward to treatment to resolve their infertility. #MyInfertilityStory
• If we want to change the conversation, we need to talk about the financial impact of this disease. Cost has prohibited my ability to seek treatment and/or other options. #MyInfertilityStory
• Let’s uncover the facts and educate others and change their perceptions about infertility. #MyInfertilityStory
• Employers should include infertility treatment in their health plans for a medical diagnosis that impacts millions of Americans. Here's how having coverage would change my life...#MyInfertilityStory

For more resources and information, visit InfertilityAwareness.org and be sure to also check out RESOLVE on Facebook and Instagram. For personal stories of infertility, visit the Stories page.