Don't Ignore.....

This week, April 22 - 28, is National Infertility Awareness Week.

Like so many other "awareness weeks", the idea here is to educate the public about infertility and the issues we (the ones in the midst of it) are experiencing. NIAW is sponsored by RESOLVE : The National Infertility Association, and of course there are events planned to increase awareness and support - including Advocacy Day on Wednesday the 25th, in Washington DC. But this is the 21st century, so there are also online activities for this week - including this blog post.

The theme for NIAW is "Don't Ignore Infertility", and to support that, bloggers have been challenged to write a post with the theme "Don't Ignore..." As stated on the NIAW website,

"The goal of this challenge is to bring together bloggers from the infertility community as well as other bloggers interested in the topic to talk about what is being ignored when it comes to the disease of infertility." 

And so, here goes my attempt at addressing this topic. Today's post will be more factual, more "awareness raising" and educating. Tomorrow's post will be more personal, more emotional.

Don't ignore ..... the statistics. Infertility affects 1 in 8 couples of child-bearing age, which amounts to 7.3 million Americans. If you know at least 8 couples, then you know at least one couple who is (or will) experiencing issues of infertility.

Don't ignore ..... the facts. The diagnosis of "infertility" is applied when a couple has been trying to conceive without success for one year, or when the woman has had multiple miscarriages and is under the age of 35. If the woman is over the age of 35, the time frame for trying to conceive is shortened to 6 months.

Don't ignore ..... the possibility. Infertility is an equal-opportunity disorder. Approximately 30% of the time, infertility is linked solely to the female, while another 30% of the time infertility is linked solely to the male. In the remaining 40% of infertility cases, the cause is either due to both female and male factors, or the cause cannot be determined.

• If you are a man reading this, do not think to yourself, "I ejaculate every time we have sex so there's nothing wrong with me!" 
• If you are a woman reading this, do not think to yourself, "My mother/aunt/sister was a Fertile Myrtle so I'll have no problems!" 

Some causes of infertility have risk factors associated with them (for instance, certain causes of infertility can be linked to a previous diagnosis of an STD), but the majority of the causes of infertility are NOT linked to lifestyle. PCOS, my infertility disease, can be influenced by lifestyle changes but the exact direct cause of it is not known. Like so many other diseases, infertility can strike without warning - you may have always had consistent periods all your life but still find yourself unable to conceive. Or, you may have conceived your first child without a problem and carried that pregnancy to full term, resulting in a happy, healthy, bouncing baby - but when you decided to make another baby, the road was much more rocky. That's called secondary infertility.

My point here is this - if you are having difficulty in conceiving, please consult a doctor. Please take the steps necessary to help yourself. Please try your best to avoid stepping into denial. Please be your own advocate in this process and not a bystander - you cannot just wish this away. Educate yourself so that you can be an active participant in the process.

Don't ignore ..... the options. Fertility treatments have come such a long way from the first "test tube baby" who was born in 1978. There are more medications and procedures available than ever before. And also, there are more options and paths to adoption available than ever before. To those who are newly diagnosed or just feeling frustrated and beaten down by the journey, please do not think that a diagnosis of infertility is a sentence to a child-less life.

Don't ignore ..... the injustice. Many insurance companies will cover birth control, either pills, implants or procedures. Nearly all will cover prenatal visits, examinations, ultrasounds, etc in some way. Ditto for the actual childbirth experience. So, if the insurance companies will cover the act of preventing a baby, as well as planning for and delivering a healthy baby - why won't they cover the steps necessary to make that baby in the first place? Only 15 states require insurance companies to cover infertility treatments. Mine is not one of them. My insurance will only cover diagnostics - not treatment. They will cover blood tests. They will not cover my Clomid - roughly $40 a month at the 50mg dose. And compared to the drugs and procedures that may be in our future, Clomid is CHEAP.  To find out where your state stands on this issue, visit this link. To get involved in working to change this, contact your local representative and ask that they introduce a piece of legislation to require insurance companies to cover infertility treatments.

Don't ignore ..... the need for support. Support your friends. Support the national cause. Whether it's through a donation or by participating in something like the Walk for Hope, every little bit of time and money helps. We cannot make change happen without support.

Don't ignore ..... those of us who are in the midst of dealing with infertility. Resources are available here at the RESOLVE website to help you learn how to best support those around you who are struggling with infertility. More information on "infertility etiquette" is available here. Please don't tell us to "relax" or "stop trying". Please don't minimize our feelings or our experiences. Please educate yourself. And please always ask if this is something we want to talk about - everyone feels differently about this, and even from day to day my willingness to talk about my journey ebbs and flows.

For more information, please visit these links: 

• http://www.resolve.org/infertility101 (basic understanding of the disease of infertility)
• http://www.resolve.org/national-infertility-awareness-week/about.html (about NIAW)

Tomorrow's post will detail more of my personal experiences with infertility and why I don't want to be ignored. In the meantime, check out my blog. It is very much a work in progress, since my fertility journey is ongoing. Later this week, I'll be continuing the back story on my Clomid cycles - by the end of this week I will make sure you are all caught up on my history, because next week I have my first appointment with a new specialist. The journey's about to get (even more) real, folks!