This week is a special This & that Thurs- I am talking about a subject that’s important to me… the issue of infertility. It’s National Infertility Awareness week and I thought this would be great opportunity to talk about it. It’s not only a problem that effects women all over the world- it effects me as well. I have been struggling with secondary infertility for the last four years.
Don’t Say There Are Worse Things That Could Happen
Different people react to different life experiences in different ways. To someone who has trained his whole life for the Olympics, the “worst” thing might be experiencing an injury the week before the event. And, to a woman whose sole goal in life has been to love and nurture a child, infertility may indeed be the “worst” thing that could happen.
People wouldn’t dream of telling someone whose parent just died, “It could be worse: both of your parents could be dead.” Such a comment would be considered cruel rather than comforting.
Don’t Say They Aren’t Meant to Be Parents
One of the cruelest things anyone ever said to me is, “Maybe God doesn’t intend for you to be a mother.” How incredibly insensitive to imply that I would be such a bad mother that God felt the need to divinely sterilize me. If God were in the business of divinely sterilizing women, don’t you think he would prevent the pregnancies that end in abortions? Or wouldn’t he sterilize the women who wind up neglecting and abusing their children? Even if you aren’t religious, the “maybe it’s not meant to be” comments are not comforting. Infertility is a medical condition, not a punishment from God or Mother Nature.
Don’t Complain About Your Pregnancy
This message is for pregnant women-Just being around you is painful for your infertile friends. Seeing your belly grow is a constant reminder of what your infertile friend cannot have. Unless an infertile women plans to spend her life in a cave, she has to find a way to interact with pregnant women. However, there are things you can do as her friend to make it easier.
The number one rule is DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR PREGNANCY. I understand from my friends that, when you are pregnant, your hormones are going crazy and you experience a lot of discomfort, such as queasiness, stretch marks, and fatigue. You have every right to vent about the discomforts to any one else in your life, but don’t put your infertile friend in the position of comforting you.
Your infertile friend would give anything to experience the discomforts you are enduring because those discomforts come from a baby growing inside of you. When I heard a pregnant woman complain about morning sickness, I would think, “I’d gladly throw up for nine straight months if it meant I could have a baby.” When a pregnant woman would complain about her weight gain, I would think, “I would cut off my arm if I could be in your shoes.”
Don’t Treat Them Like They Are Ignorant
For some reason, some people seem to think that infertility causes a person to become unrealistic about the responsibilities of parenthood. I don’t follow the logic, but several people told me that I wouldn’t ache for a baby so much if I appreciated how much responsibility was involved in parenting.
Let’s face it-no one can fully appreciate the responsibilities involved in parenting until they are, themselves, parents. That is true whether you successfully conceived after one month or after 10 years. The length of time you spend waiting for that baby does not factor in to your appreciation of responsibility. If anything, people who have been trying to become pregnant longer have had more time to think about those responsibilities. They have also probably been around lots of babies as their friends started their families.
Don’t Gossip About Your Friend’s Condition
Infertility treatments are very private and embarrassing, which is why many couples choose to undergo these treatments in secret. Men especially are very sensitive to letting people know about infertility testing, such as sperm counts. Gossiping about infertility is not usually done in a malicious manner. The gossipers are usually well-meaning people who are only trying to find out more about infertility so they can help their loved ones.
Regardless of why you are sharing this information with someone else, it hurts and embarrasses your friend to find out that Madge the bank teller knows what your husband’s sperm count is and when your next period is expected. Infertility is something that should be kept as private as your friend wants to keep it. Respect your friend’s privacy, and don’t share any information that your friend hasn’t authorized.
Don’t Push Adoption (Yet)
Adoption is a wonderful way for infertile people to become parents. (As an adoptive parent, I can fully vouch for this!!) However, the couple needs to work through many issues before they will be ready to make an adoption decision. Before they can make the decision to love a “stranger’s baby,” they must first grieve the loss of that baby with Daddy’s eyes and Mommy’s nose. Adoption social workers recognize the importance of the grieving process. When my husband and I went for our initial adoption interview, we expected the first question to be, “Why do you want to adopt a baby?” Instead, the question was, “Have you grieved the loss of your biological child yet?” Our social worker emphasized how important it is to shut one door before you open another.
You do, indeed, need to grieve this loss before you are ready to start the adoption process. The adoption process is very long and expensive, and it is not an easy road. So, the couple needs to be very sure that they can let go of the hope of a biological child and that they can love an adopted baby. This takes time, and some couples are never able to reach this point. If your friend cannot love a baby that isn’t her “own,” then adoption isn’t the right decision for her, and it is certainly not what is best for the baby.
Mentioning adoption in passing can be a comfort to some couples. However, “pushing” the issue can frustrate your friend. So, mention the idea in passing if it seems appropriate, and then drop it. When your friend is ready to talk about adoption, she will raise the issue herself.
Support Their Decision to Stop Treatments
Is infertility something you struggle with? Feel free to comment, I loving being able to connect with others who also struggle with infertility- for me it has been a bit support and makes the journey bearable. To read about my secondary infertility and adoption journey check out my blog http://small-inspirations.blogspot.com
Cara
Sunday 2nd of May 2010
Thank you SO much for sharing your story, and for this wonderful article on how to talk to people dealing with infertility. I am also experiencing secondary infertility, and with all of my friends moving on to baby #2 and 3, we've definitely had some awkward moments and insensitive things said (not intentionally, of course). I've been very open with my struggle (including posts on my blog), but I think people who haven't experienced a miscarriage or had difficulties getting pregnant still feel unsure of how to act around us!
Lena
Saturday 1st of May 2010
Thanks so much everyone for sharing your stories! I too think it's so important to create awareness of how difficult it can be and how we need support :)
Jamee- I cannot believe someone would say that... thats horrible!
Babes about Town
Saturday 1st of May 2010
Really a powerful post filled with great insight and sensitivity. I would love to have you write a guest post on my blog if you're interested. Just email me at [email protected]
Crazy Mom of Four
Friday 30th of April 2010
Here is a little something for you on my blog!
http://love2cook05.blogspot.com/2010/04/truly-honored.html
Cook Clean Craft
Friday 30th of April 2010
This is a wonderful article. I struggled with infertility (thankfully the cause was found and solved), and I found it particularly hard hearing other people say we conceived on the first attempt etc etc. Although people didn't know we were trying to conceive - most people thought I was a career-girl who didn't want children.
I have a friend struggling with infertility and I find it really hard to talk about my pregnancy with her. She asks how I'm doing, but I feel really uncomfortable. I try to keep it short when she brings up the topic, but it's really hard to know what to say.