It can take years to move through an infertility journey and start or grow a family. Recently, 11 Black women who have been through the journey shared their stories in the hopes to increase understanding and information about the process. One of the largest problems these women encountered, especially when they first started their journeys, is that people around them didn’t know what “infertility” even meant.

Monique Farook recalls eventually deciding to tell her mother that she was struggling with the issue and her mother said “Infertility? What is that?” Farook tried to get pregnant naturally for six months and then spent four years convincing her husband that IVF was the best option. Once he eventually agreed, she had an intrauterine insemination that was unsuccessful and then a successful round of IVF, resulting in the birth of the couple’s son, Omar.

But Faroook is far from the only one who struggled with the lack of understanding and support needed for a journey as serious and difficult as infertility. Many Black women are dealing with this issue and just not saying anything, because it’s hushed up in so many communities. In fact, it’s often seen as shameful, and women don’t want to be the anomaly in their families.

Telling stories of their personal infertility struggles is liberating for many Black women, and can help others in their community feel more comfortable talking about the issue, as well. One woman who had her child through surrogacy due to lupus said she and her husband sold their home, so they could pay the surrogate’s fees. Moving around to different doctors is common, too, with one woman saying she started to feel like just another number to a doctor who treated her poorly.

The overarching theme for all of the 11 women sharing their struggles was that they were generally dismissed and overlooked, at least at first. Many of them were told they didn’t know their own bodies, or that they must be doing something wrong. When they found the right doctors, though, they were given what they needed to start creating the families they had continued to hope for, sometimes for years.

We aim to provide our clients with a straightforward breakdown of what might seem to be a complicated and daunting process so that they can enjoy the beautiful experience of bringing a child into the world through assisted reproductive technology. Contact us today to get started!