The Fairy Tale of Fertility

As little girls we grow up reading fairy tales, all predictably with the same story line. Once upon a time, the female, who is usually a princess in some form, has to overcome circumstances and obstacles to be with the amazingly, awesome Prince Charming. Then, all the evil is defeated, the princess falls into the arms of her Prince, and the obstacles are gone. So, when you read: "And they lived happily ever after" as a little girl, you imagine that they actually do just that. Then you assume because of societal norms and the social construction of "happily ever after" that it means they will have a family along with a fairy tale-like white picket fence, cookie cutter world. OK, well at least that was what I assumed. No one told me that first it would take forever to find Prince Charming with all the forms of non-dating, i.e., friends with benefits, hook- ups, online dating, etc. Not to mention that growing up into an independent, successful female would make the process take even longer. But even though it wasn't in my timeline and instead was the classic cliche of meeting in a bar, I did meet my Prince Charming. It honestly never occurred to me that we would have difficulty becoming pregnant. Then, once we did have difficulty, I was hushed when I tried to talk about it by everyone around me. You don't want to jinx it, they would say. Why would I want to hide this personal pain and turmoil? That’s why I wrote “Navigating Infertility Road” with my husband. We wanted to break the chains of silence that surround this issue. I have met so many, strong, amazing people who have courageous stories about this topic.

Have you experienced of known someone who has struggled with infertility? If so, I’d love to hear your perspective. Please share and comment.