A push in the right direction

April 21st through the 27th is Narional Infertility Awareness week.  It is a time where we can all come together and share our stories.  Infertility affects 1 in 8 couples, a fairly high number for a disease that is rarely talked about in public.  Why is it such a taboo?  Why are people allowed to ignorantly pry into our sex lives, inquiring if we are trying to have children?

Honestly, I didn't originally feel ready to come out.  I chickened out last October on Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss Awareness day.  It was a very hard day for me.  I should have been 36 weeks pregnant and it was the day before my birthday.  As much as I wanted to raise awareness, I just couldn't go through with it.  We have been very lucky, not many people have nagged us about starting a family.  I haven't felt particularly pressured to share our story to halt an onslaught of inquiries.

When Infertility Awareness week was first brought to my attention, I was very hesitant.  We have let our close family and friends know of our struggles.  Everyone we have told has been incredibly supportive, but would the world of Facebook be supportive as well?

Well, my mind was changed today.  A friend posted a status about returning from a trip with her three young sons (three boys aged 4 and under) and a mean woman on the plane who called them awful.  One of the comments surmised that the woman "was a bitch, didn't have children and was probably infertile :)".  Yes, there was a smiley face.

On April 21st I will change my cover page and share our story.  I will post jnfertility related facts and links every day for the whole week.  Dave has given me his full support to go ahead with it.  If people don't like it, they can go ahead and unfriend me.  That comment today made my blood boil, I am not going to stand for it anymore.  Some of the struggles many women have to go through to have a baby are truly incredible.  Our story seems almost insignificant compared to the years and thousands of dollars some couples spend to achieve their dream, but every voice counts whe it comes to raising awareness.