Six years ago when we embarked on our journey through the fertility process, what I knew about fertility problems was based on the experiences of the adoptive families that I met at the adoption agency where I work.  I started at the agency nine years ago and, until a few years ago, it seemed like fertility issues were still a bit hush hush.  I have always been open about our process and I knew that there were plenty of other couples going through the same thing based on the number of people I worked with doing adoption and the countless number of couples I saw at the fertility clinic.  Yet still, not very many people were talking about it out in the open.

We all know of celebrities that have adopted and we know that probably 9 times out of 10 there was some sort of fertility issues, yet we never heard anything.  Yes, I know it is a private subject and nobody else’s business, but don’t you think that we would have heard something from somebody?  Then, a few years ago things started to shift.

Fertility issues began to become not so taboo.  Celebrities like Brook Shields and Courtney Cox Arquette put a face to fertility issues.  This happened at the same time we were going through our own process and I always wanted to say “thank you” to them for being so open and honest.  Brook Shields talked openly about her IVF treatments and the emotional and physical toll they can take on you.  Courtney Cox Arquette was somewhat quieter about her miscarriages, but she still shared some of the heartache of losing a baby through miscarriage.

My question to you now is, “when did it become in vogue to have fertility problems?”  It seems that just about every TV show has some sort of fertility problem written into their script.  From Monica and Chandler on Friends to Carlos and Gabrielle on Desperate Housewives, we are seeing fertility problems pop up right and left.  One of the things that kills me with these shows is that, a majority of the time, they are written by someone who obviously has not had any fertility problems.  Like when they go to the doctor and he tells them they can’t have children…without even doing any testing!  Yes, I know that they are just TV shows and are supposed to be more entertaining than real life, but they could at least do a little research before writing about fertility issues.

My husband and I often say that we were trend setters, ahead of the pack with our fertility problems.  Back when Hollywood didn’t know about shots and IVF and the “humor” of fertility problems, we were doing our shots, taking pills and enjoying conception with doctors and nurses in the room.  We could have been poster children for what is “up and coming” like the hot new sandals for spring or sweaters for the fall.  Ah, if we had only known we could have driven the band wagon while everyone else just jumped on it.

I am thankful that there is more information about fertility issues out for the public to see now.  Education, openness and honesty is what we need to help others get through the process.  I am glad that celebrities are putting a face on fertility problems and helping to dispel some of the myths about fertility issues while letting couples know that they are not alone in what they are going through.  Unlike bad haircuts and shoulder pads this is one Hollywood trend that I can live with.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 3rd, 2006 at 2:05 am and is filed under Fertility. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.