I Am One in Eight!

National Infertility Awareness Week® (NIAW) is a movement that began in 1989. The goal of NIAW is to raise awareness about the disease of infertility and to encourage the public to understand their reproductive health. This movement is recognized the last week of April each year.

Infertility affects as many as one in eight couples of reproductive age which is equivalent to about 7.3 million Americans. My husband and I are one in eight couples that this disease has impacted. Many of you know that I went to the doctor last year at the urging of the Holy Spirit and I was initially diagnosed with PCOS (PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome) which is one of the leading causes of infertility. I was then diagnosed with ovarian cancer and as a result one of my ovaries and fallopian tubes were removed further impacting my fertility.

For many years women dealt with fertility issues in silence. Even though there was a rather large community, a uniting factor, a sisterhood if you will, they most likely never supported or even encouraged one another because it was taboo or too embarrassing for women to talk about their problems with infertility.

I started this blog to bring to light women’s health issues and concerns and to be a gathering place where women can talk about these things and I’m glad to have a platform where we can throw out those old ways of doing things. Now we can connect, provide resources and encourage one another.