Family Planning

Infertility and one more shot to beat it.

IMG_5126.JPG

Watching another couple’s journey to beat infertility is like looking in the mirror. The testing, fertility treatments, secrecy, shame, expense, ovulation kits, negative pregnancy tests and tears were all an immediate reminder of infertility and a journey I’d never thought would be a part of my story. In the U.S, one in 8 couples have trouble conceiving a child. That means at least a year of trying to conceive with no results. The experience sometimes leads to troubling times for couples due to the stress of pregnancy false alarms and the overwhelming number of baby shower invitations flooding your mail box.

One More Shot not only documents the raw side of infertility, it inspires the couple who may have thought of parenting only as birthing a child with their own biology. The film, which is centered around Noah Moskin and his wife, Maya also brings fertility once again to the forefront. I can’t tell you how many times, I lied to people just to hide the fact that my husband and I were having trouble getting pregnant. I felt alone, even with my husband by my side.

Unfortunately, infertility feels like a curse. There are short moments of hope until your menstrual cycle begins. Once that happens, you immediately start to question why it’s happening to you. Today, more people know about our struggle but it doesn’t fix the hurt I often feel when someone announces their pregnancy. My stomach cramps up each time I get the news that most are often excited about. For myself, those announcements make me feel as if I’m being teased, bullied and laughed at. No matter how the news is delivered.... it’s triggers an ugly side of me that only my husband is fortunate to see.

However, the personal accounts of those brave couples in One More Shot reminds us all that we’re not alone.  I especially love how the men shared their feelings, showing us a side that’s underrepresented in media.

In short, the film confirms that infertility can be defeated whether it’s through In Vitro Fertilization, adoption, surrogacy, as well as embryo or sperm donation. The movie in my opinion is award winning and has encouraged my husband and I to also give it One More Shot.

To see the film for yourself or recommend couples experiences fertility challenges, it’s available right now on iTunes.

Blessings in the form of Adoption

Talk to anyone alive in the 50s and they’ll paint you a very different picture of the family arrangement.

Dad was the bread winner, Mom was the homemaker, and if the phone rang during dinner no one got up to get it.

Since then, women have gone into the workforce, and changed the world as we know it. One of those women is Deborah Mannis-Gardner, aptly dubbed The Queen of Sample Clearance.

For over 20 years, Deborah has acquired music for recording artists, films, and video games. Her hard work can be heard on Kanye, Nas, and Diddy albums, as well as on stage in the ground-breaking musical Hamilton.

Deborah is a powerful woman in the music business, but once you talk to her, you’ll see there is nothing she is more proud of than her sixteen-year-old son Curtis.

Check out Deborah’s journey to motherhood and her advice to women struggling with infertility.

CLICK TITLE TO LEAVE A COMMENT