empower

Shervonne Coney: Founder of Black Women and Infertility

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“I never knew how strong I was until I had to be strong.”

Shervonne Coney

Shervonne Coney is just like any other woman. She loves to laugh, have fun and be around loved ones. She’s a wife of 18 years, minister, sister, friend and student in school for mental health counseling. “Like every other woman, I wear many hats but it just so happens, I don’t wear the hat of mother,” said Coney who’s transparent about her journey to motherhood. 

Infertility became a stumbling block for her. It’s a disease with a set of different causes such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. Coney’s diagnosis is “unexplained infertility” which can affect both men and women of every ethnic group and race around the world. This health issue often leads to distress and depression, as well as discrimination in some cultures. Studies show that black women are disproportionately affected by infertility in terms of access to care, treatment and support. In fact, black women are also less likely to talk about the fertility challenges they face, even though they are twice as likely to suffer from infertility than white women. To help women who suffer in silence, Coney decided to create her own group after running into a dead end to find support that represented her, where she lives in Massachusetts.  

“Essentially I never knew how strong I was until I had to be strong,” said Coney who founded the social media platform Black Women and Infertility. “I found myself struggling with infertility and I really just wanted an outlet to voice my pain.” The group started on Facebook as a private space for women in March 2015. “Initially, I had one member. Now, there are almost one thousand national and international members in my group,” Coney exclaimed. 

Her vision is to eventually become a powerful and impactful non-profit organization for women dealing with infertility, child loss and miscarriage. “I have to tell you that I always had this idea to create retreats for women. Basically an excuse for women to get away to focus on themselves and self healing,” Coney shared. Coney’s personal definition of motherhood has evolved since her struggle with infertility. “I think you are a mother when you give birth to a child of course, but also an idea or vision. A mother is someone who nurtures, supports and protects something she has birthed.” 

Although doctors may say Coney’s chances of becoming a mother are very slim, she relies heavily on her faith when it seems like the deck of cards is stacked against her. Coney looks to God and often reflects on His word and what He is doing in her life. With that strength, she encourages all women to find support where they can and to most importantly never decline help.

“A lot of time we want to process things on our own, but please seek help. There are so many people like myself, who would like to encourage you through this journey. There's validity in that.”

Dr. Karin Anderson Abrell: Inspiring Host, Author & Psychologist.

Meet Dr. Karin Anderson Abrell. Author, psychologist and host of Love & Life podcast. She’s a woman on the move to empower others in a number of ways. How many of us will admit to living a life that wasn’t a part of our vision? Let’s face it, that happens and it takes strength to stand in your truth as well as finding your own voice.  Abrell, certainly found her voice and enjoys motivating her listeners by sharing personal experiences and more.

“As a former professor, there would be so many times, I would be giving a lecture to my students. I was teaching grad students, people who wanted to become counselors, and I was like this is such great information but everyone should know about this,” expressed Abrell who said the podcast became a platform for her to take some of the information she used to teach and share it with everybody.

The theme of the podcast is taking charge of your thoughts and life which is all grounded in cognitive therapy. “We all know it’s not what happens to us externally, it’s how we process it, how we respond internally. That’s where our power is! We can't control what's going on outside but we can control what’s going on inside and in our minds,” said Abrell.

She also focuses on relationships, love, dating, marriage, parenting, psychology and therapy. In fact, she spends a lot of time on relationships and weaves in lessons from her personal life. “We see the younger generation coming up and we just want to grab those younger women and say don’t make the same mistakes I did. The things you experience, the things you’re feeling, we are all experiencing,” said Abrell, author of Single is the New Black: Don't Wear White ‘Til It’s Right.

Abrell who’s now happily married is currently working on a new book to share with her audience. In the meantime, she opens up about when she found HerVoice and how others can do the same.