More than 6 million women of childbearing age in the United States have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant, yet infertility, and specifically the emotional and physical pain that comes with it, is still a taboo topic, even among some women.
, and then opening up about the toll it took on her body. Black women who have never given birth are almost twice as likely than white women to self-report infertility, but they seek medical help for it half as much, according toInfertility is defined as the inability to become pregnant after one year of having regular sexual intercourse without the use of birth control,. The time span is shortened to six months without becoming pregnant for women age 35 and older.
"Undergoing IVF is basically surrendering your body to the medication, to the doctors, to the appointments and the protocol," she said. "You are no longer in control." Taking multiple shots a day for several weeks, which happens during both the IVF and egg-freezing processes, is a common source of pain for women as well, according to Smith.
"There's still a lot of shame, just because we all think that getting married and having children is something [women] are supposed to do. We're supposed to bear children," Smith added. "The idea that may not be a woman's will at all times is kind of a relatively new concept, and the idea that being able to have children is not easy for everybody is also kind of a new concept that people are starting to wrap their heads around.
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