According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Infertility is the inability to not get pregnant after at least one year of unprotected sex. Moreover, the CDC noted that about 6% or married women age 15 to 44 are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying.
Reasons for Infertility
Women need functioning ovaries, fallopian tubes, and a healthy uterus to conceive. There are a number of reasons why women can not conceive. There is multiple diagnosis such as blocked fallopian tubes (tubal occlusion) which can include a history of pelvic infection, gonorrhea or chlamydia, and endometriosis. This is not an exhaustive list of factors but these are some of the most common factors for infertility.
Societal Views Regarding Infertility
According to Sandra Pugh in her book titled “When the Babies Won’t Come” She stated:
In our society women are defined by many things and the ability to give birth, is one of those defining characteristics. We practice as little girls with our dolls, for the day when we are adults, and the real babies come. But what happens to our self-worth when the Babies Won’t come?
Depression
When a woman has exhausted all avenues for conception without success, her life changes drastically. The way she thinks of herself changes immediately. Often times women will go to great lengths to conceive. They try fertility drugs, Invitro Fertilization, and any other recommendation made by their physician in desperate attempts to conceive. When all attempts have been exhausted and there is still no baby, the reality becomes unbearable and leads to depression, lack of self-worth and self-esteem.
Cultural Views
The bible speaks of women who could not have children as being barren. This description says that the woman who cannot bear children is empty. Today in some cultures women who can not have children are rejected, or seen as unworthy. Some cultures define women by the number of babies that they can produce.
Within the African American culture enslaved women were valued by the number of babies they could produces. This was a tradition that was passed down through the generations, as African American women continued to give birth to a far greater number of babies that their white counter parts.
Counseling and Infertility
When infertility has stolen the dream of a women to give birth to her own child, they are often broken frail versions of themselves. Infertility is a dream killer, and depression and sadness steals joy. Women come into therapy seeking answers to their deep sadness, and find hope and renewed expectations for the future.
