We are 1 in 8

Fifteen months into our marriage we became one of the 1 in 8 couples in the United States officially diagnosed infertile.

Visit these links to learn more about infertility (IF), it’s treatments (ART stands for Artificial Reproductive Technology), the emotions that accompany it, and what you can do to help.

• Resolve: The National Infertility Association – Find news and information about infertility research, legislation, and what you can do to help.
• Resolve.org: National Infertility Awareness Week – April 21-27, 2013
• Resolve.org: For Family & Friends – Information and ideas for the family and friends of those diagnosed with infertility.
• Deseret News: An infertility journey of faith, trust, timing – It takes a lot of faith and trust in God’s timing.
• The Diane Rehm Show: Trials & Tribulations of ART – An explanation of some of the things infertile couples face.
• Feigning Fertility: Don’t Ignore – More people around you than you know are silently struggling with infertility. You cannot ignore them.
• Mothering: The Things You Should Never, EVER Say to Someone Experiencing Fertility Issues – You’d think with lists like this everywhere people would stop saying them, but we aren’t there yet.
• Orion Magazine: The Art of Waiting – A beautiful insight into the mind and heart of a woman dealing with infertility.
• Psychology Today – Infertility: Recognizing  National Infertility Awareness Week – The psychological struggle infertility is and how it can be an opportunity for growth.
• The R House: Your Infertility is Safe Here – The type of haven those struggling with infertility need. The type of haven I hope our home is.
• So… When you gonna have kids? – Dealing with infertility in a very pro-family culture. “Asking someone … about when they are going to have kids is far more personal than asking how much credit card debt they have. You have no idea what the couple is going through in that area of their lives.”
• Ten words that describe infertility – While there are more than just ten, this list, and the descriptions for each word, are spot on.
• What IF: A Portrait – A video look at a portrait of infertility

References from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

• Faith and Infertility – A collection of stories and articles related to infertility from the LDS perspective.
• Children – Elder Andersen – Talk given at the October 2011 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. “When to have a child and how many children to have are private decisions to be made between a husband and wife and the Lord.” And I would add how to have children to that as well.
• Learning to Cope with Infertility – Ensign, June 2012
• My Search for Motherhood – Ensign, April 2012
• Faith and Infertility – Ensign, April 2011
• Cultivating Sensitivity to Others – Ensign, June 2008
• Infertility, Faith, and Personal Growth – Ensign, August 2005
• I Longed to be a Mother – Ensign, August 2000
• Being Sensitive to Couples Without Children – Ensign, August 2000

You can read what I’ve said about infertility on these posts on Random Giggles. On our family blog I wrote “The Book of Infertility.”