“Infertility Stinks”

by Brit Berg

These words, straight from the mouth of Giuliana Rancic, co-anchor of E! News, came out loud and clear. Giuliana was guest co-host for ABC’s “The View” in honor of World Fertility Awareness Month. She opened the June 24^th episode on surrogacy saying, “Infertility stinks. It is the worst thing in the world.” On the season finale of E!’s hit series “Khloe & Lamar,” reality TV star, author, and fashion designer Khloe Kardashian-Odom bared almost all as she allowed cameras to roll (and viewers to watch) while she received a vaginal exam from a fertility doctor. Like Giuliana, Khloe publicly acknowledged her worries about infertility while millions were watching.

These days, more and more public figures are speaking out about their battles with infertility, using their visibility to bring awareness to their own difficult journeys. Khloe is just starting out on her journey, while Giuliana and Bill Rancic have been public about their story for some time now. The Rancics have openly shared their own heartbreak and experiences with IUI, IVF, fertility drugs, and miscarriage on The Style Network’s show “Guiliana & Bill.” Bill has even teamed up with RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association as a spokesperson and activist. Long hidden behind shameful feelings and hushed tones, infertility is finally out in the open.

These celebrities share their experiences with infertility while (consciously or not) promoting one of the top recommendations by fertility experts: do not wait to seek help for infertility. If you don’t know the golden rules of when to see a fertility specialist, here are some words of advice:

• If you are under 35, seek help after a year of trying to get pregnant without success.
• If you are over 35, seek help after six months of trying.

Khloe is only 27 and Giuliana is 35; both are still within the fertile range. Yet both are seeking assistance to achieve pregnancy.

In Attain Fertility’s 2010 Fertility Patient survey, a third of respondents said they waited more than 2 years before seeing a fertility specialist for infertility. In childbearing years, two years is a long time. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine your fertility starts to decline in your early 20s. The decline becomes more noticeable, and more rapid, around age 32. Unfortunately, you can’t reverse the ticking of your biological clock. But most couples that seek fertility assistance do conceive over time. Others might resolve in other ways, like adoption or surrogacy.

Rather than whispering about miscarriage and infertility – largely taboo topics in the past- I hope more people continue to come forward with their stories. Knowingly or not, Khloe, Giuliana, and Bill have encouraged women and men to seek help for their fertility problems. By raising awareness, leaders and innovators can raise funds, research new treatments, and demand adequate insurance coverage for all couples dealing with infertility. Overtime, these actions will help more couples overcome this disease and achieve parenthood. When watching E!, I personally wonder how Giuliana feels when interviewing a pregnant celebrity on the red carpet. I can only hope that one day, she too is showing off an amazing maternity fashion herself.

Britt Berg holds a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and is co-author of Making a Baby (Random House, 2010), a book on infertility. She works as a freelance health and medical writer on the sunny beaches of south Florida.