One in eight couples have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy, and the demographics encompass all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and religious groups, according to the Centers Disease Control and Prevention.
If you haven’t experienced infertility yourself, you likely have a friend, family member, or neighbor grappling with the medical and emotional aspects of infertility.
An expert panel of medical and legal experts will speak at a free community-wide infertility education entitled, "From If to When" 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30 at Temple Sinai, Atlanta (5645 Dupree Drive, NW, 30327).
Panelists include: Dr. Daniel Shapiro, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility expert with Reproductive Biology Associates; Dr. Angela Arnold, a psychiatrist specializing in infertility issues, post-partum depression, and psychopharmacology; and Lynn Holland Goldman, an attorney specializing in adoption and surrogacy. They will be joined by expectant mom Jenn Hobby, local radio host with KICKS 101.5, and former co-host of The Bert Show on Q100, who will share her personal struggles with infertility. A Q&A will follow the presentation.
RSVP online at www.wishatlanta.org, or call Temple Sinai at 404-252-3073.
The Aug. 30 event was organized by a group of women from Temple Sinai facing challenges trying to start a family and want to create a place to share information and provide support for others also experiencing infertility.
The conference will also be the kick off event for a new support group that will meet monthly at Temple Sinai to provide education and support on everything from traditional and alternative medicine and legal issues surrounding adoption and surrogacy to dialogue about what Judaism has to say on fertility, ritual and loss. The conference and support group is open to people of all faiths. The monthly support group is scheduled to meet on October 15, Nov. 12, and Dec. 3. 7 p.m. For more information go to the Web Site.
“I always knew it was going to be hard for me to have children, but I never knew how hard. Infertility affects every aspect of your life and can make you feel so insecure and guilty about experiencing it. It is one of the hardest things a person can go through, and no one should ever go through it alone,” said Jaime Gimpelson Ackerman, one of the five women organizing the event and starting the support group. She is a 37-year-old mom of a toddler boy, who has experienced multiple miscarriages.
“We want to make sure people know they are not along and there is plenty of support out there for you, and the more education, the better.”
When Mark Zuckerberg recently announced his wife’s pregnancy on Facebook, he also opened up about the couple’s struggles with fertility. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have suffered three miscarriages in the last two years.
“You feel so hopeful when you learn you’re going to have a child. You start imagining who they’ll become and dreaming of hopes for their future. You start making plans, and then they’re gone, ” Zuckerberg shared in his recent post. “It’s a lonely experience. Most people don’t discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will distance you or reflect upon you — as if you’re defective or did something to cause this. So you struggle on your own.”
The post immediately went viral, with many people praising Zuckerberg for helping open the door to more openly talking about the pain and loneliness of miscarriages.
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