Lifting the veil

How open should someone have to be about the need for IVF?  For me it was important to share our story, partly to help process what we were going through, but also because 1 in 6 couples will need some assistance when trying to conceive.  It can be a very lonely road to travel at the best of times, and it made all the difference to me to know that a co-worker, a neighbour and a relative had all treaded the same path before me, and I hoped to do the same for others in my turn.

The writer of this article is firmly in the camp that by drawing a veil of silence over their attempts, celebrities miss an opportunity to do this, and give women the wrong impression about fertility particularly as they age.  While I understand that a little bit of privacy is precious, particularly for those in the public eye, I agree that the pretence often verges on the absurd.  Hands up who else automatically hears ‘IVF’ each time a celebrity announces they are expecting twins, or pregnant well into their 40s?  Surely acknowledging the need for assistance shouldn’t be such a big deal?  But other than Courtney Cox Arquette and Guiliana Rancic, I can’t really name anyone else who’s gone public.

That makes this video diary from a New Zealand radio DJ couple really special.  Not only is it a public acknowledgement of their infertility, but it’s an incredibly honest and realistic view of what infertility treatment is like, and the emotions that go with it (spoiler alert for those who may need the warning – upsettingly the cycle is unsuccessful).   JJ and Dom, I have my fingers crossed that you get there very soon.  Click here to watch the 3 part episode.