Infertility Treatment is Being Backed by Doulas
Doulas are known to provide support both during and after pregnancy, but their work can begin sooner than a positive test as fertility doulas offer support to families navigating extra steps to start a family.
Infertility Awareness
June is infertility awareness month, this month is used to bring awareness to infertility and offer support to individuals and couples facing challenges in starting a family. It is estimated by the World Health Organization that roughly 1 in 6 people are affected by infertility. Both women and men can face infertility, which can be caused by a number of issues. Women often face infertility due to tubal disorders (blocked fallopian tubes), uterine disorders (endometriosis, septate uterus, fibroids), disorders of the ovaries (PCOS and other follicular disorders), and disorders of the endocrine system (like hypopituitarism and pituitary cancers). Male infertility is linked to obstruction of the reproductive tract, hormonal disorders, testicular failure to produce sperm, and abnormal sperm function and quality. Lifestyle can also have a direct impact on fertility problems, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, and obesity have been linked to infertility. Even with all the research on infertility, there are still unknown and under researched causes of the disease.
Addressing Infertility and the challenges
Many people have the dream of starting a family, they have calculated the number of children they want, the timing of their pregnancies, and the spacing between each child, it is their human right. Infertility, however, can change these goals and reshape a couple or individuals family plans. Infertility has been linked to negative social impacts on couples, with women often facing harsher impacts such as domestic violence, divorce, stress, depression, and social stigma.
While infertility treatments are an option, it is often hard for some to access, unmarried singles, lower class families, and the uneducated often fail to receive these treatments. Assisted reproductive technologies require a lot of money and time, which not every family is guaranteed to have. Alongside these challenges, it can be hard to receive a diagnosis for infertility due to a multitude of reasons from lack of prioritization in public health to a lack of research and equipment. Government policies can also impact access to safe and effective fertility treatment and care.
The Treatment of Infertility
Currently, there are medications, surgeries, and assisted reproductive technology (ART) available to help treat infertility. When looking into treatment options, many factors are accounted for to ensure a successful treatment, such as age, underlying cause, time frame of infertility issues, and history of pregnancies. With ART available, treatments like Intrauterine insemination (IUI), In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), and third-party assisted ART (sperm donation, egg donation, embryo donation, surrogates) have become successful in helping start families.
How are Doula’s Helping with Infertility
Fertility treatment is not only emotionally challenging but also an extremely under supported experience in healthcare. Similar to the ways a birth doula and postpartum doula assist, educate, and support you, a fertility doula supports people going through fertility challenges. A fertility doula’s work first begins when conception is a struggle and helps to investigate and understand why it is not happening. Doula’s can help walk you through the next steps, educating you on treatment options, while also guiding you through the conception process. With all the stress and emotions that arise with fertility treatment, doulas are there to be support on your journey. While many go through treatment, they are left to deal with the emotion of negative tests, financial stress, and sometimes even a strain on their relationship, infertility doulas are here to support those gaps not already supported by treatment. It is extremely important for doulas to not only understand fertility, but to also be able to step into
A&A Doula Consulting works with hospitals and health systems to build the infrastructure for meaningful doula integration through the Doula Friendly Initiative™. Learn more at thedoulaconsultants.com
