Lies, misinformation & deception
‘Don’t get pregnant’
‘Take this pill so that you don’t get pregnant’
‘Your life will be ruined if you get pregnant too young’
Do these sound familiar? All my life, and I’m sure in lot’s of people’s lives, I heard these phrases time and time again. We are led to believe that if we stand in the mere vicinity of a male, up-the-duffness will occur.
This is drummed into us as females time and time again. That is, until at some point in your twenties the comments take a confusing turn…
‘Oooo you better get a move on, you’re getting on a bit’
‘You don’t want to leave it too long, you’re getting old’
‘When’s it your turn?’
‘You know fertility drops off a cliff once you’re 35!’
What happened to the in-between stages?! Why does it go from panicking about getting pregnant and trying to avoid it as much as possible, to panicking about not being able to get pregnant? I feel like there’s definitely not enough awareness around potential fertility issues, and it’s something that should be spoken about in a more open and obvious way. Perhaps we should be lobbying for fertility MOT’s when you get to a certain age, which is reviewed after every 1-2 years?
All I know is that when I had my surgery for endometriosis and ovarian cysts when I was 23, there was definitely not enough emphasis placed on how damaging endometriosis can be to fertility, and there definitely wasn’t any discussion about the fact that the surgery itself could damage your ability to conceive, either.
It’s not good enough, things need to change to raise awareness, sooner rather than later.
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