National Infertility Awareness Week: Surrogacy

I started out this blog wanting to share an article with you, and it got me thinking about infertility and what exactly it means - because frankly, it means a lot of different things.  Some people have to try to change their lifestyles, reducing caffeine and sugar, and increasing exercise.  Others may need to add protein to their diet or actually reduce or revise exercise.  Some wade through the mysteries of male factor infertility.  Others struggle with PCOS, endometriosis, blocked tubes, poor egg quality, cancer, and a host of other causes.  Still others are lumped into the group of unexplained infertility where answers can seem few.  The medical and emotional aspects of infertility can be overwhelming.

All of these people, more than 7 million by most recent estimates, make their ways through this process as best they can.  And while they each may take a different path, they all share a similar goal.  They're all striving to achieve essentially the same thing.

So in the spirit of National Infertility Awareness Week, I hope to help you become more AWARE of not only your particular situation, but also the situations so many others find themselves in.  Awareness does involve educating ourselves and those around us, but I think more importantly it speaks to compassion and empathy.  In sharing our hearts with others, we often find peace in our own journeys.

Delivering Hope: The Extraordinary Journey of a Surrogate Mom is a book that was written by local San Diego author, Pamela MacPhee.  Her story is this week's San Diego Infertility & Miscarriage Examiner article.  This weekly column is written by another local author, Erin Miserlis.  If you haven't done so already, subscribe to her column.