You may have heard after last night’s Khloe and Lamar season finale that Khloe Kardashian is “freaking out” about possible infertility after spending a year of trying to get pregnant with husband Lamar Odom. But did you also hear about Tiffany Alleman, Mrs. Utah 2011, whose platform is about her experience with infertility? I’ve got infertility news on the brain (probably because of my own little appearance on the news last week) so I thought I’d give a little recap of some of the infertility news items that stood out for me recently.
Khloe Kardashian Faces Infertility Fears
Look, you all know how I feel about Kim Kardashian, but I couldn’t not talk about this. (Disclaimer: I don’t have cable TV, but I do read the occasional celebrity mag online, so I haven’t actually watched this show.) On last night’s Khloe and Lamar, she took us right into her RE’s office as she seeks help to get pregnant after a year of trying. I’m reminded of Giuliana and Bill in their candid openness about what could be the start of a very long and challenging journey with infertility. Khloe is rightfully scared; we’ve all been there, waiting for test results and wondering what’s going on with our bodies. I can’t imagine the kind of pressure she must face as a very public celebrity whose marriage has been under scrutiny since day one. Everyone’s been asking: so, when are you going to have kids? It’s a special kind of horrible that we as a society think it’s okay to ask these questions of anyone in general, but when you live a public life, the pressure must be overwhelming. While her tests have come back fine and she’s been told that yes, she can physically have children, I imagine this must have been a small bit of a personal nightmare for Khloe. I can’t help but feel for her. She’s 26. I was 26 when I was diagnosed too. While I have my own personal gripes about the way infertility is so often portrayed in the media, I do have to say – I’m appreciative that someone like Khloe Kardashian allowed us to see her close brush with infertility and its deeply emotional impact on her and her family.
Mrs. Utah Crowned, Promotes Infertility Awareness as Her Platform
Tiffany Alleman, a 30-year-old mother of two, was just crowned Mrs. Utah on May 14, 2011. Hailing from Sandy, UT, Mrs. Alleman’s platform is “Infertility, Pregnancy Loss, and the Gift of Motherhood.” As a former regional beauty queen myself (ha! Betcha didn’t know that about me!), I can totally respect and appreciate that she’s chosen something like the Mrs. United States pageant circuit to be able to raise awareness for infertility. Think about the demographics of the pageant: who’s participating, who’s watching – Mrs. Alleman has the potential to reach a very prime audience with a very important message. I’m very interested to see how her platform will play out over the next year and in the national competition on July 31st. I found her husband’s statement, read during the evening gown competition portion of the evening, also rather inspiring and immensely supportive: “Suffering through miscarriages and infertility was difficult for us. The emotions and feelings were raw and difficult to deal with. I’m proud that Tiffany has used our challenges to bless the lives of others.” You know what? I’m proud of Tiffany too, for helping to lift the cultural silence around infertility in a forum you wouldn’t otherwise expect to hear it. Thanks Tiffany, and good luck at the National Pageant!
Egg Freezing Puts the Biological Clock on Hold
Driving in to work this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a piece on NPR about the intricacies of various aspects of assisted reproductive technology. Apparently NPR has an occasional series called Making Babies: 21st Century Families. Anywho the segment (nearly 7 minutes long) talked about women who freeze their eggs as an insurance measure for conception later in life. I was also surprised to hear that SART (the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology) still considers egg freezing experimental; apparently eggs are far more delicate than embryos and only 1,000-2,000 babies have been born worldwide using frozen eggs. An interesting piece and I’m glad I looked it up on NPR’s website; you can listen to it here, along with several other segments in their Making Babies series.
Want more infertility news from around the web?
You can subscribe to Infertility Insights Daily, a Paper.li newspaper I created that culls information and stories from a bunch of folks that I follow on Twitter: infertility professionals, health organizations and websites, and other infertility bloggers. A new edition comes out every morning ~9am. It’s kind of like a lazy man’s Google Alert, but pulled from sources that I follow on Twitter. I’ve had it going for almost a week now and the articles range on everything from latest research to informative articles about reproductive rights to even some of your amazing blog posts that you tweet out there. Swing by, check it out, and let me know what you think.
What interesting infertility news have you come across recently? Share your news stories in the comments!
Visiting from SITS31dbbb! I have known a few people to struggle with infertility. One thing I wouldn't want is to feel alone if it were my situation. Glad these stars are sharing their experiences.
Octomom's doc lost his license to practice due to her case and two others.
I'm popping in from SITS- and am a new follower! my hubby and I are struggling with infertility- and it's always great to find blogs where I can get support and information!
Seeing infertility dealt with in the media (when it's done right) really helps people who don't deal with it daily more aware that it's not that easy for everyone- although, I really wish nobody had to go through it!
I don't watch the Kardashian's either and even though my infertility ride is over, I think as long as it is done respectfully and accurately, the portrayal of infertility in the media is a great thing. These reality shows can do good on occasion.
Awesome roundup. Jane Pratt, former editor-in-chief of Sassy and Jane, also wrote about her battle with infertility and the loss of her twins. At http://www.xojane.com. Her video made me cry.
Kudos to these women for being so open about infertility.
Wow, awesome news and wonderful that infertility is being spotlighted for others to understand the reality of living with IF. Thank you for sharing and for all that you do for this community!
As always, your dedication to the topic of infertility is inspiring. While I certainly don't wish this battle upon anyone, perhaps the celebrity "spotlight" will help shine some light on the subject we all hold so close to our hearts.
Thank you for being a fountain of information for this community. We really do owe you a debt of gratitude (at the very least) for all you do to keep us informed about what is going on in our own community. Thank you.