National Infertility Awareness Week April 19-25, 2020

Michigan Reproductive Medicine celebrates 22 years of helping build families and the National Infertility Awareness Week spirit: “Fertility Treatment is ESSENTIAL”! 

We’ve all had to hit the “Pause” button because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Get ready to gently push the “Play” button.

National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW) is a movement that began in 1989, founded by RESOLVE: a major national grass roots infertility association. In 2010, National Infertility Awareness Week became a federally recognized health observance by the Department of Health and Human Services. It has grown into a collaborative effort on the part of millions of women and men diagnosed with infertility and the nation’s medical, mental health, family building experts and policymakers to raise awareness about infertility. The overarching goal of National Infertility Awareness Week is to raise awareness about the disease of infertility and encourage the public to understand their reproductive health.

With infertility affecting 1 in 8, it’s likely that everyone has at least one friend or family member living with infertility.

The GOAL of the week is to raise awareness about infertility, to encourage grass roots advocacy and help couples with infertility cope with their disease.

• Ensure that people trying to conceive know the guidelines for seeing a specialist when they are trying to conceive.
• Enhance public understanding that infertility is a disease that needs and deserves attention.
• Educate legislators about the disease of infertility and how it impacts people in their state.

Our MRM THEME for this year’s NIAW is “Fertility Treatment is ESSENTIAL” and is intended to reveal the social imperative to acknowledge infertility is a disease and fertility treatments are effective in overcoming this disease resulting in the having children and the fulfillment of family life. The COVID-19 Pandemic is unprecedented in our lifetimes. We’ve had to hit the “Pause” button over the  past 6 weeks for the safety of everyone in our society. However, we’ll have to hit the “Play” button very soon.

It is imperative to improve access to fertility care. There is a rising wave of social and political change around infertility so the public, media, insurers, healthcare professionals and lawmakers understand, acknowledge and affect positive change:

• the scope of the problem and who is struggling to build a family. (hint: it’s not just older women who waited too long to start a family).
• There are many barriers for millions of people who struggle to build a family. These barriers include: lack of insurance coverage, out-of-pocket costs, faith and religion, sexual orientation, and state and federal laws.
• The impact of infertility is far reaching — it impacts family, friends, co-workers and employers.

MRM shows how “Fertility Treatments are ESSENTIAL” every day and in so many ways.  We have an amazing Infertility Support Group that is very organic, led by our patients for our patients. Dr. Mersol-Barg  participates in the group as do many of our staff members. Many groups have featured community professionals who specialize in a broad array of skills that assist our patients in realizing their dreams of having children. We’ve been having monthly Zoom support group meeting which have been marvelous!

Your Dream is Our Mission

When the general public and medical community understand infertility better, fertility challenged couples will be more free to talk about their condition, possibly experience less anxiety, receive more support and more effectively access appropriate care in a timely way.

 

Act Now button-In the spirit of NIAW, I am asking you to take action by reading, learning and participating in this movement to build and sustain healthy families; this is in keeping with our mission as health care providers.

Michigan is in the forefront as a national leader in family building advocacy through efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and its Michigan Infertility Advisory Committee (MIADCO) collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Resolve, the national infertility grass roots advocacy organization. Within the past several years, Dr. Mersol-Barg chaired a collaboration of these agencies and organizations for the first Michigan ART Summit (MiART). It was a great opportunity to be part of the ongoing conversation that molds public policy for infertility care here in Michigan.

The focus of the summit provides guidance for:

• Improving mother and infant outcomes of ART care: one baby at a time.
• Improving access to ART health care for Michiganders.

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, we at MRM wish you all to remain safe, healthy and act wisely. Let’s follow the direction of science: survive, recover and strengthen our resolve to grow our families.