March 27, 2024
What is your plan for the proverbial “rainy day”? If your tire blows out or you crack your tooth eating a candy apple; do you have the funds to cover that expense? What if your car breaks down or you open your freezer and your tub of ice cream has turned into hot, Cherry Garcia soup? Do you have the funds to cover those emergencies? The same applies to your fertility or the lack thereof.
What do you do if you are living life, minding your own business, and a routine doctor’s visit finds abnormal results? And what if the prognosis for your newfound diagnosis is a hysterectomy?
What if you find yourself under the age of 35, married for a few years, and ready to start your family, but you find out that you are infertile or have low ovarian reserve; what do you do?
Just as you need contingency funds to cover unexpected emergencies, women need a contingency plan in the event that their motherhood plans are delayed or derailed. This is what I call a Reproductive Contingency Plan. In essence, the Reproductive Contingency Plan is a course of action that a woman will take just in case the unexpected happens with her fertility.
It is in every woman’s best interest to ask themselves important questions concerning their family building plans. One of the most important questions is: What are you currently doing to preserve your fertility? This is an important question because time is of the essence and you may not have years to wait to bear children.
It is of the utmost importance to think about a contingency plan for your fertility because I know someone who was a fairly young woman when they got a hysterectomy and none of her doctors suggested that she harvest her eggs. I even have experience with this myself on numerous occasions. I was assured by a doctor that I would be able to have a myomectomy, but it was suggested that I get a hysterectomy and he did not offer that I try to freeze my eggs. From my experiences and that of others, suggesting fertility sparing interventions is not general practice for ob-gyns.
So what will you do if you are recommended to get a hysterectomy? Do you get a second opinion? Do you try to work with a fertility clinic? Would you consider adoption? Donor sperm? Donor embryos? Would you consider a gestational carrier? Financing motherhood via fertility treatments are expensive. How would seek to pay for all of that? That’s why it is best to have a contingency plan. . .today.
It you are reading this, please take a few minutes to complete the Reproductive Contingency Plan and carefully consider your family planning goals. Personally, I wish someone would have warned me to have a backup plan just in case I would be in my 40s, childless, and desperate to have children. It is my mission to encourage, inspire, and motivate every woman to be proactive about having children if that is your desire. Also, please read and subscribe to my blog to learn about why I am adamant that women do not leave their fertility up to chance.
