BurlingtonVT Moms Blog is partnering with Northeastern Reproductive Medicine to bring you our latest series titled “Lullaby Wishes: raising infertility awareness.” 1 in 8 couples suffer from infertility and yet the subject is often not openly discussed and seems to carry a stigma. Through this series we hope to open the dialogue and help women battling through infertility know that they are not alone. Thank you to the courageous women who have chosen to share their stories as part of this series, as we know that this topic is often deeply personal and difficult to discuss. Our desire is that those reading this series will find encouragement in the hope and beauty that is weaved into these stories of heartache, loss and love.

The Silent Disease: Infertility

One in eight couples will experience infertility this year.

One in eight, that means out of your eight girlfriends one of them is going to suffer with infertility, and most likely in silence.

The one thing I have learned in these past 2.5 years is silence isn’t always golden. In October of 2010 I was diagnosed with Endometriosis. At the time I didn’t know much about the disease or what I was going to be in for. At 22 years old it didn’t really mean a whole lot to me, it was a disease that I had to have surgery for and that caused really horrible periods, so what.

Well later that year I met the love of my life, the guy I now get to call my husband. This is when all of this became so much more real. I wanted to have children with this amazing guy but when the weeks turned into months and months turned into years of trying, it became a struggle that I really couldn’t talk about with my girlfriends. I couldn’t tell them that my sex life had become a job that involved peeing on sticks to check when I was ovulating and scheduling sex like it was a business meeting. I couldn’t explain to them how heartbroken I was when I would get a negative pregnancy, and I certainly couldn’t tell them that it broke my heart when they began announcing their pregnancies.

Month after month I suffered in silence, until I finally got to break my silence.

In April of 2014 I got what I had always dreamed of, a positive pregnancy test. In June of 2014 at 10 week we announced that we were expecting. One of the happiest days of my life, I finally fit in with the rest of my friends who had started their families. I was finally going to get to feel normal again.

 Then June 18th came and there was no heartbeat.

I once again was going to have to live in silence as I became another statistic. That’s when I decided that silence wasn’t golden and that I was going to break the mold. I began speaking out about my miscarriage and my infertility, something that no one had ever dared to talk about. I took the Big Purple Elephant out of the corner of the room and turned it into something positive that people could feel comfortable talking about. As I did this not only did I feel like I finally found my release, but others would write to me and say “hey me to.”

I found that I wasn’t the only statistic around me, just the only one that was loud enough to speak.

In February of this year I started a blog, Life of an Infertile Myrtle, something I never thought I would ever do. A blog that took a horrible silent disease and turned into a funny sarcastic way to express what I had experienced, and what a lot of others had experienced as well. A positive spin to something that has always been seen as something so negative, because if I’ve learned anything from this experience is laughter is the best medicine. From joking about feeling like I was in a relationship with my gynecologist to all the lovely side effects of Lupron and Clomid, you have to learn to smile and laugh your way through it.

I am one in eight, but I will not be quiet.

Northeastern Reproductive Medicine is graciously sponsoring our ‘’Lullaby Wishes: Raising Infertility Awareness” series…and we would not have it any other way!  We are passionate about all that they are doing for women and couples in our community, and we encourage you to contact them to help in your journey to becoming a mother too.

To learn more about Northeastern Reproductive Medicine or schedule an appointment, please contact ::

1 (802) 655-8888

or

info {at} nrmvt {dot} com

Written by Brittany Benoit

My name is Brittany Petty also currently known as the “Infertile Myrtle” I live in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. I am married to an amazing guy Nate and have a fur baby our Boxer-Mastiff, Fenway. My husband and I have been TTC for about 2.5 years, with one pregnancy that resulted in a miscarriage at 12 weeks. I have been blessed with explained infertility: I have Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and Fibroids. I’m one lucky girl 🙂