5 ms·
My wife and I struggle with infertility, I have family members with a history of miscarriage, and my wife leads a women’s infertility support group. American c
by russnewcomer 7y ago
My wife and I struggle with infertility, I have family members with a history of miscarriage, and my wife leads a women’s infertility support group.
American culture does not know what to do about natal issues. (Arguably, no culture ever has) We need to recognize that reproductive health goes far beyond binary abortion debates, and can affect women permanently, to say nothing of the rest of the family. I can say, knowing people that suffer from PTSD for natal issues and long term war trauma, the degrees of suffering may be different, but the unhealthy coping mechanisms can do equal amount of damage.
If you or your family is dealing with miscarriage or infertility, there is help and support out there specifically for you. I would be happy to help point anyone toward the resources that I know of, and more than happy to talk to any husbands who want help knowing how to support their wives.
- akxkcd 7y agoCan you point to the resources you are mentioning?
- russnewcomer 7y agoSure. Email me (address in profile, or hn username at gmail)
- akxkcd 7y agoSent an email. Let me know if you did not get it.
- russnewcomer 7y agoResponded. Sorry for delay.
- S_AU 7y agoIn Australia we have Sands https://www.sands.org.au/miscarriage https://www.sands.org.au/miscarriage
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- daxorid 7y agoAmerican culture does not know what to do about natal issues. Because the vast majority of correct answers are politically incorrect. There are a lot of causes of infertility, but the two main ones in the developed world are delayed pregnancy and obesity (mediated most often by PCOS) - both of which are personal choices. And it's simply not an option to tell a woman the medical reality that career-before-kids or eating too many calories is guaranteed to reduce your chances of having children. We have collectively decided that sparing others' feelings and indulging in others' have-it-all fantasies is the pinnacle of moral behavior. On the mens' side, we also contend with sperm counts halving in 40 years and virtually nobody caring beyond half-hearted "hey look at this scary stat lol" level commentary. Motility and morphology have also seen dramatic declines. For whatever reason, we simply don't care.
- russnewcomer 7y agoThe causal link between PCOS and obesity is more thought to go the way that PCOS (and endometriosis) can cause obesity, not the other way around.
- dasKrokodil 7y agoCalling obesity a 'personal choice' seems a bit questionable to me.