Author and fashion blogger Leandra Medine has opened up about her struggle to conceive, writing a heartfelt and honest piece describing the realities of ‘trying for a baby’.
In a piece called ‘A Pregnant Pause’, the New Yorker, famous for her blog The Man Repeller, highlighted the strange transition between avoiding pregnancy at all costs in your twenties and doing everything in your power to conceive later in life.
On her decision to share her journey with her reader, she says: ‘So far silence hasn’t helped me get any more pregnant, or feel any less ashamed.’ She continues:
‘So I’m trying to beat shame by talking about it. By answering honestly when I’m asked how I’m doing. The truth is, I’m frustrated. Annoyed that I have to haul ass to a fertility specialist on the Up-up-upper West Side almost every week for hormone-level checks.
‘I feel vaguely useless and sorry that my husband has to have blood drawn so often, and I feel like a huge asshole because every time I hear that someone else is pregnant, my heart kind of tenses up and I start to tear and I feel like Carrie Bradshaw in that episode of Sex and The City where she delivers a poem at a wedding and starts to cry because she’s upset about her relationship with Big, but writes the tears off as wet drops of joy.’
The post received an outpouring of advice, support and applause from Medine’s fans. Jacqueline said: “No one talks about how long every month seems and how it seems to make you feel bad about you womanhood. It’s a little uterine mystery going on down there and it’s so frustrating.”
Leesa added: “It’s a topic so many couples are dealing with and no one dares to mention it. And I totally get this feeling of shame and frustration. It’s hard when something so nice as making love becomes fear and frustration…”
Sarav says: “You have to tell yourself you’ll be fine either way.” Adding: “Trying is crazy. Being pregnant is crazy. Being a parent is crazy. This is a theme. It’s all about good days and bad days as well. No black or white, no yes and no answers.”
Do you think Irish couples could be more open about their struggle to conceive? Let us know on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.
