My Take on the Latest Fertility Campaign

I got a call from my father this morning telling me about a news article he came across...a pro-fertility, pro-babymaking campaign going on the UK right now. Babies and Brits?? I had to check it out. I was shocked with what a quick Google search came up with. 

Get Britain Fertile ad and magazine cover

My beloved First Response is sponsoring the new campaign, which they are calling "Get Britain Fertile." You can read the full message here, but the main idea is encouraging women to start their families (or at least planning for their families) earlier in life, theoretically sparing them from the problems associated with fertility and pregnancy later in life. The face of the campaign is Kate Garraway, a British TV/news personality, who struggled herself with conception in her 40's. The ad features an "aged" Garraway cradling her fake baby bump. The ad is being met with mixed reviews, and with a topic so near and dear to my heart, I had to put in my two cents. And this is just MY personal opinion on the subject..

Since going through our own fertility struggles, I have been a very public (pushy?) advocate for TTC ASAP! I am constantly badgering my friends about hurrying to get pregnant! But..I AM ALWAYS JOKING. While there is always the possibility of someone struggling with infertility when they do start trying to conceive, I don't think that is a reason to have a baby before a couple is prepared financially, mentally or otherwise. It is such a personal choice and HUGE decision, and even though I am pro-early TTC, I definitely don't support the scare tactic this ad uses.

The campaign and associated articles implies that finances, careers, etc are relatively unimportant issues when compared with possible problems conceiving, and Garraway is even quoted as saying, "“I know careers and finances seem important but you only have a small fertility window." While I myself was guilty of a similar way of thinking, that was my own personal opinion, and I just can't believe this is being publicly pushed to millions of British women that are NOT ready to have a baby and, up until now, may not have even been thinking about it. To me, this is telling women not to worry about a career, finances or getting their life in order...and just to 'hurry and have a baby, and figure everything else out later.' That just sounds like crazy talk! 

Garraway even goes on to hint at the idea of rushing into settling down with a partner...even if it is not necessarily the right one. WHAT? She says, “I’m not suggesting for a minute that you settle for the first half-decent man who comes along – every woman has the right to hold out for Mr Right – but you may find that really addressing your feelings about having a family means the man you thought was Mr Right comes in a different form. I suppose the word for it is mindfulness.” So...women should settle for someone sooner just for the sake of having a baby sooner? I have no words...

I have said to Matt on countless occasions, "I am so glad we didn't wait too much longer to start trying for a baby, because if I had been 35 and then had all of these struggles, we might never have a baby." IVF could have been unsuccessful for me later in life, my eggs could have been lesser quality, etc. BUT, all that being said, we didn't rush into trying for a baby simply because we were in an ideal "window." No, we actually waited about 15 months from when we started talking about it because we wanted Matt to establish himself at his new job, build some savings, move into a permanent home, etc. It is really the fact that I have been through problems conceiving that prompts me to personally believe people should start early "just in case," but I would never advocate throwing all of the responsibility of preparation and readiness out the window. It is easy to think that way AFTER you have been through it. I sometimes think I wish we had NOT waited that 15 months to get everything in order. I wish we had just started TTC immediately and figured out our finances, etc along the way...but of course that is only in hindsight. If we had done that and had gotten pregnant right away, we would NOT have been ready! (not that unplanned pregnancies aren't sometimes the greatest of blessings!) This is probably why Garraway, who had her children later in life and struggled with fertility herself, is the face of the campaign. She has a deep personal connection to the issue. But in my opinion, it should be exactly that...a personal take on something very personal, not a national public ad campaign.

Anyway..I could go on, but I think I would just be repeating myself. My main point is while, yes, I would personally support trying for a family early to avoid the problems we experienced, I think it is insane to try and frighten an entire country into making a baby when they are unprepared. Having a child is life-changing, challenging, time consuming and so much more, and it should not be taken lightly. Those women who choose spend their 20's and 30's establishing an amazing career, traveling, saving money, etc aren't doomed to struggle with infertility. Many women have NO problem conceiving, even much later in life, and we are so fortunate to live in a time when medicine can perform miracles. Plus...Matt and I are a perfect example that infertility knows no age, and even starting early doesn't guarantee anything. So...bottom line...it is a personal choice. Everyone has their own priorities, beliefs and timeline...shame on First Response for spending all that money I have given them over the past couple of years on this!