Many people who consider open adoption do so after enduring infertility. Below is an excerpt from an interview with Melissa Ford, author of Navigating the Land of IF: Understanding Infertility and Exploring Your Options. She likens infertility to an island, with neighborhoods such as fertility treatments, donor gametes, adoption, and living childfree.
Everyone gets off the island eventually, one way or another. What neighborhoods did you hang out in and what was your path off the island?
It’s an interesting question because I had the neighbourhood I lived in (and most of us only own one home), but many neighbourhoods that I visited due to friends or family members living in other spaces. Many of my childhood friends ended up going through infertility with me, and, of course, I met people along the way through Resolve and now blogs.
In addition, I think the way off the island is really an emotional journey. You can have children and still not resolve your infertility or you can stop the family building process and still not resolve your infertility. There is a saying with Resolve that children resolve childlessness, not infertility. And I find that to be very true.
Tags : adoption, infertility, ivf
