Can Humor and Writing “Cure” Infertility?
By Julie Weinberg
My debut novel, I WISH THERE WERE BABY FACTORIES, humorously (and tearfully) chronicles my roller coaster adventure toward becoming a mom. Unexplained infertility was one of the many obstacles I faced along the way. While not generally a humorous topic, I’ve learned that approaching most any situation with your funny bone exposed really does make coping a little easier. For me, getting it down on paper also proved cathartic and, one might argue, helped lead to success.
I was 25 when my husband and I started trying to have a family. At such a young age, our difficulties should have been minimal. Yet, after a year and a half of trying with no success, we began our long trek to finding a “cure” for our infertility.
My book details the many doctors I saw. The first told us to stop having sex wherever, whenever and only have it every other day during my ten peak ovulation days. Well, he lasted about a week before I kicked him to the curb. Then there was the female doctor whose idea of a gentle exam left me gasping for breath and running for the door. Luckily, there was also the totally hot specialist who I didn’t mind seeing regularly in the slightest.
When one of the tests revealed borderline irregular ovulation, we rejoiced at having found “the” problem. Turns out the drug I had to take to correct for it made me an emotional basket case. I cried inconsolably at soppy commercials, a losing lottery ticket and even an empty cookie box. After months of taking this pill without success and pushing my husband to the brink of locking me in a mental ward, we agreed to drop the drug and explore other possible causes.
When further exhaustive tests revealed no other problems for me, my husband succumbed to getting his sperm checked. I actually had to make the appointment for him and force him to go. On the morning of the appointment he acted like he was headed for a funeral. I promised him the nurses would be dressed in French maid outfits and his would be a painless experience. And of course, when he got home he proclaimed he now had a standing appointment for every Monday morning with Nurse Fifi.
Through all of this trauma and uncertainty, I took pen to paper and started writing it down. Because I knew we were never going to give up on having a family, I wanted our son- or daughter-to-be to know exactly what we went through and how much he/she was wanted. Finding the humor in every situation and recording it for posterity helped ease the stress of the situation and kept me focused.
I didn’t realize at the time I had the beginnings of a book that eventually I would publish, nor can I can say positively that I ended up getting pregnant because I wrote it down, but relieving the stress through humor and writing certainly didn’t hurt. And now as the mom of two healthy teenagers, it’s one “cure” other sufferers of unexplained infertility might consider.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Julie left behind the calm of her childhood upbringing in Overland Park, Kansas when she followed her dream to live, work and breathe politics by attending American University in Washington, DC.
Never looking back, she worked as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill before jumping ship to state politics with the Maryland General Assembly. Her K-12 education policy expertise helped her in the political arena and eventually as a mom, too. Her book, I Wish There Were Baby Factories, chronicles a five-year quest though infertility through a fun and often times heartbreaking Chic-Lit read.
An avid Baltimore Ravens fan and now a dedicated soccer mom, Julie and her family live in beautiful Potomac, MD.
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