~By Anu. When I was young, I remember watching a Hindi film in which a lovely starlet, who played a good, pious wife, couldn't have children. She was taunted, shunned and called a 'bhaanj', which means 'defeat', as well as a more cruel and piercing insult: 'barren'.
The film came to mind again while talking to a friend who is very similar to me in age, background and career. Unbeknownst to me, she's been trying for the better part of four years to have children, unsuccessfully. She's struggled through it with her husband alone, as she doesn't have family nearby. The word barren came up. She said someone had used it in her presence, and she'd nearly crumpled.
As we talked, I realized how little I knew about fertility, much less infertility, so my friend has kindly taken the time to share all the info she's gathered. Thankfully, most of us will never have to think about it. But if you do find yourself in the same boat, I hope this post will help you. And please let me know if you've come across info you'd like to share (anonymously, of course).
