I’m going to let you in on a little secret – 1 in 6 people around the world deals with infertility. Infertility is defined as failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected heterosexual intercourse (6 months if you are over 35). And, fun fact – this is a place for equality. One third of the cases are due to male factor issues, one third are female factor and one third are unexplained or a combination of the two. Infertility can take the form of not being able to achieve a first pregnancy or not being able to achieve a subsequent pregnancy. Infertility doesn’t discriminate for gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or financial status. It’s there for everyone.
For some people it only takes a few medical interventions to become pregnant. But for tens of thousands, it can take many years, thousands of dollars in medical services or for adoption, and thousands of tears to build a family. Unfortunately, it is a topic surrounded by stigma, loneliness and pain. Especially here in Utah, if you don’t have children, it’s hard to fit in. And when being childless is not by choice, it’s especially painful.
Utah Infertility Resource Center was established in 2015 to provide supportive services to people dealing with this lonely and difficult experience. We provide:
- Professional counseling
- Free support groups (in-person and virtual)
- Free workshops
- Free educational consultations
- An annual conference
- Online resources
Many of our supportive services are offered virtually so people around the state and region can participate.
As a business owner, if you have 100 employees, 17 of them is dealing with infertility. We would love the opportunity to come to your workplace to tell your team about our services so your employees have the support they need to deal with this challenge.
If you offer infertility coverage through your insurance package or adoption reimbursement, kudos to you! Research shows that people working for companies that provide coverage are:
- 2.5 times less likely to miss work due to infertility
- 1.5 times more likely to recommend their employer as a great place to work
- 2 times more likely to believe their employer is family friendly
- 1.5 time more likely to believe their employer cares about their well-being
If Utah Infertility Resource Center can help you support your employees, please let me know. I am happy to provide a brief presentation of our services. In the meantime, check out our website for more information or contact me – shelli@uirc.info.
