My Infertility Journey as a Woman in Medicine

Editor’s Note: For more on the challenges as well as strategies to address physician infertility, please read this Academic Medicine Invited Commentary, cowritten by the author of this blog post. Most of us in medicine pride ourselves on being organized, detail-oriented, conscientious and able to achieve excellent results with enough hard work—and are not used to failure and loss of control. My experience with infertility has been the first time that I truly experienced failure and complete loss of control, realizing that fertility is not a merit-based system. No matter how hard I try, how many doctors I consult with, and how many pills, injections, and other treatments I take, there is absolutely no guarantee of a positive outcome. Giving up all control of my body and emotional stability is extremely challenging and, at times, heartbreaking. I waited to try to have children until I was finished with medical training, and my husband and I were academically and financially “stable.” After a year of trying naturally, we underwent a comprehensive workup, which led to my dual diagnoses of hypothalamic amenorrhea and polycystic ovarian syndrome. I started metformin and attempted fertility medications (letrozole), but no luck— so we decided to take the plunge into in vitro fertilization (IVF). I had the chance to talk to two colleagues who had done the same, and even though they emphasized the complete lack of control and devastation that...
Source: Academic Medicine Blog - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Tags: Featured Guest Perspective infertility physician well-being women in academic medicine Source Type: blogs