Warrior Wednesdays By Kellee Stewart

When I decided to preserve my potential fertility the over-thinker in me researched everything I could find on the subject.  What startled me most was not the high cost or even the fear of multiple injections. Instead, I was taken aback by all I didn’t know about the female reproductive system and how it really works. I didn’t know that we were born with as many eggs as we’re ever going to have and that they’re constantly aging. I didn’t know what a follicle is, nor was I educated about AMH, FSH, and Luteinizing hormone. My high school health classes nor my family conversations ever mentioned fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS, and a host of other underlying health conditions that affect women at large and Black women at a higher rate. And I certainly wasn’t aware that, at any age, a simple blood test can give doctors an estimate of a woman’s ovarian reserve, meaning how many eggs she may have left. Once I realized how much crucial and life-altering information I missed - I got pissed!

OK, staying pissed off is not a fruitful way to solve any problem. So, I channeled my anger into action and began speaking out about proactive fertility health. I couldn’t help thinking about all my sister-friends and their personal fertility journeys - frozen or not. What about the people with ovaries struggling through a cancer diagnosis, like my dearly departed Shannon, who was told to freeze her eggs before radiation? Her life and fertility were immediately in danger and at the mercy of uninsured procedures that may or may not preserve her option to motherhood. For Shannon, assisted reproduction was not casually elective - it was an automatic necessity. And what about women with blocked fallopian tubes, or undiagnosed infertility? What about miscarriages, IVF, adoption, donor eggs and sperm?

And what about the women who look like me; Black women who face unconscionable health disparities and a higher maternal and infant mortality rate than our counterparts? Or the LGBTQ community who face extreme hurdles and discriminatory bias on their path to parenthood?

What about us?

Someone has to speak on it. And it turns out that A LOT of us have stories to tell, tears to cry, legislation to fight for, and miracles to share.

Warrior Wednesdays is where we do it! This is the safe place where OUR stories are told and met with compassion, love, understanding, and faith. This is a community where no judgement lives. And this is where I’m built to stay. I hope you stay with me.

Love,

Kellee