Belated Baby: A Guide to Parenting After Infertility

Approximately 7.3 million American women have struggled with infertility. Most of them, whether or not they use fertility treatments, do not realize that when they have their baby (or babies) whether through birth or via adoption the echoes of their infertility will be felt long after they are living out their dream of having their own baby. Jill S. Browning and Kelly James-Enger explain that every woman who experiences infertility is forever changed, even when she eventually has the child she yearned for. The experience may have also hurt their relationship with their husband and sometimes permanently altered relationships with their extended families. Studies show that even after the desperation of infertility subsides, emotional wounds still fester and an asterisk accompanies her bundle of joy.