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New parenting trends and fertility options post
New parenting trends and fertility options post-pandemic
From same-sex couples to those waiting to have children later in life, Dr. Bashah says parenting trends are changing.
When in-person fertility treatments were suspended at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, hopeful parents-to-be were forced to wait even longer for another chance to get pregnant.
Many IVF patients lost hope.
“With IVF, there’s a lot of hormones that are being pumped into the women’s bodies and injections that you have to do routinely and timed things and medications that you have to take. And it can be really invasive to the body.”
ABC15 Health Insider Dr. Emily Bashah explains to Kaley O’Kelley that rather than waiting and risking their opportunity to have children, an increasing number of men and women are exploring methods to preserve their fertility.
“Women can choose to freeze their follicles, and that can extend the life, the lifespan that they choose, and when it may be more convenient for them to have IVF, or in-vitro fertilization. Males can also choose to freeze their sperm and they can be tested to find the healthiest ones.”
“Now we’re seeing trends of single moms by choice. I love it, where children are being raised not alone in isolation, but with their chosen family, if their parents are still living or their friends who are their family.”
To manage these challenges, the licensed clinical psychologist emphasizes the necessity of self-acceptance and love.
“Having that flexibility and having these really difficult conversations, that means revealing your insecurities, revealing feelings of inadequacy, what your grief and loss might be surrounding, and especially when it comes to infertility… sometimes that is the case.”
The goal of the ABC15 Health Insider series is to explore the factors affecting your well-being and the health of those in your community. We provide in-depth insights from experts who encounter these issues daily through their professional work and research.
