Today, let me tell you the story of Elise and Rita, two women yearning for their babies. Both women went to well-respected infertility clinics in New York City and Chicago, both were met with age-related stereotyping by their doctors. It's called HCST - age-based reproductive Health Care Stereotype THREAT - and it adversely affects a woman's mental and physical health. Yes, this is so well known now, that we have a clinical term for this kind of stereotyping!
After their experience, both women went on to have their naturally conceived sons at age 45 and 40, respectively. Elise conceived quickly and without any assisted reproductive technologies and her boy is now my boy's best friend. Rita conceived after turning to a natural fertility specialist who diagnosed and treated her autoimmune diseases, paving the way to her natural pregnancy after three miscarriages while in the care of her infertility specialist (who blamed the miscarriages on Rita's age of 38 and the quality of her eggs).
We women of a certain age -- advanced maternal age that is - know how stressful any conversation about fertility and age can be.
In today's video, I am talking about the age-related stressors that come from the outside in the form of negative bias and yet, around minute 7, I also go into detail which age-related stressor may be the strongest adversary on our way to motherhood.
Min. 10: What do YOU believe to be true about your age?
Min 14: All the women in my book The Joy of Later Motherhood had their personal struggles to overcome - they got older and older and THEN it happend, just when conventional medicine wanted to put us out to pasture. There can be a HUGE difference between your chronological age (as stated on your driver's license) and your biological age (the rate your body is aging).
Min 18: What other belief could you pick other than the ones that are not conducive to conception? Choose wisely, every day!
With love,
Bettina
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