From Zero to Sixty

About two years ago, a former colleague of mine called me from his new home in New Orleans to say hi. He also wanted to share some good news. His wife was pregnant. They had been trying for almost a year, and because she was nearly forty, they decided to see an infertility specialist. I felt the satisfaction of superiority warm my heart, because I knew I would never have trouble getting pregnant. And also some pity. How desperate do you have to be to see an infertility doctor?

It turned out his wife was ovulating very late in her cycle. Once they figured this out, she almost immediately got pregnant.

This was about six months before I went off the pill. I was quite certain, from the stories my mother told me about how easy it was for her to get pregnant, to watching my sisters have two babies apiece, that I would have no trouble having the baby I wanted, when I wanted.

Another facet of the judgement stemmed from my ignorance of infertility doctors. I assumed, as I've learned many people do, that a visit to an infertility specialist means you are doing IVF. Zero to sixty in five seconds flat. In fact, there are so many options before that major, expensive step.

I hope to discover what a lot of them are tomorrow.