As an African American woman, a Black woman, I had no one to talk to about my infertility because in my community infertility was, and still is, a taboo subject. It is commonly perceived that Black women are just naturally fertile and are only childfree by choice.
A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have in her lifetime :: FACTA female is born with 1-2 million eggs. At puberty she has 300,000-500,000,at age 37 she has 25,000, and age 51 she has 1,000 eggs left.
Founder, Innovator, Facilitator, Educator, and Mom, Marna Gatlin has many titles. Her knowledge and passion are captivating as she works tirelessly to educate, advocate, and provide support for families touched by or considering egg donation.
Last week I was contacted by a health reporter to discuss the recent birth of Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade’s daughter. I expected the topic to be infertility, pregnancy via surrogate or gestational carrier or motherhood after 35.
Actress Gabrielle Union and her husband, NBA star Dwyane Wade, shared how hurt they were when, after the birth of their daughter in November, commenters online ridiculed Union for posting photos of herself practicing what’s known as skin-to-skin contact.
I took a special interest in pregnancy after the age of 35, which according to age alone, is considered a high-risk pregnancy. I was inspired not only by the experiences of friends and patients, but also by my own personal experience of trying to start a family after the age of 40.
I’ve been going through infertility treatments for two years now, but no one has really held back from telling me they’re pregnant, asking pregnancy advice, or inviting me to pregnancy-related events.
As a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist, I care for women with high-risk pregnancies. Many times, they have pre-existing medical conditions that make them high-risk; other times they develop a complication during pregnancy that warrants the care of a high-risk obstetrician, like myself.
44 year-old actress, Gabrielle Union has recently opened up about her fertility struggles. As a woman who once thought she never wanted kids, she now finds herself longing to conceive and in the midst of a painful journey to become a mother.
Five cycles of IVF yielded one chromosomally normal embryo that did not survive the transfer this past May. I have a picture of my “could’ve been” on my nightstand. I have accepted the fact that I cannot have my own biological children, but I will never ever get over it.
If you have difficulty conceiving, it’s comforting to know that IVF is an option. The process involves money, hormones, self-administered shots, and a lot of emotional highs and lows. And it doesn’t help that people don’t really know how to act around you...
I knew from a very early age that I wanted to go to college and have a career. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in college, though, that I made the decision to pursue medicine — a career path that would ultimately take 15 years of my life to accomplish.
I am a double board certified ObGyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist. I have worked at a large academic center in academic medicine as a clinician, educator and researcher since 2004. I am currently a tenured Professor and actively manage patients with high-risk pregnancies.
The best way to contact me about debunking social media content is to send that content to me in a DM on my Instagram account @babiesafter35. You can also email me.
I do not do private consults or review medical records submitted by patients.
Yes! Please email me for more info.