INSPIRE Reproductive Journeys Series
While women today have expanding opportunities and choices about when and how to create families, nothing is simple or straightforward when it comes to making decisions about motherhood. The stories in this series represent many sides of the spectrum. We hope you’ll enjoy them, and if you’d like to share your experiences on this topic, please reach out to us.
This is the beginning of our exploration into a rich and diverse range of experiences. Help us expand the narrative by contributing a story of your own on this theme.
When Not Getting Pregnant Feels Like Failure
The story of an over achiever, who expected to succeed at everything she did by Laura Moore ’00.
Childless By Choice
Crystal Flores (Marra) ’04 shares her story of deciding not to have children and how that has impacted her life.
A Fresh Perspective on the IVF Journey
An Ob/Gyn Becomes a Therapist and has a Fresh Perspective on IVF by Brita Reed ’76.
Adoption: It's Complicated
Kathy Heafey, ’90, shares how she built her family through adoption.
Past Event
The Motherhood Spectrum: A conversation about our reproductive journeys
On October 4, 2023, we gathered to listen and share stories about the evolving spectrum of motherhood. While women today have expanding opportunities and choices about when and how to create families, nothing is simple or straightforward when it comes to making these decisions. The storytellers who came together to launch our new story series included Crystal Flores (Marra) ‘04, Brita Reed ‘76, Laura Moore ‘00, and Nancy Fisher ‘01. They they discussed different aspects of their journeys through the Motherhood Spectrum and we all shared openly and connected deeply with other inspiring Women of Dartmouth.
Past Event
Fertility Journeys: a conversation with Dartmouth women
During Women’s History Month, Dartmouth women came together for a panel discussion on Fertility Journeys – a conversation about the possibilities, decisions and experience of creating family. Co-hosted by Women of Dartmouth and Women of Geisel in Healthcare and Biomedical Science.
Panelists: Lisa Cloitre ’94, T’02, Deborah Ikhena-Abel MED’10, Vanessa Paster ’00, Bernardine Wu ’95
Resources
Below are some Reproductive Journeys Resources participants and others have shared with us (in no particular order).
- Evidence Based Birth website and podcast
- 2017 CBS Sunday Morning segment: At risk: mothers and childbirth
- Wanda Irving’s 2020 TEDTalk: How the US medical community fails Black mothers
- 2017 NPR article: Black Mothers Keep Dying After Giving Birth. Shalon Irving’s Story Explains Why
- Birthstories in Color podcast
- The Bradley Method website
- Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development data on infant mortality rates - Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)’s fertility and infertility resource list
- We Care – information about IVF costs in India
- Informative article about a groundbreaking oral treatment for postpartum depression
- Bill Moyers’ No Choice series
- Commonsense Childbirth – Equitable Perinatal Care website
- 2023 Scientific American article: Why Maternal Mortality Rates Are Getting Worse across the U.S.
- 2017 ProPublica and NPR article: Nothing Protects Black Women From Dying in Pregnancy and Childbirth
- 2023 NPR article: Maternal deaths in the U.S. spiked in 2021, CDC reports
- The Business of Being Born documentary
- resolve – The National Infertility Association webpage
- Kindbody fertility and wellness resources website
- CDC information page about Assisted Reproductive Technology
- 2023 CNN Health article: How to support your loved one during the infertility journey
We extend an open invitation to you, inviting you to share resourses of all sorts that helped you during your reproductive journey – childless by choice, IVF, family planning, bump groups, breastfeeding, books, podcasts, websites, etc. All ideas are welcome and will be added to this section.
