Image source: NBC News
Women are expected to be a lot of things. One of which is to be physically able to bear children. Statistics reveal that one in four women suffer from miscarriages. A significant percentage also suffers from infertility. But despite the rampant cases, such topics are still taboo in modern society. Model, TV host, and author Chrissy Teigen, who recently had a miscarriage, wanted to take a stand for women worldwide who are scrutinized for pregnancy loss and hopes that her Fertility Out Loud campaign will give them a voice.
35-year-old Chrissy Teigen was expecting the birth of her third child, together with husband John Lennon, last February. But at 20 weeks, the baby named Jack did not survive. Teigen poured out the pain she felt because of the loss through her social media platforms and opened conversations about miscarriages. She received countless DMs from close friends and families, comforting her through the challenging time. But one experience stood out to her, and it was a simple yet kind gesture from a total stranger.
“There was one moment that really struck me, and that was being at the grocery store and somebody just quietly laying flowers in my cart,” Chrissy Teigen shared in an interview. “And then I realized that there are so many women that don’t get this kind of attention because you just don’t know that it happened to them. They’re living through this privately and quietly, and it just was a big moment for me where I realized that I could be this person that people could see and look up to as somebody that had a platform where their stories were going to be recognized. For me, that was a very defining moment,” she added.
Chrissy Teigen aims for the Fertility Out Loud campaign to create a community of women who have been through miscarriages, are suffering from infertility, and those that understand the weight of suffering from such experiences. She wants a platform to speak for those who have not amplified their stories and make them feel less alone. “Infertility deserves a voice. That’s why I’m here,” Teigen said on the platform’s website.
Recently, Chrissy Teigen told Reuters, “This was obviously a no-brainer to be able to speak to women that are going through the issues that I went through, the confusion that I went through as a young woman struggling with infertility, to be able to give them this safe haven.”
Chrissy Teigen has been open about their pregnancy journey for so long, and talking about infertility came naturally for her into conversations. With Fertility Out Loud, she is hoping to raise awareness and support for couples across the country who have gone through or are going through infertility.
In an interview with USA Today, Teigen said, “I feel like the more we’re open about talking about something, the more normalized it becomes. I’m happy to be the one to be able to yell loudly from the rooftops and talk about my uterus and talk about my everything. If that’s going to make other women feel that they can do it too, then I will be that person, and I’m happy to do it.”
The Fertility Out Loud campaign will be launched during the National Infertility Awareness Week on April 18-24, 2021.
Sources:
https://news.yahoo.com/chrissy-teigen-her-gut-wrenching-120116256.html
https://www.insider.com/chrissy-teigen-launches-fertility-out-loud-campaign-2021-4
