A leading English Newspaper of Uttarakhand, The Good Chronicle, impressed by our work, conducted an interview with our Founder Gitanjali Banerjee and published a full page article about the work we do, the genesis of this concept, impact on society and our future plans. Read an excerpt of this interview about InfertilityDost below:
Infertility Dost: A Window Of Hope
Team TGC interviewed Gitanjali Banerjee, founder of the self-help initiative Infertility Dost. A medium she describes that helps both genders openly discuss a topic that has carried unnecessary stigma for years and gain valuable information related to infertility treatments and dealing with stress. Let’s learn what she has to share.
Gitanjali Banerjee – Founder Infertility Dost
Q. What inspired you to start Infertility Dost?
Firstly, infertility is a disease like any other. When a couple seeks medical intervention to assist them with conception it is called infertility treatments. It can be resolved simply by procedures like IUI, IVF, ICSI etc and when nothing works a couple can consider surrogacy, adoption or even staying child free.
But, it is shocking that there is no neutral platform to seek guidance, no woman comes up and says, “Yes, I have gone through it (infertility), I know it is not easy but got to keep going.” I felt there was a need to come out of the infertility closet. Thus, I overcame my personal fears and started Infertility Dost to reach out to women who suffer in silence, bring real stories, make the society aware and acknowledge the pain, and most importantly to help patients find the right doctor, that’s important.
My own tryst with motherhood was a patient struggle of 10 long and gruelling years fighting infertility. Post 5 miscarriages, 3 molar pregnancies, 1 failed IVF, a brush with ovarian cancer; I finally succeeded with a second IVF attempt.
Infertility Dost, officially started in September, 2016. Apart from being a support group, it facilitates correct guidance so that couples can take good decisions and stay away from misleading advertisements and fraud clinics, people get their queries answered by connecting with experts and most importantly the group offers people strength and hope.
Q. Talking about personal hygiene even mentioning periods or menstrual cramps is quite a taboo in our country, how is talking about infertility in that regard?
Extremely tough, close to impossible! Infertility is also a question about your being, as a woman or a man, for that matter. It is a huge taboo, socially. People judge you, taunt you and stereotype you into a box.
Infertility, which otherwise should be discussed and understood simply as a physical disease, in India, takes the shape of a social stigma. 1 out of every 4 couples in India undergo some form of infertility, yet no one is ready to openly discuss it.
So many women suffer in silence, go into depression and lose their self-esteem during their infertility journey. Moreover, they are scared to talk to anyone and even ostracize themselves from the society for the fear of being judged. Calling such women Banjh, not letting them be a part of pujas or happy occasions like godhbharai is quite a common way for the society to demean them.
Nearly 15% of the Indian population suffers from some form of infertility. Research in fact indicates that India has witnessed a 20-30% surge in infertility cases in the past 5 years. The volume of people affected by it sums up to be more than 150 million.
Every year 10 million new cases are added in India.
It is high time that we start speaking about this issue and make our society more sensitive towards the pain caused by infertility and let couples deal with their pain with dignity.
Read the complete interview at the website of The Good Chronicle - Infertility Dost: A Window Of Hope
