Approximately 7.3 million American women have struggled with infertility. Most of them, whether or not they use fertility treatments, do not realize that when they have their baby (or babies) -- whether through birth or via adoption -- the echoes of their infertility will be felt long after they are living out their dream of having their own baby.
Jill S. Browning and Kelly James-Enger explain that infertility is a mind-set and that every woman who experiences infertility is forever changed, even when she eventually has the child she yearned for. When many women who have gone through fertility treatments describe their experience, they say it "abused their soul." The experience may have also hurt their relationship with their husband and sometimes permanently altered relationships with their extended families. Studies show that even after the desperation of infertility subsides, emotional wounds still fester and an asterisk accompanies her bundle of joy.
Infertile women often find themselves mentally unprepared for motherhood. They feel they have no right to complain about the frustration and confusion that all new sleep-deprived parents experience. After all, they worked so hard to have a baby and, moreover, spent thousands of dollars for costly procedures. They also may be conflicted about working, even if their families need the income. She's waited so long for this baby. How can she leave him or her to go back to work?
The Belated Baby supports the message these women need to hear. It guides readers through the transition from being an infertile patient to parenthood, and it reveals how infertility shapes them as a parent. It will also be a hopeful source for couples currently in the throes of infertility, offering encouragement that there is happiness and life after infertility.
