The F Word – Stephanie Davies Breaks Her Silence on IVF and Her Fertility journey
Do you remember sex education at school? The main message was that procreation was easy. Armed with that knowledge, people generally then spent the next twenty years or so trying not to make a baby.
The irony for thousands of people is that when it does become the right time, it’s not as simple as the sex education video in year 7 made out.
Around 1 in 7 couples in the UK have difficulty conceiving and find the process long, emotionally draining and complex. And on the other end of the spectrum, many people choose not to have children, for a range of reasons, and can find they are judged for it.
Despite how common fertility issues are, it remains a taboo subject, discussed in private. Recently, workplaces have been more aware of wellbeing issues and are starting to talk about fertility difficulties.
So when Laughology was approached by Scottish Water to see if there was a possibility of delivering a talk, Stephanie Davies, Laughology’s founder and Head of Happiness, decided to break her silence. To share her own story to encourage others to #TalkFertility and help workplaces understand how best they can help individuals and couples on the journey.
Stephanie says “Authenticity is incredibly important to me, but I haven’t always managed it… resilience and keeping going when things are tough has kept me silent.
Unfortunately fertility is a challenge you often don’t hear people talk about until they’ve ‘fixed’ it – like they were too embarrassed to mention it before. But I think this is really a consequence of self-preservation and resilience – a need to save yourself, and others, from those awkward conversations.
But, private or not, it’s a struggle. Your private life is put on hold and because society dictates that it’s a private challenge, you don’t realise the lengthy battles people go through. You think it will be short-term, but sadly, sometimes, it’s not.
There are many positive stories and a variety of outcomes when it comes to fertility. What is important is it becomes something we talk about so we can support people going through it.”
‘The F Word’ sets out to break down the barriers around this important subject and increase knowledge and understanding, helping organisations support people going through what can be a very difficult journey.
Fertility treatments for men, women, same sex and transgender couples are on the rise and there is more workplaces can do to sensitively support people in the choices they make and the journeys they embark on.
Stephanie has delivered this session to Scottish Water, Marks and Spencer’s Bank and has now been approached by several other organisations. If you would like to explore how this topic could help your teams, please email Stephanie@laughology.co.uk.
