Why don’t you have children?
Any baby news?
Which one of you has the problem?
Well, it doesn’t come from my side of the family.
Why don’t you just adopt?
We’re the opposite – we’re way too fertile!
Well, you can always try again.
You need to go on holiday, have a drink, listen to whale sound CDs, relax and it will happen …
You’ve heard the unhelpful questions, comments and advice about infertility – now find a range of comebacks that will ensure you’re never left speechless again. The Fertility Retort offers a selection of responses that have been used by a group of friends who have encountered every infertility myth, cliché and thoughtless platitude ever invented. Because when you give up birth control you’re, ironically, going to need some protection.
Created and compiled by Louise Lindin, author of The Ten-Year Club: A Decade of Infertility and Us, The Fertility Retort is a collaboration aimed at fending off those casually-lobbed queries that can throw you off course when you’re struggling to conceive. It includes a selection of retorts for each potential question or comment; some are straightforward stock responses, some are methods of deflection and some are a bit ruder than others. There are sections for primary infertility, secondary infertility and for those who have been affected by hurtful comments after suffering losses; all are based on what Louise and friends have experienced, what they actually said in reply – and what they wanted to say. Let’s make sure no one is caught off guard again…
Q: Why don’t you have a baby by now?
FR: My eggs are sulking. They were waiting for George Clooney.
C: I went on holiday and got pregnant. You just need to get away.
FR: Will the flight cure my PCOS? Or can the Eurostar do that?
C: I don’t know what the fuss is about. It’s easy! Just eat acidic foods for a girl, alkaline for a boy.
FR: Well, I wish you’d told me before I started on the Clomid that I could just eat a tomato and have a daughter.
Any baby news?
Which one of you has the problem?
Well, it doesn’t come from my side of the family.
Why don’t you just adopt?
We’re the opposite – we’re way too fertile!
Well, you can always try again.
You need to go on holiday, have a drink, listen to whale sound CDs, relax and it will happen …
You’ve heard the unhelpful questions, comments and advice about infertility – now find a range of comebacks that will ensure you’re never left speechless again. The Fertility Retort offers a selection of responses that have been used by a group of friends who have encountered every infertility myth, cliché and thoughtless platitude ever invented. Because when you give up birth control you’re, ironically, going to need some protection.
Created and compiled by Louise Lindin, author of The Ten-Year Club: A Decade of Infertility and Us, The Fertility Retort is a collaboration aimed at fending off those casually-lobbed queries that can throw you off course when you’re struggling to conceive. It includes a selection of retorts for each potential question or comment; some are straightforward stock responses, some are methods of deflection and some are a bit ruder than others. There are sections for primary infertility, secondary infertility and for those who have been affected by hurtful comments after suffering losses; all are based on what Louise and friends have experienced, what they actually said in reply – and what they wanted to say. Let’s make sure no one is caught off guard again…
Q: Why don’t you have a baby by now?
FR: My eggs are sulking. They were waiting for George Clooney.
C: I went on holiday and got pregnant. You just need to get away.
FR: Will the flight cure my PCOS? Or can the Eurostar do that?
C: I don’t know what the fuss is about. It’s easy! Just eat acidic foods for a girl, alkaline for a boy.
FR: Well, I wish you’d told me before I started on the Clomid that I could just eat a tomato and have a daughter.
