International Women's Day (8th March) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and accelerating equality.
This year we're calling on you to make International Women's Day your day and assist ELANZA Wellness in helping women to be in positions of power when it comes to making informed decisions about their health!
One mission identified by International Women's Day to help forge a gender equal world is to empower women through health education, and the UN's 2020 theme (“I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”) specifically includes action around sexual and reproductive health.
Fertility equality
While there are many issues to be addressed in the developing world context across the board on reproductive health (access to birth control, for instance), even in relatively privileged settings we still encounter inequalities when it comes to fertility and fertility treatments.
Most commonly:
Unequal access to fertility treatment for non-heterosexual people
Inequalities of care provision across insurance providers, states and countries
Unequal financial, physical, psychological and blame burdens on females
Fertility issues are not uncommon. 1 in 8 Americans need treatment to conceive and a third have had treatment or know someone who has. In fact, fertility issues are second to pregnancy as the most common reason for women to visit their primary care doctor.
If left untreated, infertility can result in stress, depression, emotional distress and breakdown in relationships.
This 8th March is a chance to:
Challenge gender norms,
Empower each other,
Celebrate diversity,
Break stereotypes,
Reject the binary,
Mobilize, and
Take action.
As the UN says: small actions can have big impacts in making this vision a reality.
"An equal world is an enabled world." - UN Women
How will you help forge a more equal world?
We ask you to take a small action from these suggestions:
1/ Don't be afraid to talk
Statistically, we all know someone who has been through fertility struggles. Sometimes it's confusing to know what to say or when to be there for them.
Action: Spend a few minutes reading this awesome post 17 Things Not to Say to People With Infertility - and What To Do Instead, or our own version 8 Things You Should NEVER Say to Single Women in their 30s
2/ Send a letter of support to your Senator
A simple action you can take if you are a US citizen is to co-sponsor the Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act. If passed, this will provide those who receive their healthcare through government-sponsored health plans to have coverage for infertility services. It offers access to vital fertility preservation services for those, like cancer patients, who are at risk of infertility due to medical treatments such as chemotherapy and surgery.
Action: Co-sponsor the bill - (Resolve, the National Infertility Charity explains more)
3/ Share our App
We've built a free app packed with empowering resources and support groups to educate and empower women around egg freezing treatments and wider reproductive health issues, to address the uncertainty and isolation that can lead to serious harm.
Share the sign-up link with someone you know who could really use it right now, and in doing so letting her know you're there for her.
Action: Share the link: https://www.elanzawellness.com/fertility-fit-program
Here's to change through collective action...together, we've got this.