After announcing to the world they were "trying to get pregnant" and how much fun they were having in the process (um, thanks for sharing...), it has been revealed that Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell are expecting twins.
"The twins were conceived without the help of in vitro fertilization or the fertility drug Clomid," a source close to the couple says."
Well, congratulations to them! And that's great that they didn't have to resort to fertility treatment. But this brings up something that I come across on a regular basis, and I can't figure out why it's such a hot-button issue:
I have a friend who was lucky enough to be blessed with natural twins. She is a great mom, and really enjoys her little boys, but she gets really defensive and offended when people ask if she and her husband did IVF or used fertility drugs. Now, just to be clear, I don't think anyone should be asking anyone how their babies were conceived, but that is beside the point. Instead of saying "None of your business" and walking away, she tries to defend her "honor" by explaining that her babies are a mother-nature special.
And then we have "news" articles about people like Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell, making sure everyone knows they did not need assistance in creating their little bundles of joy.
I am just not sure why this little piece of information matters. In my never-to-be-humble opinion, there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in having to seek fertility treatment. If you can't have a baby the regular way, who cares? And if you can, again, who cares?
We treat naturally-conceived twins like they are a badge of honor. (Look at what great reproductive systems their parents have - they were able to have twins without any help!) It seems we have lost sight of the fact that conception of babies is a private matter, and every baby is a miracle, no matter how much scientific interference may have been required for them to be born.
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Funny, I'm on the total opposite end of the spectrum from the moms who want to be sure people know their twins are "un-assisted." I almost always tell people I meet and have any sort of conversation with about the twins that our kiddos are from IVF. I love answering the question, "Do twins run in your family?" with "no, but they did in our doctor's office..." Usually a confused look and then my IVF explanation follow.
I have two reasons for my openness: One is to be a "ray of hope" to others who may have similar issues, and maybe be a source of info if needed, or if nothing else just get more awareness out there! And two, because honestly, I'm kinda proud of all the hard work that went into my babies! Which is not at all to imply that non-fertility-treatment pregnancies are devoid of hard work or are any less yearned for by the parents. Being pregnant is hard work, and just because someone got pregnant the fun way doesn't make their baby/ies any less wanted or important. But heck, IVF is a pain! And I did it and look what I got!
But, yes, a baby is a baby, a great blessing, who cares how they get here?? I'm just so thankful we are blessed with the scientific know-how to do IVF in this day and age so people like us can have these little ones!
(yep, pretty much the same comment as I left on your other blog, but I wanted to say it here, too :)
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