At the peak of the pandemic majority of the NHS fertility staff including anaesthetists and nurses, as well as laboratory testing equipment were turned over to help tackle the virus. Staff in the private fertility sector were furloughed and the industry lost millions of pounds.
Unfortunately, patients with infertility became low priority as compared to those with serious comorbidities. Many of these women had waited for months, and in some cases, years to get an IVF treatment, henceforth, this delay became detrimental to their emotional and mental health.
On the top of that, one cannot forget that the pandemic has been difficult for people who’ve lost their mothers or mothers who have lost their children. Sea of yellow hearts is a concept that many would want to explore this year, especially if they’ve suffered the unfortunate loss of a loved one.
Mothers who were juggling work and kids during the pandemic with homeschooling are almost warriors who deserve a long holiday. On Mother’s Day, while millions of mothers will enjoy the bliss of motherhood, it is also imperative to note that given the current global situation and paradigm shift in cultures, many women and men may in fact not want to have children at all.
In her opinion piece in The New York Times, author Kia Abdullah recently wrote that, "I do not have a maternal instinct. I have never felt a desire to bear and rear children. My choice is not rooted in selfishness as I once thought, nor a fear of losing my figure, or a puerile attachment to a contrarian view. I simply don’t want children."
It's a beautiful thought and very well articulated for the women of 2021. Elaborating on that, Kia Abdullah told Asian Voice, “The motherhood debate often feels adversarial because it concerns such a personal, elemental thing. It alters your very identity so it’s little wonder that the discussion gets a little heated. I would ask that we treat each other with empathy. Women who do not have children can and do lead extraordinarily fulfilling lives, despite society’s efforts to convince us otherwise. As for what to say to people who pressure you to have children, I find that a dispassionate response works best: “My research shows that there’s very little return on investment.” People don’t often know what to say to that! Sometimes, a parent will pause for a moment, then shrug and say “fair point”, which is always refreshing!”
