Interview: Karen Jeffries on Hilariously Infertile

Karen Jeffries is the author of Hilariously Infertile: One Woman’s Inappropriate Quest to Help Women Laugh Through Infertility, a smart, touching, encouraging, and, yes, often very funny memoir of her struggles with fertility. While advances in medical treatment and technology have made it possible for couples with infertility to become pregnant, the information available has not always conveyed accurately just how difficult, scary, frustrating, and even humiliating the medical procedures can be. In an interview, she explains the advice she’d give to medical professionals and to other women going through infertility treatment, what she will tell her daughters about how they were born, and why a sense of humor is essential.

What is the first piece of advice you would give to someone who is about to have her first meeting with a fertility specialist — after reading your book, of course!

Oh gosh, I have so many pieces of advice. First of all, let go of the calendar. That is to say, let go of thinking that you will get pregnant in the summer and give birth in the spring. I used to think that giving birth in the early spring would be perfect for my teaching schedule, and I quickly realized that I need to just get pregnant at all, and I needed to let go of the calendar dream. Second of all, going through infertility sucks, it just does…