Lena Dunham won't be someone "who spends 6 years in IVF"

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Lena Dunham isn't quite ready just yet to try for a baby with love Jack Antonoff, but she's making a plan for the possibility of facing infertility all the same.

Opening up about having kids someday down the line the Girls star and creator told Paper magazine, "I have endometriosis, and I've said to my boyfriend, 'If fertility ends up being a challenge for me, I'm not gonna be the person who spends six years in IVF...'"

Although she's "really intrigued by the possibility of carrying a child" in her own body, there are personal reasons Leah doesn't think the whole process would be good for her.

To clarify, the young woman who will celebrate her 30th birthday in May went on to say, "I don't judge anyone else's choices, [but] for me, years and years of hormones and body manipulation wouldn't work for my psychology and my body and it's not important enough to me that my child come out of my body and it's not important to me, really at all, that the child belonged to Jack and me on a genetic level."

I can only imagine how hard it is to be of child-bearing age and know starting a family is likely going to be tremendously difficult, which is why I enjoyed reading Leah's take on the the path to parenthood she could be facing. In an age filled with no shortage of stories of famous women having babies later-in-life, I love the idea of hearing from young women who are thinking about their fertility.

Of course, while IVF is notoriously a hard, expensive road, so is adoption. I have to wonder if it's hard for those out there in similar circumstances to hear someone with a celebrity-sized pocket book (Lena's estimated net worth is $12 million) talk about it. To be fair, the process isn't known for being easy for anyone, but the financial burden is no small element to overlook.

All the same, I commend Leah on making a point of taking the time to think through what would and wouldn't be healthy for her, as well as sharing her thoughts with others. More than likely there are young women out there facing similar situations, and all of us need to know we're not alone in the challenges we face.

Did you think much about your fertility before starting the path to parenthood? Why or why not?

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Photos: PR Photos

 

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