Oprah 1/25/07 30 something women

[Momo]

Did anyone catch this? DH and I actually watched it when he came home, the show re-airs @ night here. Anyway I thought it was really great. The African American Muslim woman/wife /mother/personal trainer /runner /fitness buff, was really nice to see and hear from.

I was really moved by the openness and candor of the woman that shared her story of fertility issues.
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200..._284_110.jhtml.

[Ravenclaw]

I did not but I DVR Oprah in case something good is on. I'll definitely be checking it out now.
Thanks!

[alison]

I caught the tail end of the re-airing of the show. I saw the woman who was dealing with infertility and part of the intervie with the Mexican American journalist. I thought the two interviews I did see were interesting! When the credits were rolling, they showed one of the other women, whom I assume Oprah also interviewed. Too bad I missed the first part of the show.

[migirl]

I watched this last night as well, it was a really interesting episode. I also enjoyed the story about the woman dealing with infertility, it was an interesting juxtaposition with the woman who has EIGHT children!

[alison]

8 kids in her 30s?! I wouldn't doubt it if she's living in Chicago... Dh had a lady in her 30s who was delivering her 12th. :thud:

And already a grandmother...

[migirl]

8 kids in her 30s?! I wouldn't doubt it if she's living in Chicago

I believe she was 37 and lived in Tennessee. She talked about that fact that her youngest child is going to be 3 soon and this is the longest she's ever gone without being pregnant. They don't use birth control so I guess they're open to having more children.

Oh, and she homeschools ALL EIGHT CHILDREN.

[Momo]

Alison if you click on the link I provided @ the start of this thread, you will be directed to the woman w/ fetility issues. On that same page, are the little faces of the other women, you can click on them and read little blurbs from the show, next to their photos.

[alison]

Different strokes for different folks.

The stories in an of themselves aren't all that shocking, but I guess to do a show in a way that looks at a cross-section of women in their 30s makes it somewhat intriguing.

[DCJenn]

Hmmm, I wonder how Luanne and I would be different than the others. I bet we would skew differently but I don't know that it's age-related. Luanne and I probably would skew most results...

Jenn

(do you drink? how do you feel about divorce? birth control? alcohol? Hillary Clinton? )

[SuzySunshine]

So I got to see this and I have to say I'm disappointed. I don't feel like Oprah let this women give a real picture of what infertility is. Oprah said the typical "relax", "maybe you should take a vacation", "do you know how may people get pg after they adopt" etc. basically everything you should never say to a women that has battled infertility. I also don't see why Oprah was trying to push adoption vs IVF. Oprah has a huge audience, she had a change to really shine a light on a topic that is so commonly misunderstood and all she did was encourage the stereotypes.

[Auspicious]

Oprah said the typical "relax", "maybe you should take a vacation", "do you know how may people get pg after they adopt" etc.

Great. Thanks Oprah. I have this recorded but haven't watched it yet--now I'll have to decide if I'm up to it. We got our first "just relax" comment recently (rite of passage?) and surprisingly it really pissed my husband off--I had to talk him down a bit from being mad at the person. Oprah validating that thinking is not helpful.

[Ravenclaw]

Yeah Oprah gets on my nerves sometimes because she can be a bit insensitive and self-righteous. The woman did say at the end comments/advice that people make about her problems are not helpful. I'm glad she got that in there.

Having said that, I think Oprah's a great person overall though for all the humanitarian work she does. Who knows how I'd be if I had people kissing my butt all the time and having buttloads of $$.

[SuzySunshine]

Yes, Oprah does a lot for the less fortunate but she also has a great platform to make one of the least understood women's health issues understood and she didn't. I feel like she uses her platform for the things that are important to her, fine - it is her platform. But there are also a lot of things out there that need more attention that she either crams into a show with lots of other things or just ignores.

Sorry, sore subject with me.

[Ravenclaw]

Very true. You would think being around so many women she would be more aware of it and the sensitivities one should have. I didn't realize what a major problem it was until recently, as I'm at the age where friends and relatives are having babies. It took my sister awhile to get pg and with tactless ILs around, I heard lots of horribly awkward conversations she had to endure. Not to mention others I know who've had/are having trouble.

[Flynn]

Good points about infertility guys.

I personally don't know anyone who has battled this and Cheri, your blog and intimate thoughts on this site have really opened my eyes about this subject! If I had trouble conceiving I'm sure I would feel extremely sensitive about people's comments and rightly so. Infertility as a topic is extremely layered to say the least!!!! (so thanks Cheri!!!!)

If Oprah had a dear friend who was struggling with infertility I bet she would have dealt with the topic differently. She seems to be very protective and loyal to her friends.