When Chemists Struggle with Infertility and Miscarriage

Mary Orcutt Lazo

February 18, 2016

Chem 100 06

When Chemists Struggle with Infertility and Miscarriage

        In today’s society it is becoming more commonplace to wait until you have completed schooling and are settled in a career to start a family. This is even more prevalent with those that work in the Science field.  Unfortunately, our plans don’t always work out the way we would like them to.

The rate of infertility and miscarriage increases with age. According to Chemical & Engineering News, http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i6/Chemists-Struggle-Infertility-miscarriage.html, a study done at Boston University found that 13% of 30-35 year olds did not become pregnant after a year of trying. That figure increased to 28% among women ages 35-40. In addition, the rate of miscarriage is greater the older you are. Women under the age of 35 have a 15% chance of miscarriage compared to a 20-35% chance in women 35-45 and 50% in women over 45.

A chemist is typically at least 30 years old before they have obtained their doctorate and 35 – 39 before they reach tenure. It is an unspoken vow among graduate students that it is always best to wait until they are done with grad school to have a child. Once the student becomes a professor they are working to gain tenure to secure their positions. Having a child is put on the back burner. The stigma surrounding pregnancy, infertility and miscarriage within the workplace makes matters even more stressful for parents. If the field was more accepting, it would help the prospective parents do their jobs more effectively while going through this stage in their lives.

I gave birth to my older three children before I was 25 years old. At 35 my husband and I decided to try again. I suffered 2 miscarriages before giving birth to our youngest son at 37. Luckily for us continuing to try did finally work but we can attest to the stress and pain, both emotional and physical, that occurred while going through this. We are proof that it isn’t always better to wait until you are older.