Every June, the world pauses to recognize something that millions of people carry quietly: the grief, hope, and complexity of infertility. At Lifetime Adoption, we want to use World Infertility Awareness Month to remind you: you are seen, you are not alone, and there is a path to parenthood waiting for you.
What Is World Infertility Awareness Month?
June is observed globally as World Infertility Awareness Month. This time is dedicated to reducing the stigma around infertility, spreading education, and advocating for accessible fertility care. The month was established to support the millions of adults worldwide who are navigating the challenges of building a family.
And those numbers are significant. According to the World Health Organization, infertility affects approximately 17.5% of the adult population worldwide. That’s roughly 1 in 6 adults: people in every country, from every walk of life, facing a struggle that too often goes unspoken.
If you’re one of them, please know: what you’re feeling is valid. And you are far from alone.
Infertility Affects More People Than You May Realize
One of the most important things World Infertility Awareness Month helps us do is challenge the misconceptions surrounding infertility. Many people are surprised to learn that as many as 48.5 million couples worldwide experience some form of infertility.
Infertility doesn’t discriminate. It touches people of every culture, race, religion, and background. Assisted reproductive technologies also impact single people who need them. And it’s not just a “women’s issue,” as it’s too often framed. Male factors contribute to or cause infertility in roughly 30% of cases.
The more we talk openly about this, the more we can remove the shame that so many people carry in silence.
What Causes Infertility?
Fertility is influenced by a combination of genetics, age, and lifestyle factors, and sometimes doctors simply can’t pinpoint an exact cause. Common contributing factors include:
- Medical conditions such as endometriosis, PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), hormonal imbalances, fallopian tube blockages, and chronic illnesses like diabetes
- Male factors, including low sperm count, low sperm motility, or issues with sperm transport
- Age-related changes, since fertility naturally declines over time for both men and women
- Lifestyle factors like extreme stress, significant weight changes, and tobacco or alcohol use
- Other circumstances, such as previous cancer treatments, sexually transmitted infections, or certain injuries
As Dr. Belinda Yauger of UT Health San Antonio reminds patients: “Don’t wait too long to seek care — if you’re interested in having children, bring it up to your physician and seek care early.”
If you’ve been trying to conceive for 12 months without success (or 6 months if you’re over 35), reaching out to a reproductive endocrinologist is a meaningful next step.
The Emotional Weight of Infertility
Statistics only tell part of the story. For those living it, infertility is an emotional marathon, filled with hope, heartbreak, waiting, and grief that can feel invisible to the outside world.
Many people going through fertility treatments describe the experience as all-consuming. There are the carefully timed appointments, the medications, the financial strain of procedures like IVF, and the crushing disappointment when a cycle doesn’t work. As one woman shared after a failed IVF attempt: “We cried and mourned the loss, and I don’t know if I’m over it yet. Since we couldn’t afford to try again, we had to find a new dream.”
If this sounds familiar, please be gentle with yourself. Grief over infertility is real, and it deserves to be honored, not minimized.
When the Dream Shifts: Infertility and Adoption
For some families, the path to parenthood eventually leads them to adoption, not as a consolation prize, but as a beautiful, intentional choice to love and raise a child who needs them.
At Lifetime Adoption, we’ve walked alongside many families who started their journey hoping for a pregnancy and found their way to adoption. One of the most meaningful questions we gently encourage people to sit with is: Do you want to be pregnant, or do you want to be a parent?
There’s no wrong answer. Some families pursue every fertility option before exploring adoption. Others find peace with adoption earlier in their journey. What matters most is that when families come to adoption, they come with open hearts. They’ve taken the time to grieve, heal, and truly embrace this path.
If you’re wondering what that journey can look like, we invite you to explore our article, When the Dream Shifts from Pregnancy to Parenthood.
How to Find Support This June
You don’t have to navigate infertility alone. Here are some meaningful ways to find community, information, and care:
- Connect with others: RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association offers support groups, an online community, and a wealth of educational resources for anyone navigating infertility.
- Find a specialist: The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) maintains a directory to help you locate reproductive endocrinologists and fertility clinics near you.
- Check your benefits: Many employers now include fertility coverage, such as IVF, IUI, and egg freezing, in their benefits packages. Consider asking your HR team or benefits provider about these options this month.
- Explore adoption: If your heart is opening to adoption, we’re here. Reach out to Lifetime Adoption for a free consultation and learn how we’ve helped thousands of couples become parents through adoption.
A Word of Encouragement
Whether you are in the middle of fertility treatments, just beginning to explore your options, or quietly grieving a dream you thought you knew, we see you this June. World Infertility Awareness Month exists because your struggle matters, your story matters, and your path to family matters.
There is hope on this journey. And wherever it leads you, you don’t have to walk it alone.
For over 40 years, Lifetime Adoption has helped families grow through open adoption. If you’d like to learn more about adoption after infertility, call or text us at (727) 493-0933. We’d love to talk.
Founder of Lifetime Adoption, adoptive mom, adoption expert, and Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P).
Since 1986, adoption expert Mardie Caldwell has been dedicated to bringing couples and birth parents together in order to fulfill their dreams.
“Many years ago, I was also searching for a child to adopt. We didn’t know where or how to get started. Through research, determination, and a prayer, our dream of a family became reality. I started with a plan, a notebook, assistance from a caring adoption consultant and a lot of hard work; this was my family I was building. We had a few heartaches along the way, but the pain of not having children was worse!
Within weeks we had three different birth mothers choose us. We were overwhelmed and delighted. Many unsettling events would take place before our adoption would be finalized, many months later. Little did I know that God was training and aligning me for the adoption work I now do today. It is my goal to share with our families the methods and plans which succeed and do not succeed. I believe adoption should be affordable and can be a wonderful “pregnancy” for the adoptive couple.
I have also been on both sides of infertility with the loss of seven pregnancies and then conceiving by new technology, giving birth to a healthy daughter. I have experienced first-hand the emotional pain of infertility and believe my experience allows me to serve your needs better.
It is my hope that for you, the prospective parents, your desire for a child will be fulfilled soon.”
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