The road to becoming a parent can be physically, emotionally, and financially draining. I know this personally because my partner and I spent a long time traversing our own difficult path to parenthood. After five unexplained miscarriages, I finally gave birth to our now 13-year-old twins through the help of in vitro fertilization (IVF), immune suppression, group therapy, acupuncture, and use of the life-saving (and as it turns out, fertility-preserving), abortion medication—mifepristone.
During those years of intense grief, loneliness, hopelessness, and shame, I never doubted that the reproductive care I needed was at my disposal. I never dreamed that in the ensuing 15 years, as discussions of fertility issues have become far more normalized, that so many would no longer be able to count on accessing the care they deserve and need.
The mental health toll of restrictions on reproductive rights
Studies show that women are twice as likely to experience anxiety or depression in their lifetime compared to men. For women grappling with infertility—roughly 10% of the population by some estimates—the statistics are even more stark. Women with fertility challenges face substantially higher levels of anxiety and depression.
In the workplace, CEOs have declared mental health as one of their top concerns and priorities. This is because supporting the mental health of their employees is essential to business. Research has shown that organizations investing in physical and emotional wellbeing see increased productivity in their workforce. But while doing so, they too often fail to acknowledge that mental health challenges cannot be isolated, nor are they evenly distributed.
Mental health conditions affect some populations more acutely—in particular, those historically stripped of their rights and agency. Marginalized groups have been disproportionately impacted by the mental health crisis, with one study by the National Alliance on Mental Illness finding that 15% of African Americans, 13% of Latinos, and 11% of Asian Americans feel that they would have received better mental health care if they were a different race or ethnicity.
A collision of crises
With the overturn of Roe v. Wade and resulting state-by-state pullbacks on IVF access, abortion pills and other essential reproductive services, many women report their mental health challenges have increased. One recent study in JAMA found that in states passing abortion trigger bans, the residents have experienced considerably worse depression and anxiety symptoms compared to those in states without these bans.
At the same time, these regressive measures are increasing health inequity, with maternity care deserts continuing to grow, fewer graduating from U.S. medical school applying to residency programs in states with abortion bans, and increasing out-of-pocket costs for fertility care. Those most in need of support spend $50,000 on average in treatment, making dreams of parenthood even more implausible to access for the vast majority. We now not only have a growing mental health epidemic but also a crisis in fertility care.
The power of talking about it
As someone who has experienced infertility, is now a mother, and is an executive of a major mental health company, I have a moral responsibility to talk about this.
I’ve experienced firsthand the powerful impact of executives talking candidly with their teams about their own fertility journeys and mental health. Leaders, particularly women, often feel like they have to show up perfectly at work. But employees don’t want nor expect perfection. They want human leaders who recognize just how powerful it is to open up, and in turn, help others do the same. They want empathy, and far more than that, they want advocacy and action.
It’s time for those of us who have a mic to stand up to the public podium and use it. For those of us in positions of influence, it’s incumbent to use our voices to ensure reproductive rights are secured for all. As the conversation around this topic intensifies in the weeks leading up to the U.S. presidential election in November, business leaders have a profound opportunity to take part in this conversation and make it about their people, not about politics.
We have an opportunity to not only lead with empathy and vulnerability, but to step into the gap left by current public policy and integrate reproductive, fertility, and mental health support into our benefits programs as well as our public proclamations. Taking a stance and investing in these areas is not only a matter of ethical responsibility but also a strategic advantage.
Leslie Witt is chief product and design officer at Headspace.
