Approximately 7.5 million women ages 15 – 44 struggled with infertility issues, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and those women are often left feeling alone and afraid to talk about such a sensitive subject.
But local photographer Maria Kirkland of 12:9 Photography in Liberty Township is working on a project to bring the topic to light, and what better time to do it than during National Infertility Awareness Week, April 23 – 29? For her project, Kirkland gathered six families, all in different stages of the infertility journey, for individual and group photo sessions. The results of those sessions will be displayed on Kirkland’s Facebook page all week long, along with the families’ stories of heartbreak, struggle and joy.
How did Kirkland come up with the idea? A childhood cancer survivor, Kirkland received many rounds of chemo and radiation therapy, and was told at a young age that she wouldn’t be able to have children on her own. Fortunately, and perhaps miraculously, Kirkland ended up giving birth to two healthy girls, now ages 3 and 4. But she knew many people who struggled with infertility, and having been touched by so many stories, she realized, “I just wanted to bring awareness to it. And what better way to do it, than in photographs and using social media.”
View the photos and learn about the families featured at Kirkland’s Facebook page, or her Instagram account.