Studies have shown that 90% of women have reported depression while experiencing fertility struggles, with 42% reporting feelings of suicide. Even with these staggering numbers being reported, we continue to silo our healthcare services and create fragmented care for patients. Providers need to recognize that fertility struggles require more than just medical attention. Patients need to be treated holistically. Employers can do more by ensuring that their employees can access the care they need.
Treating patients holistically has been a popular move for employers. Increased positive outcomes translate into a healthier, happier workforce and into cost savings that they can reinvest.
It is still surprising how often I encounter people who have struggled with fertility out in the world. Most often, the conversation originates from that age-old question; “what do you do?” I love talking about Kindbody, how we help our members, and what working at Kindbody means to me. However, once I’ve gotten out that first sentence around fertility and family-building services, I find that I typically end up in the back seat of the conversation, an engaged listener, hearing how we make such a significant impact in people’s lives. I recently enjoyed the story of a remarkable woman and her fertility struggles during the 1980’s, while she pointed across the way at a young man, her miracle baby.
Struggles with miscarriages and suffering through a constant barrage of well-intentioned advice from family and friends, “don’t stress and it will happen,” are only a few of the experiences that women, and couples, face during a time when empathy is needed most. We spoke about the toll every loss had and the unfortunate situation that she found herself in, wishing for a therapist to get much-needed mental health care and having a healthcare ecosystem that could not help her find one. Happy ending stories are my favorite, and this one ended with loving parents and a baby, but it was not lost on me just how important this story is.
Carrying the weight of month after month treatments, without results, also puts a massive strain on relationships, with up to 60% of couples reporting mental health issues and the likelihood of divorce three times higher than couples that are not struggling with family building.
Employers can do more for their employees and members. Offering Kindbody benefits that support people and families going through fertility journeys and family building, employees have access to the services they need every step of the way, creating a better fertility and family building journey while caring for their overall health in the process. These efforts have long-term benefits beyond the employees’ health benefits, with one study even showing that happy employees are 20% more productive in the workplace, a nice indirect benefit to employers for providing the healthcare their employees need.
Kindbody360 is our full suite of family building support services, providing access to mental health professionals, stress management, doulas, lactation consultants, physical therapists, and so much more. With proprietary technology and healthcare professionals to help your employees, from preconception to postpartum and beyond, the Kindbody employer benefit provides the ability to access an entire continuum of care.
Find out more about Kindbody’s holistic approach to family building!
