‘Why I’m Breaking the Social Media Silence on Infertility in the South Asian Community’

It’s no secret that issues with fertility are, sadly, common. According to data from NICE, roughly one in seven heterosexual couples in the UK who do wish to have a family will run into difficulties with becoming parents. As such, a thriving online community, known as ‘TTC’ (‘Trying to Conceive’) is active over social media platforms, like Instagram.

Authors

Seetal Savla is a former French translator-turned-digital marketeer. She founded her food blog SavlaFaire four years ago and hasn’t stopped writing since. She mainly posts restaurant reviews and chef interviews, but on Mother’s Day 2019, she decided to share her and her husband’s heart-breaking experience of miscarriage and two failed IVF cycles to tackle the stigma of infertility among South Asian communities. They have since had another two gruelling unsuccessful cycles and are now considering donor conception. Speaking openly about their struggles has been cathartic, and connected Seetal to others in similar situations, making her feel less alone, abnormal and ashamed. She hopes that her words will comfort others in the same way. As a fertility advocate, Seetal has written for Stylist, HuffPost and NetMums, as well as featuring on BBC Woman’s Hour, BBC London News, BBC Asian Network and podcasts (To Baby or Not to Baby and Big Fat Negative).