How often do you stop and think about the world wide web? It really is an incredible thing. I took a look at my search history before writing this and marvelled at its infinite variety. It included:
* What do I do if I’ve been hacked? (twitter related – and sorry to all my followers who got messages from me this week with links to weight loss diets and bad rumours about them. Password now duly changed).
* How do I get to Cannon Drive? (swimming related – yes I’m still training for my Channel Challenge and I spent Friday night in an eight-foot-long endless pool in a shed in Canary Wharf having my crawl filmed from all angles).
And… * The biggest boobs in the world (guilty pleasure related – not the boobs themselves but the interview with the woman who has them which was on ITV’s This Morning in circa 2011. The clip’s on You Tube if you’re interested – 13 million people before me were.)
I guess you could argue the whole hack thing would never have happened without the web and I do still have an ‘A to Z’ somewhere if I need it. But I’d never have met ‘Itsy’ and ‘Bitsy’ (that’s what she calls them) if not for the internet because I’m never at home to watch This Morning (I’ve been saving that pleasure for my maternity leave which hasn’t happened. Yet.).
I often wonder what people who are struggling to conceive would have done without the web. Google has become our doctor telling us whatever we want (or don’t want) to hear. And blogs and forums are, for many, the only safe space to talk about what you’re going through with people who understand.
So, recently, when I was invited to be involved in a new online site called The Fertility Podcast I immediately accepted. Launched about a month ago, it has a series of interviews with some of the biggest names in fertility. Already featured are Susan Seenan (CEO of Infertility Network UK), Zita West (the holistic baby-making guru) and Dr Allan Pacey (one of the world’s experts on male infertility). It’s a unique and amazing resource and I’d recommend anyone on their own fertility journey to have a listen. I wish it had been around when I started mine. But, top tip, feel free to skip the second half of Episode 6. That’s the interview with me and if you’ve read my book and/or my blog then you’ve probably heard far too much from me already!
www.thepursuitofmotherhood.com
Congrats on your interview Jessica – amazing work! Yes I’m hearing you about the internet…. this was the first place I frantically searched when diagnosed with my low AMH and ovarian reserve….. thank goodness for the books, resources, blogs and articles I found over the internet…..they really were a source of inspiration to me….. xo
I know. I can’t imagine what life would be like without it anymore – although I also have to confess that I have spent far too much of that life googling ‘spotting’!!! Jessica x
I second that sproutandco. The internet is mainly a force for good when it comes to fertility I think despite the fact that it has some pitfalls and despite the fact that many doctors wish we wouldn’t use it quote so much! And The Fertility Podcast sounds fab – will be checking that out and tipping off my patients pronto – ta very!
I agree it definitely has pitfalls – so much inaccurate information as well – but The Fertility Podcast is fab. Like the Fertility Show online! Jessica x
Congrats for the interview!! I think the internet saved me through infertility. As much as crazy googling of symptoms should not be allowed, there’s also so much information I gathered and that had me understand more and more about my body, what is abnormal about it and what could be done to fix it. Speaking of the www, have you seen this video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcZg51Il9no
xx
That’s brilliant! My mind is spinning having just watched it. What a wonderful world! Jessica x