This Mother’s Day, Have Compassion, Pay your love forward
As a fertility doctor, the goal that tops my list each and every day is to help women experience motherhood.
I do my best using modern medical technology to help women in their quest to start and/or grow their families. For those who are unsuccessful or chose not to undergo fertility treatments, I try to help my patients become parents through adoption or by working with a traditional surrogate (a woman who donates her ovum and then carries the child) or a “gestational surrogate” (carries the baby but is not biologically linked). For these selfless women, the day before Mother’s Day has been set aside to honor them in a lovely new tradition called “Birth Mother’s Day.”
While Mother’s Day is exciting especially for new moms, for those of us who know (and love) the drill, each year this special Sunday brings precious homemade presents, delicious (or burned, depending on your family ) breakfasts in bed or perhaps the retelling of the war story of the infamous delivery or deliveries you endured.
Mother’s Day isn’t just a Hallmark holiday; it’s a wonderful wellspring of memories we all cherish.
We are so fortunate to be able to enjoy a day that celebrates motherhood and the joys of being a parent. Yet in other parts of the world and even in our own backyard, many women and children have the opposite experience; their lives are marked by unbelievable horrors, devastating treatment, and unthinkable tragedies.
This week in my inbox I read a blog by a woman Oprah called, “a thought leader for the next generation,” and creator of Marie TV , Marie Forleo. In her blog, “The Compassion Collective: How to Stand With Love,” she urges us to take back Mother’s Day by backing The Compassionate Collective in their humanitarian endeavors, which are focused on women and children. It truly is, in my opinion, a wonderful opportunity for moms to unite in supporting our sisters and their families both at home and in other parts of the world.
Here’s what The Compassionate Collective says about Mother’s Day
“Mother’s Day IS about Love. But it’s not about commercial, comfortable love that snuggles up and stays home—it’s about love that throws open the door and marches out of our homes, beyond our fences and neighborhoods and into the hurting world to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, comfort the hurting, mother the motherless. Mother’s Day love is dangerous, revolutionary love that unites our one human family and reminds us that we belong to each other and that there is no such thing as other people’s children.”
Marie Forleo, who is an official project partner of The Compassionate Collective, goes on to describe how those of us who are committed to making the world a better place can get involved with their efforts on behalf of two specific humanitarian problems that affect women and children:
“…for the next few days, we’d love you to stand with us and take a stand for love. 100% of all funds raised will be divided equally between two causes: continuing the work with refugees across Europe and caring for homeless youth here in the United States. Because love is not either/or. Love is and/both.
Homeless youth in the US and the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe are not the only humanitarian problems to solve. We could easily tick off at least 50+ equally heart-breaking areas of injustice, inhumanity and inequality that deserve attention, resources and focus.
In fact, the latest research indicates that more than 60 million people around the world are now refugees, having been displaced by civil war, terrorism and natural disasters.
But we cannot let the reality that our problems are so vast and complex blind us to the fact that something can and must be done. While we might not be able to do everything — we can, without a doubt, do something.
This is one of my somethings. This is also an open-hearted invitation for it to be one of your ‘somethings’ too.”
And so, this year I’ve made supporting The Compassion Campaign one of my somethings, too. As not just a fertility doctor, but also a mother, I am committed to paying forward to women and their children worldwide the chance for a better life.
I like The Compassion Collective as a charitable organization because they have no overhead and make sure that every penny received goes directly to help people in need.
Please join me in supporting the Compassion Collective today – for more information on how you can give, join and spread the word, visit their website:
http://thecompassioncollective.org
And from all of us at the West Coast Women’s Reproductive Center, here’s wishing you a happy, healthy, compassionate Mother’s Day!