JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Fertility issues and in vitro fertilization are not topics shied away from on Good Morning Jacksonville, as you may know from Keitha Nelson sharing her IVF journey three years ago.
If you're dealing with this or you want to learn more, there's a chance for you to join the conversation with another broadcaster on Tuesday. Baptist Health is holding a discussion with nationally known sports journalist and UNF alumna Sara Walsh as a main speaker, along with doctors.
"I was given the worst news over and over and over again," Walsh told First Coast News. "Until all of a sudden, you're given the best news."
With four miscarriages over three years, Walsh got used to the bad news.
"I never ever told anyone I was ever pregnant, because I was always in fear that I would lose it, which I ultimately would," she said.
One of her miscarriages happened while she was on air for College Game Day.
"I was ultimately having a miscarriage on TV," Walsh said, "away from home. I was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I didn't know how to to get medical help. I really truly didn't know what to do, and it was unfolding basically on television."
She was going from surgery onto set, but from the outside Walsh says you'd never know. She only tells her story now, after IVF led to twins who are now 5 years old.
"I do think that more people are talking about it," Walsh said about fertility problems. "I do think people don't feel alone."
Up to one in five pregnancies can result in a miscarriage, according to Mayo Clinic. The CDC reports one in five women have difficulty getting pregnant after a year of trying.
"When you're going through something really difficult it feels like you're never going to get out of it," Walsh said. "It feels like the tide is never going to turn your way and sometimes it takes a really long time and it takes longer for some people than others. I think that my message would be that there is another day and things can change."
Get information to join the conversation at the Baptist Health event Tuesday here.