COMMITTED ΤΟ FAMILY BUILDING

In her newly-launched book Tries, Sighs and Lullabies-The Untold Stories of Infertility, Dr Anjali Malpani, founder-director of India's first sperm bank, chronicles reallife stories of loss, hope and endurance. MARWAR talks to the IVF specialist about the traumas and triumphs spanning her three-decade long medical journey.

- Neha Kirpal

Leading IVF specialist Dr Anjali Malpani’s book Tries, Sighs and Lullabies–The Untold Stories of Infertility chronicles real-life, emotional stories of hope and endurance. The story of a homosexual couple from Bhopal trying to have a family of their own against overwhelming odds; that of an infertile man who was one of the unfortunate victims of the mass sterilisation drive during the time of Emergency in 1976; that of a woman who was born without a womb; and another one who underwent 17 unsuccessful cycles of IVF only to triumph at the eighteenth attempt! Published by Hay House Publishing, the book was recently launched on the occasion of World IVF Day.

Through her soulful and compassionate writing, Dr Malpani not only brings out the traumas and triumphs of her patients but tries to dispel the myths and misconceptions that surround infertility. “According to WHO’s statistics in April 2023, 17.5 per cent of the world’s population—or one in six couples—is infertile. In India, about 27.5 million couples are infertile,” she begins on a retrospective note. Her idea with the book was to let infertile couples know that they are not alone in their battle. Through these stories, she aims to provide them solace and support and a beacon of hope and inspiration. “Infertility is not just a medical problem. It is very much an emotional, psychological and social one. I want people to know about the emotional turmoil and the unspoken grief and suffering that many infertile couples go through in their journey,” she elaborates.

The early days