Eleven major Jewish organizations including Priya, a program of Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City, are coming together in the first annual Jewish Fertility Summit at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22. The free virtual summit is hosted by I Was Supposed to Have a Baby and Svivah organizations.
“It Shouldn’t Have to be this Hard; Real Questions, Real Answers,” a 90-minute virtual program, is for those struggling to build a family and for Jewish professionals and lay leaders. The program is geared to provide a better understanding of those experiencing infertility and/or pregnancy loss, and how to better support them.
Molly Hess, program manager for Priya in Kansas City, will be one of the featured speakers and discussion moderators. Priya offers Jewish individuals and families emotional support, resource connection, spiritual guidance and financial assistance with fertility treatments and adoption.
“We believe that this summit will inherently be safeguarding the future of the Jewish community by offering comfort and support during some of the loneliest times in people’s lives,” said Dr. Aimee Baron, founder and executive director of I Was Supposed to Have a Baby.
“The inability to have a child, regardless of the medical diagnosis, is a heartbreaking and devastating reality for many,” Baron said. “From a communal angle, these topics are difficult to discuss in public, and clergy and lay leaders often struggle to address these topics. This avoidance inevitably disenfranchises many, often causing those affected to disengage from Jewish life as a whole. This can affect family units as well as singles who already feel isolated,” she said.
Baron hopes the first annual summit will change that and invites anyone struggling to join, giving them the space within this program to vent, share, read, interact with and absorb support in order to help them feel less alone.
For more information and to register for the free event, visit iwassupposedtohaveababy.org. For information about the Priya, email .
