A Personal Note from Kindra CEO, Catherine

It’s Independence Day weekend in America, and I know so many of us are thinking about what it really means to be free.

Part of our mission is to give you access to critical health information and resources. I wholeheartedly believe we all deserve the unvarnished truth when it comes to our health, even if we don’t agree on the path forward. So here it is:

Fertility is not an on/off switch. Our choices regarding our bodies in this stage of life are rarely straightforward. The risk of life-threatening pregnancy complications shoots up after the age of 35. In fact, women over the age of 45 have a 50% greater risk of miscarriage.

Along with this, a higher proportion of pregnancies are unplanned after the age of 40. Many symptoms of pregnancy overlap with menopause, like missed periods, mood swings, weight gain, and more. For some, this can limit the window of opportunity to make critical decisions regarding their well-being.

I know this first hand as someone who became a mother at 40 after an intense IVF journey. I have personally lived in the agonizing gray area where some pregnancies don’t quite “take.”

Free and equal access to healthcare and safe wellness resources are essential to our quality of life at any age. Emma Lazarus, perhaps best known for her poetry engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty, famously said, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” And it is in that spirit that we remain steadfast in our commitment to fight to be treated as full adult humans responsible for our own choices at each and every stage of our lives—today and everyday.

You are not alone. Even though we may not agree on the nuances of this topic or the exact path forward, we are Kindra, and we’re in this together. If you have thoughts you’d like to share with me, reach out at cbs@ourkindra.com. I will support however I can.

Truly,

CBS