After years of building up a career in public health, Beth Linas from Capitol Hill says she felt ready to tackle her next dream — becoming a mom.
“Just excited to sort of have a nuclear family and see a little human grow and teach them about the world,” Linas said.
Linas suffered back-to-back miscarriages before she and her husband turned to in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Linas did the two weeks of injections before she was laid off as a federal contractor.
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“Losing my job was particularly scary, because I was in the middle of the process and I needed my health insurance,” Linas said.
Linas applied for and received a grant of $2,500 from the Jewish Fertility Foundation, an organization that offers financial assistance to Jewish families around the country dealing with infertility.
JFF CEO Elana Frank said the organization has seen a spike in applications since the federal layoffs started earlier this year. The organization has dispersed more than triple the funding they gave by this date last year.
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“When you're struggling with infertility, the timeline is as soon as possible,” Frank said. “You've already been waiting. You've already been going through losses and potential miscarriages. If your doctor is saying you can do this now, you want to do this now.”
JFF has a support group for fired federal workers as they manage the dual challenges of IVF and finding a new job.
“I have good days and bad days,” Linas said. “Sometimes it’s nice when I’m worried about one, I can focus on the other, and vice versa. I’m also meeting other women in this position, and that’s been a little bit of a comfort, but I don’t wish this upon anybody.”
Linas said her egg retrieval last week went well. She’s hopeful it’ll result in a baby soon.
