Israeli Journalist Yaara Yaakov Shares Her Painful Journey Through Four Miscarriages and Fertility Treatments
Israeli journalist and author Yaara Yaakov recently published a deeply personal memoir titled "For the Next Miracle, I Will Need a Woman and a Doctor," recounting her harrowing experience with four miscarriages and prolonged fertility treatments. Yaakov, 46, who works as an editor at Yedioth Ahronoth, describes the emotional and physical toll of her journey to motherhood, including the loss of three unborn children and the birth of one healthy daughter, Yuli, now 10 years old.
Her story began after she struggled to conceive following Yuli's birth. Despite early optimism from doctors and multiple fertility interventions, Yaakov endured repeated heartbreaks, including a pregnancy diagnosed with Down syndrome that ended in termination after a painful approval process by a state committee. She also faced insensitive medical care, with doctors rushing appointments and referring to embryos as "biological material," which compounded her distress.
Yaakov details a particularly traumatic episode when, during a routine ultrasound in her fourth pregnancy, doctors discovered the fetus’s brain was severely underdeveloped. Despite seeking second opinions and traveling to Austria for further testing, she was advised to terminate the pregnancy. The hospital later contacted her about the fate of her frozen embryo, presenting options she found distressing and impersonal.
Throughout her ordeal, Yaakov struggled with self-hatred, hormonal changes, and the strain on her marriage to Guy Zakaham, who supported her but experienced the journey differently. She credits writing and psychological therapy with helping her cope and hopes her book will offer solace and understanding to other women facing similar challenges.
Yaakov also reflects on societal and systemic shortcomings in Israel’s fertility and abortion services, highlighting the lack of empathy and outdated procedures. While she has decided not to pursue further pregnancies due to exhaustion, the couple remains open to adoption in the future. Her memoir sheds light on the often unspoken emotional realities behind fertility struggles and pregnancy loss in Israel.
