For almost a decade, Colombian-American Marilyn Gomez traveled a difficult path to start her family.
Today, through Infertile Tees and her awareness work, she seeks to let other people facing infertility, especially within the Hispanic community, know that they are not alone.
In many Hispanic families, there are stories that remain hidden behind closed doors for years. Stories of couples who tried unsuccessfully to have children, of pregnancies that did not come to term, or of women who were never able to become mothers, even though they longed to.
In conversation with Enlace Latino NC, Marilyn says she discovered that her own family also kept some of those stories.
The daughter of Colombian parents from Medellín and married to a man also from a Colombian family, Marilyn grew up surrounded by large families. Therefore, when she married in 2009, she imagined that starting her own family would be easy.
“I thought it was going to be an easy process,” he recalls.
But after she started trying to get pregnant, months passed, then years. At first, Marilyn says she kept quiet even from the people closest to her.
“I didn’t tell my family anything,” she says. That silence continued as she faced the pain of not being able to have the baby she so desperately wanted.
A topic that almost no one was talking about.
Her experience began to show her something that transcended her personal situation, since, within Latin culture, talking about fertility, infertility, and reproductive health can be especially difficult.
“In our culture we don’t talk about fertility issues, because it’s such a private matter,” Marilyn explains.
She said that this privacy is compounded by shame and certain cultural or religious beliefs that can cause a person to silently accept what they are experiencing, instead of seeking information or support.
When she finally decided to tell her mother what was happening, something unexpected occurred. Other family stories began to surface.
“An aunt who also had not had children, a cousin who had adopted, and other relatives who had gone through similar experiences,” she commented.
Marilyn realized at that moment that many of those stories had always been there. It's just that no one was talking about them.
Something similar happened when she dared to share her experience on Instagram. The next day she found messages from women saying, "Me too," or telling her they knew someone who was going through the same thing.
Paradoxically, it was strangers she met online who initially made her feel less alone. That experience gave her the strength to start conversations with her mother, aunts, and cousins.
And little by little she began to feel less alone and stronger to continue.
A decade trying to start a family
Finally, Marilyn managed to get pregnant and in 2016 her only daughter was born.
Three years later she decided to expand her family and underwent fertility treatments again, but the procedures were unsuccessful, and at that point she decided it was time to close that chapter.
Infertility, she explains, represents more than just an economic cost. It can also have a profound emotional impact and affect marriage, personal relationships, and other aspects of life.
“It’s extremely expensive to get the treatment. And it’s not just the emotional cost; you pay with your marriage, your relationships, with everything,” she said.
So her decision was to dedicate herself fully to her daughter and, at the same time, learn to accept and normalize a family with only one child, something that can also clash with the stereotype of large Latino families.
Related: Free or low-cost gynecological exams in North Carolina
Infertile Tees was born from pain
Marilyn's last fertility treatment also unexpectedly ended up becoming the origin of Infertile Tees.
In 2019, while preparing for her embryo transfer, she wanted to wear a t-shirt related to that moment. She searched online and on Etsy, but couldn't find anything that represented her style, so she decided to design it herself.
She found a company in Charlotte that could print it and brought it to the clinic, where the nurses began praising her design and, after posting a photograph on Instagram, other people asked her where they could buy it.
Twelve days later she received the news that the treatment hadn't worked. Sitting in her dining room and facing the end of that stage of her life, she found in creativity a way to channel her pain.
“I had to shift my focus to something that would help me, but also others,” she recalls. Shortly after, she registered her company in North Carolina, and Infertile Tees was born.
T-shirts that tell a story without words
The designs of Infertile Tees were deliberately conceived to have subtle messages.
Marilyn said that she didn't want anyone who wore one of her garments to have to publicly announce that they were going through a fertility process.
He says his intention was to create symbols that would have a special meaning for whoever wore them, but that at the same time would allow them to decide when and with whom to share their story.
Some of his designs incorporate statistics through graphic symbols, turning a t-shirt or sweater into a potential gateway to conversation.
The idea, he explains, is to give each person the power to tell their story "whether they want to or not," while being able to recognize and honor what they have lived through.
Awarded for her awareness-raising work
Marilyn was awarded the prize this year RESOLVE Night of Hope 2026, for their work in raising awareness about infertility and family formation.
RESOLVE is a national organization that empowers people to navigate their infertility journey with reliable information, community support, and advocacy for family building with accessible options for all.
Marilyn said she is available to talk with Latina women in Spanish about infertility and can be contacted through her Instagram profile. More information about her company can also be found on her website. infertiletees.com
Related: Women's Health Care Services and Resources in North Carolina
Infertility in the United States
The percentage of Hispanic or Latina women of reproductive age in the United States who have used medical assistance to achieve pregnancy is approximately 7%, a figure similar to that of African American women (7.1%) and slightly lower than that of white (12.4%) or Asian (13.6%) women, according to recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
On the other hand, epidemiological studies indicate that Hispanic women are less likely to seek or receive specialized fertility treatments.
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