5 Things Anyone Dealing With IVF Can Appreciate About Netflix's "Joy"

When I first heard a podcast interview with Louise Joy Brown, the first baby born via in vitro fertilization, one detail stood out: When her father realized what the hyper-experimental procedure would cost, he went to the horse track and made a bet. I loved the fact that due to his and his wife's powerful desire to have children after unsuccessfully trying for a decade, a betting man took to the track to decide his fate.

That gamble paid off, and the result is chronicled in Netflix's new film "Joy," which culminates with Brown's birth in 1978. Starring Thomasin McKenzie as researcher and nurse Jean Purdy, Bill Nighy as obstetrician Patrick Steptoe, James Norton as biologist Robert Edwards, and Tanya Moodie as Muriel, an operating room supervisor, the movie chronicles how the group worked for several years to make the unproven a reality: that an egg can be fertilized outside the body, become an embryo then implanted back inside, and eventually result in a live birth.

As someone who has experienced multiple rounds of IVF and my own fertility struggles, I cycled (no pun intended) through a lot of emotions while watching "Joy." It's always incredible to witness what cells do under a microscope and how these ideas (like the follicles) manifest in real life. Most of all, I finished the movie feeling hopeful and motivated, with an immense sense of gratitude for the revolutionary science that spurred these treatments. Below are five additional takeaways from "Joy" that anyone dealing with infertility can appreciate.

1. The Pioneers Took On Significant Risk

It's hard to imagine a world before reproductive assistance was the norm. In the movie, Edwards (the scientist) faces backlash when trying to get his work recognized by the health board and is told that infertility is a "niche" problem. He discusses his work on talk shows and is booed and jeered before he can even finish explaining it. Purdy (the researcher and nurse) temporarily loses contact with her mother and the church (more on that below). I can't help but think of all the fertility workers who have faced scrutiny and threats for simply going to work. Everyone who gets into this profession is taking on some form of risk in the name of helping build families.

2. Community Helps

Anyone struggling with fertility will tell you that a like-minded support system surrounding you makes all the difference. I have friends who are currently going through or have endured fertility treatments. They've been an invaluable support — whether it's thoughtfully texting at just the right time, lending me medicine storage containers, or literally helping me inject hormones into my skin. This was true in the movie as the first "class" of IVF patients called themselves the Ovum Club. Purdy would take them for trips to the beach, or simply listen to their fears and insecurities during appointments. No matter the decade, it's crucial to surround yourself with people who can relate.

3. Women Went Through Hell

Until the movie's setting of 1974, in vitro fertilization was only studied in hamsters, so the bravery of these women to volunteer as patients is astounding. While advanced for the time, this medical care is still nearly 50 years old: We're talking giant needles, invasive abdominal surgeries, and harrowing statistics. True, some moments of the movie feel saccharine and Hallmark-coded, but "Joy" doesn't shy away from the intensely painful, bloody, and borderline torturous nature of these procedures. IVF is hard enough in 2024, so extreme kudos to those women who endured it in 1974.

4. Religious Zealots Are Gonna Zealot

The religious dominance of 1970s rural England underpins the entire film. Purdy attended church every Sunday with her mother, who ceased speaking to her because of her work at Oldham's Centre for Human Reproduction. She also received death threats in the mail, like baby dolls painted with the word "sinner" on them. A few years later, when the first IVF baby was born in America (Elizabeth Carr), the pope called her "a child of the devil." With that as the backdrop, it is a downright miracle (ahem) that this medical work got off the ground and came to fruition. What is disheartening is how this evangelical conservatism still plays a part in reproductive freedoms today.

5. Reproductive Care Has Continued To Innovate

One of the most potent emotional beats in the movie is when we discover that Purdy is unable to become pregnant due to endometriosis. Dr. Steptoe examines her and reveals that the science just isn't there yet. Today, many endometriosis patients are able to have healthy children, thanks to IVF and other fertility treatments. No longer are we using the terms "test tube" or "designer" babies — now, patients are offered pre-implantation genetic testing and frequent ultrasounds to monitor pregnancies, all to ensure the best possible outcome: a healthy, live birth.

Sadly, all of these advancements are threatened by our current political landscape, in which infighting has made us lose sight of IVF's entire purpose. "Joy" reminds us of the power of couples who want a child so badly that they're willing to be a part of experimental trials, traverse country borders, and, yes, bet everything in their bank account in order to achieve it.

Surely, those are parents that don't need any additional hurdles to get there.

Jess Mayhugh is the managing editor of Eater and Punch. Previously, she's worked for Thrillist, Smithsonian, and Baltimore magazine, and has written about her reproductive journey for The Atlantic and The New York Times. You can find her biking around Baltimore, where she lives with her husband and two goofy cats.