Nancy, our eagle-eyed writer of the editor's blog alerted me to this article in the Christian Science Monitor titled, "Childless Couples Look to India for Surrogate Mothers." Basically, a lot of people from wealthier nations are "part of a growing number of childless foreigners beating a track to India, drawn here for many of the same reasons that have made India a top destination for medical tourism: low costs, highly-qualified doctors, and a more relaxed legal atmosphere." So....for the same reasons you go to India to have an English speaking, highly trained doctor perform your butt-lift, you can also rent a womb for cheap. Sound harsh? It is. It's impossible to not look at this as an intersection of globalism and capitalism and the fertility… [more]

In my personal/journalistic curiosity about international adoption, I've noticed that there are many factors that affect the ebb and flow of which countries American prospective adoptive parents go to for international adoption. During a period a few years ago where there was a scandal over possible substandard living conditions for children in Chinese orphanages, there was a small, but significant movement, a "switch" if you will, of parents becoming interested in other places like Eastern Europe. And although my husband and I have decided we will only adopt from Korea, I can't help but notice that each country has its own "reputation" for the adoption experience, based on rules, culture, legal issues, and of course--the thing that no one wants to talk about--money. Every time I've even made the… [more]

Ovarian cancer is a particularly deadly kind of cancer because usually by the time it is found, it is quite advanced and difficult to cure. In 1993, an article in the American Journal of Epidemiology cautioned that fertility drugs might increase the risk of ovarian cancer. Anecdotally, I noticed, that when women underwent fertility treatments with drugs that hyperstimulated their ovaries, it seemed that if they got pregnant, they were okay. But when they didn't, they got ovarian cancer. There was a pretty famous fashion editor in New York who tried to conceive with IVF and failed, then died of ovarian cancer. Again, totally anecdotal, but notable. An article in the BBC in 2002, claimed to put all this to rest, totally disproving the link between fertility… [more]

(Jamie Rector for the New York Times). The caption of this picture from the New York Times says it all: Shad Magness thought his tattoo said "One Love." Six months after he got it he found out it says "Love Hurts." Don't ask me why, but getting a tattoo in a language that you do not speak - specifically Chinese - is the new "in" thing from loving fathers, bikers, to NBA stars according to this article in The New York Times. Best among the anectdotes was Britney Spear's request for a tattoo that said "mysterious" in Chinese, and she got one that said "strange." Someone NBA player wanted his initials - Chinese is not a phonetic language!… [more]

Koreans are big into the whole "let medicine be your food" thing. When you're sick, you're likely to get a chicken soup that has a whole chicken stuffed with ginseng sitting at your doorstep. I got into the habit of using dried sticks this tongue-depressor-shaped herb called whang ki (they are sliced this way--the actual herb bush is shown in the picture) to stir my tea because, as all the herbalists and relatives were telling me, "It's good for you." I liked it because it has the added advantage of adding a sweet flavor without sugar, and it was like a biodegradeable swizzle stick. Later, back in the states, I was surprised to see that Dr. Andrew Weil, a very mainstream nutrition and… [more]

So you get up in the morning, moaning and groaning, clawing for that first cup of coffee...oops! Already, one thing you may be doing to undermine your fertility. Another very simple choice that can have huge fertility consequences is the boxers versus briefs question. Elevated temperatures KILL sperm. For any man trying to maximize his fertility, any type of tight fitting undergarment (including Speedos) is out. One of the problems in our modern lives is that we use so many products in our lives, and it's not as if the manufacturers really sit down and worry about if their products may be impeding your fertility. Unfortunately, that is your job. Let's take something as ubiquitous as tampons… [more]

My earlier post went over the controversy (imagined or not) over coffee and its effect on fertility. Personally, if I'm jonesing for coffee after 3 pm (my danger zone for having it keep me up), I'll opt for an caffeinated espresso (oddly, less caffeine although it tastes strong, than regular coffee) than a decaf. The healthy-sounded Swiss-water process sounded nice, until I thought--it has to involve more than just swishing water through the beans, or else you'll just have plain old coffee (water + coffee = coffee). No, in order to extract the caffeine, you're going to need a pretty strong solvent. Coffee is decaffeinated through either the direct or indirect method, both of which rely on a particular… [more]

Caffeine is a big topic in the fertility world. Some people say you should give it up, some people say it doesn't matter. The only clinical studies they've done have been on sperm, and it shows at least that it does make the sperm swim faster, but does that necessarily help fertility? What if they are jittery sperm? I have only anecdotal evidence to rely on, but I have decided myself to stop coffee while trying to conceive. Many of my friends who were having trouble finally "got there" once they gave up their coffee/tea/soda. Also, many people in their first trimester of pregnancy have coffee aversion--to me, that says something right there. Coffee remains this country's chief source of caffeine. But did you know… [more]

In the local paper, there was a letter to the editor regarding a recent article about how doctors now see patients for an average of seven minutes about how "Many patients, particularly elderly ones, are timid around doctors. A hospital social worker told me of the great number of unnecessary operations performed on patients too frightened of a doctor's disapproval to say no." This comment, which was probably true, made me a bit angry. If your doctor tells you that you need an operation, who are you to say no? I.e., who's the doctor here? This comment makes it sound like these scared little old ladies are buying snake oil at the behest of their doctors, when actually, this… [more]

Okay, we've finally had a slew of days over thirty degrees and thoughts are turning to summer. As part of our personal clean-up effort, I am urging my husband to find better socks. Cotton looks nice and clean, seems natural, but did you know it uses some of the most and worst pesticides of any crop? Then there's all these artificial "dry fit" fibers that are also worrisome. Socks and undies are important to consider because they are the items that are closest to your body and therefore heat up the most and can transfer things into your skin. Okay, no cotton socks? Well, you don't need to worry about it now that they have pesticide and fertilizer-free bamboo… [more]