General Infertility

I am shocked at the amount of misinformation out there about the cost of fertility treatments. At just my clinic, you can ask one of the five women that I know who are or have been patients and they will tell you wildly different pricing for the same procedures. Granted, each person's insurance coverage is different - the protocols are not the same - and the timing has been different for all of us, but it is just plain crazy to me that one of us will quote $15,000 as what was spent and another $8,000 - at the same clinic. The truth is that when you sort out the details we are all spending about the… [more]

People struggling to conceive have no doubt heard the advice to be still immediately after intercourse, to put their legs in the air, or to not use the restroom. I have also heard, though, that those are old wives tales and that nothing you do immediately after sex will make a difference in whether or not you will conceive. This rationale makes sense to me for a number of reasons. I tried hours of legs in the air, held it when I really had to "go," and laying flat on my back for as long as possible with no success. I also know plenty of women who intentionally did some of those things in an effort… [more]

There has been a lot of research on a link between diet and reproductive health. Many tout eating certain foods as the answer to infertility woes, or claim that avoiding certain foods will result in improved fertility. I do think that what you eat and drink can play a role, but in no way does that translate into using any kind of diet plan as a "bible" for conception. There will be women who eat the perfect diet and are still unable to conceive and those who subsist on junk and "no-no" foods and easily become pregnant. Regardless, if you are like me, there comes a point when you are willing to try just about anything… [more]

IUI is widely considered the "first step" when a couple begins fertility treatments beyond taking medications. I have had friends state that they are willing to try IUI, but draw the line there. They say that they won't "go as far" as attempting IVF. This decision is, if I am being brutally honest (and I am), baffling to me. IUI is more affordable and less invasive, but there are definitely risks that often are not considered when someone decides that IUI is the better bet. IUI is less effective meaning repeated tries are often necessary. When IUI is successful multiple births occur much more frequently than with IVF. The majority of multiples conceived… [more]

Monitoring your fertility by taking basal body temperature, using ovulation kits, or tracking cervical mucus can contribute to making you feel even more stressed. It brings fertility issues to the forefront on a daily basis and makes infertility an issue not to be ignored, if for no other reason than you can't and still monitor as you need to. Accurate and convenient are certainly not two words that you associate with fertility monitoring. A company out of the UK, though, is trying to change that. A new device called DuoFertility is on the market and is being touted as the most precise and convenient way to maximize your chances to conceive. The DuoFertility… [more]

Women opt to use donor eggs for a variety of reasons, and quite a few people attempting IVF are using them. In 2007 the CDC numbers indicated that more than 10,000 IVF cycles each year utilize donor eggs and that 5,000 or more live births result from these cycles annually. A large majority of women using donor eggs do so because of age. Of women age 40 and older, approximately 75 percent use donor eggs. Younger women also utilize donor eggs for reasons that include premature ovarian failure, absent ovaries, the presence of genetic diseases that could be passed along, unsuccessful previous treatments, or not producing the quality or quantity of eggs necessary for the procedures… [more]

One of the most challenging aspects of infertility is dealing with the financial implications if you have no insurance benefits for fertility treatments. In addition, combining work schedules with the rigorous time constraints of fertility treatments and then managing to get a decent amount of time off for maternity leave if the treatments are successful can be a nightmare. There were many times during our IVF cycle that I was envious of people who lived in mandated states, those who simply paid a co-pay when I was writing massive checks. When I finally did conceive I was especially jealous of the maternity leave of most women in European countries, but knew that I should be grateful… [more]

It seems that of all of the supposed "no-no" activities when trying to conceive I did most of them. I liked my caffeine and glass of wine, I rarely remembered to take folic acid or vitamins, I didn't eat the diet advised and therefore was not at the optimal weight - the list goes on. One thing, though, that showed up constantly as a "don't" was the advice not to douche - something I have never done and kind of skipped over because it didn't really apply to me. I have since learned, however, that 20 to 40 percent of women in the United States douche regularly and half of those do it as often as once… [more]

I have mentioned this in other posts, but it definitely warrants mentioning again - frequent sex is best for conception. Maybe I am not the typical infertile woman and there is a lot of action in everyone else's bedrooms, but I will admit that ultimately we got to the point of only doing the "baby dance" when the ovulation kit said go. Months, and then years of no success led to sex becoming somewhat of a chore. The freedom of just being able to "do it" when we wanted and not if we didn't was gone because we had to have sex in the right window. We certainly tested the theory of every night and every… [more]

I have mentioned in previous posts that I would have transferred three or more embryos if they would have let me. I wanted as many opportunities for success as possible! My thinking at that time was a bit naive, however. I was only thinking about the success rates quoted and the probability of even one making it. I didn't consider the extreme risk of high order multiples to me and to the unborn babies. I didn't concern myself with the financial implications of having twins, triplets, or quads or the sheer logistics of managing that many infants. I never once thought about the likelihood of bedrest and babies being born premature if more than one… [more]