Related to the previous post about technology making the business of categorizing who is a parent very muddy is another issue about technology: how much would you pay to have a baby?
Adrienne of the AdoptRussia blog was nice enough to alert me to this article on the Baby Industrial Complex. It’s all about the business of fertility in all its rawness. Unfortunately, when people desire something, in our capitalistic system, it becomes a commodity, with all the attendant pitfalls. Scariest among them is the fact that the business is largely unregulated. Most people would look askance at going to Mexico for a cancer treatment, yet people seem to see a picture of a cute baby in an ad and they’ll rush to a clinic with less thought than of checking out a manicure salon. Some of the more egregious cases of mismanagement include the recent case at a fertility clinic where it was later found out that the DOCTOR had been using his own sperm to impregnate hundreds of women over the years.
We’ve already decided to forego fertility treatments. First, I have a natural queasiness about messing with my body hormonally or otherwise. If I had something to fix (e.g., a blocked fallopian tube) I’d fix it. But I don’t want to force my to eggs artificially ripen with drugs. I read a great book called Sex, Lies, and Menopause, which made me feel that even the hormones in birth control pills aren’t good for you. In any event, if I find I’m reproductively pooped out, that’s natural. It’s like that old margarine commercial, “You shouldn’t fool Mother Nature!” etc. etc.
Also, after reading the Salon article, I didn’t realize a single shot at IVF costs as much as a Hyundai car. And I think it takes on average 3-4 cycles to get pregnant (if you do). Ooof!
What I’m saying is, this doesn’t fit into My Fertility World. If it works for others, that’s great. I personally don’t want to go to extraordinary lengths to add another person to the planet. I’m going to eat organic, de-stress, yogify and acupuncture up the wazoo. If it works, it works. If not, adoption? No more kids? At least I might be able to put my leg in back of my head 
Related posts:
