Don't Ignore the Treatments Options for Infertility Pt. 1

When a couple trying to conceive reaches the point where they are seeking medical assistance to achieve pregnancy, they may not be aware of each option available to them for treating their infertility. Because there are many possible causes to infertility, there could be a variety of treatment options, one which may be more appropriate than another depending on the physical barriers to conception. Sometimes when a couple gets a diagnosis of infertility, their first thought regarding possible treatment options are the more invasive ones, such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) or IUI (Intrauterine Insemination). There may be a myriad of less invasive treatments or other alternatives available, but much of this can depend on the type and severity of the diagnosis. 

The main impediments to conception for women may be lack of or inadequate ovulation, conditions that increase risk of miscarriage, poor egg health, conditions that prevent sperm from reaching the ovum or other impediments to effective implantation of a fertilized zygote. The main barriers to fertility for men relate to sperm production: low sperm count, poor sperm morphology or low motility of sperm. 

For couples with one or more of these barriers, there can be a variety of treatments that range from least invasive to highly intensive. Understanding what your options are can be essential to carefully weighing which ones are best for you and your partner. 

Redbook's No Shame Campaign "The Truth About Trying"

Recently, RESOLVE.org partnered with Redbook magazine to launch a campaign to decrease the stigma around infertility. Their campaign is called "The Truth About Trying" and has dozens of videos from celebrities and average people who have experience infertility. Their videos give testimony to their experience. They also have several articles highlighting the experience of infertility.

RESOLVE contacted me to ask for a video submission of my infertility story, and it was included with a dozen other videos as a part of their campaign. See my video below, and visit the Truth about Trying site for more videos like it. Redbook is inviting everyone in the infertility community to submit a video of their own and help dispel the myths surrounding infertility.

Perhaps if you find it hard to share your own journey with people in your life, you could show them videos that explain the experience of infertility to them.

RESOLVE--Infertility Awareness

I know I'm, oh, about 4 months too late to start talking about infertility awareness, but I suddenly truly realized how damaging it is. I was reading another poor girl's post on TMP, about how upset she was that she hasn't gotten pregnant yet---she's on her 3rd month trying.

At first, I felt exasperated. Because I'm one of the LTTCER's (Long Term TTCer) who has put in 24+ months in efforts to try to conceive...this may be very snobby of me, and it is hard to say WHEN someone has the right to complain that it is been too long, but 3 months just seemed WAY too early. Plus, it seems that about 1/2 of the women who make that complaint this early will get pregnant in another two months or so. Mostly, it makes me think about how long it is taking ME to get (and stay) preggers and my trying not to lose hope. I just kept thinking, "well, if she is finding it hard now, wait until another 10 months come an go and see where she is at."

But then I really started thinking about it. It is NOT her fault that she believes pregnancy should come easily. Infertility is a taboo topic in our culture. It causes most couples starting a family to accept the myth that "it's easy to start a family" or that "you're not normal if you can't get pregnant right away." That, plus all of the sex education given as a teen about how easy it is to get pregnant and how it is important to ALWAYS protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy leads a couple to expect that all they have to do is select the month they want to deliver, count back 10 months or so to stop any birth control and get ready for their new baby.

(To any teens or women seeking to prevent pregancy reading this, it IS very important to protect yourself because one thing I have learned is that the pregnancy fairy usually chooses when and how she grants wishes, and it is usually not to those who expect it. Let's say she has bad aim)

Those who haven't experienced it don't know how to deal with it, or are judgmental or political (aren't there already too many children in the world?). Those who are (or have) experiencing it don't talk about it because 1) They don't want to be (or have been) judged by others and 2) They feel alone....and that perpetuates that taboo!! Their belief of being alone, no one understanding, shames them into not talking about it openly with others.

I then felt resolve myself to remember that infertility is misunderstood and this is why so many women blame themselves and feel like a failure after 2 or 3 months of trying!!!

I had seen a lot of blog posts about this in April or May during National Infertility Week/Month and checked out the RESOLVE website. This is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to educating people about infertility.

I found a startling statistic--Infertility affects 1 in 8 couples of reproductive age. 1 in 8. Think of 8 couples you know of reproductive age. If you yourself aren't infertile, that means one of those 8 may be. And they are suffering in silence.

I firmly believe in educating ourselves, which is why when I start most projects I try to find out as much as I can. But, many people don't think to or don't know where to look. So, I want to do what I can to help educate others on infertility. Hopefully one day it will become a conversation where it isn't assumed to happen to an unfortunate few but as a prevalent issue among our society.

I especially love the resources the RESOLVE site has for discussing infertility. It gives several good options for responding to questions others ask regarding family-building efforts. Check it out!!