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Posts Tagged ‘Pregnancies’

Are Miscarriages a Sign of Infertility?

Friday, May 13th, 2011

A miscarriage occurs when a pregnancy ends of its own accord somewhere before 20 weeks of gestation.  Unless a miscarriage occurs very early along in a pregnancy, the woman typically experiences a number of recognizable symptoms, including cramping and bleeding.  Where a miscarriage is suspected, a woman is typically taken immediately to a doctor or the ER.

Following a miscarriage, many women feel emotionally depleted.  This is understandable; not only have they lost a child, but their bodies are forced into a sudden (and intense) hormonal change.  A shift of this type can create a host of psychological outcomes, including depression, mania, anger and moodiness.

Miscarriages occur in about 10-25% of all pregnancies, according to national statistics.  But are they indicators of female infertility?

The short answer is: not necessarily.

Because of the commonality of miscarriages, one (or even two in a row) does not mean a woman is incapable of carrying a child to term.  It simply means she did not carry that pregnancy to term.  A miscarriage occurs for many reasons; thus, there is no reason to immediately assume female infertility is the “culprit”.

With that being said, a miscarriage isn’t a medical experience to be ignored.  If you have had a miscarriage and you continue to have difficulty becoming pregnant, you may want to connect with a reputable fertility clinic such as the Philadelphia area’s RSI.

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The Big Fertility Treatment Myth

Monday, April 25th, 2011

“You’re getting fertility treatments?  Oh my gosh!  Are you ready to have triplets… or more?!?  How on earth will you deal with that???”

It’s one of those innocent statements that often rolls off the tongues of friends and loved ones, but it’s only indicative of one fact – that the media has done a poor job of educating the public on what fertility treatments really entail.

First and foremost, it’s important to realize that just because you’re going to a fertility specialist does not necessarily mean you’ll have multiples.  In fact, a very small percentage of people who go to reputable clinics like the Philadelphia area’s RSI for assisted reproductive techniques (ART) eventually have twins, triplets or more.

Secondly, not all fertility treatments have any (or much) bearing on multiple births.  Sure, IVF is spoken about repeatedly on the Internet, television and radio.  And IVF’s multiples rate is higher than for “normal” pregnancies (often said to be about 10x the normal rate.)  But it isn’t the only fertility treatment on the market.  Other fertility treatments, such as taking Clomid or similar drugs to essentially “jumpstart” ovulation, have a much lower rate of multiples (as low as 5% depending upon which medical journal/study you cite.)

In the end, it’s important to educate yourself (and your partner) and not make assumptions.  You’ll no doubt hear the “multiples” comments several times over the course of your fertility treatment journey, but take heart in knowing that just because you consider ART, you aren’t guaranteeing you’ll need two or more cribs!

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Celebrating a Long-Awaited First Birthday

Monday, February 7th, 2011

A couple in Plano, Texas just celebrated the 1st birthday of their twin daughters. After years of facing infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, they finally achieved their dream of becoming parents through a somewhat unique method. They used a gestational carrier, which is like surrogacy in the sense that another woman carries a couple’s baby for the term of pregnancy for them. Gestational carriers differ from surrogacy in that the pregnant woman and the baby or babies she is carrying do not share any biological connection. A surrogate mother’s own eggs are contributed to the baby she carries. When a couple opts to use a gestational carrier, an embryo is created of his own sperm and her own egg(s) and the embryo(s) are then placed into the uterus of the gestational carrier by way of IVF.

 

This couple’s journey included five miscarriages of pregnancies achieved through intrauterine insemination (IUI). At the recommendation of their fertility doctor, they took the route of using a gestational carrier and have been overjoyed with the results! They took advantage of the laws in Texas that allowed them to utilize this method of assisted reproductive technology. The laws vary in every state regarding surrogacy and are even more strict when it comes to gestational carriers. We congratulate this Texas couple on their success and joy over their one-year-old daughters!

 

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IVF Treatment without Needles?

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

One of the common concerns faced by numerous women undergoing (or planning to undergo) IVF treatment is that they’ll have to become intimately acquainted with needles.  Though most females simply accept this as a reality, some do decline IVF based on their serious loathing of shots. 

Reproductive health specialists and scientists have long recognized this stumbling block and are now testing a shot-free IVF treatment.  This needleless treatment takes the form of a vaginal progesterone cream, which requires no invasive techniques. 

Rates for pregnancies for the small group of participants who helped with initial research were the same as traditional IVF treatments (with needles.)  However, some women did still experience side effects in line with shot-related IVF procedures.

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