Fertility Blogs

a blog by Ellen S. Glazer, Mar. 11, 2010

Many years ago, I knew a psychiatrist who was going through infertility. She became pregnant during a particularly stressful time in her life, enjoyed an uneventful pregnancy and an on-time delivery of a healthy daughter. When I called to congratulate her, she said, “Please tell people that stress causes fertility.”

a blog by David Kreiner, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., March 9, 2010

It was quite shocking on Sunday when Disney pulled WABC Channel 7 from Cablevision. Three million viewers in the New York Metropolitan area were affected. My wife was distraught. Her favorite television shows -- Brothers and Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Lost -- were no longer viewable on our TV set. Not to mention the Superbowl of celebrity watching, the Oscars. Many were frustrated and depressed at the prospect of being denied the pleasure of watching the shows we have grown accustomed to expecting.

My wife and I never truly experienced infertility. We had a workup for recurrent miscarriages and it took us more than a year to conceive a healthy pregnancy in between our two boys and two girls. We were not denied the joy of building a family that we had learned to expect while growing up, observing our own, as well as our friends’ and neighbors’ families.

a blog by the editors, Mar. 8, 2010

Think about it: How desperate do you have to be to set fire to your own house?

Desperate. Last-resort Desperate.

Ralph Brown, it seems, was last-resort desperate to have a baby.

Brown, a volunteer with the fire department in Bennington, Vermont, is accused of setting fire to his own house on two occasions in order to collect insurance money to get his wife infertility treatment. Firefighters were called to his home on Feb. 26, around noon and again on Feb. 27 around 10:30 p.m. While the first fire was quickly brought under control, the second fire lasted longer and did more damage to the home. Brown has pled not guilty to numerous arson charges.

We read this story this morning and were struck by just how sad it is. Again, we were reminded just how inaccessible fertility treatment is to the average American.

a blog by Deborah Moore, March 4, 2010

I'm lucky. I have a gorgeous, perfect daughter who will turn 4 later this year. She is a shining light in my life, bringing my husband and me more joy than I knew possible. And yet, during this time of TTC for a second child, I find myself melancholy, unfulfilled and despairing.

a blog by marie lee, March 2, 2010

Cereal in the morning? Bread? Pasta? Love those bagels? Believe it or not, what was once considered healthy may be lethal to your fertility.

I used to love Sunday bagels, but then I felt terrible for the rest of the day. Bagels are made with HIGH gluten flour and gluten can cause problems for people who lack the genetic ability to break it down into smaller amino acids that can be absorbed. Because it doesn't get broken down, the immune system recognizes it as a "foreign protein," and attacks it. Gluten can act as an intestinal abrasive.

Gluten can also aggravate a thyroid condition which is also tied to your fertility. Apparently, people who have celiac disease, a disorder in which your body makes antibodies to gluten (and is also linked with infertility), often have anti-thyroid antibodies, and vice versa. Elisabeth Hasselbeck from The View had trouble conceiving until she was diagnosed with celiac disease and now she has *three* kids. A study from Harvard's Brigham and Women's hospital showed that people with anti-thyroid antibodies (also known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis) often can reduce the inflammation by following a gluten-free diet.

Given how important the thyroid is for regulating hormones (including fertility hormones), it seems like going gluten-free (not just wheat-free, gluten is the protein in wheat that is also found in oats, rye, spelt and is often ADDED to products labeled "wheat free") can't hurt and might help.

a blog by the editors, Feb. 26, 2010

Yesterday’s edition of the talk show The View focused solely on infertility. The show featured celebrity couple Giuliana and Bill Rancic, who are just getting ready for their first IVF following failed IUI cycles, Dr. Jamie Grifo, a fertility specialist at NYU Fertility Center, and two couples and a recently divorced woman who have infertility.

[Watch the full episode. Watch Giuliana and Bill's segment.]

The ladies of The View also talked about their own experiences with infertility. Barbara Walters adopted her daughter following three miscarriages. Sherri Shepherd had her son via IVF treatment following a failed IUI cycle and Clomid treatment. (She’s 42 and wants to have more children. She asked about freezing her eggs, but Dr. Grifo explained that at her age, she’s not a good candidate.) Elisabeth Hasselbeck had trouble getting pregnant until she realized she had Celiac Disease, and went on a gluten-free diet. She now has three children. Joy Behar had an ectopic pregnancy that almost cost her her life when her fallopian tube burst and caused internal bleeding. She has one daughter.

a blog by Ellen S. Glazer, Feb. 24, 2010

One piece of advice that I give to all my infertility clients is to “mark your calendars.” That may sound ridiculous to anyone who has dealt with infertility, since everyone knows how quickly one’s life can become ruled by the calendar. Months become “cycles” and cycles become measured by blood draws and ultrasounds. Some parts of the calendar are filled with appointments and activity; others slog by in waiting.

One thing is sure: infertility patients never forget their calendars. If they’re not planning cycles, they’re trying to figure out ways to avoid or cope with those dark spots on the horizon: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, Passover, a big birthday, a small one—all the times that remind them of what and who they are missing.

So why do I advise paying more attention to calendars?

February 2010

We were tickled when a nomination for Pamela's blog came showed up in our inbox because we've been fans of hers for ages! What we love about Pam is that she's out there speaking for the average woman struggling with fertility challenges. Honest, compassionate and forthright, she's a strong advocate but also down-to-earth and approachable. We're proud to feature her as one of our favorite bloggers!

Coming2Terms
Author: Pamela Tsigdinos

a blog by Ellen S. Glazer, Feb. 18, 2010

I’m a social worker (and a mother through both adoption and birth) and over the past four decades, I’ve counseled countless individuals and couples about their struggles with infertility, their pregnancies, parenthood after infertility, their decisions about egg donation, sperm denoation and gestational carriers. When I meet an infertility patient for the first time, I usually tell her (it’s usually a “her”) that I went through infertility myself. Before she looks too carefully at my over–age- 60 wrinkles, I quickly add, “about 300 years ago.”

O.K. It wasn’t really 300 years ago, but close enough. I went through infertility in the late 1970’s, right around the time of the birth of Louise Brown, the first person conceived through IVF. It was a long time ago and so much has changed in reproductive medicine since then.

I tell people that I have personally experienced infertility because there are some aspects of the experience that seem timeless. I want women (and men) who are currently struggling to build their families to know that although 30 years have passed, I can still remember what I was wearing, where I was standing and, surely, what I felt when my best friend told me she was pregnant. I can also remember when, about eight months later, I visited my friend and her daughter for the first time and burst into tears when the new parents briefly left the room.

by Cindy Bailey of the Fertile Kitchen™, Feb. 16, 2010

There are some who are resistant to the idea of giving up dairy for their fertility, and I understand where that comes from. From day one we are taught to drink our milk! That we need milk to get our share of calcium and protein, to make us healthy and strong!

But here are some realities about drinking milk — and consuming the myriad of other dairy products, such as cheese, cottage cheese and artificially flavored yogurt — while trying to conceive. First, there are studies that link dairy to a decline in fertility. One to take note of is this review of a 1994 study which links age-related infertility with dairy.

a blog by tori, Feb. 12, 2010

We're on a forced break from treatment and, the good news is, there's been one unexpected benefit: Our relationship is hot.

Let's face it, fertility treatments are hell on a marrriage, not to mention what they do to your sex life. You're either too hormonal to be interested in sex or too worried to "do it" because you’ve just had your procedure done. Or maybe you and your partner are just too down in the dumps to care about it. Sound familiar?

Well, I'm happy to report that over the last couple of weeks my husband and I have regained our semi-newlywed, mid-20’s sex life. We’ve also had lots of fun just flirting, laughing, watching movies, and playing games without worrying about the all encompassing, ever looming "treatment schedule."