Weeeelllll folks. What a long, strange two months it's been.
And what better way to re-enter the world of blogging than by posting about my favourite person in the entire world: CELINE DION.
No really, she's the devil but the lady has finally gotten herself pregnant after six attempts with IVF. And she's pregnant with TWINS.
"It's stressful but I'm relaxing. I look at my little belly. I do almost nothing," she says. "If you tell me I have to stay in bed, I will stay in bed until November, when the babies are born. To bring them into the world, there's nothing more important than that. It's incredible."
What I find interesting about the whole situation was this:
"My doctors had to constantly reassure me. I [wanted] to see the babies," she says. "Each week I had sonograms. I heard their heart beats."
Considering ultrasound still has not been proven totally safe (One or two is okay. Ten? Not so much), it is odd that she would have an ultrasound every week. It's all very Tom Cruise, if you ask me.
Anyway, glad to be back
Showing posts with label IVF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IVF. Show all posts
And then there were 12.
It was only a matter of time before someone would try and outspawn Octomum.
A woman in her 30s in Tunisia who has undergone fertility treatments claims she is pregnant with 12 babies, 6 boys and 6 girls. While it's not impossible to carry such a large number of foetuses, British experts say that natural birth would be impossible, warning that the strain of carrying 12 babies could lead to the woman going into labour at 20 weeks. It is unlikely that a doctor actually implanted 12 embryos. Experts believe the woman probably took fertility drugs before she was artifically inseminated.
There are no words. Very few babies survive before 22-23 weeks and even at that stage, you need to have high quality pediatric care in order to keep the babies alive. Why on earth, would you risk it? And even so, who wants 12 babies? Octomum herself revealed in a candid documentary that she has basically ruined her own life and that of her children selfishly choosing to have so many babies at once.
A woman in her 30s in Tunisia who has undergone fertility treatments claims she is pregnant with 12 babies, 6 boys and 6 girls. While it's not impossible to carry such a large number of foetuses, British experts say that natural birth would be impossible, warning that the strain of carrying 12 babies could lead to the woman going into labour at 20 weeks. It is unlikely that a doctor actually implanted 12 embryos. Experts believe the woman probably took fertility drugs before she was artifically inseminated.
Britain's oldest mum back to work
Welcome back to moral panic Monday.
Elizabeth Adeney, Britain's 'oldest mum' has given birth to her first son at the age of 66 back in May to a phalanx of media scrutiny. Criticised for being too old, a divorcee and for accessing IVF in the Ukraine, Adeney refused to talk to the media noting that she felt young at heart.
Now, poor Adeney is being slammed for returning to work 4 weeks after giving birth. Adeney was spotted being driven to work by a friend, leaving her newborn son Jolyon, with a live-in nanny. As Adeney gave birth by caesarean the Daily Mail further criticises her, speculating that her caesarean scars probably have not been given a chance to heal properly:
"Sue Jacob, adviser to the Royal College of Midwives, said: 'Hormonally women are still very delicate after four weeks and caesarean scars will not have healed properly. Babies still need the consistency of a mother's attention at this point and new mums especially will be exhausted.
'There's no reason why women should not carry on with their careers as soon as they are able. But it's only a select few women who are able to get the support necessary to do this. It isn't what we expect normal, ordinary women to be able to do."
As I said in an earlier post, the issue of having IVF at 66 and being an 'older' mum are actually separate issues. Elizabeth Adeney owns her own company, has a fabulous home and the ability to hire the support that she needs in order to help her be a good mother. I don't see why Adeney having a child at 66 is any different from older men like Larry King having young children well into their 70s. What really bothers me is that Adeney's reported 'desperate' desires for children throughout her life is being used against her. It's like, 'How on Earth could this women conceivably return to work *shock horror* when she wanted a child so badly'? GIve me a flipping break. Celebs return to work 2 minutes after they have babies and most of them use nannies and whomever else they can to help them get through the day as career women, wives/partners and mothers. If Adeney wants to go back to work, why is it anyone's business but her own?
Elizabeth Adeney, Britain's 'oldest mum' has given birth to her first son at the age of 66 back in May to a phalanx of media scrutiny. Criticised for being too old, a divorcee and for accessing IVF in the Ukraine, Adeney refused to talk to the media noting that she felt young at heart.
Now, poor Adeney is being slammed for returning to work 4 weeks after giving birth. Adeney was spotted being driven to work by a friend, leaving her newborn son Jolyon, with a live-in nanny. As Adeney gave birth by caesarean the Daily Mail further criticises her, speculating that her caesarean scars probably have not been given a chance to heal properly:
"Sue Jacob, adviser to the Royal College of Midwives, said: 'Hormonally women are still very delicate after four weeks and caesarean scars will not have healed properly. Babies still need the consistency of a mother's attention at this point and new mums especially will be exhausted.
'There's no reason why women should not carry on with their careers as soon as they are able. But it's only a select few women who are able to get the support necessary to do this. It isn't what we expect normal, ordinary women to be able to do."
As I said in an earlier post, the issue of having IVF at 66 and being an 'older' mum are actually separate issues. Elizabeth Adeney owns her own company, has a fabulous home and the ability to hire the support that she needs in order to help her be a good mother. I don't see why Adeney having a child at 66 is any different from older men like Larry King having young children well into their 70s. What really bothers me is that Adeney's reported 'desperate' desires for children throughout her life is being used against her. It's like, 'How on Earth could this women conceivably return to work *shock horror* when she wanted a child so badly'? GIve me a flipping break. Celebs return to work 2 minutes after they have babies and most of them use nannies and whomever else they can to help them get through the day as career women, wives/partners and mothers. If Adeney wants to go back to work, why is it anyone's business but her own?
Moral panic Monday: Britain's 'oldest mum' at 66
In case you missed it, everyone in the world seems to have their knickers in a knot over the pregnancy of Elizabeth Adeney, 66, now claiming the dubious honour of Britain's 'oldest mum'. Following on from many years of failed IVF attempts, Adeney fell pregnant after treatment at a Ukrainian fertility clinic. Most UK doctors refuse treatment to women of her age and also it is much cheaper to go elsewhere for IVF. Nevertheless, whether you agree with her decision or not, it is hard to deny that this poor woman is being unfairly castigated for choosing to become a mother at what is considered to be a socially inappropriate age. While on some level, I tend to agree that being nearly 67 when you have a newborn is morally ambiguous when you think about whether you will be around long enough to see the child into their teen years, at the same time I am appalled by the personal attacks on this woman's character, her ability to raise a healthy child and her position as a 'divorcee' in recent days. Has anyone forgotten about all of the famous men in their late 60s who have fathered children, receiving only pats on the back and knowing winks by other men for partnering with a woman nearly half their age?
Case in point: talk show host, Larry King. King, who became a father for the fifth time at the age of 65 in 1999 received only praise for having a 39year old (7th) wife and a baby on the way. Last year at the age of 73, he was praised for being a 'better father' to his two young sons, aged 7 and 8 in Ok!:
"Larry King enjoys being a dad at the ripe old age of 73. He loves to take his young sons, Chance, 8, and Cannon, 7, to Dodger games, which is something his older sons, aged 47 and 40, didn’t enjoy enough. “I’m a better father this time,” he tells intern Brandi Tape at The Quaker Smart Heart Café breakfast. “I have more time to spend with them, and I guess I care more.”
Argh. This makes me so angry. With regard to Adeney, who is expected to give birth by caesarean next week, one fertility doctor has said:
"I do not treat women older than 63,' he said. 'I don't want the child to be left without a mother before they reach 20."
If any of you saw Today this morning in Australia, Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt (whom I hate, by the way) had the nerve to say that Adeney was an unfit mother because she was divorced and because she was not providing the child with a father figure. This woman is the manager of a factory and earns a decent living.
I think the issues are being confused. Whether Elizabeth Adeney can be a 'good' mother is completely separate to whether it is appropriate for women over 65 to be able to access IVF. Older men seem to be able to get away with fatherhood late in life with no concern over the very real prospect that some of these men will not be alive to see their children finish high school. Women, on the other hand, are seen as 'past their use by date' once they reach a certain age and I think the threat of an 'older', 'single' and clearly financially secure woman choosing to have a child is what is really at the core of this moral panic about IVF.
Case in point: talk show host, Larry King. King, who became a father for the fifth time at the age of 65 in 1999 received only praise for having a 39year old (7th) wife and a baby on the way. Last year at the age of 73, he was praised for being a 'better father' to his two young sons, aged 7 and 8 in Ok!:
"Larry King enjoys being a dad at the ripe old age of 73. He loves to take his young sons, Chance, 8, and Cannon, 7, to Dodger games, which is something his older sons, aged 47 and 40, didn’t enjoy enough. “I’m a better father this time,” he tells intern Brandi Tape at The Quaker Smart Heart Café breakfast. “I have more time to spend with them, and I guess I care more.”
Argh. This makes me so angry. With regard to Adeney, who is expected to give birth by caesarean next week, one fertility doctor has said:
"I do not treat women older than 63,' he said. 'I don't want the child to be left without a mother before they reach 20."
If any of you saw Today this morning in Australia, Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt (whom I hate, by the way) had the nerve to say that Adeney was an unfit mother because she was divorced and because she was not providing the child with a father figure. This woman is the manager of a factory and earns a decent living.
I think the issues are being confused. Whether Elizabeth Adeney can be a 'good' mother is completely separate to whether it is appropriate for women over 65 to be able to access IVF. Older men seem to be able to get away with fatherhood late in life with no concern over the very real prospect that some of these men will not be alive to see their children finish high school. Women, on the other hand, are seen as 'past their use by date' once they reach a certain age and I think the threat of an 'older', 'single' and clearly financially secure woman choosing to have a child is what is really at the core of this moral panic about IVF.
Octo Mum admits 14 children is a bit much
Mother of 14 children, Nadya Suleman told Dr. Phil yesterday that her fertility treatments were irrational:
"At the time, I was just justifying my actions based on saying, 'Well, these are my children, they are extremely valuable -- their lives,' which is true, but I was not placing that above my others," Suleman said after Dr. Phil pressed for an explanation for why she decided to do in vitro fertilization to get pregnant after already having six children at home. "But my heart was in it. Not my head. I wasn't thinking rationally. In retrospect, would I have done that again? I don't know.
Source: Octo Mom Fertility Treatments
"At the time, I was just justifying my actions based on saying, 'Well, these are my children, they are extremely valuable -- their lives,' which is true, but I was not placing that above my others," Suleman said after Dr. Phil pressed for an explanation for why she decided to do in vitro fertilization to get pregnant after already having six children at home. "But my heart was in it. Not my head. I wasn't thinking rationally. In retrospect, would I have done that again? I don't know.
"It wasn't a realistic thing to do. It was irrational at the time, looking back. But then I was really reluctant to state that, because I don't want people to think, 'Well, you don't want the babies, you don't love them.'"
YA THINK?!Source: Octo Mom Fertility Treatments
Octuplets mum raises vexing questions
I've avoided talking about the octuplets mum..until now. For those of you who have been outside the realm of the mass media, a California woman has given birth to octuplets by caesarean section. It has been revealed, however, that this woman has six children already. Having conceived through IVF, when given the option to selectively abort some of the implanted embryos, she chose to keep all of them. I won't get into the ethics of this on the part of the doctor as this has been written about extensively elsewhere. I find two things very interesting.
1) I wrote about infertility the other day and how the pressure for women in their 20s to start thinking about their ticking biological clocks is a precedent established historically by the new 'empowerment' brought to women in a post-feminist world. I noted that as soon as certain groups of women gain power in the public sphere, institutional powers-that-be remind women of their 'duties' as wives and mothers and all of these moral panics about fertility start to emerge. Ironically, the next day, we hear about the octuplets mum and her growing brood of 14 children. If this women, is clearly, if not a little overzealously, fulfilling her procreative 'duty', why is it that the many commentators have gone to great lengths to establish this woman's insanity? It seems that fertility is only desirable when you are a 'good' woman or a desirable candidate for motherhood.
2) Although the octuplets mum has wanted to remain nameless, according to The Australian today, the unemployed woman is seeking $2 million from commercial sponsorship and media interviews in order to defray the costs of her children. She apparently has Oprah and Diane Sawyer on board for interviews.
What do we think? Would the picture be different if the octuplets mum was 38, happily married and employed?
Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24993121-2703,00.html
1) I wrote about infertility the other day and how the pressure for women in their 20s to start thinking about their ticking biological clocks is a precedent established historically by the new 'empowerment' brought to women in a post-feminist world. I noted that as soon as certain groups of women gain power in the public sphere, institutional powers-that-be remind women of their 'duties' as wives and mothers and all of these moral panics about fertility start to emerge. Ironically, the next day, we hear about the octuplets mum and her growing brood of 14 children. If this women, is clearly, if not a little overzealously, fulfilling her procreative 'duty', why is it that the many commentators have gone to great lengths to establish this woman's insanity? It seems that fertility is only desirable when you are a 'good' woman or a desirable candidate for motherhood.
2) Although the octuplets mum has wanted to remain nameless, according to The Australian today, the unemployed woman is seeking $2 million from commercial sponsorship and media interviews in order to defray the costs of her children. She apparently has Oprah and Diane Sawyer on board for interviews.
What do we think? Would the picture be different if the octuplets mum was 38, happily married and employed?
Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24993121-2703,00.html
Vindication for fat?
I've spent a lot of time on this blog attempting to highlight the discrimination and resounding medical bias against obese pregnant women. A new Scottish study perhaps vindicates overweight pregnant women who have been denied access to IVF without losing weight prior to treatment. According to the study, maternal age is a more important factor than weight when it comes to the success of the procedure. Dr Abha Maheshwari, clinical lecturer in reproductive medicine at the University of Aberdeen, said they had expected costs to be higher in overweight and obese women. "Everybody should be encouraged to lose weight, but treatment shouldn't be declined on weight alone." Although there are still significant risks associated with maternal obesity (obese women have more miscarriages than women of average weight), some doctors argue that fertility drugs can help to overcome the negative effects of obesity on fertility.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7790561.stm
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7790561.stm
Fertility police
As if the entire process to undergo IVF wasn't hard enough already, according to new legislation in Victoria, women seeking IVF will have to undergo CRIMINAL CHECKS in order to receive treatment. On top of the already long process of medical examinations and screening women have to undergo to receive treatment, the new bill would 'would deny people access to treatment if a conviction for sexual, serious violent offence had been recorded or if the person had a child protection order made against them.'
I thought it was particularly horrible when lesbians were being denied IVF without medical documentation of infertility. Now, all Australian women are going to be subject to what amounts to a criminal background check when they are already feeling pretty vulnerable. What is really astounding is that Australians with a criminal record are procreating willy nilly and no one seems to care because they can do it 'naturally'.
The Victorian police have no business or right to interfere with Australian wombs.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24562002-2862,00.html
I thought it was particularly horrible when lesbians were being denied IVF without medical documentation of infertility. Now, all Australian women are going to be subject to what amounts to a criminal background check when they are already feeling pretty vulnerable. What is really astounding is that Australians with a criminal record are procreating willy nilly and no one seems to care because they can do it 'naturally'.
The Victorian police have no business or right to interfere with Australian wombs.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24562002-2862,00.html
Nip and tuck and IVF?
Porn star Jenna Jameson is pregnant with twins. Seriously, what is the deal with multiples lately? Is all of Hollywood having fertility treatments? All of the twin pregnancies comes hot on the heels of new warnings from the British government about fertility tourism. Many British women are traveling overseas to receive fertility treatment and coming back with twin and triplet pregnancies. This, according to the British government, is costing the NHS because of higher costs associated with multiple pregnancies. Overseas clinics are apparently more inclined to transfer more embryos into the womb, whereas British clinics tend to only do one at a time because of the medical risks. The treatment is also considerably cheaper overseas. Australia has even jumped on the fertility tourism bandwagon. The Cairns Fertility Centre will open next year with a 5-star resort attached to the clinic. The director describes the centre as a "one-stop-shop" for conceiving couples looking for a bit of relaxation. In addition to the medical facilities, the 12-storey building would include luxury hotel apartments serviced by a swimming pool, gym, spa, barbeque area and restaurants. Beauty therapists will be on board as well as cosmetic surgeons. Apparently, the clinic will be the largest in the world. Women can have a nip/tuck while they also have IVF.
We have seen the future and it is not good.
Sources: http://tinyurl.com/4cumzr
http://tinyurl.com/3tpnwy
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSS1735973220080917
We have seen the future and it is not good.
Sources: http://tinyurl.com/4cumzr
http://tinyurl.com/3tpnwy
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSS1735973220080917
IVF: pregnancy waiting to happen
Gotta love a little media spin. 2 article about IVF on the same day using the same stats with very different arguments:
Headline: Celebrities give false hope to IVF mums
In this story, the Daily Telegraph claims that only 2% of women over 45 become pregnant successfully through IVF.
"Despite the increase in success rates in women over 40, the majority (over 40) who come for IVF treatment go away without a baby," he said.
Headline: IVF boost for women in their 40s
In this article, women in their 40s have apparently 'doubled' their success rate with IVF over the last 2 years. One doctor is quoted as saying the success rate now amounted to, "a realistic chance" for older women, particularly those aged 40 or 41."
Of course, both articles conclude that IVF is not an 'insurance policy' for women who wait too long. *sigh*
Sources: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24359180-5005941,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/5tjojh
Headline: Celebrities give false hope to IVF mums
In this story, the Daily Telegraph claims that only 2% of women over 45 become pregnant successfully through IVF.
"Despite the increase in success rates in women over 40, the majority (over 40) who come for IVF treatment go away without a baby," he said.
Headline: IVF boost for women in their 40s
In this article, women in their 40s have apparently 'doubled' their success rate with IVF over the last 2 years. One doctor is quoted as saying the success rate now amounted to, "a realistic chance" for older women, particularly those aged 40 or 41."
Of course, both articles conclude that IVF is not an 'insurance policy' for women who wait too long. *sigh*
Sources: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24359180-5005941,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/5tjojh
With a little help from science
The interwebs is all abuzz with word that the new Brangelina spawn were conceived using IVF. It seems that because the pair want to have lots of kids while they are still young, they decided to bank on the 25% chance that they would have twins through in vitro:The actress chose the procedure (which can cost around $12,000 a pop) so "she wouldn't have to deal with the stress of trying to get pregnant," the source tells Us. "She could just knock it out."
I don't have a problem with IVF necessarily and I think things become very complicated when we start judging what is 'ethical' when it comes to reproductive technology. I'm puzzled, however, because Ange is only 33. If indeed, she conceived Shiloh 'naturally' as everyone seems to assume, I would think she has many more years of viable baby-making time and eggs in order to pump out as many children as she so desires. I think it's kind of odd that she's turned herself into a baby factory. Humans carry one baby at a time for a number of evolutionary reasons. Twin pregnancies are extremely taxing on the body. Why do that by choice if you didn't have to?
Silicon womb more 'natural' than your own
"LONDON: A team of UK researchers will soon be conducting trials of a "silicon womb" inserted into a woman's own womb which incubates embryos to provide a more natural environment"
Right. I am clearly confused as to how a SILICON womb can prove to be MORE NATURAL than a womb inside a woman's body that is NOT SILICON.
Essentially, because scientists think that women's reproductive systems are too complicated and unpredictable it is better to implant embryos in a silicon capsule for women undergoing IVF because the embryos will survive better. It takes the 'guesswork' out of IVF.
Damn us women and our crazy fallopian tubes.
Pregnancies are supposed to be biologically precious. Evolution has made us work that way for a reason.
*Sigh*
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Silicon_womb_for_better_embryos/articleshow/2824683.cms
Right. I am clearly confused as to how a SILICON womb can prove to be MORE NATURAL than a womb inside a woman's body that is NOT SILICON.
Essentially, because scientists think that women's reproductive systems are too complicated and unpredictable it is better to implant embryos in a silicon capsule for women undergoing IVF because the embryos will survive better. It takes the 'guesswork' out of IVF.
Damn us women and our crazy fallopian tubes.
Pregnancies are supposed to be biologically precious. Evolution has made us work that way for a reason.
*Sigh*
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Silicon_womb_for_better_embryos/articleshow/2824683.cms
Marcia Cross bonds with new husband over petri dish
Finally, one celebrity is brave enough to admit that becoming a mother after 40 is a hard slog.Marcia Cross, from Desperate Housewives, admits that dealing with infertility was one of her first tasks as a newlywed. After unsuccessful tries with sperm donation and adoption before her marriage, Cross says she and her new husband skipped their honeymoon to try IVF:
We decided to skip our honeymoon and try in vitro after the wedding. I had already been through infertility treatments. It's very, very difficult to get pregnant in your 40s. It's costly and tough on your body and your relationship."
When she finally got pregnant with twins, serious complications arose in the form of preeclampsia which required an emergency caesar at 35 weeks as soon as she was diagnosed:
"I started having contractions at 28 weeks and had to go on bed rest for two months. I was constantly worried that the babies would be born premature," she said. "Then, in January, my eyesight started going, and I gained 12 lbs. in one week."
I find this to be so refreshing considering 1) it's pretty bizarre that so many celebrities are popping out twins...hello IVF! and 2) more famous women are having babies over 40. It's nice to have an explanation because it's not easy to have a baby past 40 and at least when celebrities admit that they've poured endless amounts of money into fertility treatments, there is less pressure on the average women to feel like a failure because she's 45 and still not pregnant. After all, celebrities are in many ways, the models for social life. The truth is that science is playing a significant role in the production of all of these babies of 'older' mothers and to pretend that it's risk-free and easy is not good for anyone. Did you hear that J.Lo?
Source: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20177921,00.html
Lesbians deserve to be mothers
VICTORIA is to make surrogacy available to infertile couples and ease restrictions on access to fertility treatment for lesbians and single women.
Looks like the shift in Australian government is making way for sweeping changes in state government as well. Lesbians will no longer have to be declared 'infertile' and drive across state borders in order to access IVF. Questions still remain as to whether gay couples will be able to adopt children but this is a huge step in Victorian health policy and a clear admission that gay women deserve to be mothers too.
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/state-overhauls-baby-laws/2007/12/14/1197568264930.html
Looks like the shift in Australian government is making way for sweeping changes in state government as well. Lesbians will no longer have to be declared 'infertile' and drive across state borders in order to access IVF. Questions still remain as to whether gay couples will be able to adopt children but this is a huge step in Victorian health policy and a clear admission that gay women deserve to be mothers too.
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/state-overhauls-baby-laws/2007/12/14/1197568264930.html
Inconceivable dilemma: Helena Bonham Carter and the myth of the 'older' mother
Actress Helena Bonham Carter discusses her struggles with infertility in the Sydney Morning Herald, a topic of conversation that most celebrity mothers tend to keep under wraps lest they damage their image of 'good' motherhood. Let's face it. Women who are infertile or who have difficulty falling pregnant are positioned culturally as 'failures' and in particular, 'older' women (especially over 40) are constantly represented as being 'selfish' for bringing a child into the world in a uterus nearing its use-by date.For instance, in an article about pre-conception diets for 'older' mothers today, the author uses similarly negative language to explain how women of a certain age can better their chances of becoming mothers:
"Women are most fertile between 17 and 25. Over the age of 35, one woman in three will have trouble getting pregnant. It's not always the woman's fault – in 40 per cent of cases the finger can be pointed at the male. There are various reason why a woman finds it harder to conceive in these later years – there may be a structural problem with the reproductive organs, like blocked fallopian tubes, or a disease of the uterus like fibroids or endometriosis. Most cases, though, are due to a failure of ovulation – eggs just don't ripen and release when they're supposed to. This is usually because of a hormonal imbalance – at an older age, the body isn't producing enough sex hormones at the right time and in the right amounts to ovulate successfully."
As you can see from the words I've highlighted, the language of failure is invoked in talking about certain women's inability to fall pregnant. This is almost always tied to insufficient biology; as a woman ages her reproductive capacities are seen to degenerate. She is no longer valued as a 'producer' as the quote above suggests. This is in spite of the fact that 40% of causes of infertility are due to issues with the woman and 40% of causes are due to issues with a male. Yet, in an article of this nature, men's problematic reproductive capacities are never discussed. The quality of a woman's eggs are always the most important site for criticism.
Helena Bonham Carter,currently 8 months pregnant with her second child, utilised Clomid to jump start her fertility after trying for many months without a pregnancy at the age of 41. She says:
"I had a terrible reaction to it," she says. "Many people think it is the only thing that's going to make them ovulate but as it turned out I was ovulating anyway. It stressed me out beyond belief. Hormonally, I was all over the shop and I got really low emotionally. Lots of people don't have that reaction but on the internet I found a Clomid club, with people who react to the stuff discussing it online."
Fortunately, Carter fell pregnant before she had to take the next excruciating steps into IVF. I find it interesting that a number of countries including the Netherlands are trying to enforce preconception care particularly because so many 'older' women are having babies. This is seen as a way to stem the birth of babies with genetic 'defects'. Although there is good research suggesting a healthy lifestyle is beneficial in pregnancy for a number of reasons, the idea that 'older' women can only produce 'damaged' good lest they eat x number of servings of green vegetables, cut out all caffeine and lose heaps of weight is problematic. As I've said before, government have complained for ages that too many 'young' women in their late teens and early twenties are having babies out of wedlock and are too irresponsible to look after children. Yet, now that women are having babies when they are ready, they are threatened with the prospect of birthing deficient children and for being castigated as selfish for holding off on motherhood.
Rebecca on proving 'I'm not a fat person'
After struggling to conceive for over 2 years, I am currently 7 months pregnant with an IVF miracle. Pre-pregnancy I weighed 50kgs and my body fat was 16 percent. On advice from my Obstetrician, I backed off the exercise and gained 4kgs. I believe this helped me to eventually conceive. I have so far gained 13kgs during my pregnancy and am now putting up with snide remarks about my weight gain. All I want to achieve is a healthy baby but I am being made to feel like my pregnancy is more about how big my butt is now as opposed to the fact that I am finally able to have a child at all! As much as I would like to say I just ignore the comments and move on, I do take them to heart and often end up in tears behind closed doors. I am now finding I can't wait for the baby to come so I can exercise again and 'prove' I am not a 'fat person'! Society puts too much pressure on women; when if ever, are we going to get a break?
Rebecca
Rebecca
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