Fertility Treatment Myths Debunked
Categories: Pregnancy & Birth
Nadya Suleman, infamous mom of octuplets, doesn't make motherhood look easy. But IVF? For her, that's a walk in the park. After all, every one of her 14 kids was born through in-vitro fertilization with donor sperm. At her age, which is 33, women have about a 50% chance of getting pregnant using IVF.Moms of mega-multiples like Suleman have brought fertility treatments into the media spotlight. But while a lot of people recognize these now-famous faces (and their children), what isn't well-known by the general public is the real process behind the pregnancies. IVF is a lot of things -- difficult, painful, hopeful and rarely simple.
- Soon, you'll be able to order up a super-baby, just like you order a Big Mac. Not so, says Live Science. Designer babies aren't in the cards, at least for the time being. You can choose your embryo's sex, however.
- IVF works for everyone, I mean, look at that woman with 14 kids! In reality, success rates hover around 33 perecent, depending on a woman's age. Women over 40, for example, only have about a 5 percent chance of conceiving using their own eggs.
- Well, sure. But there are always egg donors, right? Sure, if donating means selling. Egg sellers are typically women in their 20s who can earn up to $50,000 for their eggs, but they risk plenty in the process, too -- both their health and their fertility.
- I have a friend who started IVF and then got pregnant on her own. Women just need to relax. In fact, the IVF process "turns off" a woman's fertility, at least in the short term. Her cycle is controlled by artificial hormones.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mary Sullivan 3-05-2009 @ 11:17AM
Hmm, I think I'd come down on the side of "perpetuates myths." I had a friend who lost her marriage to the stress of many IVF attempts. She and her husband were ultimately blessed with beautiful twins, but it was a long, hard road. I hope folks don't think Nadya Suleman's story is reflective of most women's reality...in any way, really. She's, uh, an exceptional person, and I'll just leave it at that :) Very much hoping her kids will get what they need and do okay.
regards,
Mary
http://www.squidoo.com/lovestamps
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Sandyone 3-05-2009 @ 12:44PM
One of the biggest problems with IVF is that it tries to circumvent the problems, rather than figuring out what the cause is and fixing it at the root.
NaproTechnology (and other methods of NFP) have much better success at actually fixing the problem and achieving healthy pregnancies (and healthy, rather than high risk labors). I wish I could remember what the numbers were, but they were way more impressive (and incredibly cheaper) than the artificial methods.
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