Here are comments from a Drugwatch.com representative, We are currently raising awareness about the prescription drug Accutane, a drug used to treat acne. There is a current Black Box warning on Accutane, cautions consumers about its potential to harm unborn children that include birth defects, premature births and even death in babies when a mother has taken the drug. Additional serious side effects associated with Accutane use include depression, colitis, and liver disease. The drug is causing a significant amount of damage and serious harm to patients.

If you or anyone you know is taking Accutane and desires to have a baby, you need to learn more about the risks of this drug. The Drugwatch.com website is full of interesting information on all types of medications. It might be helpful to do a search on the medications you currently take to see how those medications might impacts your ability to get pregnant, stay pregnant or have a healthy baby.

For more information specifically on Accutane visit the: Accutane Lawsuit: page to find out how the acne drug Accutane causes the spine condition skeletal hyperostosis and other serious side effects like birth defects, ulcerative colitis, and depression.

The challenge of educating ourselves is to know what is true and what is not. For example, one of my friends is pregnant with twins after 8 years of infertility treatments. She has had some medical complications. She is also a nurse so she is comfortable with the terminology and isn’t afraid to ask questions. However, like the rest of us, she can find the most horrifying condition and speculate that is the one she has. My husband recently did the same thing — he thought he had liver disease when all it seems to have been was a virus.

My friend told me that since she was having some issues she decided to do some research herself. She then presented facts and some of her finding to her doctor. She told me that had she not brought up the possible outcomes of her medical condition the doctor might not have discussed any of the potential outcomes with her. If one of her diagnoses is correct, it could hamper the survival of one of her twins. A fact the doctor doesn’t seem to be too concerned with and a fact that scares her to death.

Doing our own research or learning more about the “what-ifs” can prepare us to ask our doctors the tough questions. What methods do you use to educate yourself about your infertility, your pregnancy, or your premature baby?

When my husband and I did the “clomid challenge” our Reproductive Endocrinologist made us sign the “selective reduction” waiver. We laughed as the nurse handed us the paperwork and then asked her if she realized the “clomid challenge” was only being done to see how I would react to the medications…it was unlikely we’d get pregnant due to our male factor issues. She was adamant we sign the waiver anyway, which we did.

But does signing the waiver that you’ll consider or agree to selective reduction if you become pregnant with high-order muliples make it binding? Can a doctor really force you to undergo this procedure? I’m thinking the answer is no. And how does a couple decide which babies to “selectively reduce”? I’m not sure I could do it. Could you?

Thanks to Dr. Alan Singer for alerting me to this article. The short Newsweek article is worth a read and I applaud Dr. Evans for writing on this controversial issue.

If you are interested contact Obstetrix for more information, 1-800-243-3839 (www.pediatrix.com).

My mom used Melaleuca briefly when I was still living a home, but she stopped using them once I moved away. I remember being disappointed she quit using the products because I loved them and even as a young woman loved the idea of using products that were not harmful to the environment. As such, I started using Melaleuca products in my home in 2005. It is nice to know that the products I use in my house are not fatal.

Getting back to ecostore USA. They offer a few household products as well as body care items. They sent me their Vanilla Soap. Once I saw the rounded edges on this natural soap bar I was hooked. It is one of the best all natural soap products I’ve used. I’m going to be ordering more this month! They offer other flavors too. Check it out: ecostore.

I’ve been using the Vanilla Shampoo on my twin daughters and they love it. It smells good and it lathers nicely. It doesn’t burn their eyes so it is very gentle. The nice thing about the ecostore shampoos and conditioners is that they are not any more expensive than the high-end brands, such as Rusk or Matrix/Biolage products. They have quite a few scents to choose from. Visit the ecostore website to see what forumlas would work best for your hair type.

And they even have pet care products!

Are these products slightly more expensive than what you will see in the grocery store? Probably. In these tough economic times people are watching their dollars. However, think about the products you use each day. What are you currently putting on your body? On your scalp? What are you using to clean your house? Are those products full of chemicals? If so, they are hurting your health. In addition, what chemicals are you exposing your partner and/or children too?

Sometimes the long-term benefits of more natural products outweight the current cost of the products. If you try something from ecostore USA, I’d love to hear about your experience.

Place an order from ecostore USA for $25 or more in April and recieve free shipping!

Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1256)

“The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to debate the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act” (H.R. 1256) very soon. This legislation, if enacted, would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution and sale of tobacco products.

Currently, about 10% of women smoke during pregnancy.  According to a 2004 report by the US Surgeon General, if all pregnant women stopped smoking there would be an 11% reduction in stillbirths and a 5% reduction in newborn deaths.  Enactment of this legislation would support a significant reduction in smoking among women of childbearing age by restricting deceptive marketing practices, limiting children’s access to tobacco products and preventing tobacco companies from misleading women about “reduced risk tobacco products.”

We need your help to get this bill approved-please contact your US Representative today!” March of Dimes

Another aspect of being pregnant after infertility are your friendships. Do your fertile friends know about your fertility treatments? Do your infertile friends know you are pregnant? What about single friends, friends who are childless by choice and those not by choice? How will your relationships with all of these people in your life change? Because they all will. No matter how hard you try to stay connected with your infertile friends to support them, your pregnancy might be a constant reminder of what they don’t have.Your friends without kids, well, they might not want to be around your kids or listen to your stories either.

We all want to think our friendship will be the same no matter what life events we experience. But sometimes things change even when we least expect them to. Here are some examples of how my friendships changed:

1. Billy and Sue were fairly good friends who we would hang out with regularly.  Billy and Sue are a few years older than us and are childless by choice. When Billy and Sue found out we were “infertile” they didn’t offer a ton of support, but would listen to our woes. Billy encouraged my husband to consider a life free of children. However, he was also my husbands support system when I was hospitalized for bed rest. Billy and Sue seemed genuinely happy for us when our twins arrived. They visited us right after their birth and continued to pursue a friendship with us. However, once our kids were walking and talking Billy and Sue became very distant. We are not the only friends they did this too. Another couple also had a child and shortly thereafter Billy and Sue stopped associating with them as well. It’s sad and we miss them.

2. Kristin and Kathy are good friends of mine. During my infertility Kristin was the shoulder that I cried on when I wasn’t crying in counseling. She was amazingly helpful. Kathy was also supportive during my infertility and more so during my pregnancy. For the first two years after K&A arrived we did a lot together. Now getting together seems to be more like pulling teeth. Their lives are busy since they have kids too, and one of them remarried. We pledge to get together, but it never happens. We are all to blame.

How did your friendships change with infertility? With a pregnancy, whether it was yours or theirs? Is there anything we can do about this phenomenon?

The other couple is about to be married. There is a slight age difference between him and her. He’s waited for the right girl and it has taken him longer than we had all hoped, but she is perfect and worth the wait! They are excited about their upcoming wedding and their new lives together.

We didn’t know the other couples at the party, but manged to socialize with them and make some new friends. All of us had children, except for the soon-to-be-married couple. I felt sorry for Mary having to listen to a conversation about kids so I moved toward her and started to ask her about the wedding. Many times she was asked about kids (not by me). “How many kids do you want,” was one of the first questions. Now that I’ve been through infertility and have become sensitive to the feelings of those struggling to get pregnant so I’m much more aware of the baby conversations. It’s interesting that women with kids assume that all women want to have kids. Granted, Mary was very happy to share her ideas on the perfect family and glowed when she talked about being a mother.

What I realized in this innocent conversation, is that is exactly what it is. However, when we are in the middle of the infertility struggle, this innocent conversation can be unbearable. I remember that we told our friends and family we were ready to try to have a baby. One of my friends even sent me a “congratulations your pregnant” card after I told her we were trying. Yes, even though it gets into your sex life, this is common conversation. We are fascinated with babies and talking about pregnancy, parenting, etc. At first I would glow as I talked about our soon-to-be-pregnancy. Then after 6, 9, and 12 months I no longer wanted to discuss this topic. Yet, I had brought it up in the first place months prior. Did you do this too?

When you find yourself in one of these uncomfortable situations, what do you do? How can we change the conversation?

In 2003/2004 is was common for Reproductive Endocrinologists transfer three or more embryos during an in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle. The day of our embryo transfer our doctor mentioned there were 3 embryos ready. My husband and I were both shocked as we had been expecting only 2…because that was what our RE had told us to expect. Our RE was holding the gadget and solution that housed our 3 embryos. My husband and I had to have an immediate “intimate” discussion in front of the RE and his assistant about whether or not we were comfortable with 3 vs. 2. Our RE helped push along to a discussion by stating that the risk for triplets was 5 percent and the risk of not getting pregnant was 50 percent. There was no mention of twins. There was no conversation about twins or triplets and what that might mean for our potential pregnancy. We opted to transfer the 3 embryos and were nieve enough to hope for twins.

In 2005/2006 the guildelines recommended a two-embryo transfer.  Now in 2009 they are suggesting a single embryo transfer for women under 35 with no previous failed IVF cycle and extra embryos (I think so they can try a frozen cycle if the fresh single embryo transfer doesn’t work).

Here are a few paragraphs from the ASRM November 2008 meeting notes:

ASRM: Adoption of Single Embryo IVF Transfer Still Slow in U.S.

” “Decision makers in government and the insurance industry need to consider policy changes because we need to remove the barriers and provide the right incentives for people to adopt a safer policy for embryo transfer,” said Dr. Macaluso.

The ASRM recommends that physicians and patients consider single embryo transfer in women younger than 35, who have not failed a previous IVF cycle, and who have extra embryos.

However, these are voluntary guidelines, and in reality, decisions “rarely lean towards single embryo transfer,” said Dr. Macaluso.

“A strategy for promoting widespread adoption of single embryo transfer must include education and motivation targeting patients and providers,” he concluded.

Despite widespread use of single embryo transfer in much of Europe, adoption of this approach has been slow in the United States, said several speakers at the meeting. ”

___________________

One of the key messages from Dr. Macaluso was that government, and specifically the insurance industry, need to consider policy changes. The insurance industry could save millions if they covered fertility treatment because the cost of caring for a premature baby (or two or three) with or without long-term disabilities is costing our health care system billions.

However, during a discussion I had with a woman from the Center for Disease Control she mentioned that patients don’t want to see infertility treatments covered by insurance because that might limit their ability to try for a multiple gestation pregnancy. She mentioned that people are fascinated by twins (I can say this is true from personal experience) and that people think premature babies are cute. Is this true? I get a lot of hateful comments on my blog post about why I don’t consider a baby that struggles for life to be “cute.” Did I think my daughters were cute, yes, because they were mine. But when my girls were living in a incubator and were dependant on breathing devices to live, my heart broke. Being small doesn’t make something cute – but maybe I’m alone with this line of thinking.

Is it more important to get pregnant as fast as possible or to have a healthy singleton pregnancy. Unfortantely, I don’t think there is a good answer to this question. If I was going through IVF right now I’m not sure I would be interested in a single embryo transfer (although I’m too old to fit their criteria now). However, knowing what I know about premature babies, I think I would take the safer route of having a single healthy baby.

This is a tough subject with a lot of emotion and financial consideration!

If you use Twitter, please tweet. You can find me @tinytoes.

The prematurity rates in the U.S. are 12.7 percent of all births (as of 2005 source: Peristats). That equates to 1 premature baby for every 8 births. A pretty scary number. And this number continues to rise each year. When a woman has utilized fertility treatments to become pregnant the risk of premature birth increases to about 15 percent (from 1 in 8 to 1 in 7). I’ve often wondered why the slight increase in risk of premature birth, excluding twins or high-order multiples, for women who became pregnant with assisted reproductive technologies. They didn’t mention infertility in this article, but I think the stress of infertility can be applied to their logic.

This article in the BBC addresses many life issues that can cause stress. A woman without a partner is more likely to give birth prematurely. If she has lost a family member or has experienced serious illness in the family, she’s more likely to give birth too soon. The article states that the effect of stress hormones can impact the womb. I don’t know about you, but my infertility journey was one of the most stressful life events I’ve experienced, only second to the premature birth of my twins.

While researchers are working diligently to determine what causes a woman to give birth too soon, other people continue to comment on my blog that prematurity is completely preventable (see the last comment at My Story). I take full responsibility for the premature birth of my twins. I used IVF/ICSI to get pregnant and as such put myself and my unborn babies at risk. At the time I didn’t know that 2 out of 3 twin pregnancies end too soon. Believe me, I know all of the risks now. However, there are many other reasons babies are born too soon. The research discussed in the BBC article is proof that there are circumstances beyond our control that may impact our pregnancies.

What I have learned through my volunteerism with the March of Dimes by attending conferences and talking with doctors is that we can do a few things to prepare our bodies for a baby. I think many of these concepts apply to infertility as well.

1. Eat healthy foods. We all know that eating well is good for our bodies and our energy levels. However, many people still eat poorly. Premature birth and infertility have been tied to obesity. While eating well is difficult during the holidays, the new year gives us a great reason to start new eating habits (notice I didn’t say diet – I’m anti-diet, but pro-healthy eating). I’ve introduced rice pasta into our diets and even though my husband protested at first, he actually likes it now. I need to reduce my sugar intake – something hard to do with cookies in the kitchen!

2. Exercise. I notice that when I exercise on a regular basis I have more energy and I feel better about myself. Even though my body isn’t changing shape, it feels good to get my body moving. Exercise is proven to help fight of disease too.

3. Take a multivitamin. An article I read in my doctors office recently listed many benefits of taking a multivitamin. I’m not a health professional, but the article stated that a multivitamin could reduce the chances of heart problems, cancer, and cataracts. A simple little pill each day might do wonders for your body. I recently got into the habit of taking mine and I swear it’s kept me healthier by giving my body the nutrients to fight of colds and the flu (we’ll ignore my bout with shingles…)

4.  Remove unnecessary stress. Yes, I hate this one too, but it’s true. Notice I said “unnecessary stress” which is different than stress. Some stress in our lives is good. It motivates us to meet deadlines or accomplish goals. However, the unnecessary stress is stuff that doesn’t serve us, such as a work or family conflict. Is there a way you could resolve the conflict to remove that negativity from your life and your body. Or jealousy of a friend’s pregnancy or healthy baby (I know I experienced this). What can you do to change the way you think about that friend so that you can be happy for them, but be okay being sad for you?

I want to know, what are you going to do in 2009 to remove the unnecessary stress out of your life and from your body?

The decision was made to offer only one Pregnancy & Beyond support group, centrally located, to gauge interest level before creating multiple locations. Two of us expressed an interest in leading the group and this could be a great arrangement where if one of us cannot attend the other could fill our spot for the night.

Last night was the first Pregnancy & Beyond support group meeting. Attendance was very light and the co-support group leader didn’t show. I think the idea of a support system to help women transition from infertility to pregnancy is a nobel cause. I wonder though, how many women would truly be interested in this type of support. Please provide your comments so that I can help the local RESOLVE chapter grow this new group into something that provides value to the community it’s trying to serve. Thanks!

P.S. Leave a comment and enter to win a copy of hope for the flowers by Trina Paulus! Contest ends Dec. 19th.

It was October 6, 2004. The Ob/Gyn who had refused to discharge me from the hospital just 2 weeks earlier when I was 28 pregnant was standing at the foot of my bed in the labor and delivery unit. He was explaining my options, basically he had decided a c-section would be the best option if my contractions didn’t stop. I was only 30 weeks pregnant and not ready for my twins to enter this world so early, so small, and so vunerable.

A little while later the neonatologist from the Neonatal Intenstive Care Unit (NICU) walked into my room and sat down. She made herself comfortable, she was planning on staying awhile. She explained the equipment that my babies would be placed in and hooked up too. After telling me that 28 week babies have the same survival rate of a full-term baby, she started to explain all of the complications that my babies might experience since they were 10 weeks too soon. Within a matter of minutes I was both reassured and scared to death.

A few hours later my body decided it was time for my babies to arrive. The doctors and nurses couldn’t stop my contractions with medications. My contractions were so strong that Baby A started to crown before they got me on the operating table. They didn’t have time to prepare me for the spinal tap (thank God) and Baby A was born naturally. Baby B, on the other hand, was transverse so they had to place me under general anestesia for an emergency c-section. Baby A was 2 lbs 11.0 oz and Baby B was 2 lbs 9 oz. They were wisked away immediately after their birth, placed on ventilators and encapsulated in an incubator.

Eight hours after their birth I would find out that my twins were both girls and shortly thereafter I would see them for the first time. It was 24 hours after their birth before I would touch them for the first time. I remember asking the nurse when/if I could hold them. The next 7 weeks would be full of ups and downs. The NICU is a place of wonder, but also a place of emotional trials.

One of our daughters, Baby B, was what they call a “feeder/grower” as she had mostly good days in the NICU and was able to progress easily with feedings and into a big girl crib. She was the rock that helped keep me sane while Baby A struggled almost daily.

Baby A got sick at day 9. They diagnosed her with NEC – a preemie disease of the intestine. When she was 5 weeks old she had her first surgery to remove the damaged portion of her large intestine. She had 2 strictures in her intestines that were blocking food from reaching her stomach. After surgery she had a colostomy for a few months. At 6 months of age she had surgery to reverse the colostomy and she’s been healthy since. The weeks prior to and immediately after Baby A’s first surgery were some of the most difficult of my life. Many days I thought she was going to leave us. I lost count of the number of times I saw her bagged (a form of CPR) because she stopped breathing. I’m sure there were times that the nurses and doctors didn’t inform me of – sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Shortly after Baby A became ill my labor and delivery nurse was walking the halls of the NICU. I stopped her and showed her my precious girls. I told her about one of the times Baby A stopped breathing and her blood oxygen levels were 3 percent (they’re supposed to be above 95 percent). She told me that all new moms are afraid their babies aer going to die. While I can appreciate the fear of a new mom, thankfully few of you have or ever will experience what I have. It’s not something I would wish upon my worst enemy.

There are many moms who have lost their babies. My heart goes out to them as I cannot truly appreciate how heartbreaking it must be to lose a child. Over 540,000 babies are born premature each year. Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn deaths, yet it receives very little publicity. I only hope that someday infertility, loss, and prematurity will receive more attention and more dollars for research and prevention.

I’m lucky that both of my babies survived. I’m thankful each and every day of my life for my good luck!

Once we found out that we needed to consider IVF/ICSI in order to have a child his mindset changed. He still didn’t seem too upset that we would never be able to have a child via spontaneous conception (i.e., intercourse). In fact, he was of the opinion maybe he wasn’t meant to be a father. Again, he didn’t seem too upset that life had thrown him a curve. However, I wanted to be a mom and his “oh well” attitude didn’t sit well with me.

During our IVF cycle I could tell this laid-back guy was stressed out. He was nervous about the procedures, worried that we just threw a bunch of money at something that wasn’t guaranteed to work, and how all of this would impact our marriage. When we found out we were pregnant with twins, he was once again a little nervous about raising two kids at once.

But when I was admitted into the hospital for preterm labor, this guy who doesn’t get upset about much and approaches life with pure ease became overwhelmed. He wasn’t able to support me the way that I thought he should, but what I didn’t know at the time was that he was scared. He was scared for our unborn children, he was scared for me, and he was scared for himself.

I recently read an article about postpartum depression in men. At first I chuckled at the article, but by the time I got to the end I realized my husband had a lot more emotion about the entire process than I ever gave him credit for. For some men becoming a dad means they give up all of their freedoms. I know that was an issue for my husband. Once he found out he was infertile I think he started to imagine a life full of travel and toys free from anyone or anything holding him back.

The article stated that male postpartum depression is almost as common as womens postpartum. Again, I dismissed this until I started to think about how different women and men are. The postpartum might be very different for the sexes, but I have no doubt it is just as difficult for the men to process and admit as it is for women.

Do you know how your partner is doing?

But it is a big deal. My girls are 4 years old and they are doing good. They seem to be developmentally on track with their full-term peers. If you were to look at them today you would assume they are fine and the fact that they were born premature is no big deal. However, prematurity is the leading killer of newborns in the United States. Also, many premature babies have physical or learning disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, hearing loss, vision loss, etc., because they were born premature.

In addition, so much of the development of a baby occurs within the last 8 weeks of pregnancy. The lungs and brain don’t fully develop until the end of the third trimester. Besides, having a baby spend time in the NICU is a less than fun experience. Not to say the emotional, physical and possibly financial drain it places on the couple (and especially the new mom).

As National Infertility Awareness Week starts and National Prematurity Awareness Month approaches in November, we need to be sensitive to not only the issue of infertility, but also that of premature birth. Women who undergo fertility treatments are at a slightly higher risk of having a baby born too soon.

For free teleseminars offer by RESOLVE this week, click here. They have established a members only resource of great information, lists of doctors, and much more. To learn more, click here.

October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in the United States. More than 25,000 children are stillborn in the United States every year leaving mothers, entire families and communities devastated. Estimates of the rate of occurrence of stillbirth make it at least as common as autism.

Stillbirth is not an intractable problem. Greater research would likely significantly reduce it’s incidence, but good research requires good data. H.R. 5979: Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act is under consideration by Congress. This proposed bill would standardize stillbirth investigation and diagnosis, thus providing more data for the needed research. Better research means fewer children born still.

On October 15th, remember the thousands of unfinished children lost and the families who remain to grieve them. Honor them by taking action. Let’s help pass H.R. 5979.

Joanna addresses:

• How long do you need to receive acupuncture treatments in order for it to help you achieve your dream of becoming a mom?
• How do you find an acupuncturist?
• Can acupuncture help male factor infertility?

And much more in this interview.

Creative Commons image courtesy of hradcanska.

Then after our twins were born premature we had dinner with friends who came to visit us in the NICU. At dinner they informed us they were pregnant, of which we were very happy for them. At that time, as happy as I was for my friend I was envious too. Getting pregnant was easy for them. Yet, we were spending our days and nights at the NICU because our IVF twins had been born too soon. It was too soon for me to really embrace the fact that we finally had children and it no longer mattered how easy it was for everyone around us to build their families.

My counselor had told me that once we had kids that I would no longer judge people by how easy it was for them to have a baby or that I would no longer care. She was right and wrong. While my girls were in the NICU, it still hurt. It hurt that we had to struggle. It hurt that after our struggle to get pregnant, we had to manage the NICU experience – which might be worse than infertility, I’m still weighing that one – and deal with the stresses of managing two babies at once, and premature twins for that matter.

As my counselor predicted, as my girls have aged, I have become less worried about how long or how easy it is for those around me to get pregnant. I am thankful for my children and have somewhat gotten over how hard it was to get here.

So last week I joined a friend for happy hour. We were having a nice conversation and then she said so quietly that I almost had to ask her to repeat herself. But when I saw the tears I knew what had happened. My friend had one miscarriage about six months ago. It took her some time to get back into the swing of life and I’ve been trying to support her as much as she’d allow. There was a time where she wasn’t too receptive to getting together so I waited until she was ready. The tears told me what I had almost missed her say, she had a second miscarriage. She saw the heartbeat and her body had started to display the signs of pregnancy.

I am no longer envious of my friend who could get pregnant so easily. In fact, my heart bleeds for her. I truly cannot imagine how devastated she is and how sad it must be to loose a baby once life starts to grow within you.

I’m doing some research for my friend to learn more about miscarriages, what causes them, how to prevent them, etc. If you have any advice, articles or sources of information that might be helpful, please leave a comment with a link or way to contact you.  Thank you!

P.S. Have you entered my contest for a FREE Male Fertility Kit from East West Essentials? Please send an email to info@twinpeas.com to enter.

As you may know, I’m a big proponent about providing information on the risk of a twin/triplet pregnancy. Although I truly believe and advocate for the right to assisted reproductive technologies (ART), I would love to see a reduction of twins because of the risk to the mom and the babies. I think you’ll enjoy the information Dr. Steinman provides in this podcast about spontaneous and ART twinning.

A few items we discuss in this podcast are:

1. What increases your chances for conceiving twins with spontaneous conception (vs. ART).  We briefly discuss how IGF applies (or doesn’t apply) to ART. Dr. Steinman talks about calcium – something you might want to discuss with your RE. Di d you know that ICSI results in the highest rate of ART twins.

2.  In spontanous pregnancies, age plays a role in twinning, but the reverse is true with regard to ART. Hear his thoughts and scientic information on both the man’s and woman’s age and fertility treatments.

3. His advice – be cautious when undergoing ART to minimize the risk of a twin pregnancy.

Insurance coverage – Dr. Steinman believes it would reduce the rate of twins. He agrees that one of the problems in the U.S. with regard to ART is the financial drain to couples. Hear what they do in Israel – you’ll want to move there!

His book is available at Amazon.com, click here to buy a copy!

Hannah tried artificial insemination (aka IUI) 3 times before moving on to IVF. During the middle of her IVF cycle her doctors stopped the procedure because they determined she was menopausal. She believed that she was meant to be a mom and decided to continue trying to have a child by changing her diet, detoxifying her body, adding antioxidants and made other nutritional changes to create a healthy body which would accept a pregnancy. In addition, she has a background in energy healing so she performed some energy work too. The result lead to a pregnancy and healthy baby. Six months after the birth of her child she became pregnant again — and after the doctors had told her she’d never become pregnant.

Hannah opens up in this interview and provides some excellent information to help you achieve your dream of motherhood.

To learn more about Hannah visit her website. She is also the author of a book called Birth, A Conscious Choice. She has ebooks too. Sign up on her website and receive an ebook for FREE. Need help removing those blocks? Hannah offers infertility coaching programs too.

I didn’t make up the name for the show, I was just an interviewee! Listen to me being interviewed about my book and infertility at the Fascinating Authors web page. The interview is only about 10 minutes long. Let me know your thoughts – was I right on or was I way off base?

To buy a copy of my book from the March of Dimes website – where I donate $5 per book sold click this link.

If you live in Colorado or have any friends/family there, I encourage you to contact them and ask them to oppose Amendment 48 when they vote in November.

Here is an email I just sent to my friends in Colorado:

In November there is an initiative on the ballet called Amendment 48. This Amendment states that a “person” begins at the moment of fertilization, which includes fertility treatments such as IVF. As someone who utilized IVF (in vitro fertilization) to create my family, this Amendment would take away the rights for other couples to have access to this treatment. If an amendment like this one is to pass, it would prevent children like my Kaley and Ashley entering this world and that would be a horrible shame.

Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice doesn’t really matter with regard to this Amendment. This amendment is not about abortion. As it would prevent women the right to have emergency surgery when they have a tubal pregnancy. Instead, doctors would wait her tubes to rupture and hope that they can save her life. It would also make it illegal to take the pill to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. There are many other health issues that would place the mother and/or the baby in danger if this amendment were to pass.

I beg you to oppose Amendment 48 when you vote in November.

Thank you.

Kelly

I personally didn’t utilize acupuncture, but I did utilize alternative treatments – mainly positive thought. As I discussed in a previous post, I used counseling and the power of positive thought to overcome the increased prolactin produced by my pituitary tumor. I can see how acupuncture could produce similar results as it directly impacts the body (and indirectly the mind).

If your contemplating fertility treatments, consider adding acupuncture or any other non-traditional method to prepare your body to welcome a baby. Acupuncture may not work for everyone. So if you don’t see any results from acupuncture, then try something else. One method doesn’t work for everyone.

Has anyone hear of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)? This is a process where you tap certain areas of your body, such as your forehead, temples, etc. and you can release your blocks. Sometimes we don’t realize we are standing in our own way of what we want, both in business and our personal lives. Here is a YouTube video on EFT (I don’t know this guy, but it gives you an idea of what it is about). It’s similar to the logic of acupuncture on healing your body.

Creative Commons image courtesy of jessamyn.

Better BedRest is a nonprofit organization that provides emotional and financial support to women on bed rest during their pregnancy. I recently read about Better BedRest in a publication that no longer is in print. As a woman who was on bed rest for six weeks, I understand how lonely and frustrating bed rest can be. It’s not a bunch of pregnant women sitting around eating bon bons while their partner waits on them hand and foot. It can be a very stressful and emotional time. I remember my hospitalization like it was yesterday. It was stressful, scary, boring, and lonely. Thanks to organizations like Better BedRest women have an avenue to manage their crisis easier.

Joanie is the founder of Better BedRest, but she too had a personal experience with bed rest and prematurity. Sometimes no matter what we do, our babies come early. She is on a mission to make bed rest during pregnancy less stressful for women and their families. Her organization offers small financial stipends too.

A few of the resources mentioned in this interview are:

Angel Food Ministries – With locations nationwide. They help provide food to families struggling financially at prices substantially lower than grocery retail prices.

National Center for Fathering – featuring blogs and resources on how to manage the relationships or issues around fathering, including marriage and work/family.

National Fatherhood Initiative – Another great resource for dads, soon-to-be dads, and husbands supporting wives.

Sidelines.org – a National High Risk Pregnancy Support Network. They have information and articles about infertility too!

March of Dimes – Website with information about pregnancy complications and an Ask Us Now email link to communicate with a trained health information specialist.

Remember, if you or someone you know is in the middle of a crisis you can always contact your local crisis hot line.

Better BedRest is hosting their annual fundraiser in November. If you would like to donate an item for their silent auction please send an email to Joanie or send the donation directly to Better BedRest at PO Box 212, Savage, MD 20763.

On one hand, I feel like the infertile community has another darn hill to climb. It’s not bad enough we were stuck with medical conditions that impact our ability to get pregnant, but now we find out that because of our infertility, we are at risk for delivering a low birthweight baby (or babies). Thanks for the double whammy! I rather enjoyed the experience and hope that some day women will not have to endure what I did to make it to the other side.

On the other, I am thankful that the resulting low birthweight babies are not CAUSED by fertility treatments. If that had been the case any potential future coverage by insurance companies would be nil. However, now with low birthweight being tied to “infertility” I’m curious as to how this may impact “existing condition” clauses.

It appears that the study had a few flaws (based on other new research) in that “fertile” women seem to be those that have already had a child (at least that is what I gleamed out of the articles). According to a different study, if a woman has had a previous pregnancy (single baby) she is less likely to deliver her second child (or twins) prematurely (IVF or not). One article on this topic of low birthweight specifically mentioned it was the “woman’s” infertility while another stated “couple’s” infertility. A little consistency would be nice.

So, even though I keep up hope that someday insurance will cover fertility treatments, I think more detailed studies are still necessary. What are your thoughts?

The newest addition to the celeb twin club is Angelina Jolie. The reports state that she was admitted to the hospital according to plan. I’m curious – who goes into the hospital for voluntary bed rest for 10 days? Not that insurance is a concern for her, but I don’t know many insurance policies that would pay for this. Not only that, but they delivered the babies 10 before their scheduled delivery “for reasons for comfort of the mom.” So, let me get this straight, everything was going okay for Angelina’s pregnancy, but she decides to check herself into the hospital 20 days before the “scheduled” delivery date (which I’m guessing was around 36 or 37 weeks gestation). Then they decide to move that day up by 10 days for her comfort? Following her delivery, she remained in the hospital for an extra 10 days, because “that is what they do in Europe.” Sounds pretty fishy to me. No one seems to know the original due date for the twins. But best guess puts in them around 35 weeks gestation (and their size is about right too). Keep in mind that Angelina has had a previous pregnancy, which is supposed to help women carry twins longer or with fewer complications.

Julia Roberts, who admittedly used fertility treatments, was on bedrest for one month when pregnant with her twins due to preterm labor. Her twins were born premature (born late Nov. 2004 and due Jan 2005).

Comedian Mo’Nique had twin boys who were born premature (weighing 3lbs 12 oz and 4 lbs). Mo’Nigue did have a previous child, but still became victim to delivering her twins prematurely. I guess having a previous successful pregnancy doesn’t always help (which I had recently read was something that helped prolong a twin pregnancy).
Marcia Cross, another celeb who admits to the use of IVF with no regrets, was placed on immediate bed rest when she was 28 weeks pregnant. She was able to get her preterm labor and/or other pregnancies complications in check as she had her twins only one month early.

Football player, Lawrence Tynes, and his wife, Amanda, had twin boys who where born two months premature. Their twins spent three weeks in the NICU.

Nancy Grace, a reporter with CNN, had her twins early too. (I think she utilized fertility treatments, but I’m not positive). She experienced pulmonary edema and her life was at risk. What many people don’t realize is that with twins and/or with age, pregnancy complications increase in rate of occurrence. Nancy is very happy to be a mom and recognizes that she is lucky to have two beautiful and healthy children given her health risks and the prematurity of her twins.

Actress Garcelle Beauvais-Nilson admitted to a 5-year struggle with infertility and conceived twins via IVF. Her twins were born at 34 weeks gestation. She had some pregnancy complications, but said “I was more than happy to have them out early” because of her weight gain. Please tell me that she didn’t say that.

No amount of money can buy you a healthy pregnancy. Infertility and prematurity don’t discriminate – they can happen to anyone. Both of these medical crises can happen to together. And speaking from experience, it’s not a lot of fun.

Please be cautious as you approach your fertility treatment plan and know your risks.

A new study printed in the Washington Post may provide the answer that can reduce the risk of a woman delivering premature twins after a successful IVF. Aaron and Malky over at The Second Time Around posted a link to this article the other day and then discussed it in their most recent podcast. So, yes, I’m copying their material.

What I love about this study is that it is a proactive approach to managing prematurity associated with fertility treatments. Wouldn’t it be great to know in advance that your uterus is too small to carry multiples? Then you could use this information to discuss the BEST treatment option for you and your soon-to-be child(ren). With this knowledge, RE’s could help reduce the rate of infant mortality and prematurity. Shouldn’t this be part of their responsibility anyway?

But, will it really change the outcome? A friend of mine called me last night to tell me that she was pregnant and that she was hoping for twins this time (she has two other children). I said, “After reading my book and knowing what we went through you really want twins?” Of which she said, “Yeah, that kinda scares me, but I’d really love to have twins.” The reality is that she is less likely to give birth prematurely because she has carried two other babies full-term. So, if she is in fact pregnant with twins, I suspect (and hope) that she’ll carry them to at least 36 weeks.

Even knowing the risks, we are so fascinated by twins that we’ll assume the risk of prematurity. Until we experience prematurity first hand (similar with infertility too), we have no idea how devastating it can be. I’m lucky, as are most women who give birth to premature babies, that my girls are healthy today. However, what about those who are not so lucky. This is about preventing unnecessary suffering for women and their babies.

Will this information change how you approach your fertility treatments?

Creative Commons image courtesy of ewar woowar.

Give FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products

Over the next couple of weeks the House of Representatives is expected to debate the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108). If enacted, this bill would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution and sale of tobacco products.Smoking during pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20-30% of low birth weight newborns, up to 14% of preterm deliveries and some 10% of infant deaths. Giving the FDA new authority to restrict deceptive marketing practices, limit children’s access to tobacco products and prevent advertising campaigns that mislead women about the risk of smoking could help in the fight to reduce preterm births.

This bill is an important step towards reaching the goals of the Prematurity Campaign and we ask you to contact your Representative today!