The NPR stories discuss the real stories of the risk of twins.

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.

We all have limited time. In my case I am a mother, wife, teacher, consultant, advocate, volunteer, etc. I’ve had to make some decisions as to where my time is best spent. Before our infertility journey I was a business consultant. For the past 6 years I have been an instructor for undergrad and graduate students. I love teaching. Over the past year I have been asked to teach new classes. All of these new classes are directly related to the concepts I was using in my consulting practice. Instead of fighting the message the Universe is sending me, I’m following it. I’m jumping back into my consulting business. It feels like the right thing to do and I the ideas are flowing so naturally.

I’m going to continue my blog with more of an advocacy spin. I’ll be discussing many charities and how you can get involved. I’ll be sharing my story from the perspective of a patient in hopes that some of the lessons my husband and I learned can help others still in the treatment phase or those couples with a baby in the NICU.

I’m excited about the changes for the new year. I hope you find the change good too.

Happy New Year!
Kelly

Today, a friend of mine sent me an article about the lasting effects of having a premature baby; For Parents on NICU, Trauma May Last. My eyes teared up as I read that the trauma from having a premature baby is now being recognized as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (P.T.S.D.). Years ago I had an argument with someone that I thought I had P.T.S.D. and they told me that I was wrong because P.T.S.D. only results from war, rape, etc.

Thank you, Laurie Tarkan, for your article. I’ve already forwarded it to a few of my friends who will be able to relate.

The group meets once per month. A few months ago three gals attended the meeting and really bonded. A few weeks after that initial meeting one of the gals ended up in the hospital where the doctors tried everything to keep her baby inside (and did for 6 weeks). Her little girl was born at 26 1/2 weeks and went home August 1st. This woman received emails and phone calls from the other two gals from the support group meeting. It was very cool to watch the friendship grow between these three who only spent 2 hours together at one support group meeting!

Then a couple of weeks ago, another gal went into preterm labor and her babies (twins) were born too soon. This woman is a former NICU nurse so she is all to realistic about the battle her babies have ahead of them. The report she left me today, though, was that they were gaining weight and doing fairly well.

The third gal is due this weekend. I hope all goes well for her and her little girl.

My point is that sometimes women will need support once they become pregnant. Whether it’s to get advice about the best type of bottle, crib or stroller or to discuss more challenging issues such as postpartum depression or what to expect when bringing home a premature baby.

But most of all, I witnessed this miracle when my daughter Copy Cat was sick after she was first born. I credit the great care of the doctors and nurses for her survival, but I know that the time she spent in my arms played a huge part too. Studies show that when a baby is held skin-to-skin, called Kangaroo Care, by one of its parents his/her heartbeat stabilizes as does his/her body temperature.

Whether it is your baby, spouse, mother, father, friend, family member, etc. a simple gesture, such as a hug can do wonders. Give it a try today.

For seven weeks I communicated effectively with the medical staff in the NICU. I sat by my daughters’ bedsides and watched their every move and their every breath. I knew the details of their medications, schedule, status, etc. During rounds the doctors would often ask me my opinion about how my daughters were doing that day. They knew that I knew more about my girls than any of the nurses on staff.

A few days after my daughter Copy Cat had surgery she wasn’t eating. Before she had surgery she was having trouble breathing, something we learned that was due to the pain she had because of her illness. After her surgery she was breathing wonderfully. In addition, she was a great pink color and somewhat active. All characteristics lacking when she was ill. The nurses panicked because she wasn’t eating and thought she might be getting sick again. I thought she wasn’t eating because she was tired and her poor little body hadn’t been used to so much food. One of the NNP’s asked me what I thought. I gave her my opinion and they adapted Copy Cat’s feeding based on my feedback.

So, my lesson learned was that preparing yourself through self-education on a topic is helpful, but learning how to read and help your loved ones, we’ll that’s when you can make a real difference in the quality of their and your lives.

When my husband and I were diagnosed with our infertility I was obsessed in seeking out the ‘why’ and the ‘now what’ answers. Every answer I found only lead me to become more distraught over our situation. That was until we met our doctor. He was so confident that he could help us and his demeanor helped improve my outlook on the procedures. Once we started our IVF cycle, I was no longer obsessed. I stopped focusing on the negativity of our infertility. I gave up the need, the desire, to know absolutely everything about our treatment, the drugs, the tests, etc. Once I let go, the process unfolded fairly easily. I had been standing in my own way. (I do this a lot in other areas of my life too).

So, when we our twins were born premature and had to be hospitalized for a length of time, I trusted the process.  That doesn’t mean I didn’t ask the doctors and nurses a ton of questions. Instead, I found myself acting as though I was part of my daughters medical team. I found that by doing this, even though I was worried about their daily progress, I worried less than I might have otherwise. Empowered with information, I wasn’t obsessed about learning everything that could go wrong with a 30 week baby. When my daughter Copy Cat became ill, I used the knowledge from the doctors and nurses as my guide, not the Internet. I was stressed out. I was scared for their health and survival. But I was grounded and realistic.

While it is challenging not to fret about all that is wrong or all that could wrong, studies prove that stress and negativity only make the situation worse. I’m not going to tell you to relax as I see a big difference between relaxing and fretting! Although relaxing might help, good luck doing so if you are struggling with infertility or your baby is in the hospital. The worry, though, is something that is easier to manage – at least I found that to be the case.

What do you do to stop the worry? When you get upset, how to do come back down?

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?

One of the key findings of this report, which is a no brainer, is that women/couples would be more willing to purse the use of eSET if finances were not an issue with regard to fertility treatment. When the financial component is removed, most women/couples were willing to attempt a single embryo transfer (also with the hope that if the first cycle didn’t work they at least had one or two frozen embryos to use for a second cycle).

So, the question is, how do we convince insurance companies it is cheaper for them to pay for ART procedures than it is for them to pay for the premature multiples these procedures create? Any ideas?

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!

On Tuesday, April 14th, my girls and I will be interviewed by Channel 12 News on the Arizona Midday program. Tune in at 1 p.m. if you are in the Phoenix area.

With the tough economic times fund raising has been more challenging than in years past. If you would be interested in donating to our team visit: The Damron Dolls team page. Every dollar helps. Thanks for your contributions and support!

If you want to start your own March for Babies team visit: March for Babies and sign up for the event in your area.

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

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!

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?

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!

I recognize that people like to be noticed. They probably would have liked the article to be about them. But who cares which family is chosen for the article? What matters is that an article was written and the cause is being put into the public’s eye. Isn’t that what really matters? Most people don’t know that 540,000 babies are born premature each year. Any article on this topic is a good thing. Period.

In addition, the March of Dimes released their new report card on the United States. It seems to have gotten some attention as I’ve seen a lot of buzz via blogs and online news articles about how poorly we are doing as a nation with regard to these tiny citizens. Read more about the report card on the March of Dimes website.

Every time I see an article on infertility, premature babies or depression I am thankful that someone else is sharing their story. The more stories, the more people will start to talk about these issues that impact millions of people each year. All of these articles are about the CAUSE, not the individuals. An I hope to see a lot more of these articles, no matter which woman  or family is interviewed, so that one day infertility and premature babies get as much press as other diseases.

I’m not really surprised there has been little mention of November being a month to bring about awareness for premature babies. There was really no publicity for National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, which was October 15th. Or National Infertility Awarenss Week, which was October 19th-26th.

Why is it we give to little attention to infertility, loss, and premature babies, yet there is a ton of publicity for other medical issues? Can someone help me make sense of this?

P.S. To honor National Prematurity Awareness, I’m giving away 5 coupons for a free case, yes a full case, of Enfamil Lipil formula. The coupons expire 12/31/08 so you’ll need to take action fast. I’ll provide coupons to the first 5 people who email me with “Enfamil” in the subject line to info@twinpeas.com. I won’t use your email for any other purpose – I respect your privacy.

At this time too, my marriage was falling apart. My husband was less than supportive of my needs and continually put the feelings and needs of his family in front of mine. Even though I felt betrayed at times, I needed my husband. I would call him multiple times per day and give him the latest updates on our girls. It wasn’t appropriate for me to dump all of this bad news on my friends. It was hard to call my mom because I’d start to cry the minute she answered the phone.

In the middle of the month our ill daughter had surgery to remove part of her large intestine. Without the surgery she would have died. Watching a 5 week old, 4 lb baby being wheeled away to surgery was one of the most emotional experiences I’ve ever had. I paced and worried the whole time she was in surgery, but she returned and we were looking forward to her recovery. However, her first 3 days after surgery were the worst 3 days of her life (except for the day she first became ill when they gave her pain meds and she stopped breathing before the doctors had the vent attached…). She wasn’t getting better and I was devastated. But by the 4th day she started to show improvement and two weeks after surgery she came home with us.

The day we brought our twins home was Thanksgiving. It should have been a joyous occasion, but it wasn’t. Misunderstandings, hurt feelings, miscommunications, and much more turned this holiday into a horrid day that ended up lasting for months.

Many times people get so caught up in their hurt feelings or opinions and forget what is going on with others. In our instance, no one was giving us (especially me) credit for all of the stress of infertility and then premature babies. They were focused only on what I did, and not the circumstances or events that took place prior to my actions (long story…). When it should have been about my daughters it was about them.

As the holiday season approaches remember that everyone is doing the best they can with the knowledge available to them. We could have avoided many of the mishaps of our Thanksgiving disaster if we had communicated better with my husband’s family. Also, we (especially me) should have established some rules – as horrible as that sounds it would have saved a lot of heartache and arguments – a safe space and safe topics.

Four years later I approach the upcoming holiday with apprehension, but also with an open mind. My relationship with the in-laws is better and we are able to enjoy family gatherings. Create a space that works for you – it’s amazing how this one small change spurred positive changes in my interactions with the in-laws.

P.S. Enter to win a free copy of Hope Happens, just leave a comment between now and Nov. 15th. This book has great quotes to inspire and calm you as you prepare for the crazy holiday season.

It was a fun interview – I hope you enjoy it. Please listen at: Finding Your Diamond Radio.

P.S. If you want to create a business around your passion, I recommend Elmas at Diamond Life Creators.

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.

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!

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.

During break I approached him to discuss the problem of twin pregnancies and the risk of premature birth. I mentioned that RE’s don’t do a very good job of communicating the risks of multiple gestation pregnancies to their patients, to which he agreed but stated that it is his goal to get patients pregnant otherwise he wouldn’t be in business.

Then I mentioned that I thought that insurance coverage would help with this issue since the insurance companies could put guidelines around fertility treatments and what they would and wouldn’t cover. His response, “Insurance is the worst thing that we could do in this industry. It doesn’t work and fails in the states where it is currently offered.” Our conversation turned a little heated after this. We discussed the State of Illinois, which offers mandated insurance coverage. He said it doesn’t work there because a woman who is unlikely to get pregnant with IVF will “use” her 3 cycles and then a woman who has a chance won’t get the coverage because it was used by the first woman. I said, “Maybe the mandates were written poorly or the insurance guidelines could be changed so that it works better.” He quickly disagreed that insurance coverage of any kind would work in this “industry.”

We argued about how if I was to be diagnosed with cancer my insurance policy would pay for my treatment. To which he argued not everyone has insurance coverage or sometimes cancer is considered a pre-existing condition. Okay, I agree with that. But if my policy covers treatment options, my cancer will be treated whereas infertility treatments are not. His argument was that if everyone had cancer coverage the insurance companies would have to raise their premiums so much that no one would be able to afford insurance. To which I argued that if the rate of premature birth was to decrease from multiples that are the result of fertility treatments the insurance companies could stand to save A LOT of money. Caring for a premature baby is substantially more expensive than a few fertility cycles.

I mentioned the financial stain of fertility treatment and how it wasn’t fair that someone had to choose between adoption or an IVF cycle because they only had money to cover the cost of one of those options. And that it wasn’t fair that infertility, which is a disease, wasn’t covered like most other illnesses. His response, “The cost of an IVF cycle is less than that of a car. If people really want a baby bad enough they’ll come up with the money. It’s only 10% of the cost of raising a child, which over a child’s lifetime is minimal. People who cannot afford cosmetic surgery find the money and cosmetic surgery is more expensive than an IVF cycle.”

If you have read the book, When Nature’s Not Enough by Diane Glick, you’ll remember the stories of the couples struggling to “find” the money to continue with treatments. In that book there are two couples who lost the fight to have a child because they ran out of money. One couple spent over $100,000 trying cycle after cycle to get pregnant. Now that is a lot of money to ask a couple to “come up with.” Another younger couple could only afford to purse one treatment cycle because their jobs didn’t provide the financial means to continue “coming up with the money.”

Are you floored? I was. The debate continued. I said, “Everyone has to pay for a car, but not everyone has to pay to have a child.” He continued with, “People will find the money.” …What I wish I would have said in response is, “Yeah. But when I fork down $15,000 for that car I drive away in a car, but when I fork down $15,000 for an IVF cycle all I walk away with is hope that it works.” Not only that, people need a car to commute to work, buy groceries, etc. It’s not a valid comparison. I must admit I was shocked by the lack of care or concern for couple’s and their financial struggles in addition to their emotional stress.

We finally had to agree to disagree.

This doc is “world renowned” for his expertise and success rates. I’m sure that when you are his patient he is a very nice guy and works in your best interest to get you pregnant. He even stated that his clinic has the lowest number of multiple gestation pregnancies in the State of Arizona, which is good to hear. However good he may be, I’d be hard pressed to recommend him to anyone going through infertility treatments. His lack of concern for the financial aspect of treatments hit a cord – it was one of the points that almost lead to me and my husband divorcing during our infertility struggle. These RE’s are the highest paid docs in the business because there is no insurance component. Is it greed or true lack of concern for couples struggling with infertility?

Does anyone know how the insurance industry works? I’d love to learn about these “pools of money” I keep hearing about with regard to how one person will receive coverage while the next person won’t. Please contact me.

Help support my efforts and my blog. Buy a copy of my book Tiny Toes.

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?