If you or someone you know is looking into fertility treatments, namely IVF, visit RESOLVE’s Center for Infertility Justice to find out how you can help move this legislation forward. A tax credit for IVF would be an amazing financial benefit for those of us who use medical treatments to build our families.

I have read the warning about TSS that comes in each packet of tampons. But I have not really taken warnings seriously. Based on the information on You Are Loved, I am going to make some changes to my monthly routine. And my changes will impact my daughters once they start to experience the joys of womanhood.

A Child After 40 was launched in May 2011 and provides an online support community featuring a new Summer Series of free educational Q&A Forums for midlife women. A Child After 40/FlowerPowerMom.com has been featured widely in the media since launching in 2009, including several interviews on CNN, and a multitude of radio programs and newspapers across the USA.

One of the stories in particular hit home as one of my girls had the same medical condition, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Like the baby in the book my daughter did not have “short gut” syndrome and is healthy today. We do manage her diet a bit more than we would have it she didn’t have NEC as a baby. NEC is a very scary disease as it can progress really fast and can be difficult to treat.

The book discusses both the devastation when a baby doesn’t survive and the triumph when a baby does well. There are stories in between as well where the baby does survive but has short-term or long-term disabilities.

The mention of breastfeeding as the best option for babies is through-out the notes sections as the end of each chapter. Breast milk is good for all babies, but especially for premature ones. There is discussion of kangaroo care too – an activity that I loved when my twins were in the NICU. Parents of full-term babies can use kangaroo care too! It is healthy for all parties.

Each chapter is short with enough details to inform the reader as to the circumstances of the baby’s NICU stay and the result. At the end of each chapter Dr. Hall provides insight as to the disease or issue associated with the baby as well as resources for further research/knowledge. At the end of the book she provides tips for parents to help them navigate the NICU.

Dr. Hall does not discuss the risks of multiple gestations due to fertility treatments, however there is no doubt she sees many babies that are the result of fertility treatments. There is mention of how fertility treatments have resulted in an increase in multiple gestation pregnancies and therefore prematurity in Appendix B.

The goal of the book can help parents with NICU babies or at-risk pregnancies prepare for their experience. By sharing a variety of stories with the reader she is able to capture most of the medical issues a parent of a preemie might endure.

To purchase a copy of For the Love of Babies visit: Amazon.com

To learn more about the benefits of the bill visit RESOLVE.

In order to participate in the calls on Monday, you must first send a letter to your representatives. Use the link above to do so.

Looking for ideas on how to participate in NIAW if there are no live events in your area? Visit the NIAW Challenge page for easy ideas on how to help spread the message about infertility awareness.

For general information about NIAW visit RESOLVE’s NIAW webpage.

The Tuckaroo is a bib that provides advanced collar protection from stain and wetness leaving clothes clean and dry. Today’s bibs, which feature a classic but flawed design, have failed to provide collar protection. This simple, but clever patented design will now save all mothers across America time and money.

Here is how Baby Delicious reinvented the baby bib.
Founder, Kerry Mazzacano, often gives her Italian Man scenario to explain this product. She starts by saying, “Imagine an Italian man in a restaurant who takes his napkin and tucks it into his collar; take that concept and apply it to a bib. It’s a bib with an extra piece of material that gets tucked inside baby’s shirt completely encasing the collar and protecting it from stains and wetness. I wanted to call it Bada Bibz, but felt Tuckaroo had a bit more mass-market appeal.”

The Tuckaroo is now available at these select buybuyBaby stores. If you live outside of the below areas simply contact any one of these stores and they will arrange to have your Tuckaroo delivered to a buybuyBaby store near you. (www.tuckaroobibs.com coming soon!)

Follow the Tuckaroobibs on Facebook click Boo the Kangaroo to Like the page.

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

The book Blowing Out the Candle is about one couples struggle to have a child not knowing the husband had a genetic disorder that was the root cause of their problems. They spent 8 years trying to conceive and sought out medical assistance in their journey.

To learn more about Blowing Out the Candle or to buy the book visit Amazon.

Another book from a male perspective is: What He Can Expect When She’s Not Expecting: How to Support Your Wife, Save Your Marriage, and Conquer Infertility! by Marc Sedaka. This book was featured on the Today Show. This book seems to be full of humor, but also provides great tips for the husband to help his wife through their infertility struggle.

To learn more about this book or to buy it visit Amazon.

When You’re Not Expecting: An Infertility Survival Guide by Connie Shapiro, MSW, Ph.D.
According to Dr. Shapiro, the features of this book that make it unique and compelling are:

• The focus of the book is on the emotional impact of infertility. This book speaks to the universal issues of loss and coping that stretch across decades.
• In addition to having a focus on the emotional needs of married women and their partners, her book is the first to address the unique issues of lesbians and single women who are trying to conceive.
• The chapters of the book follow the sequence of the infertility experience (which may include pregnancy losses) from diagnosis to parenthood choices, enabling the reader to concentrate on coping with current challenges as well as anticipating future issues.
• The book provides personal testimonies of over 200 women who have survived infertility with creativity, stamina, determination and humor. Readers will resonate with the issues in each chapter and will discover a wealth of coping strategies from which to choose.
• At the end of every chapter, there are therapeutic tips for readers to consider. This is the first book to combine the voices of infertile women with that of their therapist to create a sisterhood of credibility and compassion.
• Ultimately women with infertility who read this book will feel empowered because they will feel less alone, more aware of the complexity of emotions during their infertility journey, more able to ask for emotional support, more prepared to be assertive with health care providers, and more aware of options to explore in their quest for parenthood.

Dr. Shapiro has written When You re Not Expecting to reach not only women coping with infertility and pregnancy loss, but also the people in their lives who love them and want to provide support, but who don’t understand the emotional impact of infertility: partners, parents, in-laws, siblings, friends, counselors, clergy and health care professionals.

Dr. Shapiro also writes a blog for people with infertility and their loved ones at Connie Shapiro. This blog is also posted on the Psychology Today website: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/when-youre-not-expecting where it is frequently selected as an Essential Read.

To buy a copy of this book visit Amazon, Wiley & Sons, Barnes and Noble or Borders.

At the time I was in counseling, mainly to help recover from our infertility and the premature birth of our twins. My counselor had a saying, “Fake it until you make it.” I used to laugh whenever she gave me this advice, which was often. It seemed impossible to fake it and highly unlikely that I was ever going to “make it.” But I did.

The decision (and choice) to make an effort get along with my in-laws made a huge difference in my marriage. When I quit arguing with him about his parents we didn’t have much else to fight about. We started getting along better and having fun once again. It helped him in his relationship with his parents too.

An important point to remember about loving someone or hating them is that it is a choice. We choose every day whether or not we will make an effort to love. It is a lot less work to love someone than it is to hate them. Consider that when we hate someone we actually hurt ourselves too with the negativity that consumes us. When we love others – or at least respect and have tolerance – our heart is full of positive emotion, which is much easier and healthier.

Today, we are all taking a moment to focus on how love is much more powerful and effective than hate. Choose your words wisely and respectfully. Our beliefs and ideology may differ, but we can always agree to disagree politely.

To participate in the next Love Beats Hate event, learn more at the Love Beats Hate Facebook page

You can Like the Love Beats Hate Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/lovebeatshate. You can post a link to your blog on the Facebook page. Enjoy a day dedicated to politeness.

On the show we discussed the unfriendly legislation that was proposed in 2010 and what awaits the fertility community in 2011. There are a lot of groups who do not believe fertility treatments are a good thing AND they are going to work hard in 2011 to draft legislation that will prevent or make it hard for you to build your family.

In Arizona we have heard a bill is being drafted that will make surrogacy a thing of the past as a family building option. Couples who want to use surrogacy will have to do so in another state. We have heard rumors about a few other anti-fertility bills but we are waiting for final bill language. What is happening in your state?

Her show focuses on all types of issues related to infertility and family building. Shows in December were about nutrition; mental health for surrogates, egg donors and intended parents; reasons to laugh at infertility; international IVF and third-party reproduction; and more. Listen to past shows at Surrogacy Law Radio.

Gabrielle is offering, free of charge, a prayer / meditation in Theta, done every Friday, which will assist each person to enhance their financial abundance. By agreeing to participate, each person gives their permission to have their Higher Self called together on the etheric – which causes the combined energy of the group to raise the vibration of the prayer.

This is a personal, energetic agreement, you may only submit your own name for the Monetary and Financial Abundance Prayer Offering.

The more participants, the greater the potential energy shift! If you wish to be included in this prayer request, click Financial Abundance Program to register.

This video series was launched because embryo donation can be a challenge for some to understand. RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association launched a first-of-its-kind video series, in which RESOLVE’s executive director Barbara Collura answers people’s questions about embryo donation, an emerging family building option. The “So what exactly is embryo donation?” video series includes 11 short, one- to two-minute videos answering questions submitted by MyDestinationFamily.org visitors. For additional videos visit the archive at RESOLVE. Check out the videos and test your knowledge about embryo donation.

If you’re unable to join RESOLVE on Friday, visit RESOLVE’s MyDestinationFamily.org for a full re-cap of the interview.

Date and Time: November 6, 2010 from 8am-12noon. Registration at 7:30 a.m.
Location: 1111 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85006 (located at McDowell and12th Streets)

How YOU can participate:

The Adoption Seminar is an event dedicated to couples who desire to build their families through adoption. You will learn the differences in the application process between domestic and international adoption. You’ll hear how to choose an adoption agency, the laws regarding adoption, the rights of the adopting parents as well as the birthparents. Discover the countries currently allowing adoptions, their unique challenges, and the different requirements of each country. Other topics include: Adoptive Parent Panel, Adoption Home Study, Financing Adoption, and How to Get Picked.

Register to attend the event by November 4th. Visit: www.southwest.resolve.org. Walk-in registration accepted, but registering online will help prevent cancellation of the event for low attendance.

Basically, the video talks about how filming embryos as they grow the first few day may help doctors select the best embryos to use in an IVF cycle. The video is not clear about how common this technique is in practice, but it could be something doctors will start using in the near future. This is an example of progress toward perfecting IVF and reducing the occurrence of multiple births.

Take a few minutes to learn about filming embryos and ask your doctor if they use this technique: Filming Embryos Improves Chances of Pregnancy.

So much has happened the past few weeks in the infertility world. Journalists were busy writing articles about families that have had a baby using IVF since Dr. Robert Edwards won the Nobel Prize for medicine. If you haven’t read the article on CNN.com do so, it is a positive article on IVF (IVF doctors, families celebrate creator’s Nobel Prize).

So what does this publicity mean for IVF and other fertility treatments? That is yet to be seen, but it is wonderful to see the articles are positive about this medical procedure, finally. And people are sharing their stories. Yea!

I have been searching CNN.com for an article about families created using IVF (it should be dated after Oct. 4t). I was contacted by a reporter for the article but didn’t call her back in time to be included. If anyone has read it, I’d love to have the link.

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.

It is up to us, those who are currently suffering and those who have overcome* infertility, to speak out and share our story. I do so on Facebook all of the time. I frequently tell people my twins are a result of an IVF treatment, when appropriate. I am not ashamed of my infertility journey. My children are beautiful and mean more to me than life itself.

It’s time. Talk about your infertility so that we can make progress on advocacy, insurance coverage, and perception by the general public.

* not everyone will be successful through fertility treatments, so the term “overcome” encompasses those who had success via treatment, adopt or live childfree not by choice.

Join RESOLVE of Arizona and three local infertility experts to explore your medical and health options for building your family. Topics will include the basic infertility workup, low-tech treatments, IVF and third party reproduction. Guest speakers include Dr. Jay Nemiro, Fertility Studies; Robert Koagedal, AcuHealth; and Dr. Daniel Rychlik, Fertility Centers of Arizona.

To register for this event visit RESOLVE.

It would be great if couples who struggle with infertility would speak out and share their stories instead of suffering with the disease in private. Hopefully Keiko’s story (watch the video) will encourage you to do just that.

There are a lot of things I like about being a mom of twins, but there are many things that are not so fun. For some twins they might experience these highs and lows too. In Abigail’s book it seems that she found solace in her twinship, while her sister longed to be her own individual.

Abigail addresses many issues within her book that are often overlooked, such as twins via fertility treatments. In her interview with Twins Magazine she mentions “The hope in the chapter is realizing that Single Embryo Transfer (SET) is really effective and much safer. If that could be the new world and it could be covered by insurance.” AMEN! Thanks Abigail. This is has been one of my arguments for a long time.

Within the book are parenting tips for parents with twins. As a mom of twins I try to promote individuality, but the Abigail believes that encouraging twinship is good too. The book provides insight as to why some twin relationships are close and others are not. We make generalizations that all twins are close, but was with any sibling this is not always the case.

For more information about One and the Same visit Abigail Pogrebin’s blog and purchase the book from the store of your choice (options on the left side of the page).

Her blog post is titled: The 16 things you shouldn’t say to a CNBC (childless not by choice). If you want to learn more about what not to say to your friend or relative experiencing infertility this is a must read. If you are dealing with infertility you might find some solace in knowing you are not alone.

While it is not always easy, we should tell people that comments like these really hurt. If we don’t do this they will never learn. It is okay to tell them that if they continue to make hurtful comments you will stop talking to them or change the way to interact with them. What are you willing to “deal with” and what are the things that are not acceptable? Establish your boundaries and stick to them.

If you take the time to read this blog post you might start to wonder, as many of the commenters did, why didn’t Pamela adopt if she is so heart broken about not being a mother. You might need to read her book to truly understand the reasons why Pamela and her husband chose not to adopt. Not all couples want to adopt, just as many couples do not pursue fertility treatments.

So on this Mother’s Day, I hope that you will have compassion for those who have not been blessed with a child. For those women might be seeking treatment in hopes to have a baby, or they might have just spent their last dollar on another failed IUI or IVF cycle. And for these women, Mother’s Day is a reminder of what they don’t have.

Anyway, on to more relevant topics. In Arizona the Legislators passed the two anti-family bills, with amendments. It is my understanding that SB1306, the Egg Donor bill, imposes additional informed consent requirements for the doctors and egg donors but does little else to harm infertility patients. While some donors may choose to leave the donor program when they see the mound of paperwork they have to read and sign, most of them would have done so anyway. The women who really want to help other women have a baby won’t be putout by the additional paperwork.

SB1307, the ugly research bill that would have made IVF basically illegal in the State of Arizona is now an anti-stem cell and anti-animal/human hybrid bill. Seriously, who is creating an animal/human hybrid? The illegal immigrants? Actually, the animal/human hybrid nonsense was a front to pass Personhood legislation. Thankfully we were able to defeat the Personhood movement this year. The legislators have promised it will be back on the agenda for next year.

So, even though RESOLVE is bummed about the passage of both of these bills, they are much less harmful in final form than they were initially proposed.

A few lessons learned:
1. The legislators do not care who they hurt or why. They have their own agenda and they are out to please the group(s) that can help them get re-elected.

2. Negotiating with the legislators is stressful and frustrating. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. In our case, negotiations were the death of our opposition. However, another non-profit was able to successfully negotiate portions out of a bill to their benefit.

3. Your vote really matters. Who you vote for will determine which silly laws get passed. There are a few folks in my district who will not be getting my votes, ever!