The end of IVF?

[itchyandscratchy]

Sorry if this has already been linked elsewhere.

Article from the ST this week about alternatives to IVF.
I thought it was very interesting. We suffered from secondary infertility for 2 years and were referred for IVF. A few days before our first appt I found out I was pg with dd2.

But I do think that for unexplained infertility cases there might be something in this and it's defo something I would have pursued at the time if I'd have known about it. I'm convinced our 'infertility' was due to stress. It might also be no coincidence that I'd lost half a stone and was eating pretty well at the time of conception. Anyway, food for thought maybe...

[Caitni]

I think this is interesting but it's annoying that the article bangs on about women rushing into IVF - as some sort of choice because it's "easier" than natural conception. Sorry, but that's utter nonsense!

Also, I found the bit about IVF being "a waste of time" for women whose partners have low sperm counts extremely misleading. My partner has a low count due to previous treatment for testicular cancer and so ICSI was by far our best chance to get pregnant. It's nearly impossible to improve count (no studies that prove it's possible, though things like morphology can sometimes be improved) so without ICSI, not even IVF, we'd have been scuppered. I'd imagine the same thing applies to women with tube problems (all the acupuncture and vitamins in the world are not going to unblock blocked tubes).

In fact, I'm now pregnant after our first round of ICSI and every day I marvel at how medical science has evolved to the point where we have the chance to have a child together and I thank my lucky stars that we live in the 21st century.

And I speak as someone who spent the months leading up to ttc getting into physical shape - folic acid, avoiding alcohol, caffeine and soya, taking vitamins (both myself and my husband) etc - as I do believe that health/diet/exercise improves fertility and general well-being (which can only help in ttc) and I was (and still am) a fan of Zita West, who's got a similar argument to this pair. I then got more and more educated about charting my BBT, EWCM, having acupuncture (both myself and my DH) and trying just about every trick I could (even things like pre-seed, which I definitely didn't need!) as months and months (which turned into years) passed without me getting pregnant. We then had to come to terms with the diagnosis and face up to the tremendously scary prospect of ICSI and grieve for our lost chance to have a family the natural way.

Sorry for the long post, but I feel really strongly that IVF is a tremendous thing that is not taken lightly by the people or doctors involved. However, fertility as a whole does attact a lot of "experts" like these two, who do after all have a product to sell, who make money be setting themselves up in opposition, rather than in conjunction with, mainstream medical science.

Rant over!

[Twixie]

I have just been through my first(and only) round of IVF and am waiting to find out if I am pregnant in a couple of days.It was all smooth sailing until now - I can feel my body doing what it does when I have a normal cycle and I feel so sad and devastated.It's so hard to stay positive now which I had been up to 2 days ago...I do have a son already thank goodness so I am very lucky but he is as desperate for a sibling as I am for another child.I am 41 and this is the one and only chance I had (for which I am so grateful).Can't afford another round and the NHS refuses to help...anyway I'm just feeling low today and wondered if anyone else is going through this waiting game...just need some support!?

[OracleInaCoracle]

this type of article really irritates me, it makes it sound like ivf is the easy option when its really, really not. infertility can actually very rarely be "cured" by changing your diet/exercising/visiting a homeopath (and Im a qualified holistic therapist) these things can help women who have been ttc for up to a year, but past a year Im afraid I dont believe that something as simple as changing your lifestyle makes such a huge difference. this book is pretty much the same principle as TCOYF.