Fecundity?

[AshokanFarewell]

Apologies if this is the wrong place to post.

I had a pan-proctocolectomy in November and now have an ileo-anal pouch. I'm now having chemotherapy, so I've had some eggs frozen.

Apparently the surgery won't have affected my fertility but some studies show effects on fecundity. I've looked this up but I don't really understand what it actually means for my ability to have children.

I have a genetic condition so even if the chemotherapy doesn't make me infertile I will probably be having IVF so I don't pass it on. I won't be thinking about children for a while yet so it's not an immediate worry.

Would someone be able to explain what fecundity means in practical terms and whether it will affect my ability to have children through IVF?

Thank you in advance :)

Fecundity relates to your ability to actually carry a pregnancy and deliver a baby - so you may be fertile but not able to sustain a pregnancy. This might mean anything from needing extra monitoring all the way up to having to use a surrogate.

Also - you do know that IVF on its own with your eggs won't stop you passing on your genetic condition? You would need genetic screening of your embryos to prevent passing anything on - and this is a specialised extra step onto an IVF cycle.

Sorry things are so tough for you and good luck with everything.

Hi freelance thanks for explaining. I think you've given me advice before, about egg freezing. Although not what I wanted to hear at all. I'm going to speak to my surgeon about this as he assured me it would not affect my ability to have children! Maybe the research has been disproved by now clutching at straws

Thank you, I did know that about the IVF, I just didn't want to go into too much detail, just that I would be having IVF anyway in case that made a difference :)

I really hope everything goes well for you...I'll be thinking of you.

Thank you :)