What Loved Ones Would Tell You, If They Knew What Infertility Feels Like

If you've been through the holidays while struggling with infertility before, you know the drill. As you travel toward gatherings of friends and family, your mind searches for the next best response to the inevitable question: “Are you pregnant yet?”

Fortunately, the Internet is now full of helpful tips for the people around you, advice on what not to say. But this article by Larami Williams on Divine Caroline offers more than that – she lists 7 things that infertile people want to hear from loved ones.

This could one of those links that gets passed around frequently this time of year. And instead of dreading the holiday gatherings, try considering that most loved ones really will say the right thing, once they've been enlightened about how it feels to long for parenthood. I and my staff at Houston Fertility Center wish you the warmest Thanksgiving ever.

~ Dr. Sonja Kristiansen M.D.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Celebrate Fertility Freedom

The Memorial Day weekend brings to mind time off from work and fun in the sun. It's also a time to remember those who sacrificed so we could enjoy that freedom. If infertility's a part of your life, it might be tough to conjure up this feeling of freedom -- but if you look closer, you'll see it.

Did you know that in some countries, egg and sperm donors are required to reveal their identity throughout the process? Since anonymity is what many prefer, the result of such laws is far fewer donors and fertility patients who must travel internationally just to get pregnant.

Even tighter restrictions exist in other nations where donor eggs are simply not allowed to be used for fertility treatment. Just imagine -- the only options available for these women is adoption, unless they travel to access IVF.

Just as incredible: freezing excess embryos is of questionable legality in some places. Imagine being lucky enough to create many embryos in an IVF cycle, but the law requires you transfer them all, increasing your already upped chances for multiples to dangerous proportions.

The United States continues to demonstrate leadership in the championing of individual rights, and this includes the health care arena. Fertility treatment is a highly personal choice and, so far, it's still very much up to the patient and her physician to decide which treatments to use and when. You can find out about the services we're free to offer at Houston Fertility Center's website, http://CallDrK.com.

Have a great weekend, knowing you're free to choose fertility treatment and make other decisions that are right for your life.

~Sonja Kristiansen, M.D.

Getting Through the Holidays with Infertility However You Can

Seasonal holidays are tough on the spirit when you're trying to get pregnant and can't. The Web is full of places you can go to and read or chat with others about ways to cope. Here are a few that I recommend:

Thanksgiving: To Attend or Not To Attend: That Is the Question
The title says "Thanksgiving," but this piece by Lori Shandle-Fox on Fertility Blogs covers all family gatherings with a light heart.

Infertility and Holidays: Don't Just Survive - Thrive!
Tracy Morris on FertilityCommunity covers a lot of different emotional tactics that can help you view holidays from a different perspective.

The Season of Giving
An interview with Kathy Stern of Southwest Surrogacy Associates, LLC about the role of giving in third-party reproductive treatment, during the holidays and beyond.

The Perfect Storm of Holidays: Infertility and Christmas
Melissa Ford taps into a perfect analogy with "The Great Peanut Day". Use it to explain your emotions to those who just don't seem to 'get it.'

Tips for Facing Infertility During the Holidays
On ParentDish, Mary Beth Sammons interviews a woman who's been going through fertility treatment for six years. Her personal advice - "what helps most is 'to know that I'm not alone.'"

There are plenty more out there -- just search for "holidays and infertility" and you'll see that, indeed, you're not the only one.

Weight Issues & Fertility Not Just a Woman's Concern

Here we are again -- the end of year holidays. This time can have a real double whammy effect on people trying to conceive. First, there are the joyous gatherings... with babies everywhere. Then, there's the abundance of food, much of it rich and not-so-nutritious. You know, the kind that's so much fun to enjoy too much of...

Why is food a problem for people trying to get pregnant?

By now you've probably heard about the impact that weight has on a woman's fertility -- both too little and too much weight can result in ovulation disorders. Also, overweight women increase their surgical risks even for procedures as commonplace as egg retrieval. But there's more research now that says men need to keep an eye on their fatty food intake, too.

At this year's meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, researchers presented evidence that men with the highest intake of saturated fat had 41% fewer sperm than those who ate less. Also, men who ate more omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, specifically, had better sperm motility and morphology.

There is some good news on the research front for men who are overweight. The low testosterone levels that apparently go along with high BMI (body mass index) do respond positively to clomiphene citrate (Clomid).

But on this eve of one of our country's biggest binge-eating holidays, I'd recommend having a double helping of the carrots and lay off the gravy a little bit.

Also see:

When Fertility Really Is About Your Diet

Weight & Fertility (from my April 2007 newsletter)