Infertility Survivors Finally Heard
My inbox has overflowed recently with new requests for writing and guidance as well as comments about the painful lived reality of IVF and egg freezing. The academic and bioethics world is also paying more attention to IVF survivorship. Here are some of the latest deep dives into the lived IVF reality. IVF Marketing Scrutiny…
Loss lives on in ways large and small following an infertility diagnosis and failed IVF. This truth permeates the world of IVF survivors. That’s just one of many topics explored in a new Life Beyond Failed Fertility podcast with yours truly now available on iTunes and on Spotify, Podomatic, and Amazon. Loss Reflections When the podcast…
Life after infertility brings unique challenges and stormy seas … in time, however, we acquire a quiet assurance and insights particular to those seasoned by turmoil, as those of us who have confronted infertility, know well. Recently, an interview request from an Australian editor provided a chance to revisit 10+ years of experience and the wisdom…
IVF add-ons are the dirty little secret in the ‘fertility’ industry. These interventions are the latest in a long history of the industry experimenting on women. As I moved from IVF patient to patient advocate I’ve had the opportunity to monitor the industry from a unique perspective. You can see it unfold the past decade…
Abuse is a strong word. A formal definition of abuse is to “treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly.” Mistreatment is one synonym. Linking Abuse with IVF I will travel from the U.S. to London later this week. Once there I will collaborate with clinicians, bioethicists, social scientists,…
Michelle Obama can help educate her audiences and followers about the reality of IVF and its risks.
Private Life breaks new ground by not flattening or sugar coating IVF. This film instead presents a multi-faceted story complete with the hellish, inhumane clinic experience and callous staff. Every ounce of the indignity that accompanies IVF is here to see. You will realize moments into Private Life that Tamara Jenkins, the writer and director…
Fertility clinics have operated with impunity for 40 years. New reporting, though, raises issues about their business motives and commitment to patient well-being. If you’d asked me 12 years ago, will the headline “Fertility Clinics Under Fire” ever run on the cover of an international women’s magazine, my answer would likely have been: What, Why?…
Editor’s Note: I researched and wrote this piece, As dark side of IVF slowly comes into focus, even more transparency is needed, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of IVF. My thanks to the editorial team at STAT, the Boston Globe Media health site for publishing it. Excerpt: I was 15 in 1978 when Louise…
IVF is a Sausage Factory I was not Prepared For… So writes Professor James Arvanitakis in an essay for The Sydney Morning Herald. Oh how we hear you, James. We are immensely grateful for your honesty. In a few paragraphs you painted a clear picture of what it feels like to be on the receiving…