Post from 2012- but still an important message for patients struggling with the emotional toll of infertility…. Sometimes wisdom can be found in the oddest places. I came across this quote from Winne the Pooh. “Promise me you will always remember: You are stronger than you seem, braver than you feel, and smarter than you […]
The other day I received an email from a patient who wanted to understand what it feels like emotionally to be an embryologist. I thought her questions were interesting and ones that most people in this field probably think about at one time or another – or obsess about always. First, I preface my answers […]
Is it possible to get addicted to infertility treatments? In her book, Passage Through Infertility Treatment: A Stage Theory“, Janet L. Blenner describes eight emotional stages that couples may work through on their way through infertility treatments, particularly those that do not resolve with pregnancy:“ experiencing a dawning of awareness, facing a new reality, having […]
For the last twenty years, I have been fairly obsessed with human fertility, both personally and professionally. Since 1995, I have been engaged in a profession that is clearly pro-life in that it seeks to solve the problem of human infertility, one patient at a time. I am also pro-choice. Those views are not opposites […]
It might interest you to know that the founder of the modern Mother’s Day holiday was herself childless. Two years after her own mother’s death, Anna Jarvis held a small celebration to honor her mother on May 12, 1907, and 7 years later in 1914 succeeded in establishing a federal holiday when President Woodrow Wilson […]
In recognition of National Infertility Awareness week which ends Saturday, Resolve asks bloggers to blog on the topic of patient issues and start with the phrase “Don’t ignore….” Here are my thoughts on the topic. Infertility treatments are complicated, expensive and emotionally distracting ….BUT you will NOT spend your whole life in treatment. There is […]
Sometimes wisdom can be found in the oddest places. I came across this quote from Winne the Pooh. “Promise me you will always remember: You are stronger than you seem, braver than you feel, and smarter than you think,” — Christopher Robin to Pooh. This is the message I hope to pass on to all […]
Most people can imagine that the autumn and winter family-centric holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukkah, and Diwali, just to mention a few, might be hard to endure if you are struggling with infertility, but Halloween, with literally hundreds of (some adorable, some not) children pounding on your door may be as bad or worse. There […]
Patients ask me lots of questions via “contact me” from this blog or via an infertility forum that I participate in called GenderDreaming. Lately, I have been getting a lot of questions from patients about should they choose Treatment Option A or Treatment Option B. I find answering these questions troubling for several reasons. First, […]
Exceptionalism, defined as, “The condition of being exceptional or unique” is a wonderful thing. Right? We love and reward the exceptional athlete, scholar or leader. But exceptionalism is a double-edged sword because of the second part of the definition,”The theory or belief that something does not conform to a pattern or norm,” can be problematic. […]
