Blog

The Untold Stories of IVF

IVF abuse

Abuse and exploitation: ‘It’s an open secret in the IVF business’

Susan Bewley, an Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Women’s Health at Kings College London, witnessed the first women to die after IVF and has since written about the adverse outcomes from IVF. She gave a talk on abuse in the IVF industry at a recent gathering in London and provided permission to share her remarks…
Read more


June 8, 2019 3
reproductive science

Reproductive science: A big business that has avoided ethical microscope

Jessica Hepburn is an author and arts producer. After she endured 11 rounds of failed IVF she become one of the leading patient voices in the UK raising awareness of the struggles involved in creating a family. She is also founder of the world’s first arts festival dedicated to fertility, infertility, the science of making…
Read more


April 22, 2019 0
IVF industry trade group

IVF Industry Trade Group Uses Advocacy Non-Profit to Push Money-Making Agenda

IVF industry trade group, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), boosts pro-growth agenda with strategy to gain new payers for IVF In the last few years, ASRM has aggressively courted RESOLVE, once a purely grassroots group of women helping women get support for infertility. RESOLVE’s grassroots nationwide membership was its crown jewel. Eager to…
Read more


April 10, 2019 1
breast cancer

I went to my fertility specialist to have a child, I left with a breast cancer

My name is Camille and I’m French. I began the IVF process at age 39 and stopped after 5 rounds at age 41. I work in the fields of culture in Paris in France where I live with my boyfriend. My story: After 2 years of trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant, we opted for in…
Read more


January 18, 2019 1
IVF

IVF Chaos, Callous Care

Sarah, who blogs at Infertility Honesty, agreed to share her story.  ~~ The chaos began early and never let up. After shedding birth control, and during our first cycle trying to conceive, I didn’t feel quite right. Taking my body’s cue something was wrong, I visited my first reproductive doctor. He told me my ovaries…
Read more


October 3, 2018 5
trauma

Healthcare professionals not doing enough to address IVF trauma

Trauma surrounds infertility and IVF but it doesn’t get the attention it deserves in the media or by healthcare professionals. After an infertility diagnosis artist Elizabeth Walker (co-founder and co-director of The ART of infertility) shifted the focus of her artwork using a variety of mediums to express her experiences with infertility. She also began…
Read more


September 24, 2018 4
Dark Side of IVF

Dark side of IVF via STAT News Gets Views

Dark side of IVF stories are few and far between, but we’re helping to change that. We made history of our own recently. Our #UnmaskingIVF stories were heard, acknowledged and included in the #IVFis40th narrative thanks in large part to STAT, a Boston Globe Media health reporting website. The editors chose to include ‘our’ perspective…
Read more


August 7, 2018 0
IVFis40

#IVFis40

Editor’s Note: IVFis40 is the hashtag used by the IVF industry to both call attention to the messages it wants the public to see, and to generate new business leads. There’s another side to the #IVFis40 message. It’s #UnmaskingIVF This is our first photo essay created July 21, 2018, in the week that Louise Brown…
Read more


July 23, 2018 1
medical negligence

Medical Negligence | Soul Changing, Soul Destroying

Editor’s Note: The couple (based in Europe) who provided this essay prefer not to be named as their work with a private clinic led to a medical negligence lawsuit. We respect their right to privacy and appreciate their willingness to relive and share a painful experience. Here’s their story… Matters of the mind often appear…
Read more


July 16, 2018 1
Egg Freezing Jemma Kennedy

The fertility industry trades in hope but freezing my eggs has offered me none

Egg freezing is costly and emotionally draining. That’s just some of what Jemma Kennedy, a novelist, playwright and screenwriter learned first hand. Her latest play, GENESIS INC, opened this summer at the Hampstead Theatre. She has written and spoken about her ReproTech experiences since freezing her eggs in 2014. She gave permission for us to…
Read more


July 5, 2018 0