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The Untold Stories of IVF

IVF miscarriage

The Side of IVF You Won’t Hear About in the Media

‘Bamberlamb’ is from the Midlands area in England and was 34 when she began IVF after two ectopic pregnancies in her twenties. She waited until she was 34 due to a waiting list for IVF on the NHS.  After her IVF miscarriage she began a blog about living with infertility. She works full time as…
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May 16, 2018 14
IVF

IVF Left Us Traumatised and Heartbroken

Former IVF patient Professor James Arvanitakis is a Lecturer in Humanities; Dean, Graduate Studies at West Sydney University; a writer and a contributor to ABCNews24 Breakfast. In 2012 he was named Prime Minister’s University Lecturer of the Year. He wrote the following piece for the The Sydney Morning Herald and agreed to let us share…
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April 24, 2018 2
'fertility' industry

Questioning the ‘Fertility’ Industry

Writer Christina Gombar first posed a provocative question about the ‘fertility’ industry lobbying efforts in 2009: Should IVF Coverage Be Mandatory? In a stand against RESOLVE’s stated goal to “control the conversation,” she agreed to let her 2009 post be shared further. ~~ Should IVF Coverage Be Mandatory? A couple of Decembers ago, I got…
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April 11, 2018 2
IVF

IVF Revisited: Emotional, Physical and Financial Torture

I am 39 years old and from Australia. It’s been 10 years since ending IVF treatment in bitter disappointment; 14 years since starting to ‘try’; 16 years married; 20 years together. My story: I was in an administration job I hated when we first started IVF but after treatment failed I went back to university…
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March 1, 2018 3
False Hope

When IVF Clinics Deliver False Hope

False hope doesn’t serve anyone well, yet it’s predominant in the IVF industry. IVF is often misrepresented or portrayed in an overly simplified, one-dimensional way. Further, the ‘medicalizalization’ of IVF and clinic emphasis on selling cycles and promoting protocols subverts a patient’s emotional needs. In a podcast with fellow former IVF patient Cathy Broadwell, Pamela…
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February 2, 2018 1
Treatment

Once Down the Treatment Rabbit Hole You Are Never Done

I am a Montessori preschool teacher with infertility. Seven years ago my husband and I did a year of treatments including four rounds of IUI. All of our treatments failed. We never got pregnant, and we never knew why. The diagnosis after treatment remains “unexplained infertility.” Infertility treatment was one of the worst times in…
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January 31, 2018 1
UnmaskingIVF

Egg Retrieval, OHSS Risks Highlighted by ‘We Are Egg Donors’

Egg Retrieval Risks Have Not Been Well Documented or Studied A new effort by ‘We are Egg Donors’ co-founder Raquel Cool aims to surface stories from young women who were paid to provide their eggs. Many face adverse health impacts. A video by Raquel — shared by Our Bodies, Ourselves (OBOS) and, below, here at…
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December 28, 2017 0
IVF clinic

IVF Clinics Don’t Explain ‘Horrendous Grief’

Lucy is a 34-year-old legal secretary from Farnborough in north east Hampshire, England. Her story in her words: 10 May 2013 was truly a beautiful day. I turned 30 and got married to the love of my life. I couldn’t wait to start our own family. The doctors said it was normal for a lady…
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October 23, 2017 5
Fertility doctor

“This is an Easy Fix!” and Other ‘Fertility’ Doctor Lies

Michelle is a 33-year-old teacher from Texas. Her story in her words: The love of my life and I married at 28 and 22.  I couldn’t wait to start a family with him.  Motherhood was what I hoped and dreamed of since childhood.  When my friends would talk about what they wanted to be when…
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October 9, 2017 3
OHSS

OHSS: “I felt like I was suffocating”

My name is Kathryn. I once thought IVF = baby. How wrong were we. Seven years since our first IVF (we’ve had eight cycles) and it still hasn’t worked. If I had read about those that it didn’t work for maybe I would have been a bit more realistic. I am now in my late…
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August 19, 2017 12