Here are two posts that I came across discussing things we do NOT need to hear and remind us all to think before we speak.
http://eyeheartinternet.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/10-things-not-to-say-to-your-infertile-friend/
and then an additional one inspired by the first one….
There seem to be many blogs available to hear about the woman’s side of the infertility journey but not many from the man’s side. So, I am intrigued by this new blog, In The Name of the Father, which discusses the fertility journey from the husband’s angle. Thought it might intrigue some of you others, as well.
Check it out at: http://fertilityguy.blogspot.com/
Could this finally be the test with all the answers?
Well, apparently the Church & Dwight Co., owners of First Response, aren’t getting enough of the almighty infertile dollar. Now there’s a new “fertility test” to obsess over even before you start trying this cycle. According to the product page, ”this an accurate test of FSH level to assess ovarian reserve (egg quantity and quality) – one of the leading single indicators of a woman’s ability to get pregnant.” Buy a 4-pack at CostCo for $18.99. 2 pack seems to run in the $20-$25 range. So, good luck this cycle and try not to be too depressed if you don’t “pass” this test the first time around!
Some time ago we posted about another group, the HOPE Pregnancy Loss Support Group, that also meets at St. Luke’s UMC. One woman actually attended the meeting last Tuesday and had some great comments, which are shared below. If you’ve suffered a miscarriage you might also consider this as another way to work through your grief. While my miscarriages were a few years ago, I’m still considering going now. Anyway, here’s the feedback:
“As for the HOPE group, I loved it. I really wish I had known about it months ago. There were about 15 women there and based on what was said it’s a pretty regular group with a few people coming and going each month. At the beginning of the meeting we went around the room and shared our stories and the discussion just sort of flowed from there. Most of the women have children at home, some have experienced infertility*(*please note that infertility is not the focus of this group), and others had their losses many, many years ago and still come to the meetings. Overall, the group seems to be very compassionate. The December meeting is actually an informal memorial service for the babies. They’ve also recently built a small garden as a memorial to the babies. You can buy a plaque and inscribe it with whatever you want and then it goes on the wall. I was just really impressed with these things. They don’t minimalize your pain or the life of your babies. If anything, the group affirms that your pain is real and acknowledges the existence and importance of the babies which were lost. Depending on what you’re looking for I can see the group being a really great thing. It was incredibly comforting and therapeutic to know that other women have experienced similar things, have struggled with the same feelings of pain, loss, anger, etc. The only downside I can see is that it’s difficult to listen to the experiences of the other women–they are truly heart breaking. In some ways it opened up old wounds and hurt, but I’m not entirely sure that’s a bad thing. I think that talking about it with other women may actually be beneficial in the long run.” - Recent Group Attendee
If you think this could be for you, please contact Rev. Marsha Hutchison at 317.846.3404 ext. 315 for additional details. They also offer one-on-one support.
Where Babies Come From Education Then and Now - From 22 pages to 457 pages
Not long ago I found the old book “Where Did I Come From?” my mom used to teach me about where babies come from in the 80’s. Then I was going through some of our books in the Resolve library and the one titled “How to Get Pregnant” stuck out to me because it is SO thick. After thinking about the two I had a good chuckle at how simple the original teaching was when I was probably 7 and how complex the teaching became in my 30s. I thought someone else might appreciate the irony so I’m posting a photo of the two books and their “stats”.
“Where Did I Come From?” by Peter Mayle - approx. 22 pages with big text and lots of illustrations (still available, by the way)
“How to Get Pregnant” by Sherman J. Silber, MD - 457 pages, small text and very few photos
When did baby making get so complicated?
