Conceivable Options

By Guest Blogger Mindy Berkson

The infertility diagnosis can be devastating and demoralizing. Unable to become pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term, women often feel inadequate, alone and depressed.  Infertility treatment is costly, and invasive. Success rates are not guaranteed and insurance benefits are often limited.  The emotional, physical and financial stressors associated with the infertility process are often challenging and overwhelming.

There is a dramatic rise in infertility today.  One in every five couples, or 7.3 million Americans struggles with infertility diagnosis—the biological inability to conceive or carry a pregnancy to full term.  Many factors can contribute to this staggering and continually growing statistic.  Most common are delayed child bearing, advanced maternal age, medical conditions, sexually transmitted diseases, obesity and environmental factors.  As women continue to work and delay having children, their needs with regard to infertility treatment, has also continued to grow.

Age matters in many aspects of life and definitely in the creation of life.  Women are most fertile between the ages of 20 to 28 with their fertility decreasing in half by the time they reach 35 years of age.  By age 45, only a 1% chance remains each month of conceiving naturally.  This is a startling fact considering the average age a woman has her first child has risen to a record high of 25.1 years with 20% of women waiting until they are 35 years old to begin their family.

An increasing number of women choose to delay childbearing due to further schooling, career choice, or are waiting to find their perfect partner.  Many individuals are choosing to be single parents.  While those choices are understandable and personal, as women naturally age so do their ovaries; affecting their fertility.  Oocyte cryopreservation, commonly known as egg banking, generally provides women up to the age of 38 a chance to stop their biological clock and effectively plan and preserve their fertility for the future.

Other treatment options to help overcome infertility include egg donation and surrogacy.  Egg donation involves retrieving eggs from a donor between the ages of 21 and 32.  Since success rates are linked to the age of the egg, using an egg donor can greatly impact the success rates for pregnancy after in-vitro fertilization treatments.  It is most common to use an egg donor in an anonymous arrangement.

Surrogacy is another widely available option to help overcome infertility.  Over the past decade surrogacy has become more acceptable as the laws in certain states have enabled couples and individuals to establish parentage at birth or shortly thereafter.  The most prevalent form of surrogacy today is gestational surrogacy where the surrogate candidate is not biologically related to the offspring.

Infertility treatment is costly, and unfortunately for most of us is not completely covered by an insurance provider.  If possible, the best course of action is to carefully review all of your benefits and payment options before you begin treatment.  Talk it over with your partner and have a financial plan that you both agree on.  Plan for multiple cycles, for two important reasons: you might have a failed cycle, and you might want to more than one child.  Know what the odds are for your diagnosis and treatment.  Have milestones for yourself about when to change treatment and when to stop.  For additional information about financial planning, a free download eBook is available on my website.

The pathway to parenthood is not always linear.  But understanding the available treatment options, planning and preparing the foundation emotionally, physically and financially can help you maximize your chances of success and minimize your financial expenditure.

As one of the first infertility consultancies in the United States, Lotus Blossom Consulting, LLC was founded by Mindy Berkson to arm consumers/patients with information and education to make the best medical choices.  Mindy has guided hundreds of intended parents through the stressful demands of the infertility process by providing professional and compassionate assistance in dealing with the emotional, physical, and financial barriers involved with third-party reproduction.   Mindy can be reached at 312-560-3102 or on the web at www.LotusBlossomConsulting.com and www.TheInfertilityConsultant.com.