Struggling With Infertility Treatment Decisions
Making Informative and Individual Decisions
Oct 2, 2008
Grow up, get a job, get married, have children. Aside from the house with a white picket fence, this completes what many view as the American Dream. But what happens when a couple struggles with infertility can endanger every part of this dream. The answer – if an answer truly exists – lies in exploring all options and ensuring the particular couple makes the decision that is right for them. Several options – many due to relatively recent advances in science and technology – exist. Each option comes with its own pros and cons.
When first trying to conceive, a couple may be steered toward less invasive, less costly aids. Clomid – a common brand name for Clomiphene – is often prescribed to the female as a first attempt to address difficulties in conceiving. Clomid aids in ovulation, hopefully stimulating ovulation in women who may not be ovulating regularly and providing some assistance in the timing of ovulation and, thus, the optimum timing of intercourse for the couple trying to conceive. Clomid is taken orally and creates limited intrusion into other aspects of the couple’s life.
More difficult are the decisions when relatively simple fertility aids, such as Clomid, are unsuccessful. Couples often turn not only to traditional medicine but to alternative aids – herbs, acupuncture and other treatments aimed at relieving stress and providing greater health for both partners. When these attempts still fail, some of the hardest decisions related to fertility must be made. For purposes of this brief article, three alternatives are presented: IUI (inter uterine insemination), IVF (in vitro fertilization), and adoption.
IUI provides significantly more stress on the couple, particularly the female, who must endure oral and injected medication to stimulate the ovaries and egg production. The humiliation often felt by males involved in fertility treatments of this nature also cannot be ignored. IUI can cost anywhere from about $1,000-2,000 per cycle. This procedure involves the use of hormones, monitoring of the woman’s cycle to ensure proper timing and placement of the semen in the uterus at the time just prior to ovulation. For some women, however, none of the above options are available. Each of the above options – with the exception of adoption – requires functioning fallopian tubes. For women with blocked or otherwise damaged fallopian tubes, infertility takes on an all or nothing nature – it is often, for these women IVF or adoption.
Though any fertility treatment creates great strain on daily activities, IVF presents the greatest stress both in terms of the actual process and the cost – often costing more than $10,000 (sometimes closer to $15,000) per cycle. Where economic stress finds itself included as one of the threats to marital and other romantic relationships, it is important for couples faced with the decision whether to undergo IVF treatment to consider the full impact these treatments will have on daily life. When fully considered and understood, these treatments can provide either a healthy, happy child or at least the feeling that everything that could be done was. But this route is not for everyone. Each couple should ensure that the decision made in this regard is one with which both individuals are comfortable and which was not influenced by the pressures of society or others.
