Something to Celebrate

25th July 2008

posted in TTC |

As many of you know, Louise Brown, the first test-tub baby, turns 30 today. Even though I was only eight when she was born, I remember the controversy. My mother, a deeply religious woman who had three children of her own the old-fashioned way, was a bit shocked. She thought it was unnatural and that it messed with the natural order of things. At the same time, she understood how heart breaking it would be for a woman who could not get pregnant naturally. She loved being a mom.

I also remember watching a Phil Donahue show on test tub babies, where many in the audience expressed their outrage about the use of such complex technology to aid conception. I didn’t know what to make of it because I was so young. I barely understood human anatomy and reproduction, let alone the contraversy around egg retrival and in-vitro, but nevertheless, Louise’s birth story it did leave an impression on me.

Today, as you know, many of the issues and ethical questions remain the same but I’m not going to go into all of that here. Personally, I’m still in shock about the fact that I’m close to starting my own IVF cycle (1 month, 1 week, and 5 days, but whose counting?). Even though, I’ve done medicated IUI cycles before, IVF strikes me as the final frontier. The procedures are more invasive and there are more medications involved, not to mention needles and the price tag. I never imagined I would be here. I’m scared.

But I keep reminding myself that 3 million IVF babies have been born since Louise, 500,000 of which were born in the USA. If I am not mistaken, at 38 I have a 40% chance of success per cycle. And I guess that’s something to celebrate.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 7:31 am and is filed under TTC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On July 25th, 2008,

Melody said:

I had similar feelings about IVF– like if it didn’t work, we were out of options. It was scary and so ultra-medicalized. Felt space age and unnatural. Then it didn’t work, and we went to using my partner’s eggs/my body. That didn’t work for us either. In the end, because of what we learned from our results we got more testing, and an IUI with a loooong blood thinner chaser ended up knocking me up. At that point, the IUI seemed ridiculously low tech. I say this not to discourage you about IVF but to say that you never know what you might still learn. So it’s not the final frontier, even though it really feels like it.

2 On July 25th, 2008,

dakota said:

Well said. Thank you for the post. I am right there with you sweetie. Melody makes an interesting point. (I am curious what made her return to IUI with the blood thinner)
It’s that blasted “unknown” thing again daunting us. But as you said having this type of option that women didn’t really have 40 years ago does give us something to celebrate.

3 On July 25th, 2008,

Michelle said:

i remember hearing about “test tube babies” as a kid, and pictured actual little babies in a test tube…I had no idea what they were talking about or that you know, the embryos were transferred back into the uterus. oh the things a child can imagine! Best of luck to you in your IVF venture…here from ICLW

4 On July 25th, 2008,

Cece said:

My cousin is IVF baby number 23. I think it’s all pretty damn cool.

: )

5 On July 26th, 2008,

M said:

I remember that controversy as well. Sometimes I wonder why there is still such a controvery over it. The same people who question IVF are the first to be okay with invasive medical procedures to extend life.

Not to start a debate, lol! So, I’ll leave it with I sincerely hope that your IVF cycle is a 100% success.

6 On July 26th, 2008,

Liddy said:

Wishing you the best for your IVF!

A visitor from ICLW.

7 On July 27th, 2008,

Kymberli said:

I’m only a few months older than Brown and it seems like I learned about IVF at a VERY young age. I might not have known about the fine technical details, but even by the time I was seven I knew enough that it involved fertilization out of the body.

You have great odds, and I will be on the sidelines cheering for you!

8 On July 27th, 2008,

Sassy said:

I think what can make IVF most scary is that it can seem like there’s no where else to go. But IVF gives you so many opportunities now that we really should celebrate. And as I found out, the end of the road can come anytime, IVF or no IVF.

9 On July 27th, 2008,

Alisia said:

Like Michelle, I was just a wee little one when “test tube babies” were in the news, and I pictured them as some little strange sea creature. Now, as an adult, most of my friends have conceived via IVF. Good luck on your journey!

Here via ICLW.

10 On July 27th, 2008,

sara said:

First of all - wanted to say that I love the name of your blog. That’s really a good one! Also, wanted to wish you the best of luck on your upcoming cycle. We’re pregnant with our first after our IVF cycle this spring and I can relate to a lot of what you said. I felt like after all the IUIs it was kind of like being on a final frontier of treatments of some sorts. It seemed so much more involved. And it scared me more than the others. But amazingly sometimes it works - and it’s the best feeling in the world. ICLW

11 On July 27th, 2008,

Nic said:

When we started TTC I was adamant we would NOT do IVF. I was full of the justifications of those-who-do-not-know of why we wouldn’t. I assumed it would allfall into place. Well, it didn’t, and we did! I don’t remember being actually scared, to be honest, none of it, until the 2WW really felt like TTC. It felt like medical treatment. But, it can, and does work. Good luck to you and will keep an eye out for your progress.

ICLW xx

12 On July 28th, 2008,

Echloe said:

I used to think IVF was extreme too. Now I’m looking at it as a potential answer to my prayers. I’m just so happy that such technology exists for us and that I wasn’t born a long time ago when I would have just been labelled Barren.

Best wishes for a successful IVF cycle.

ICLW

13 On July 28th, 2008,

Brandygirl said:

I didn’t understand what IVF’s all about. I just thought of it as HOPE to women who can’t conceive. And I still think that it brings hope to women who can’t conceive. Well, hope is one of them, amongst the other emotions that you go through.

I’m sprinkling this post with baby dust for you.

Here from ICLW.

14 On July 29th, 2008,

Raggedy Ann said:

I think IVF is the most wonderful invention in the world! Thanks to science I have a gorgeous 7-year-old boy that I wouldn’t have been able to conceive otherwise as I lost both my tubes. My journey through infertility took place here in Portugal where nobody talked about infertility, it was completely taboo. Only in the last year or so has it been discussed in the media. Thank god so much has changed.

I wish you all the luck in the world for your IVF, may it be the only one you need to hit jackpot!

RA