Nina at Queercents wrote today about her and her partner’s struggle to get pregnant. She discusses the costs, both financial and emotional, and the interplay between the two. Worth a read if you’re dealing with infertility yourself or know others who are.
On a related note, 365Gay.com reports on the overuse of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), an infertility solution that may help when sperm counts are low. Some doctors, however, are using the method even when sperm robustness is not the problem. ICSI may not be as effective in these cases, but may still add $1,500 to the $12,400 average cost of an in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment cycle. Something to discuss with your own medical professional if you are considering the procedure.
Nina also recommends the book Conquering Infertility, by Alice Domar, even though it is written for opposite-sex couples. I know some other readers have also dealt with or are dealing with infertility. Are there any additional infertility books or resources, LGBT-specific or not, that you found helpful? Please share in the comments.
1:57 pm
Family Creation, Money and Finance
Liza
on Jul 23rd, 2007
@ 3:27 pm:
I recommend the fairly new website, of irreverent tone but authentic support & information, The Internet Vagina Posse: http://www.theivp.com/tiki-index.php.
It is mostly, but not exclusively, lesbians and single mothers by choice, some of whom have become parents already, but many of whom are still eyeball deep in infertility treatment.
And if you’re looking for blogs by ~50 other lesbians trying to conceive, of course, the Lesbian Family “Trying” page: http://lesbianfamily.org/more-links-more-categories-more-lesbians-trying-to-concieve/
jenny
on Jul 23rd, 2007
@ 7:07 pm:
Great lgbt fertility and parenting support can be found at http://www.rainbowconceptions.com
The community there is nice and welcoming to all, and there are some folks who have been through the infertility wringer willing to share lots of information.
Books:
Absolutely get Taking charge of your fertility and The essential guide to lesbian conception, pregnancy and birth. Also, Coming to term (which is about repeat pregnancy loss) is excellent and easy to read. Really helped me move past my three losses.