IVF: An Emotional Companion

IVF: An Emotional Companion
Brigid Moss

IVF: An Emotional Companion is an invaluable, personal support, based on women's first hand experiences, for anyone struggling to conceive.Sharing the real life stories of 20 women who have worked their way through fertility and conception problems, this book is a lifeline for women and couples everywhere wanting to have a baby: an honest, inspirational and comforting read promising to help get you through the roller coaster that is fertility treatment.According to official figures, one in six couples have problems conceiving and more women than ever before are now considering in vitro fertilisation. It's not just physically taxing and expensive, but the emotional strain can at times be unbearable. Having to make lots of emotionally-charged decisions at every turn is tough: Should I push my GP to refer me for investigations? Are we ready for IVF? Should we try natural methods first? What shall we do now the treatment has failed?To help you work through these decisions, IVF: An Emotional Companion explains how others in similar situations have tackled these challenges and come through.

ivf

An

Emotional

Companion

BRIGID MOSS

Contents

Cover (#uaf634787-868d-5038-90cb-d4de4d9506c8)

Title Page (#u5fab47ee-c377-5a87-b827-49531f4a18bb)

Introduction

Why I had IVF

Polycystic ovaries stopped me ovulating

My partner had no sperm

I had premature ovarian failure

I couldn’t give my son a sibling

Cancer affected my fertility

I’m a single mother by choice

I’m in a same-sex couple

Making the right choices

How I found the right clinic

Having IVF at 40+

I was only allowed one embryo transferred

Ovarian hyperstimulation could have killed me

I had reproductive immunology

Why I used an egg donor

My experience of surrogacy

I got pregnant naturally after IVF

Surviving IVF

My twin IVF pregnancy

IVF could have ended my relationship

Therapy got me through IVF

My friends and family got me through

My experience of miscarriage

Why I finally stopped IVF

I moved on to a child-free life

Why I adopted after IVF

Afterword

Further reading

References

Index

Acknowledgments

Copyright

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Introduction

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Idon’t know how long you’ve been trying for a baby, which fertility investigations or treatments you’ve had or what your chances are now of getting pregnant. You could just be thinking about having IVF, you might be a veteran IVF-er who’s had multiple cycles, or you may be about to start out on your first cycle. Wherever you are on your IVF journey, this book is for you.

If I think back, I can still remember the feelings of inadequacy, shame and loneliness that I had when I couldn’t get pregnant. That was my motivation for writing this book, a collection of stories from 22 amazing women who are sharing them because, like me, they remember how it feels to be among the one in six couples who experience infertility. Each one of them volunteered to tell her story because she wanted to let you and others know that IVF can be hard, but that you can get through it.

When I was first told I’d need IVF, almost six years ago, aged 35, I couldn’t talk to anyone about my fertility problems. Writing this book — admitting my infertility to everyone — and speaking to the women whose stories are told in these pages has been liberating for me. As one woman said to me, ‘IVF and infertility need to be brought out into the open. Nobody should be ashamed any more.’

But back then, I didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for me or pity me or gossip about me. I didn’t want friends to think they couldn’t tell me when they got pregnant easily. And I didn’t want my mum to be sad for me or worry about me. Adam, my husband, was a great support because, as a lifelong optimist, he always believed we’d have our family in the end.