…or Begins. Depending on how you look at it. After almost a year of blogging all the news your womb can use, this will be my final week here at Fertility Notes and at b5media.
Sniff.
But don’t you be sad! You can still find me at my private blog (you can email me for details) and at www.nationalparksonline.net, our newly revamped blog chronicling Michael’s and my two-year road trip to all of the National Park sites across the United States and keeping you up to date on national park news. If you’re interested, I am working on some pretty neat …read more

August? Already? Are you serious?
Sigh.
I think I can squeeze in one more trip or two to the beach. I have to. I still have summer reading to do. I still haven’t finished the The Mind-Body Fertility Connection: The True Pathway to Conception by James Schwartz. Did I mention that I have some extra copies to share? Want one?
Let me tell you what I know: James Schwartz is a Board certified Hypnotherapist and founder and director of the Rocky Mountain Hypnotherapy Center in Lakewood, Colorado. He’s got a fertility program called, “Hypnosis to Promote Fertility” which focuses on “healing the …read more

Cramps suck. They suck when they signal the arrival of an Aunt that you didn’t really want to see this month. They suck when they turn your pre-menstrual blues into actual pain. But I think they suck the most when they occur in the midst of the Two Week Wait – that neverending space of time between an embryo transfer and the first day that you can take a blood test, your beta, to see whether or not something’s a’growin’.
While cramps during the TWW can cause a little panic and anxiety in addition to the normal discomfort, they are totally …read more

All right! It’s here! I was going to save this for Freebie Friday, but I can’t wait.
The 2008-2009 version of Fertile Hope’s Cancer and Fertility Resource Guide is now available.  Click on the title to download a  free .pdf version or, go to http://www.fertilehope.org/learn-more/publications/print-materials.cfm to order 1 or 5 or 100. All free. Since this fabulous and free resource is almost 300 pages, you might want a hard copy.
If you are still undergoing cancer treatments and think others at your oncologist’s office would benefit from this, you can use Fertile Hope’s Tell Your Doctor tool and they’ll take care of …read more

You may have heard the term Oncofertility mentioned here at Fertility Notes before.
A Newsweek article that will be published in the August 4th issue of the magazine gives a great explanation of what Oncofertility is and why it matters so much to cancer patients.
According to Newsweek:
Of the 125,000 people under the age of 45 who are diagnosed with cancer each year, roughly half will receive treatments that will affect their fertility. The cancers that most commonly strike the young—leukemias, lymphomas and breast cancers—require some of the most toxic forms of chemotherapy, which target rapidly growing and fragile cells like hair …read more

3 days post-transfer. Feeling fab.
I always think that I’m going to enjoy the mandatory “don’t do anything” for the 24-hours immediately after transfer. But after the first few magazines, boredom can easily set in. Here’s how I whiled away my “don’t do anything” time this time around:
1.) Read about half of this great book I picked up at a used book sale this spring.
2.) Had a “discussion” over whether or not lying on my side or stomach was allowed, or if bedrest really meant “flat on my back.” (update: on the side = ok. on the stomach = notsomuch, at …read more

Calling all RNs, NPs, LPNs, and other healthcare professionals specializing in reproductive medicine and assisted reproductive technology: there is a really good reason for you to take some time off in August and head to Vegas.
Smart ART IX, which will take place August 14-16, is a symposium that will “provide a unique opportunity for nurses and healthcare professionals involved in the management of infertility patients to learn about new agents, procedures, and counseling techniques contributing to the continued success of ART.”
Oh wait, did I mention? Maybe I didn’t…
Enrollment is limited to the first 450 registrants and is available on a …read more

Picture the scene:
Tiny, tiny waiting room.  Hubby and I are there, still sweating from the bumper to bumper traffic and dash from the parking garage to make it here on time. Slightly frazzled, but excited.
Next to us, another couple, not nearly as excited. From her body language and a nurse’s comment (”I wish we weren’t seeing you today…”) which nearly loosened the tears she had been holding at bay, I had to guess she was here for a D&E or other process to end a pregnancy that never quite got where it needed to be.
Seeing her so sad quieted my …read more

If you are in my neighborhood next week, there are a few free educational events and support groups sponsored by RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association. Follow this link to register for one or more of these activities taking place along the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border and in Eastern Pennsylvania.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
      PA-New Hope: Attachment Strengthening Activities for You & Your New Baby or Child 10:00 AM
      Tele-Seminar: Making the Decision to Adopt 9:00 PM

Thursday, July 24, 2008
      PA – York: General Infertility Peer Support Group 7:00 PM

Sunday, July 27, 2008
      PA-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre: General Infertility Peer Support Group 6:30 PM

For more information on support, events …read more

When you have a few minutes (because it’s pretty darn long), go check out this article at Psychology Today entitled, “Who Stole Fertility?”
Originally written for the 1996 March/April issue of Psychology Today Magazine, this article stills feels timely and relevant. I’ve had this page bookmarked for a while and have been digesting it in bits. Don’t be turned off by the first paragraph which states:
Contrary to popular belief, there is no infertility crisis sweeping the nation. We’ve just lost all conception of what it takes to conceive. Reproductive technology has made us impatient with nature. So for increasing numbers …read more