Despite public health campaigns, a surprising number of women continue to use substances such as tobacco, marijuana and alcohol during pregnancy and their usage rebounds to pre-pregnancy levels within two years of having a baby…Men’s patterns of substance use during their partners’ pregnancies were even bleaker. Men typically are not targeted by these campaigns, and their levels of binge drinking, daily smoking and marijuana use remained fairly stable before, during and after pregnancy…

This is important, according to the study’s lead authors…because men’s substance use may make it harder for women to stop using while they’re pregnant and may make it more likely that mothers will resume smoking or drinking after their child is born.

I am someone who enjoys their wine with dinner, loves good beer and good conversation and (alas) lives in a state where going to see my favorite bands or to dance with friends means I will come home stinky with smoke. But when the meds start, these activities nearly grind to a halt. After transfer, if its not organic or prescribed, its not coming near my body.

These findings intrigued me simply because the world of post-pregnancy and childbirth seem so very far away. I wonder, should I be so lucky as to bear a little one, would I resume my evening glasses of wine, or would those luxuries cease to be something I think about? Will I crave that pisco sour while pregnant? I’m sure of that. But will it be so tasty afterwards?

Something makes me think no.

I think after nine months of not doing something, one would lose the taste/desire. Friends who are moms regale me with stories of how their metabolisms and inner workings have changed so drastically that the bottle of beer they would have downed without thinking is now enough to get them well beyond tipsy, so they think twice before imbibing.

But this study says otherwise.

For those of you who are already moms, have your drinking/smoking habits changed? For those of you trying to be moms, what steps have you taken to try to improve your chances? Do you think those changes will stick post-pregnancy?

Post from: Blisstree

Smokin’, Drinkin’, Sniffin’ Glue

“As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me.
Six more weeks of winter it will be!”

Sigh.

At this point, it’s hard to separate our regional holiday from the movie with the same name where Bill Murray finds himself living the same day over and over again.

And it’s hard for me not to relate them both to the routine that women trying to conceive go through every cycle, every month:

“As I look at the stick on which I peed, no double lines do I see.
Yet another month of empty womb it will be!”

Sigh.

And sometimes this happens over and over and over again.

At what point do you say, you know what? This isn’t going to happen. At what point do you stop pumping dollars into the home pregnancy tests, the ovulation predictors, or if you’ve taken a more intensive route, the clomid, the IVF cycles, and everything else that comes with it? When does your Groundhog’s Day end?

For some, the answer is easy – “When I get pregnant. Duh. “

For others, this isn’t an easy question. At all. Obviously, there is no right answer. Nothing that will serve as a benchmark. The decision is entirely personal, based on more factors than I could begin to list here. And even after the decision to stop trying is made, there is still a lot of healing to be done.

At what point would you stop trying? When it becomes apparent that medical intervention is necessary? When it becomes clear that you won’t be able to have your own biological child? When additional steps are no longer financially feasible? When?

Post from: Blisstree

Happy Groundhog’s Day – I Guess

Damn straight. And here is why Choice should matter to you.

Those same individuals who act under the banner of Pro-Life are not too cool about you creating new life using in vitro or other assisted reproductive techniques. Pro-Life proponents see the termination of embryos (no matter how early a stage) not used in a fertilization attempt as a “refined abortion.” Threats to Roe v. Wade and attempts to undermine a woman’s right to make informed decisions about her own reproductive health are a threat to you, fellow TTC’ers. Don’t see them as anything but.

Anytime there are misconceptions and misrepresentations of abortion or early terminations of pregnancies, you can bet that attacks on non-traditional reproductive techniques are not far behind.

Right now, you are able to store the embryos that are not used in your current fertility treatments to try again should your current cycle fail, or should you want to try to get pregnant again. But recent court cases could throw all of that into question. One such case, in which a divorced couple is arguing over who gets the embryos:

has ignited debate in America because of its potential implications for the legal status of the embryo. The ability to store embryos has created new legal questions over rights to these embryos in the event of subsequent disagreement between couples. There is currently no federal precedent…

Some fear that if the case ends up in the Federal Supreme court, then the increasing conservative Court may use it as a vehicle for reconsidering the legal status of the embryo. In the landmark Roe v Wade ruling, which effectively made abortion legal in America, the Court ruled that because the unborn do not have constitutional rights, the woman’s rights over her own body take precedent. If the unborn are considered to have a constitutional right to life, the legality of abortion will be thrown into question.

Feministing.com disagrees and thinks that

A law banning embryo disposal doesn’t threaten Roe. Without a woman’s involvement, these embryos are not viable. Viability is key to the Roe decision.

Ah, but I bet there are Pro-Lifers that would strongly disagree. My 12 years’ Catholic girl training taught me “life begins at conception” and there is no screwing around with it after that.

I truly feel for individuals who are trying to come to terms with their infertility in ways that are acceptable to their religions. Natural procreative technology is an attempt to do that. While its success rates are impressive, this technique will certainly not help anyone whose bodies (like mine) are missing some vital parts (like ovaries).

I want to emphasize here that Choice is not just about the “choice” to have an abortion. New books and anthologies like Choice: True Stories of Birth, Contraception, Infertility, Adoption, Single Parenthood, and Abortion use their very titles to make that clear. This blogger gives a great summary of where the 2008 presidential candidates stand on abortion , but that’s a lot easier to pinpoint than their stances on reproductive health in general. This upcoming article in the Nation entitled, “A Long Roe to Hoe” also spells out the need for Choice to move beyond the defense of abortion and on to the wider platform of women’s reproductive health:

While pro choice and antiabortion groups in the United States have argued about the minutiae of abortion practice, women’s economic security and reproductive health have been severely undermined by far-reaching changes in public policy. Given this broad assault on women, it is no longer ethically sound or politically wise to see abortion as the centerpiece of women’s struggle for freedom and equality. In the “change” election of 2008, it is critical that all candidates who claim to be pro choice define choice more broadly. They must make a commitment to fully restoring reproductive health and dignity to all American women regardless of their economic status. Likewise, a commitment should be made to a foreign policy that supports these services and rights for women in the developing world.

And that, my friends, is why today should be a day of celebration and this election year one of vigilance.

Happy Blog for Choice Day. Please click on the icon to read even more blogs about your right to choose.

Post from: Blisstree

Choice, Infertility and Reproductive Rights