I am honored that the Women’s Bar Association in Washington D.C. included one of my bylined articles in its “Raising the Bar” newsletter on the topic of delayed childbearing . You can read the full piece at the “WBA Post” link above.

In regards to the law, I have found that family planning can be a tricky area to navigate, especially when infertility treatments are necessary.   For example, legal considerations specific to each state may influence a couple’s decision to pursue a certain treatment option.  I have hosted various sessions at WBA groups across the U.S. addressing this very topic.  I recently held this seminar in the Washington D.C. area and was able to educate female lawyers on the ramifications of delayed childbearing, estate and family planning issues, wealth preservation and state laws regarding surrogacy and other fertility treatments.  I hope to continue these sessions with other WBA groups in 2010.

My most important asset is my advocacy piece.  With egg donations, I can help widen the potential donor pool. This cuts down on wait time while also increasing the likelihood of getting the requested genetic attributes from donors. I can also help patients maximize dollars by reviewing insurance coverage and drug benefits.

To read more about the benefits of hiring a fertility consultant, click here for the full article.

Thank you!

A growing number of medical societies, health plans, academic institutions, public health officials and others have recognized the need for healthcare providers to receive special training on how to meet the unique healthcare needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. This fall, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) is hosting the 27th Annual Conference of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association to address this need.

I am honored to be one of the featured speakers at this event discussing how gay and lesbian families can navigate the alternative family building journey through surrogacy.

The conference will be held on September 30 – October 3, 2009 at the Westin Washington, DC, City Center.  It is the world’s largest scientific meeting focusing on LGBT health, healthcare delivery, workplace discrimination, and healthcare education and offers up to 18 hours of continuing education for healthcare professionals. In addition to rich educational offerings, the conference provides ample opportunities to meet and socialize with other healthcare professionals, students and GLMA members.

More information about the Annual Conference, including a preliminary program of educational offerings, is available at www.glma.org/annualconference.

Age matters in many aspects of life as well as in the creation of life. Women are most fertile between the ages 20 to 28 with their fertility decreasing in half by the time they are 35. By age 45, only a 1% chance remains each month of conceiving naturally. This is a startling fact considering the average age a woman has her first child has risen to record high of 25.1 with 20% of women waiting until they are 35 to begin their family.

 An increasing number of women choose to delay childbearing due to further schooling, career choice, or are waiting to find their perfect partner. While those choices are understandable and personal, as women naturally age so do their ovaries; affecting their fertility.  Oocyte cryopreservation, commonly known as egg banking, provides women up to the age of 38 with a chance to slow down their biological clock and effectively storing their fertility for the future.

 A women’s egg supply is finite therefore, freezing your eggs allows you to stop your biological clock until you are ready to conceive, increasing the odds of having a healthy successful pregnancy. Women are born with millions of eggs yet once they reach puberty only 300 of the 300,000 eggs left will have the chance to ovulate. The frozen eggs can be thawed at anytime to be fertilized with the sperm of choice and then refrozen as embryos for future in vitro fertilization treatment cycles.

 Egg banking is also an option that is highly recommended for women who have been newly diagnosed with cancer but have not begun medical treatments that may negatively impact their fertility. While treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy are lifesaving, they can potentially leave women infertile.  The ability to freeze viable eggs before undergoing cancer treatments instills hope for a family in the future.

 Egg banking, the newest technology available in the infertility field, is a wonderful option for those women who plan to delay childbearing for personal reasons or for medically induced situations. Since women do not continually reproduce more eggs over a lifetime, the availability of egg banking technology allows women to protect a precious resource and helps to ensure their fertility until such time that they are ready to begin a family.

]]> http://www.lotusblossomconsulting.com/2009/08/egg-banking-ready-when-you-are/feed/ 0 http://www.lotusblossomconsulting.com/2009/07/sexually-transmitted-diseases-and-infertility/ http://www.lotusblossomconsulting.com/2009/07/sexually-transmitted-diseases-and-infertility/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:18:32 +0000 Mindy Berkson http://www.lotusblossomconsulting.com/?p=419 I saw an interesting article in the Associated Press earlier this week that has prompted me to write this post.  In the article, a Wisconsin doctor claims that the number one public health threat that no one’s talking about is the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases.  He cited STDs as one of the major causes of infertility and infant mortality.  See article here.  

If you’ve been trying to conceive and haven’t been successful, consider being tested for sexually transmitted diseases.  Many sexually transmitted diseases can lay dormant for years and many women who contract STD’s do not develop visible symptoms and therefore, do not know to seek treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, chlamydia and gonorrhea are the most preventable causes of infertility.  The CDC sites about 2.8 million new cases of chlamydia every year in the United States and  718,000 new cases of gonorrhea.  Over time, these diseases can be silently damaging your ability to have a baby.  These STDs can cause an infection in your reproductive organs, know as pelvic inflammatory disease which can cause scarring of the fallopian tubes and make conception and pregnancy very difficult.

There are several ways to prevent STDs and monitor for them, as follows:

• Always engage in protected sexual intercourse.

• Get tested for STDs regularly.  The CDC recommends routine testing for all women over the age of 25. 

• Learn the symptoms of STDs and seek medical help as soon as possible if any symptoms develop

• Talk with your sexual partners about their sexual health and past sexual activities.

• Delay having sexual relationships as long as possible – the younger a person is when they begin to have sex for the first time, the more susceptible they become to developing an STD

So it comes as no surprise that the United States has become the preferred country for surrogacy among international prospective parents.  Some of the primary reasons I am seeing from some of my international clients are as follows:

•    Many European countries restrict couples from being able to explore surrogacy
•    European countries often restrict the number of embryos that can be created
Doesn’t allow for opportunity to create future genetic siblings
Doesn’t provide a back-up plan if the first IVF attempt is not successful
With the cost of IVF being so high, multiple attempts at continued retrievals may exceed financial reserves
Frozen embryo transfers can often defray some of these costs
•    In some countries, like Israel, surrogacy is restricted to married heterosexual couples. So gay couples are coming into the U.S. for help in having biological children of their own.”
•    Advanced technologies are superior in US
•    Economic recession has some U.S.-based clinics offering money back guarantees in the event a successful pregnancy is not achieved
•    Favorable exchange rates have made it attractive in this economy to explore services in the U.S.
•    Some programs are offering comprehensive packages to help international clients locate resources for their surrogacy arrangements in house
Streamlines the process with coordination all in one place
Identifies insurance protections and policies to mitigate financial risk factors during pregnancy or in the unlikely event of a catastrophe
Interpreters available well versed in medical and legal diction
Work closely with immigration attorneys to accomplish the necessary paperwork for visas, passports, birth certificates and social security status.

Applications for a free treatment cycle are now being accepted.  The board of directors will select from applicants who meet the following criteria:

• Have a history of infertility, and provide a physician documented medical indication for exploring IVF treatment along with the application
• Demonstrate a financial need; defined as a gross combined annual income less than $80,000. A copy of the last two years’ IRS tax returns and two of the most recent pay stubs is required.
• No insurance coverage for infertility treatments.
• Do not currently have any children.
• Be under age 40.
• Be current legal citizens of the United States and living in the United States at the time of the award and subsequent treatment.

Thank you all for your help and support for this great cause. 

As the nation celebrates this occasion, it is a good time to bring an important issue to the forefront – alternative family building. As noted in a past USA Today article, there is an estimated six to 12 million children in the U.S. who have a lesbian or gay parent. And an increasing number of same-sex couples are looking to expand their families.

Unfortunately, there are even more obstacles for gay couples when trying to start their own families due to the political and legal issues involved. It is important to financially, physically and emotionally prepare for a challenging road ahead. Gay couples also must enlist an attorney to draw up contracts that protect not only themselves, but also their biological offspring. Often adoption or co-parenting agreements need to be accomplished.

Cost is another factor to consider. Insurance benefits for surrogacy and/or IVF treatments are often restricted since same sex couples do not meet the insurance’s companies definition of “infertility.”

And sadly, discrimination is widespread. Same sex families are denied the benefits and protections of a marriage in most states.

For Citywide PRIDE month in Chicago, I have teamed with UBS and PricewaterhouseCoopers to help gay and lesbian couples plan and prepare for parenthood. I will be leading a FREE session titled, “Conceivable Options: Alternative Family Building ” Details are as follows:

Date: Thursday June 18, 2009
Time: 11:30am – 1:30pm. Lunch will be served.
Location: UBS Tower, 38th Floor, 1 North Wacker Drive, Chicago

RSVP: By June 15, 2009 at http://citywidepride.info/events.html

Topics will include understanding insurance benefits (if available), how to enlist your human resources department to determine what benefits they may be able to provide and how to identify egg donors and surrogates from “surrogate friendly” states. The discussion will conclude with tips for how to financially plan and prepare for treatment, and a Q&A session.

Please try to join me! If you’re not in the Chicago area, e-mail me. I am happy to share my presentation notes with you, or discuss options over the telephone.