Options for Continuing Your Family (FM)

In today's world people are having children later in life, whether it be because of career demands, waiting to find their right partner, or putting off the commitment of children. So when a couple does finally decide to start trying to become pregnant they may find that it isn't happening and infertility may be an issue. This is especially true for women who get pregnant in their mid 30's, wait awhile before trying for baby #2 and may run into a secondary infertility issue.

Joining me to discuss options for continuing your family is Mindy Berkson, founder of Lotus Blossum Consulting, one of the first infertility consultancies in the U.S. She is a one stop shop resource for all information dealing with trying to have a child when infertility is an issue. But what I love is her philosophy in discussing with a couple what their End Family Building Goal is. Not just that "I want to have a baby today and how can we make that happen," but more importantly, how to create a family of 2 or more children and work backwards; if that is the ultimate goal.

She can also work to maximize a couple's health insurance coverage to make that happen, and can provide direction for egg banking, egg donation, sperm bank and surrogacy avenues.

Then later on the show Dr. Daniel Shapiro, MD, an endocrinologist with Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta, Georgia talks in depth about the cutting edge work he has been doing with egg freezing. When I heard about the successes with egg freezing my immediate thought went to all the women in their early 30's that are thinking about putting off having kids until later on.....and how they can now freeze those eggs as an insurance policy.

But Dr. Shapiro also filled me in on three other reasons for egg freezing besides egg preservation; egg banking/egg donation, for cancer patients and the normal management of IVF treatments. We also discussed the difficulty couples have in disposing of unused embryos created during IVF. But with egg freezing there is no longer a need to create extra embryos, and it becomes much easier to discard unused eggs versus unused embryos.

Learn about all the option available for continuing that family that you desire.