Two week wait visualization

I love this - it describes so well what it's like when you're trying to conceive...

I had to go back and make another...

I created these using Wordle... What do you think?

Patient attitudes towards twin pregnancies and SET

SET = single embryo transfer.

This article (actually a letter to the editor of Human Reproduction - March 11, 2008) by M. Garel et.al. about the attitude of patients undergoing IVF toward twins is a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in the topic and likes reading articles in academic journals.

To me, the bottom line seems to be that asking patients about their attitude in a questionnaire doesn't give real information - does saying one doesn't want twins seem ungrateful? Is the reason for wanting twins the fear that one will only be able to achieve one successful pregnancy?

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I'm still looking for a topic for my seminar paper in Survey Methodology. Ideally, it would have to do with surveys used with patients undergoing infertility treatments... but I need a specific angle that other people have researched (since I don't want to have to do statistical evaluations on my own questionnaire). Any ideas are welcome...

Baby news from India

They hope this will encourage more childless couples to go for treatment? Sorry, triplets at 66 is a bit much. I'm 41 and find it plenty chaotic to be home with my little ones who are 5, 4 & 2...

1st IVF a flop

Dee started spotting on the 12th day after her (1st) transfer. The bleeding got worse and it became evident that the first IVF was unsuccessful. They did, however, get 6 embryos that were good enough to freeze. Sometimes, even when everything's perfect, it just. doesn't. work. She's taking it in stride and will try again as soon as they'll let her (not sure if a fresh or frozen cycle, although if I were the one making the decision - and turning 40 next month - I'd opt for another fresh cycle & save the frozen ones for later).

On another topic, I've met a few people who are surprised that IVF dates as far back as it does. When I say my daughter (who'll be 17 in October) is an IVF baby, I sometimes get surprised responses... Having gone through it then and having recently followed the process - it has barely changed. The process itself, the day of transfer, the post-transfer treatment and even the success rates (I'm sure they must be somewhat higher, but even then they were in the 20-25% range). The biggest change is probably how often ICSI is used and the fact that clinics are transferring fewer embryos. 4 embryos was the standard in Israel then. Now, I think it's 2.