by Wendy Sue Noah
Life with five precious children by my side has inspired me to be the best person I can be so that my children have a role model to follow as they make bigger and bigger choices in their own lives.
I didn’t have a role model growing up. And, so, I found myself in many dark corners trying to figure out where to shine my light. Or, trying to figure out where my light was hiding. […]
Q: Hi, Adam. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today. We’d like to shed light on the fascinating business of sperm donation – a more recent addition to the variety of paths leading to motherhood. Please tell me a little about how you started your company?
A: From just chatting about topical issues with various friends and acquaintances, I had a general awareness of the obstacles facing people who – for whatever reason – have been unable to have children but who still want to pursue that dream. I’m thinking of obstacles such as long waiting lists for clinics, expensive fees for treatment, the embarrassment of asking for help from friends, that sort of thing.
Then I heard about a man who had offered his services (on Craigslist or something similar) and thought there must be a middle way. I discussed the concept of PureAdam with a great many female friends in their late 30s and 40s and they were extremely enthusiastic about the idea. […]
by Lori Shandle-Fox
There are a dozen reasons why, according to nobody but me, I shouldn’t have had trouble getting pregnant. Sure, I was old. But my mother had been too. She was 36 when my sister was born and 40 when I was born.
Shouldn’t I somehow have inherited my mother’s fertility? I’m not sure exactly how of course. Through osmosis, photosynthesis, something. I mean we were pretty close, I looked just like her, and we lived in the same house for 18 years. Clearly the dominant fertility gene should have rubbed off on me somehow. And my sister and I were both born in the sixties. Haven’t our lifestyles and technology and our environments progressed so much in forty plus years that our reproductive systems should have been more durable? (Yes, I AM aware that not one of those is rational but there you have it.) […]
by Amy Demma
Myth: It isn’t your baby. 
Busted!: I hear this worry from more prospective recipients of donor gametes (and donor embryo) than just about any other concern. I first address this matter in a legal context and discuss with clients that any donor (sperm, egg, embryo) should be expected to relinquish all rights to the gametes (or the embryos) as well as explicitly relinquish parental rights to children resulting from the donation. With sperm donation, this relinquishment is typically done through consents at the cryobank. With egg and embryo donation, it is recommended that relinquishment of donor rights be memorialized in a direct contract between the donor and the recipient.
Of equal concern, though, is whether or not the parent who lacks in a shared genetic connection with the child will feel a parental connection, while this should be explored with a mental health professional experienced in collaborative reproduction …the best response I have to offer is the following quote from a parent of a donor conceived child: “The child who came into my life is the most beautiful, spirited child…he is the child I was meant to have and he fills me with love every minute of the day.” […]
Myth: Infertility is a women’s problem.
Fact: This is untrue. It surprises most people to learn that infertility is a female problem in 35% of the cases, a male problem in 35% of the cases, a combined problem of the couple in 20% of cases, and unexplained in 10% of cases. It is essential that both the man and the woman be evaluated during an infertility work-up.
Myth: Everyone seems to get pregnant at the drop of a hat.
Fact: More than five million people of childbearing age in the United States experience infertility. When you seek support, you will find that you are not alone. Join RESOLVE, a support group, or talk with others who are struggling to build a family, so that you won’t feel isolated. […]
by Jenilyn Gilbert LCSW
The 28 year old woman who is told ‘adoption is your only option’; the mother who wants to add another child to her family but feels guilty that others don’t have their first child yet; the 42-year-old woman who questions whether the diagnosis of infertility even applies to her, are all women who belong to this club of wanting to be mothers, but within this reluctant membership, there are subcultures, divided by age and diagnosis. In an already isolating experience, is it healthy to divide ourselves further? […]
by Josie Iselin
Decifer
www.JosieIselin.com
Actually, do more than wish. Be active.
Sign this online WISH petition to add your voice to others advocating for greater attention to women’s sexual health needs. The WISH petition is sponsored by the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH), which is a professional organization for those of us who work in the field of women’s sexual health.
The petition supports ISSWSH’s position that “female sexual disorders are valid conditions that warrant assessment, diagnosis and appropriate therapeutic intervention.” […]
by Kris T. Smith
Who wants to look years younger than your actual age? Most of you do, admit it. It’s hard keeping up with all these magic creams, night serums and day serums. Besides, are they really good for your skin? And do they really work as well as the manufacturers advertise? If you read the labels on a lot of them, they are filled with harmful chemicals that you should be avoiding anyway. What you need to be doing is protecting your skin from the free radicals floating around in the environment and bombarding your skin.
What if there was a way to get rid of those pesky wrinkles naturally? If you increase your intake of foods filled with natural anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, you will find you have better results. Would you be able to follow a diet like this? Here are five foods you can eat that will help banish those wrinkles and give you younger looking skin.
1. Blueberries
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that blueberries are higher in anti-oxidant properties than strawberries by approximately 40 percent. Remember the anti-oxidants protect your skin from the free radicals from the environment that are constantly attacking your skin. They are also full of vitamin C, which encourages the growth and formation of collagen. Collagen renewal helps keep the skin looking younger and also decreases the effects of aging. […]
Ladies, we have one more tool in the belt.
Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug to treat the vaginal and vulvar pain associated with loss of estrogen in older women.
That pain is called dyspareunia, and it’s caused by the changes in the vagina and genitals that occur when we lose estrogen during menopause. As we’ve said (often), our vaginal tissues become thin, dry, and fragile as our estrogen levels decline, which can make sex very uncomfortable. Dyspareunia is common, and it doesn’t get better on its own. […]