Health & Fitness
Struggling To Start Your Family? Don't Worry — There Are Options
For those dealing with infertility, it's important to know what to expect as you build your own unique, healthy family.
June is the month of bright flowers, warm nights and, well, a lot of celebrations. Whether it’s a slew of weddings, high school graduations and birthdays, or celebrating Father’s Day or LGBT Pride Month, June is all about ringing in the good times — oftentimes with family.
That's why for those struggling with infertility, June can be a month of wanting more than anything to finally start your own family. The good news is that you are not alone in your struggle, and there are family-building options available, no matter who you are. Families come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s important to know what you can expect in your specific situation.
We spoke with Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey (RMANJ), the largest infertility clinic in the state, to help you understand exactly how you can build your own unique, healthy family.
Know you are not alone.
Infertility might seem like a silent epidemic, but the numbers don’t lie – according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in eight U.S. couples have trouble getting and staying pregnant. And many of them get help.
Be confident there are clinics that can help you.
Once you’ve decided you want to seek treatment – or a second opinion – you should book an appointment with a fertility doctor or reproductive endocrinologist. But keep in mind, not all clinics are alike. You should be looking for a clinic that performs single embryo transfer, offers genetic testing of embryos and has high success rates, which can be researched at sart.org.
Consider IUI or IVF.
Once you’ve seen your doctor, he or she will help you understand what path is right for you. Usually, there are four paths for those struggling with infertility. The first is timed ovulation, which is when the doctor uses ultrasounds and blood samples to determine a woman’s most fertile period and suggests when to have intercourse. The second option is taking medication that will help a woman grow and release a mature egg, and then having intercourse at the right time. Third, there is IUI, or Intrauterine Insemination. That is when sperm is inserted inside a woman’s uterus with an instrument. Finally, there is IVF, or in vitro fertilization, and that is when a woman’s viable eggs are removed from her uterus, combined with sperm outside her body, and put back into her uterus as an embryo.
Learn about your egg and sperm freezing options.
If you are not ready to try for a baby now but might be in the future (this includes those undergoing cancer treatments or those simply wanting to preserve fertility), both egg and sperm freezing are available. A woman’s peak fertility is actually in her mid-to-late 20s and begins to decline after the age of 35. Women who want to conceive later or don’t yet have a partner can freeze their eggs. The process is simple and involves taking hormonal medication over several weeks before having your eggs removed and frozen. For men, the process is even simpler – give several sperm samples for freezing.
Discover egg and sperm donation and gestational surrogacy.
Of course, there are others ways to start a family. For gay couples or single gay men for instance, egg donors and gestational surrogates are available to help you bring home a baby. For single women or lesbian couples, sperm donors and gestational surrogates are available. Finally, if you are a member of the trans community and froze your eggs or sperm before transitioning, you can use the sperm and eggs to conceive either with a partner or with a donor. And if you didn’t freeze your eggs or sperm before transitioning, treatment is still available depending on your specific situation.
Seek support.
No matter where you are in your infertility journey – whether you're just beginning the search or are midway through an IVF cycle, it’s important to reach out and share your experience with others, especially those who understand. FertiliTalk is a small but thriving Facebook community of women dealing with infertility and sharing with one another every step of the way. Joining FertiliTalk or a similar group, or just sharing your thoughts and feelings more regularly with those closest to you, will help you feel less alone —because you’re far from it.
Find out more about your options at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey
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