While choosing a good fertility clinic, make sure you follow certain points. This includes IVF success rates, Board certified doctors, Satisfactory patient reviews, and Multiple consultation appointments at quality fertility centers as well as usage of health insurance plans. Elawoman
Adoption agencies need to do the same thing. There is no reason that potential adoptive families should pay hefty upfront fees, including living expenses for potential birth parents, only to be told "Sorry, better luck next time, no refunds" if those potential birth parents exercise their rights to change their minds. By the way, in case anyone is wondering, $35,000 plus is not unusual anymore for newborn adoption, and many families lose a large chunk of that if the potential birth parents change their minds. That's unacceptable.
1
The fertility clinics are offering something insurance companies won't. We all accept and want to have health insurance. This isn't done out of altruism; the health insurance companies also calculate risks and offer services and maintain profitability. If our health insurance offered better coverage for fertility treatments there would be greater opportunity to assure the coverage is fair and available to not only the wealthy.
In the meantime, people want to have children and are willing to do whatever it takes to do so. I had no health insurance when I did IVF, but still gave it a try. I also tried to get into my fertility clinic's shared risk program but didn't qualify because of my age (41 at the time). I still got pregnant on my first cycle, and had a second child at 43 by frozen embryo transfer, so managed to have 2 children for the cost of the shared risk program, at 3 years older than the cutoff to participate. However, if I could do it all again I still would have jumped at the chance to be in the shared risk program to reduce the stress of the process.
In the meantime, people want to have children and are willing to do whatever it takes to do so. I had no health insurance when I did IVF, but still gave it a try. I also tried to get into my fertility clinic's shared risk program but didn't qualify because of my age (41 at the time). I still got pregnant on my first cycle, and had a second child at 43 by frozen embryo transfer, so managed to have 2 children for the cost of the shared risk program, at 3 years older than the cutoff to participate. However, if I could do it all again I still would have jumped at the chance to be in the shared risk program to reduce the stress of the process.
OMG. As if going through IVF weren't bad enough, now it's stacked even more in favor of the healthy and wealthy?
One of the happiest days of my life was the day I gave up on ART. No more needles, no more scans, no more crazy-making meds, no more chemical pregnancy roller coaster.
I suggest good infertility counseling, not throwing even more money at the problem.
One of the happiest days of my life was the day I gave up on ART. No more needles, no more scans, no more crazy-making meds, no more chemical pregnancy roller coaster.
I suggest good infertility counseling, not throwing even more money at the problem.
2
Ugh...the gotta have at all costs those kids people.
Is there anything medical thats not being incentivized and becoming a means for doctors to reap large profits? Oh right, caring for the disenfranchised and generally poor.
Imagine if someone came up with a profitable means to make caring for and providing outstanding heath care for those people...what would the world look like then...?
Is there anything medical thats not being incentivized and becoming a means for doctors to reap large profits? Oh right, caring for the disenfranchised and generally poor.
Imagine if someone came up with a profitable means to make caring for and providing outstanding heath care for those people...what would the world look like then...?
1
So, if the doctor offers you the deal, you shouldn't take it! They're obviously optimistic about your chances on the first try.
1
We went the donor egg route. Our clinic offered a guarantee of 2 "high quality embryos" with the promise that if you did not end up with 2 HQEs or a baby, you would get another cycle free. Just knowing in the back of your mind that a failed cycle wasn't the end was a huge reassurance. Out of 8 fertilized eggs, we only ended up with 1 HQE and one that was monitored. Because they fell short of the 2 HQE guarantee, we knew we still had several chances. This was one of the more reputable clinics in the country, though as the article suggests, I know they were selective in their patients. Because I had already given birth to a baby conceived naturally, they said my chances for success were excellent. And they were correct: the 1 HQE resulted in a successful pregnancy. It's also true that you quickly forget how much money you spent when you have that baby in your arms.
6
Couples seeking alternatives should also consider the less costly option of "adopting" an embryo from a couple who has successfully completed their family through IVF and have viable embryos remaining. After the birth of our twins, my husband and I donated our unused embryos to a couple seeking to start their family too; the procedure cost them much less, and we knew we were sharing God's bounty with another couple. We found our matches through
https://www.nrfa.org/ and http://www.miracleswaiting.org. These orgs facilitate independent searches for donating and recipient couples to find each other. It's a great resource, but naturally you should use caution and common sense.
https://www.nrfa.org/ and http://www.miracleswaiting.org. These orgs facilitate independent searches for donating and recipient couples to find each other. It's a great resource, but naturally you should use caution and common sense.
5
Is there any sort of contact allowed? What if the child wants to know his or her biological mother down the road? Or is this another form of benighted old school adoption, where everyone pretends that there is no elephant in the room?
1
I was an egg donor twice: the first time, I worked with a couple who chose a well-known medical center that did not share risk, and the second time, I worked with a couple who chose an independent "shared risk" practitioner, who gave me twice the fertility medications as the first doctor. Those high dosages of those drugs produced painful swellings--the size of golf balls--at each injection site, and after eight of these injections, I could no longer walk without a severe limp. It was so bad, I told the doctor I wanted to drop out, just three days before the donation was to be completed, but the doctor pressured me to continue, suggesting that I reduce the number of shots for those last few days.
As complicated as risk-sharing is for IVF recipients, the doctors who engage in this practice are clearly violating ethical guidelines in relation to their third party egg donors.
As complicated as risk-sharing is for IVF recipients, the doctors who engage in this practice are clearly violating ethical guidelines in relation to their third party egg donors.
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“I told them that I couldn’t believe that I was going to say this, but please tie my tubes,” she recalled. “I’m all miracled out.”
I had to laugh, I tod my doctor the same after my 4th was born by emergancy c-section. They hesitated and said they typically want to wait until patients recover. I literally grabbed them by the lapels mid contraction and told them under no circumstances was I to leave with my tubes in tact since this wonderful baby was completely, totally and definitely not planned. They agreed post haste....
I had to laugh, I tod my doctor the same after my 4th was born by emergancy c-section. They hesitated and said they typically want to wait until patients recover. I literally grabbed them by the lapels mid contraction and told them under no circumstances was I to leave with my tubes in tact since this wonderful baby was completely, totally and definitely not planned. They agreed post haste....
11
Dear Ms. Chambers, a lot cheaper and more efficient to have your husband sterilized via vasectomy-snip snip, than to have your "tubes tied."
8
Unless you're already in a c-section ; )
8
It is even easier to have copper IUD inserted. Lasts 11 years. I am on my second one.
Why is this surprising? Medicare and commercial insurance companies have already been doing this to doctors. Reimbursements have been tied to patient outcomes for years (as if doctors can go home with patients and make them follow a recommended heart healthy diet, get off the couch for a little exercise, and take their meds). It naturally follows that if, as a physician, your income relies on your patients being compliant and satisfied, you are likely to choose only patients who show that they already are relatively healthy and good at taking care of themselves. This is an instance of doctors subjecting themselves to those same rules that the government has been subjecting us to for years.
2
What if doctors start cherry-picking only those patients with the most chances (and the most money) to survive any medical procedure? Why is the modern technology paid for by all American taxpayers (in federally funded research, federally funded support of medical schools, federally funded scholarships for those who become doctors, etc., etc.,) only available to wealthy American taxpayers? Want a baby? Show me the money. Want to live? Show me the money. Disgusting.
12
And this is exactly why Medicare and commercial insurance reimbursement should not be linked to patient outcomes. Doctors will always choose healthier patients if their pay is cut when a patient doestrogen poorly.
9
I know someone who went through more than 8 failed in vitro attempts and two donor egg in vitro attempts and no pregnancy came to term. Then she adopted and 18 months later was pregnant the old fashioned way. She spent far more on her failed attempts than $50K, so I think this may be a good deal as long as the deal is a baby and not a miscarriage.
7
I had unsuccessful treatments over 25 years ago. I thought the price should be reduced after each unsuccessful treatment. At times I felt I was caught in a money making scheme.
14
This acquisitive, consumerist approach to creating human beings (mini-me babies) sickens me. Adoption is the loving, generous, open-hearted option. I have relatives who could not conceive and chose to adopt. They gave wonderful homes to children who had no one. Who cares that the children don't look just like Mom or Dad? They are loved.
16
Perhaps you didn't notice the other article posted about the decline in international adoptions, with regulations being more stringent (and expensive) in response to incidents of birth parents being defrauded. Children are not a commodity, there is no storehouse of orphans ready for the taking by infertile couples.
25
Having a baby the "old fashioned" way is expensive for everyone. We all pay for it. All the prenatal visits, the delivery, possible c-section, aftercare, it adds up. Yet only infertile couples are told to adopt. If it's such a great and "easy" option - then why don't you all do it?
16
Why haven't you adopted?
4
Life is a commodity. IVF is socially destructive.
https://medium.com/@forecheck32/what-is-wrong-with-ivf-321bc3f3996c
https://medium.com/@forecheck32/what-is-wrong-with-ivf-321bc3f3996c
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It's our choice to have a child in whatever fashion we choose. Don't think you know the right way until you've walked in another's shoes. Last time I checked we are still free to make choices.
It's a business, no matter which way you look at it and they want to make a profit. Bet they don't tell you the options they choose like karyotying ( a blood DNA genetic test) to see if your chances are better than most. If they just wanted to help, they'd give you that info for free.
It's a business, no matter which way you look at it and they want to make a profit. Bet they don't tell you the options they choose like karyotying ( a blood DNA genetic test) to see if your chances are better than most. If they just wanted to help, they'd give you that info for free.
8
As someone who went through this share-risk program and got twins, I can tell you that you have no clue of what you are talking about.
5
wow.. Im glad that more and more options are becoming available for those struggling to conceive. And more information available on the net, as we are now more open to the subject. I was overweight before I got pregnant. Exercised regularly and ate healthy, started taking conceiveeasy, and gave birth to a healthy and happy baby boy.. :) glad its all i needed. nothing too expensive.
5
Aside from cherry picking the best candidates, it seems the placebo effect might be in play here. This article reminds me of all the stories I've heard (and lived myself) about people conceiving naturally after they'd given up on ever getting pregnant. Once there is no stress -- a certain yes, or a certain no -- a baby comes. I wonder if there are statistics on how often this happens?
6
Trust me, after over three years of trying with no success, you would've be dying to try the "placebo effect".
5
I had one child via ART (not IVF, but assisted—IUI) and tried multiple times after for a second child without success. I got pregnant on my own after we had listed all our baby things on Craigslist. Then I miscarried. That was the truest state of IDGAF if there ever were one. I sold lots of baby things at that point. I was convinced that was it, until I got pregnant one cycle later. That one took :) I never thought that my mind/body were stressed about getting pregnant, but it sure would have been nice to find IDGAF earlier.
There is no such thing as a placebo affect when it comes to getting pregnant, Allison. It is important people be aware that the underlying medical causes of infertility are both varied and intricate, and are not caused by stress.
Such myths aid in the stigmatization and marginalization of people who are already suffering greatly through no fault of their own. I sincerely hope you consider not perpetuating them in the future.
Such myths aid in the stigmatization and marginalization of people who are already suffering greatly through no fault of their own. I sincerely hope you consider not perpetuating them in the future.
23
Please adopt people! There are thousands and thousands of naturally produced babies just waiting to have a family, and we are being selfish and getting expensive unnatural procedures to force us to be pregnant.
I think in vitro is selfish and wrong. There are 7 billion of us, we dont need any more people.
If you want a kid so badly, adopt one. As soon. as all orphans have a family, then Ill support in vitro. Otherwise, its just a selfish choice by selfish couples and I dont believe for one second that it benefits society as a whole.
Im also biased in this case because I am sterile and cannot physically have children any way. However, I still believe that adoption is so needed that in vitro is actually a pretty evil thing that ends up leaving a bunch of orphans to grow up into screwed up adults with no family.
I think in vitro is selfish and wrong. There are 7 billion of us, we dont need any more people.
If you want a kid so badly, adopt one. As soon. as all orphans have a family, then Ill support in vitro. Otherwise, its just a selfish choice by selfish couples and I dont believe for one second that it benefits society as a whole.
Im also biased in this case because I am sterile and cannot physically have children any way. However, I still believe that adoption is so needed that in vitro is actually a pretty evil thing that ends up leaving a bunch of orphans to grow up into screwed up adults with no family.
22
"There are thousands and thousands of naturally produced babies just waiting to have a family." False. There are many more waiting adoptive families than there are infants available for adoption. It can take years for adoptive parents to be chosen, and that wait can be agonizing. Also, many people who want to adopt are excluded for being single, being in a same-sex relationship, etc.
Domestic infant adoption is also expensive, about $20k-$40k, which is more than fertility treatment costs in most cases. Even after adoptive parents are matched with a birth mother she can change her mind at the last minute, after they've already paid her medical expenses and other fees. Unlike the package IVF programs mentioned in the article, there is no refund for adoptive parents when that happens. The money is gone.
Of course, it is also possible to adopt through the foster care system -- usually older children. It's less expensive than infant adoption (although not free), but the process is also extremely difficult. The foster system prioritizes reuniting children with their birth families, not adoption. For an infertile couple, losing a foster child they've had for years and come to love may be an additional heartbreak they don't wish to bear.
Unless you're also suggesting that everyone who can conceive naturally should adopt instead of doing so, your argument doesn't hold water. Adoption can be a beautiful way to build a family, but let's not pretend it's easy or right for everyone.
Domestic infant adoption is also expensive, about $20k-$40k, which is more than fertility treatment costs in most cases. Even after adoptive parents are matched with a birth mother she can change her mind at the last minute, after they've already paid her medical expenses and other fees. Unlike the package IVF programs mentioned in the article, there is no refund for adoptive parents when that happens. The money is gone.
Of course, it is also possible to adopt through the foster care system -- usually older children. It's less expensive than infant adoption (although not free), but the process is also extremely difficult. The foster system prioritizes reuniting children with their birth families, not adoption. For an infertile couple, losing a foster child they've had for years and come to love may be an additional heartbreak they don't wish to bear.
Unless you're also suggesting that everyone who can conceive naturally should adopt instead of doing so, your argument doesn't hold water. Adoption can be a beautiful way to build a family, but let's not pretend it's easy or right for everyone.
15
Adoption is certainly needed. But unless and until you have actually looked into it--it is hugely expensive, highly restricted in all kinds of ways, and ethically fraught as well, whether international or domestic--you have no idea what you are talking about and should refrain from judgment. "Just adopt" is not a kind or a thoughtful response to people suffering from fertility issues, and the biological drive to give birth to a child is not easily suppressed. As someone says in response to a similar comment below, by this logic everyone should adopt, and absolutely no one should birth their own children. And that may in fact be true, but it is just not the way the world or human bodies work. Or are you suggesting that only those with difficulty conceiving have a special responsibility to adopt? What kind of discrimination is that?
20
So, how many kids have you adopted?
27
I was rejected by a fertility clinic due to my age and having fibroids. They said I needed an egg donor and possibly a surrogate. Ironically, turns out I was actually two weeks pregnant the old fashion way the day the doctor turned me away. I did not discover this until a month later.
30
"All About Fertility Clinic Package Deals": This title could not be more of a misnomer. The inaccuracies in this article are mind-boggling. As someone who conceived via IVF and who is active in an online infertility community, I was appalled by the stories included in this article as "typical" of people in shared risk programs. How about the other motivations for investing so much money? Like federal tax breaks when expenses are greater than 10% of your income. Or how much money is actually lost by things not covered in shared risk programs? Like 14k in drugs for every cycle and the 2k in ultrasounds while in beta hell? The last story of the miracle pregnancy was the cherry on top of the infertility trope sundae. Thank you for including the obligatory unicorn of the free baby after IVF. People in the trenches of infertility just love those stories (barf).
41
Thanks for your comments. No one mentioned the tax deduction possibility to me, and it's a great point. I did mention the out of pocket drug costs, but no one I spoke with had per-cycle totals close to $14,000. I hope that your success with conceiving led to a baby, and good luck to you and your family...
27
I'm sorry for your troubles, Andrea, and I certainly understand having spent 7 years in the misery of fertility treatment. I do think it's important to understand, though, that members of an online fertility community are self-selecting, and will represent only a certain set of people experiencing or having experienced infertility. Your anecdotal evidence is no more meaningful or true than the anecdotal evidence presented in the article.
13
Hi, Ron! Just a note to say that on the one hand, yeah, it's a gamble, and the clinics that offer such programs do often stack the deck. Certainly one goes through a roster of tests to "qualify" for them. But--as your article suggests, and as I can attest from personal experience--after the toll of money thrown away on nothing when one has no insurance (and I think your article downplays a bit how rare, still, fertility coverage actually is, especially away from the coasts) and endless heartbreak--they also offer immense psychological relief (if one can somehow afford one more huge outlay of funds, that is).
It is worth mentioning, I think, that Shady Grove Fertility (DC area, and one of the most well-known for offering such packages, though not mentioned here), is a firm proponent of single-embryo transfer (SET), and emphatically counsels its patients away from transferring more than one embryo at a time.
In short: I am not sure all programs are quite as possibly unethical/medically troubling in their procedure as this piece (slightly, only slightly) implies.
It is worth mentioning, I think, that Shady Grove Fertility (DC area, and one of the most well-known for offering such packages, though not mentioned here), is a firm proponent of single-embryo transfer (SET), and emphatically counsels its patients away from transferring more than one embryo at a time.
In short: I am not sure all programs are quite as possibly unethical/medically troubling in their procedure as this piece (slightly, only slightly) implies.
23
I'd like to second your comments on shady grove. I'm currently in their shared risk program and although I am in my late 30s my doctor has been very adamant about only transferring 1 embryo at a time. And the only way I had to qualify for the program as far as I know was be under the age of 39. Of course at the end of the day, the clinics want to make money and every clinic and doctor is different, but my personal experience has been pretty different from what is described in this article.
10
I was in an infertility treatment with Shady Grove, try a year and half on IUI with clomid did not work out, then paid $22K to join the shared risk program for 6 tries or my money back (this is six years ago). I did three cycles, each cycle I still had to pay my own drugs and injections, which costed $3k each cycle, I also took break in between cycle to try acupuncture, no milk diet, etc., I had two embryos transfer each cycle (recommended by the doctor) because I want to maximize my chance of success. We were successful on the third try, I was pregnant with triplet, and decided to reduce to twins. Today we have healthy boy-girl twins. Overall I had many chances of think through different paths of having a child (surrogate, relax-wait-for-natural, adoption), and I decided to be laser focus and keep my eyes on the prize--maximize our chance of having our own kids using IVF more than anything else. So I would certainly not discourage people on transferring two.
9
Be aware of the incentives to take medically inappropriate risks.
18
Adoption? Do these wantabe parents understand what 7.5 billion people are doing to the planet?--especially those born into the affluent West? Fertility clinics are a selfish use of money and doctors. Our numbers fuel Climate Change, deforestation, pandemics and depletion of resources including clean air and water. I understand that adoption is a difficult process. It should be.
19
Both parents have to be on the same page about this. I wanted to adopt, but my husband wanted "our own children."
7
We looked into adoption. International rules have become more and more restrictive, almost impossible to surmount in many cases. Domestic programs have their own highly unethical aspects (racially and otherwise and can be hugely complicated--and very expensive too. It can take years and years and years -- and then it can still all fail at the end. People who counsel adoption as the answer tend to be those who have not looked into it closely. And I would suggest withholding judgment unless you have walked in an infertile person's shoes.
67
One family I spoke to this week told me that adoption would have been more expensive than the package program turned out to be. I realize that they were not talking about, say, adopting through the foster care system, but adoption can indeed be very pricey -- and then there are all those other complications to consider.
14
Regulations anyone?
Should not be a commercial free-for-all.
Should not be a commercial free-for-all.
10
but without the profit motive these facilities would only exist courtesy of US taxpayers (you know, the ones who complain of already too high taxes).
3
Commercial free-for-all is the best description yet I've heard of our country's health care system.
The whole insurance industry works on the same principle. The "house" always wins because they have already determined that you are a much lower risk than you assume. Where the house starts losing consistently, such as in obamacare, they quickly abandon the market as the insurers are doing. All extended warranties work on the same principle. You might as well save money by doing your own research and becoming self insured with some savings in the bank. As far as fertility treatment is concerned, you have a lot more options than you assume. Go to India for a 4 week vacation, get treated like a 5 star patient at a fraction of the cost you would pay here in the US and come back with a bun in the oven.
4
Hi Rahul - We're interested in seeing what success rates look like in India. Sounds like you have a fair amount of experience. Have you seen anything?
3
I completely understand why people sign up for this. If I were in that situation and had the money I'd probably do it myself. I don't care what people say about how it's gambling and so forth. That's all just talk. We're talking about having a baby here, which is more important than what anybody says about it.
All that said, it is sad that so many women, by necessity as much as anything, are postponing pregnancy so long in their lives that they need high-tech assistance. I had my first baby at 22. Luckily I didn't need any help, since this was all 50 years ago. Getting pregnant was not very difficult. I know that not all 22 year olds achieve pregnancy easily, and that not all of the patients at this clinic are older women, but I'm speaking in generalities.
All that said, it is sad that so many women, by necessity as much as anything, are postponing pregnancy so long in their lives that they need high-tech assistance. I had my first baby at 22. Luckily I didn't need any help, since this was all 50 years ago. Getting pregnant was not very difficult. I know that not all 22 year olds achieve pregnancy easily, and that not all of the patients at this clinic are older women, but I'm speaking in generalities.
9
A question you may want to ponder is, would you rather start out parenting that child with $10,000 less. You might say, "of course"? but for many this is a big, big expense. In fact, we found roughly 25% of people had to take out a loan to do this. So not only did they not have the money in the first place, they probably racked up another $5 - $25K in financing charges. It can be hard to look at these things in absolutes.
7
Susan, please don't make assumptions about women 'postponing' pregnancy. There are as many different reasons for women having children later in life as there are women. It's not helpful to generalize, as you clearly know.
12
Good lord, I hope my daughters don't have babies at 22 years of age!
10
Sorry, but this is not new. We went through four fertility centers and one offered this to "select" patients (which we were not). We ended up with a happy outcome at university affiliated centers, which we found on www.sart.org. We chose the ones that had the highest record of IVF implants because we wanted the most experienced doctors. The statistics are on that website.
Infertility treatments should be regulated (I know, it's a dirty word in this society.) A reputable doctor would never have implanted so many embryos in Octomom. As a nurse at Yale Fertility said, twins are already a risk. "Three is pushing it. Human beings are not meant to have litters."
Infertility treatments should be regulated (I know, it's a dirty word in this society.) A reputable doctor would never have implanted so many embryos in Octomom. As a nurse at Yale Fertility said, twins are already a risk. "Three is pushing it. Human beings are not meant to have litters."
29
You might be surprised to hear that in the U.S., roughly 75% of cycles involve more than one embryo. Right now the ASRM is trying to clamp down on such high "non-compliance" but clearly with no avail. In countries where IVF is more regulated, and where the government pays for it, rates of multiple embryo transfer are closer to 20%. Australia, Japan, Sweden et al
8
I believe Octomom was IUI which is much harder to control. No doctor would transfer 8 embryos. When you supercharge someone's ovaries with clomid and then inseminate, multiples are highly likely. Most cases of multiples you hear about are not IVF they are IUI.