Plan Z Pre-Work

So, anyway, about a second child...

I know I have been sounding a little schizophrenic on the subject. One minute I am singing the Subfertility Fight Song (Na na na Wi-NO-na State! Very catchy but a trifle obscure) and vowing to keep screwing until the end, and the next minute I am wringing my hands and talking about how incredibly sad everything is. What with all the sadness and tear tea and everything.

So which is it? I am doleful or am I plucky?

Both, I think, although now that the hormones are finally receding I am feeling less like a battered plaything of Fate and thus more capable of sustaining a given emotion for more than two seconds. Steve no longer flinches when I flop into his office. Patrick no longer has to put up with my constantly flinging my arms around him and covering his face with kisses while enthusing, "You are everything to me, my beloved wonderous angel child. Mommy will love you forever and ever and ever. You must never leave me or my heart will break! Here- pinkie swear!"

As I am getting past the Crazies (ahem) I am able to take a cold, hard look at our reproductive future and say, oh, what the hell, let's try... something.

My emotion of choice is apparently obstinacy. Did this latest miscarriage change my desire to have another child? No. So what I am going to do? Stop trying? Nah. That's sounds like a good way to NOT have another child and, you know, see above, that is NOT what we want. Ipso facto.

So:

1. donor sperm

2. adoption

3. trying again the 18th C way (Steve plays the highwayman)

4. trying again the 21st C way (I am still Bess, the Landlord's Daughter, but Steve merely drives on a highway to a clinic where he is then obliged to seduce himself- not much of a challenge)

These scenarios all assume that the last miscarriage was genetic, by the way, and I am 99.39% positive that it was. We had: slow rising hcg (eventually); slow growth; and a slow heartbeat. If it looks like a duck and waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck it is probably a duck. A genetically improbable duck.

I suppose you are thinking, perhaps with an indulgent smile, "No, no, Julia, you forget. You did PGD this time. You tested the embryos ahead of time to insure that they were genetically normal. Silly girl."

R-i-iii-ggg-hh-t.

So the thing is, PGD has a 1 in 10 error rate. The dearly departed tested normal with PGD but could, in fact, have been carrying Steve's unbalanced translocation like a piece oversized carry-on luggage. That's one possibility. The other possibility is that it had a completely different, and therefore random, genetic problem. They ONLY tested for Steve's issue so that leaves a whole raft of chromosomes unaccounted for. We should get the genetic results from the D&C back next week and then we will know for sure (I hope- sometimes they are not able to get a karyotype, to which I say Gak!)

Where was I? Oh yeah: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

1. Donor sperm. No. Steve sticks his fingers in his ears and says La La La La LA. I no longer have the energy to argue with him.

2. Adoption. See donor sperm.   

3. Eh. Much as I like getting dirty with my husband, the idea of just having sex and seeing what happens alternately bores and terrifies me. I am not psychic and I hate to sound all fey but I am having a hard time visualizing good things coming from this scenario. I mean, besides all the hot highwayman sex.

4. Well... maybe. Although, huh, look at that. I've sort of rejected all the other options, haven't I?

Have I left something out? In the No Column we have: Giving Up, Donor Sperm, Adoption & Trying On Our Own. In the Maybe Column we have: ART [ed. Assisted Reproductive Technologies].

Feel free to tell me if you have any other ideas. The only thing you need to know is 1) I really am not going to change Steve's mind and 2) miscarriages don't scare me any more.

Also, I am sure you don't do this, but there are few things more irritating than having one's choices interpreted as a condemnation of other people's choices. So the fact that WE are not going to adopt simply means that WE are missing out on all the joys of adoption that YOU might have. My friend Karen's life is a huge paean to the magic of parenting through adoption and every time I read her blog I think about how we are just shorting ourselves by not considering this. Ditto that with donor sperm. So if you think we are assholes not to know that there is no need to have a genetic tie to a child you are right. I agree. But please do not take umbrage and assume that I am criticizing adopting, or donor sperming, or egging, or whatever ok? Because I am not. In fact, I am jealous of you. So, cool. Peace out.

Comments

[Scully]

I don't have any suggestions except you have to do what's best for you and Steve.

I'm with you all the way.

[Ameliasmama2000]

Best of luck whatever you choose...This is a very personal decision.

If you don't have luck after more ART, see if you can get Steve to read some of the research on identity release sperm donors. While children of sperm donors share some of the experiences of adopted children you have more options today than ever before. There are anonymous donors, identity release donors (those who agree that the child can know who they are if they choose to after age 18 yrs, and Known donors (a friend, relative, etc.).
There is an interesting study out on Adolescents with open-identity sperm donors: reports from 12–17 year olds
Authors: J.E.Scheib M.Riordan and S.Rubin
Department of Psychology,University of California, Davis, CA
To whom correspondence should be addressed.E-mail:jescheib@ucdavis.edu

[Kay]

I admire your courage. I also admire you for your ability to accept Steve for who he is and understanding his tolerance levels.

Good luck with ART. You deserve the best.

[KatBT]

Hey Julia,
I'm so laughing out loud right now about your flinging arms around Patrick, smothering him with kisses. Lately I've been doing that at least twice a day with my daughter... I'll need to add the pinkie swear to my repertoire.

As you may remember from your PT and BT diary days, I also have the balanced translocation thing going on and finally had my daughter after 4 MCes, about 9 months after you had Patrick.

You've outlined our 4 options really well, and my husband and I have had the same discussion, oh, dozens, no thousands, of times.

I'm in no position at all to even guess at what you should consider doing, though I was momentarily surprised to see that "on your own" was in the "no" column. But then again, I've only had 4 MCes so I'm still living in the foggy haze of hopefullness that this BT thing is just a numbers game and at least once in a while I'll get one that will stick. I can accept the fact that you're in a different spot than I am.

But, it does seem to me that the boring "wait and see" will happen with either option #3 and #4, and option #3 is a whole lot less expensive. And since ART isn't in our budget any time soon, we're still trying the 19th C way. 8 days ago to be exact. Now we're in that dreaded 2 week wait, and it is equally boring and horrifying. If I'm PG, it's just the beginning of the nightmare. If I'm not, I have to do all this stupid charting, trying, waiting thing all over again.

Unlike you, though, I'm terrified shitless about the prospect of another miscarriage... and I can't even imagine what you've been through with the D&Cs in MN, where I didn't realize (until I read your recent posts) that there were only a handful of Drs that would do them (even medically necessary ones.)

Not much help here, I suppose. Just want you to know that whatever you decide you've got us all here to cheer you on.

~kat
MaternityGenes

[ValleyGal]

Well, I know that in the last PGD, they only tested for the translocation, but could they test for BOTH the translocation and other anomalies? No offense, but it seems like if you have the $$$ to throw at the problem, then what's another couple of grand, especially if the karotyping shows a different anomaly. Either way, good luck on the second child thing!

[susan]

Well, I got nothing. But I wanted to say that I'm following your journey however you take the next step.

Love your blog.

[Kirrily]

Ahhhh did you get into my head and extract many of my thoughts, passing them as YOUR blog today!? I read that and thought "How freaky....this could be us in 2 months if this PGD doesn't work in May." And while I don't have a Patrick (you lucky duck), I do have a Steve. And he does have a balanced translocation. And he won't do all the things your Steve won't do (maybe I need to marry someone else not called Steve. Yeah!).

If ONLY every anomaly known to scientists could be tested during PGD but, alas, although we fork out the dosh that SHOULD cover everything, there are only half a dozen or so chromosomes/things that can be checked (from my understanding), so it's your particular b/trans and that's that! Pooh to their darned sciency limitations.

SO. Sing it with me (to the tune of that AC/DC classic): ART oi oi oi... Go for it Julia. You've got the strength (can you refinance??)

[Soper]

Duh, we know you aren't as cool as us, cause COOL KIDS ADOPT.

Short of stealing a kid, I think you are running out of options. Ooo! Try immaculate conception! That would be cool! Except that is sort of donor sperm, except I think they kinda fuzzed over that part, I think God is supposed to have just blinked and Mary was pregnant or something.

Did I mention that I'm going to Hell?

Where was I going with this?

[T]

Ditto to what Ms. Maternity Genes said. It seems to me the playing field has been leveled and #3 is free.

[sheilah]

Well, unfortunately, since Steve won't even entertain sperm donation or adoption, it seems there is just ART, ART and more ART.

Lucky happenstance and kinky sex sure never worked for me.

[Karen]

Hey, Bess --

Thanks for the shout-out, you wacky kid, you. As for ART -- I have no idea what that means, but I'll go ahead and join the chorus and wish you the very best with that. May the ART be with you, as it were.

Best of luck, cyber-buddy.

[Mollie]

5. Trying again the way women in your situation have for many, many C (sex with the milkman, better known as "passive sperm donation")

If you think I am joking, well, think again. When we got our male-factor diagnosis, that, coupled with George's rejecting adoption out of hand had me scanning the horizon for likely prospects. I am very good at keeping secrets, and figured whatever consequences came after were small compared to not having the kid.

But happily, I was able to convince George to adopt, and our male-factor (entirely different from your issue, as you know) ended up being less incurable than I thought, so we have a nice little platter of two hors d'oeuvres from the buffet table.

But I was totally ready to put a little takeout into a casserole dish from my cupboard and smile serenely as I lied about my "secret recipe."

[Kate]

I guess the idea of embryo donation/adoption is out too. Looks like ART is the most likely option.

Best of luck with whatever y'all decide.

[Kat]

Julia,
My dd hit the keyboard and must have deleted something I else I had written before sending my comment. We'd have to start selling crack from our suburban ranch home to be able to afford ART, so that's really NOT an option for us.

And my hubbie has some of the same issues that Steve does about adoption/donation, so I really only have the one choice of au naturel. And I'm the one with the translocation, so Mollie's option #5 wouldn't have solved my problem even though it sounds a little interesting. Especially when my DH is being an ass.

Ciao,
Kat

[Laurie]

Mollie, did you read my mind? See, the thing is, with MF infertility all men with kids look like good prospects for 'informal' donors. I've considered it too many times. Never acted on it though.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

[Angela]

Hi Julia,

I'm coming out of lurkdom to post for the first time. I hope it works out for you the next time. You seem to be leaning towards ART, will you do PGD again? I didn't know that PGD was only 90% correct - thought it was higher.

I have a BT myself and was finally successful with IVF with PGD. I would love a second child but more ivf is not an option for us for financial reasons. So I'm opting for the old fashioned way and will just have to grin and bear another miscarriage.

I wish you all the best and your son Patrick sounds gorgeous. You're an inspiration.

[Jill]

All of our issues were me. My husband's sperm is great. Maybe I can put some on dry ice and Fedex it to you? It would eliminate the need for a milkman.

I'm sorry I don't have a better answer. Just know we are here supporting you.

[Judy]

I was, am and will always be for option #5. That said, please make sure the annoymous donor not only looks like Steve, but is equally financially secure (can never have too many plan B's).

"So the thing is, PGD has a 1 in 10 error rate. The dearly departed tested normal with PGD but could, in fact, have been carrying Steve's unbalanced translocation like a piece oversized carry-on luggage. That's one possibility. The other possibility is that it had a completely different, and therefore random, genetic problem."

Another possibility is that the lab tech also has an abusive relationship with Champagne. And you caught him on a bad morning. Do you get a free IVF card if it was their fuck up?

Oh, and my other thought was: What about foster children? Maybe that could sway Steve without having all the discussions.

Glad to hear that the crazies are fleeing - please don't send any more here!
Judy

[Vicki]

You know the answer. And you can probably make it happen.
Always hoping for you.

[Lisa S (& Riley, Bella, & Adelyn)]

Not a clue, just offering support and warm wishes. Crossing my fingers for the genetic testing, but I don't even know what to hope for.

[Lyss]

Follow your hearts, kids.

All the best to you on this God forsaken journey.

[Karen]

I applaud your pluckiness and wait with bated breath for the genetic analysis of your latest loss.

Here are two items, one ART encouragement and one "BTDT" good news story.

On ART...I am frustrated/disappointed/angry/befuddled that IVF w/PGD didn't offer you a better result this time. After my 7th IVF we applied the "kitchen sink" theory to our protocol and thank God ended up with a baby. The "kitchen sink" protocol included a surgical transfer for me (better success rates w/ZIFT but hardly ever performed anymore). Two years later I tried the same protocol again, this time adding heparin, and was unsuccessful. So there you go. Talk to the Shady Grove folks about what their "kitchen sink" protocol might include. My old RE's practice offered me IViG as a last ditch add-on.

The "good news" story is my first cousin, who has a translocation AND Hashimoto's Disease. After 5 m/c and one term pg she adopted a 2nd child. Now she's 12 weeks pg (I thought she said she wasn't trying???) and so far so good.

Standing by to see what happens next....

[shannon]

I know you aren't judging other choices. I know you're jealous. And I'm really, really sad for you that Steve is so anti-other options, because I think you'd be a fabulous mom to any cuckoo that fell into your nest. I'm really grateful that my partner and I agree whole-heartedly on our reproductive choices. I hope, hope, hope that Steve's way works soon, because your body is becoming a battlefield in the literal, rather than artistically figurative, sense.

[Donna]

#6 Tape you and Steve having hot highwayman sex, sell the tapes, pay for more ART.
Problem solved.

[Ampersandduck]

I feel a bit odd adding a comment when everyone else is saying the same things, but I guess I'm yet another woman going through the trying game. Hip hooray! I'm not alone. I've been reading your blog avidly to help me get through my own miscarriage -- misdiagnosed for over a month as a 'slow growth', but I knew way before the doctors did that the poor little tucker was dead. You do, don't you? Finally had a D&C (my contribution to the mass of acronyms that seems to plague these comments) and was perforated not once, not twice but thrice, and then bled heavily for over a month. I am now blissfully on the pill back-to-back for a few months for a rest while I consider my options. Since I'm 37, have a bicornuate uterus and fibroids -- plus have already given birth to a child who was a miracle from start to finish (with two bouts of open-heart surgery) -- I can relate to your quandry. As much as I would like to try again I'm a bit scared, and it's nice to be flatly told not to try until later in the year. Big sigh of relief, get on with a few other plans.

I admire your ability to write about all this -- and I'm right with you on the topic of pharmacists. We're starting to have exactly the same problem in Australia, which shocks me deeply. I've decided to do a survey of the Canberra area to see if it is happening in my own backyard, and if so, to do something about it.

Anyway, please do drop in to my blog for a cup of tea sometime. I think you are simply wonderful.

[Jennifer H-M]

See, from doing loads of 18th century literature at Uni, the *real* 18th century option would be to sleep with his brother or cousin or something and have him never know.

Not *strictly* recommended though :(

[chasmyn]

I uselessly have no suggestions either.

Does steve have a brother? I know in my case if we were to use donor sperm my Hub's only acquiescence to it would be if it were his brother. Same bloodline and all.

Not that I think even that will change his mind. I'm just thinking out loud. Oh man, I just read the somment about mine after I typed that. Synchronicity!

I'll be here whtever you decide. This is a personal decision. Sorry I'm not helpful.

[LizM]

hmmmm. I truly admire that you're almost willing to go with option #3. In a way it's sad that miscarriages don't scare you anymore. It's just so wrong that any woman should come to that point in her pursuit of a child. :-(
Anyways, I don't really have too much to add except even when couples without a translocation problem do IVF it doesn't always work out the first time. It may have just been a fluke. If you have the money I would definitely give it at least a second chance.
love and good luck to you.

[Day]

My suggestion is another IVF with PGD which tests for both the translocation AND all the other assorted chromosomal anomalies. It costs lots of $, but if it works you won't miscarry and voila! - in 10 months or so, you'll have a baby.

[Jessica]

To me, it would be a combination of a) age (as in "how much time do I have before I turn 35 and IVF success rates go down"), emotional health ("can I take any more miscarriages") and finiancial standing ("how many IVF can we do before we're completely and utterly broke").

If you're, say, 30 (I have no idea how old you really are) and miscarriages truely don't scare you, I'd try again on my own, saving another IVF attempt for further down the road. But that's partly because any IVF attempt would make me very very broke. Whatever you decide will be best.

[dish]

Ack, what a quandry. I have no good advice to add to the mix. Just saying that I'm sitting here in support hoping that you keep your sanity in the process.

[Cat, Galloping]

I just have to say that all of the milkman suggestions are making me giggle.

[Lori]

They're retrieving my eggs tomorrow and if there are 4 (I only have 5 follicles and one is a runt) and they all fertilize then we're doing PGD to increase our odds against early miscarriage or Down's (I'm 41 and my sister has a child with Down's). My doctor told me that the PGD lab checks for 10 chromosomes. They could do more but they do it by color and the colors start overlapping, which makes it hard to read. Of the 10 chromosomes they check, 5 are for things that would be caught in amnio later but if a woman wouldn't ethically terminate then this is where PGD is helpful. The other 5 chromosomes are for things that have statistically caused early miscarriage. My doctor said they did a sample of 135 miscarried embryos that had not been PGD'd (this is a research IVF clinic by the way) and of them 70% would have been caught by PGD. So it's not surprising that PGD didn't catch your genetically-challenged embryo. Hope this helps.

[Lori]

I want to add to my above comment, that since we don't have any known chromosomal problems the lab won't have to specifically check for this. I don't know how having known translocations affects the PGD test panel.

[Betsy]

Okay, you don't know me from Adam, but what about aggressive injectables + IUI? I'm sure you've considered this option before, so don't find me too annoying. Anyway, my DH carries a bt (1, 14), is adopted and is a little oogy about sperm donor/adoption, thanks to his own adopted status. Not that he doesn't adore his parents, not that he's anti-adoption for other people, but like you said earlier in your blog, he's his *own* adoption story.

But I digress. My point is that an injectables cycle is pretty much chump change in the world of infertility, so it could be something to do as you regroup and push for another IVF/PGD. I'm in the middle of one right now, in fact, and my RE was willing to go for 4-6 follies, given the bt and our low risk of multiples (hahaha multiples –– that's funny). Triggered yesterday and go for IUI tomorrow. Hoo boy!

So there's another option.

[Tertia]

i could have sex with steve while you have sex with mollie's george. mollie could watch. that way we all win. oh wait, what about marko? he could do mollie then. or mollie and i could have sex and you could do ivf?

i'm for art.

[Mollie]

Wait, wait, wait a minute! I say Mollie has sex with Steve AND Marko, and Tertia and Julia can go shoe shopping with George, since that seems to be what he likes best.

[cathy]

As for Mollie's comment, about "passive sperm donation," My older friend "Jane" was married, waiting for a child for 15 years (mid-1970s-late 80s, when no one was talking about infertility). They'd married young, in college, were busy with school & careers, and thought kids would happen eventually. After 12 years with no pregnancy, Jane finally had some tests (I don't know what they were back then), and was told she shouldn't have trouble conceiving. "Tarzan" hit the wall and refused to be tested: the "problem" couldn't be him, his brother had 5 kids, etc. She talked abt. adoption--he didn't want that. She talked abt. sperm donation--no way. He was a mule. Finally, they separated. He started seeing someone else. She started seeing someone else. But they weren't ready to divorce, owned a business together, still liked each other and, oh yeah, still "got together" for "stuff."

Yeah, she soon got pregnant and had a daughter. They stayed separated, but did things as a family. Two years of that, still seeing other people and each other, she got pregnant again, a son.

Finally, Tarzan realized how much he really loved Jane, Girl and Boy, and he suggested they move back in together. Happy ending. They never had the kids tested, but the 2 potential dads are family friends that the kids have met. Tarzan believes the kids are genetically his but decided he was open to the possibility that they might not be. (The kids were told the story when they were early grade school age, so they wouldn't be all freaked out learning later.)

Chasmyn's question though, wow: my husb has a brother and the man is an asswipe times (how do you type infinity on a keyboard?). Same genetics, but I'd never want to dip in that side of the pool.

Whatever you choose, Julia, the internet loves you and we will back you up.

Personally, I'd vote for Tertia's plan.

[tworabbits]

I was reading your comments when DH came in, so I paused and went to catch up on his news.
Came back, finished the comments, clicked on 'Back' and my internet connection had timed out.
"Work Offline" or "Try Again" it asked me.
I clicked "Try Again"

Wishing you all the best, Julia

[Cathy]

If your latest embyro had yet another, different, genetic problem...well, good lord but Steve's sperm is pretty scary. You are a brave woman to be attempting reproduction with him. You'll definitely need to write a book about all this. Maybe it will pay for all the ART.

[expat]

Betsy, you can't do PGD with IUI. There's no point in IUI, since Julia can conceive a genetically doomed embryo any time she wants. It's just that she wants the kind that ends up in a baby, rather than a D&C.

You have frosties, don't you? I think that's the simple first answer. At least those, having been PGD'd, would have 90% chance of being healthy.

[Jen (yup, another one)]

I say, go to Tertia's B&B for some of that cheap African IVF. And then you can implement Tertia's plan on the side. If George, Mollie, Julie and Paul get jealous, then they can come too. You just have to videotape when you, Tertia, Mollie, and Julie get together (in any sense of the words). THAT tape you could sell to your myriad fans in blogland and pay for the whole shebang!

[Betsy]

I realize that, expat. My husband has a balanced translocation, too, so we have a long and glorious history of conceiving genetically flawed offspring. There are, however, some women who push for aggressive injectables cycles when dealing with BT's, as the larger number of eggs produced will give you that many more chances of conceiving a normal/balanced baby. Make sense? It's like rolling five or six natural cycles all into one.

So you see, the IUI is not the point, but the aggressive stim is. Lotsa drugs = more eggs = more chances at the kind of pregnancy that sticks. It's not for everyone, of course, and it is a gamble. But if one is in the mood to roll the dice, it could be an option. It ain't $20k, and there's something to be said for that, ya know?

[Emily]

Sounds like you're choices are being narrowed to ART. I'm wishing you the very best with whatever path you take and hope that you can permanently get off this merrigoround soon.

xxoo,

[elisabeth]

If I can drive a gas guzzling SUV with Wellstone & Kerry bumper stickers you can be both doleful & plucky. I think much of life is a conundrum, and you have made a good choice weighing all the factors. No one else can tell you what you need to do. And hopefully you will never have to endure another miscarriage/d&c. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

[Molly]

I'm with Jen. I'd pay good money for that tape.

[Brooke]

It seems like there should be some way to test his sperm and just weed out the funky ones. I mean, I know there IS a way to do that, I guess they are just not good for conception after.

Anyway, good luck!

[patricia]

You know, I understand that adoptee not wanting to adopt thing. I used to feel that way too. I just knew that it was more complicated than people make it out to be.

But getting humbled by miscarriage forced me to really look at those issues. Finally, I realized you never know how your kids are going to turn out. I know plenty of freaky kids that came from perfectly nice, normal parents. And the other thing I realized is that most of these kids are going to be adopted by SOMEONE. Wouldn't I be a better someone than most? Not only because I believe I'm a reasonably good mother, but because I understand adoption. My shrink also convinced me that I might find some healing by being the adoptive mother that I never had (my mom was psycho, as you may recall.) And I think she probably is right - but my husband doesn't want to do it either, but for different reasons.

I realize I'm beating a dead horse, but I think Steve is being a mite stubborn.

Anyways, for whatever reason, I believe that you will somehow have another biological child. I just do. I don't know how it's going to happen, but I believe it will.

[Minna]

I have a husband and a 5-year-old son, both with bt 1:22. Our son is such a miracle. When we started "making babies" we weren't aware of my husband's translocation. Because of my PCOS, the doctor prescibed me 1 cycle of 50 mg clomid, "to see if it makes you ovulate". And voilá, we got pregnant, stayed pregnant and had a baby boy nine months later. Still can't believe it, knowing our odds now.

We've been trying to give him a sibling since Jan. 2002, resulting in 5 chemical pregancies and 1 miscarriage at 8 weeks. We've now decided to give it 6 months to work the conventional way (with a bit of help from clomid & clucophage), after that we are moving on to a donor sperm IUI. Until recently my husband was not very much into using donor sperm. I brought up the issue again, asking him to reconsider. He asked if would I use donor eggs if the issue was with me, to which I said "in a heartbeat". I donated my eggs a couple of years ago, so it's not a foreign concept to me. And that did it. That, and him knowing that the sperm in our IUI would be Danish. The Finnish sperm has almost "run dry" because of recent changes in ART legislation, so the clinic buys little swimmers from Denmark. I guess him knowing that the "milkman" wouldn't be among the mere 5 million Finns made him change his mind. My husband is an American, but since we live in Finland, he was so much against using donor sperm at first.

Adoption is out of the question for us because of finances. The waiting list for a domestic adoption in my country are long (5+ years), and international would be too expensive for us. ART is partly covered in my country, so we could afford a couple of PGD cycles if we wanted to. It's something we were still considering a year ago, but have now decided it's not worth the effort in our case. I think the chances of PGD NOT working are bigger than chances of it working with balanced translocations. No matter how many eggs I produce (and believe me, I can produce a whole lotta' eggs as I have PCOS), there's a big chance that all the embryos would be unbalanced after fetilization. At this point, I want something with a better success rate. And yes, I've also considered Mollie's casserole recipe!

[~z]

Just wanted to send this, I know its Canada, but my sister was told years ago that she couldn't have any children. And she has a beautiful 8 month old daughter now. No shots. No drugs. Whatever they are doing at the Hannah Centre worked for her, who knows, maybe they know of a similar place nearer you. Sorry, they don't seem to have a website.

Infertility and Miscarriage
The Hannah Centre for Women’s Health Research
Natural Procreative Technology Program (NPT)
2017 8th St. N.
Cranbrook, B.C. (250) 426-0463

Advantages of NPT:
• More effective then artificial methods (IVF) in
women of all ages, including those age 38 and over.
• Focuses on diagnosing and correcting the root caused of infertility and miscarriages.
• Unlike artificial method, there is no greater risk of multiple pregnancies, premature birth, low birth weights or birth defects.
• Uses natural acts of intercourse to conceive.