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5 things we wish we knew sooner
There’s so much about fertility that you just don’t hear until you start trying to conceive—and the layers peel back even more when you dive into treatment. To help you feel prepared for whatever may be ahead in your journey, we’re highlighting five fertility-treatment truths that we wish we knew sooner.
There are treatments other than IVF.
IVF is the first thing most think of when they hear “infertility,” but doctors have a wide range of approaches they can suggest, including cycle monitoring with or without medication, intrauterine insemination (IUI), cryopreservation (freezing eggs, sperm or embryos) and surrogacy.
It’s a mental battle and you’ll probably need support.
Loss, trauma, jealousy, guilt, shame—fertility journeys often take a serious toll on mental health. Studies have shown that the number-one reason people stop fertility treatment is the emotional hardship. Find a therapist, counsellor or confidant to help you process and validate your feelings along the way and learn how to cope with infertility within a relationship.
It takes way longer than you think.
In the fertility world, nearly everything is linked to your cycles, so each test or treatment tends to take at least a month. Factor in the waiting lists for specialist referrals too and you can see why fertility journeys often require long-haul endurance.
Even a funded cycle can cost a lot.
In Canada, some provinces cover one IVF cycle, but there are extra costs that you may face, such as medication (roughly $4,000 to $7,000), genetic testing (about $5,000) and other supports (supplements, acupuncture, therapy, etc.). In the U.S., coverage comes down to your insurance plan.
IVF isn’t a guarantee.
There’s a common misconception that IVF is a surefire way to conceive. A 2016 report from the Canadian Fertility & Andrology Society stated, “A woman under 35 years of age can expect a 41 percent chance of delivering a child per embryo transfer,” noting that the rate decreases with age.
