Tag Archives: Israel

A Minor Nuisance

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Bureaucracy, emotions, current events,your body and even the weather may become obstacles when going  through fertility treatments. If only we could anticipate and control all those “things” that come up in life and prevent us from getting the job done. Two years of treatments have taught me that some things are beyond my control and that realization is often a relief.

After both consulting with a new doctor and some deliberation, we decided to move forward with a new round of IVF. Everyone seemed to be telling us the same thing, it just takes time and keep at it. Even Dr. Google’s resource of choice concurred: IVF is effective in dealing infertility related to endometriosis. Still, I wanted to be sure that we had weighed all our options and I had heard good things about the Center for the Treatment of Endometriosis  at Tel Hashomer hospital. If anyone was going to have “the magic answer” it would be them.

Early this morning I left our apartment and thanks to the brilliant programmers at moovit I made it to the hospital complex(though finding the clinic within the hospital complex is an entirely different challenge). As my bus pulled into the hospital’s entrance my phone rang. My appointment had been cancelled; the doctor who I was scheduled to see would be attending the funeral of one of the soldiers who was killed in Gaza.

Given that I had traveled in from Jerusalem, I asked if I could see another doctor,but the secretary confirmed that there was no one else available. I hung up the phone mildly annoyed – another delay would cost us this month. Thank you Hamas. Then I took pause to comprehend the situation. The violence over the past few weeks has killed hundreds of people: civilians and soldiers. Living in Jerusalem, I feel safe and can only pray that we find a way out of this violent and painful moment. I am extremely lucky and incredibly thankful. Life is not lived in a vacuum and so it goes with fertility treatment: they move forward or are called to stop by both the mundane and the exceptional events.

On my way back to Jerusalem I picked up some supplies to donate to soldiers who are risking their lives. In the scheme of things, schlepping to Tel Hashomer and back was only a minor nuisance.

 

chillax

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The other day, I went to the IVF clinic for the routine blood test and ultrasound and as I waited for my turn I watched the morning news show on the television. I think everyone in the room was watching because at the time the “hot topic” of Israel’s news cycle was all about the new law related to IVF coverage. Until recently most people believed that women in Israel were entitled to coverage for unlimited rounds of IVF – not entirely accurate as a doctor, and often a board,  always had to determine that the woman was candidate for IVF. Now the popular misconception is that a woman is only entitled to eight rounds of IVF and then she is left with no recourse.

The segment that morning involved an interview with both a woman who gave birth after her 10th round of IVF and a reproductive endocrinologist. The last words of the interview came from the doctor who advised viewers, “do yourselves a favor and have children early.” Thanks, that was helpful because there are absolutely no women who have fertility issues in their 20s!!

Annoyed and frustrated does not adequately describe my reaction to the media’s need to sensationalize this story. So I beg and plead that it stop and will now set the record straight. For starters, the law doesn’t state that a woman is limited to eight cycles of IVF, but rather it qualifies that if a woman does not become clinically pregnant (referring to the appearance of a gestational sac) after eight rounds her case will be evaluated by a committee. Additionally, the law specifies that if no embryos are available for transfer after four cycles, then the case will also be reviewed by a committee – I believe this was previously part of the law. Finally, the law allows women who are passed the age of 42 to begin IVF treatment immediately and not go through the previously required stages of fertility treatments such as IUIs.

Over the past year and a half, we have completed three IUIs (required by the law) and are in the middle of our second round of IVF (a round includes the transfer of frozen embryos). Since the law has always limited the number of cycles that a woman can do in one year, it would take at minimum two years to complete what is now covered under the new law. I know that people spend years trying to have a baby through IVF, but eight cycles would in many cases still cover years of treatment.

I do hope that this law impacts fertility treatments in the country in a positive way by encouraging both doctors and women to take a closer look at their treatment and consider various options. At times I feel like my clinic is a factory and I struggle to receive personalized care. The treatments and approach are standardized and the doctor believes that eventually it will work – there is all the time in the world! As an optimist I want to believe that the new law will encourage doctors to take a closer look at their patients and, when possible, seek more specified treatments.

When we started this process, Tommy and I discussed how long we were willing to try IVF. I knew that it would be taxing – though I had no concept of the extent to which that would be true – and I needed to set a limit. In our situation eight rounds will suffice regardless of whether we have a biological child. I am not suggesting that that approach will work for everyone but it was essential for me. We know that there are multiple paths to parenthood and though each has its obstacles, we will get there one way or another.

While people are welcome to disagree with my take on the new law and its consequences, one thing that is rarely debated is that stress never helps the situation. So I return to my initial point and ask that the media refrain from sensationalizing this story. Anyone who has been through this process knows it is best when approached one day at a time.