Tag Archives: infertility

Supporting a friend who’s miscarried

By Lauren Murphy, SIU School of Medicine
According to the Association for Reproductive Health Professionals, approximately one in four pregnancies before 20 weeks will end in miscarriage. Although the cause of most early pregnancy losses is unknown, health care providers, including SIU Med School’s family medicine physician Dr. Tabatha Wells, say oftentimes, women blame themselves.sad woman
“When I counsel women who’ve miscarried, I reassure them that there is nothing she could have done to prevent it. But most women have trouble accepting this and remain convinced that they must have done something wrong,” explains Dr. Wells.
It’s that line of thinking that Dr. Wells warns can have a long-lasting emotional toll on women who have miscarried. That’s why she emphasizes the need for supportive friends and family following a miscarriage.
“Women often feel a mix of emotions, ranging from sadness and grief to devastation or even relief,” says Dr. Wells. “I try to help her realize that feeling sad or relief or other mixed emotions are perfectly normal responses.”
When comforting a friend or family member following a miscarriage, Dr. Wells says it’s about giving her whatever she needs. “Treat it as a death in the family, and know that everyone grieves differently. Some women will want to talk about it; some women won’t. If she wants to be distracted, distract her. Most importantly, be supportive and offer encouragement.”
Dr. Wells and Linda Childers and Teresa McUsic of Nurse.com offer the following suggestions for family and friends:

  • Listen to get a sense of wha­­­t the pregnancy means to her: McUsic and Childers suggest, “Listen for the word ‘baby.’ Has the woman bonded?” Respond accordingly and withhold your own feelings.
  • Don’t deny her feelings: Avoid using “at least” statements, such as, “Well at least you got pregnant.”
  • Help her realize it wasn’t her fault: The reality is that nearly a quarter of pregnancies fail and, oftentimes, the reason goes unknown. A miscarriage isn’t necessarily a sign of infertility.
  • Acknowledge the loss and offer empathy: McUsic and Childers recommend, “Simply say, ‘I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you.’”
  • Give her time to heal: Whether she needs two weeks or two years, simply give her time. Don’t allow her to suffer in silence.

For other unique ways to care for a friend or family member following a miscarriage, visit http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelwmiller/ways-to-support-someone-who-has-had-a-miscarriage.
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

The genetics of infertility

Written by Rebecca Budde, SIU School of Medicine
The pieces that put us together, our DNA, can play a large role in fertility. Women age 35 or older comprise a large sector of those seeking fertility treatments. Their advancing years not only decrease their chances of getting pregnant, but also increase their chances of chromosomal abnormalities resulting in miscarriage or birth defects.
Sometimes younger patients experience miscarriages and seek out genetic testing for answers. They may learn that they carry or have a family history of certain genetic conditions that they could pass on to their children. Genetic screening of the mother, father and/or tissue from miscarriages can sometimes help determine the cause.
IVF with Kohler and Jim KontioIn addition to offering genetic testing to patients, SIU School of Medicine’s Fertility and IVF Center now offers pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to help put future parents’ minds at ease while helping them have a successful pregnancy. SIU also has genetic counselors available to help patients make the best decisions for their family.
PGD tests embryos for specific genetic differences. “If we know a couple is at high risk to have a child with a chromosome abnormality, we can use PGD to find embryos that have healthy chromosomes and implant those,” SIU genetic counselor Heather Glessner says. “If both members of a couple are carriers of a recessive disease, they have a 25 percent chance of each baby having the condition. Again, we can use PGD to test the embryos and determine which ones are unaffected.”
Expectant Mother Holding Her StomachGlessner is a certified genetic counselor offering counseling for prenatal and reproductive risks and also counseling for personal or family history of known genetic conditions. She is one of three genetic counselors at the School — the only board-certified genetic counselors in the region.
After the embryologist safely takes a sample from the embryo, it is sent to a lab for analysis. While awaiting the results, the embryos are frozen. Results indicate which embryos carry the mutation and which ones do not and are therefore more likely to produce a successful pregnancy and healthy birth.
Sometimes, however, all the embryos are affected. “Though it’s difficult for the patients, it can bring closure and allow them to move on to the next step,”  SIU OB-GYN Dr. Loret de Mola says. In these cases, Glessner helps the couple weigh their options of continuing with in vitro fertilization with PGD, finding a sperm or egg donor or adopting.
Learn more about SIU’s Fertility and IFV Center in the aspects article Fertility Frontiers.
Visit SIU’s Fertility and IVF Center’s website at http://www.siumed.edu/fertility/
Copyright © SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois

Help through the journey of infertility

fertility coupleOne in eight US couples of childbearing age is diagnosed with infertility — the inability to carry a pregnancy to live birth. That translates to tens of thousands of couples in Illinois suffering from infertility.
The SIU Fertility and IVF Center recently celebrated five years of treating infertility issues in both women and men. More than 1,500 couples have been served by the Center in this time, and approximately 750 babies have been born to patients of the Center. Team members at the Center include faculty and staff from ob/gyn and urology, psychologists, geneticists and licensed dieticians, providing men and women with evaluation and treatment options.
“Our goal is to help women and men find answers and get the support they need to make important medical decisions and address the medical, emotional, social and economic challenges infertility can present,” said SIU ob/gyn Dr. Ricardo Loret de Mola, medical director of the SIU Fertility and IVF Center.

A few quick facts about infertility:

  • Approximately 85-90% of infertility cases are treated with drug therapy or surgical procedures.
  • Fewer than 3% need advanced reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF).
  • 12% of married women have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining pregnancy. (2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth, CDC)
  • A couple ages 29-33 with a normal functioning reproductive system has only a 20-25% chance of conceiving in any given month (National Women’s Health Resource Center).

An event is planned to celebrate with those who have become parents with the help of SIU’s IVF Center and to allow others to meet the team that could help them through their infertility journey.
When: Sunday, September 7
Where: Erin’s Pavillion at Southwind Park, 4965 S. 2nd Street in Springfield
Time: 3-6 pm
Light refreshments will be served.
Read an article here about SIU’s Fertility and IVF Center. http://www.siumed.edu/pubs/aspects/37-3/feature3.html
Resources: http://www.resolve.org/national-infertility-awareness-week/home-page.html
www.siumed.edu/fertility

-rb