As children and young adults many of us were raised to grow up and become not just well established adults, but moms and dads. It is often a natural progression to graduate school, focus on career, marry and raise a family. Kids are the ultimate goal and accomplishment.

Today however, given the rise in infertility one in five couples today, or 7.3 million Americans struggle with infertility — the biological inability to conceive or carry a pregnancy to full term. Many factors can contribute to this staggering and continually growing statistic. Most common are delayed child bearing, advanced maternal age, medical conditions, sexually transmitted diseases, obesity and environmental factors. As women continue to work and delay having children, their needs with regard to infertility treatment has also continued to grow.

The infertility diagnosis can be devastating and demoralizing. Unable to become pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term, women often feel inadequate, alone and depressed. Infertility treatment is costly and invasive. Success rates are not guaranteed and insurance benefits are often limited. The emotional, physical and financial stressors associated with the infertility process are often challenging and overwhelming.

Age matters in many aspects of life and definitely in the creation of life. Women are most fertile between the ages of 20 to 28 with their fertility decreasing in half by the time they reach 35 years of age. By age 45, only a 1% chance remains each month of conceiving naturally. This is a startling fact considering the average age a woman has her first child has risen to a record high of 25.1 years with 20% of women waiting until they are 35 years old to begin their family.

An increasing number of women choose to delay childbearing due to further schooling, career choice, or are waiting to find their perfect partner. Many individuals are choosing to be single parents. While those choices are understandable and personal, as women naturally age so do their ovaries; affecting their fertility. Oocyte cryopreservation, commonly known as egg banking, generally provides women up to the age of 38 a chance to stop their biological clock and effectively plan and preserve their fertility for the future.

Other treatment options to help overcome infertility include egg donation and surrogacy. Egg donation involves retrieving eggs from a donor between the ages of 21 and 32. Since success rates are linked to the age of the egg, using an egg donor can greatly impact the success rates for pregnancy after in-vitro fertilization treatments. It is most common to use an egg donor in an anonymous arrangement. Legal contracts are necessary to outline the roles of all parties and to have the egg donor relinquish all rights to offspring produced from the treatment cycle.

Surrogacy is another widely available option to help overcome infertility. Over the past decade surrogacy has become more acceptable as the laws in certain states have enabled couples and individuals to establish parentage at birth or shortly thereafter. The most prevalent form of surrogacy today is gestational surrogacy where the surrogate candidate is not biologically related to the offspring.

The pathway to parenthood is not always linear. But understanding the treatment options available will help you to determine your emotional tolerances and physical endurance for exploring treatment and reaching the American dream of becoming a mom and dad.

About Mindy Berkson and Lotus Blossom Consulting

As one of the first infertility consultancies in the United States, Lotus Blossom Consulting, LLC was founded by Mindy Berkson in 2005. With more than a decade of experience at physician’s offices, and egg donor and surrogacy agencies, Berkson assists individuals working through the often-challenging roadblocks of infertility, by providing the best information and resources available to them from around the world – all in one location.

Lotus Blossom Consulting works with individuals on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration clients’ emotional, physical and financial infertility issues and then develops an individualized, comprehensive plan, to help clients make informed decisions. Mindy is a sought-after infertility expert and has appeared on countless media programs and speaker panels educating audiences on the topic of infertility, egg banking and surrogacy. For more information about Lotus Blossom Consulting, LLC, call toll free (877) 881-2685, email mindy@lotusblossomconsulting.com or visit the web at www.lotusblossomconsulting.com or www.infertilityconsultant.com.

I am proud to announce that Lotus Blossom Consulting has officially established the Jude Andrew Adams Charitable Fund to bring new life to families who are struggling to conceive.  motivation and intention in creating this grant is to offer a free fertility treatment for those who could not otherwise afford it.  To learn more about this fund and how it came to fruition, please click here.

Applications for a free treatment cycle are now being accepted.  The board of directors will select from applicants who meet the following criteria:

• Have a history of infertility, and provide a physician documented medical indication for exploring IVF treatment along with the application
• Demonstrate a financial need; defined as a gross combined annual income less than $80,000. A copy of the last two years’ IRS tax returns and two of the most recent pay stubs is required.
• No insurance coverage for infertility treatments.
• Do not currently have any children.
• Be under age 40.
• Be current legal citizens of the United States and living in the United States at the time of the award and subsequent treatment.

Thank you all for your help and support for this great cause. 

I am so honored to have the opportunity to sponsor a very special film entitled In The Family at the Women’s Resource Fair in Evanston Illinois. This very powerful and moving documentary eloquently displays and affords so many BRCA gene victims with education and information on a topic that is all too often stigmatized and avoided because it is too painful to discuss.

I believe the quote “…information really is a blessing. It’s a source of power.” perfectly depicts your relevant take away message.

I work every day with clients nationwide in your situation. Women who are facing the fear of the unknown, and or the inherent actuality of not being able to deal with the outcome of test results, or worst yet the reality of what options may exist, if any.

These are beautiful women in the prime of their reproductive years who need to know how best to maximize their chances of success while simultaneously increasing their opportunities for biological family building.

It pains me to see women so secretive, ashamed and feeling isolated and alone in this difficult decision making process.

It is my hope that In The Family delivers very powerful and important message to help women become their own best advocates as it relates to their health. Advocacy must start with education, awareness, information, and resources necessary to allow each one of us to make informed medical decisions.

In my experience, part of the decision making process that needs to be incorporated when dealing with test results or deciding whether or not to undergo testing is often influenced by the desire and innate need to have biological offspring. Perhaps if women knew and understood the available options today in the very advanced and technologically savvy world of in-vitro fertilization, the difficult decisions that have to be made, could be lessened by the increase in reproductive opportunities available today for the future.
The newest technology to enter the infertility arena is Egg Banking. This technique allows women to freeze their own biological eggs for use in the future. Egg banking is available to women up to 38 years of age. It is a wonderful new option for those who have put off child bearing for careers, for finding the right partner, and also for those who may have suffered medical diagnosis that could compromise future fertility.
Freezing eggs allows women to avoid having to use an anonymous sperm donor until they are ready to fertilize the eggs, at which time they may have identified a known sperm donor. Another advantage of egg banking is that eggs can be thawed in the future, fertilized with sperm of choice and then refrozen as embryos for future in vitro fertilization treatment cycles. This fast growing and very new technology offers more choices and much more flexibility with fertility treatment options for the future.
If you are interested in more details, I will be sharing in detail this option as well as many others on Saturday March 21st at 3:15 in my presentation entitled Conceivable Options: Exploring Fertility Choices. The Unitarian Church 1330 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, Illinois.