Inszem/ombik

Assisted reproduction in a broader sense means that medical assistance is needed to procreate, to reproduce. There are several forms, the range of options is wide and the method chosen depends on the diagnosis and the form of infertility diagnosed. Assisted reproductive techniques are not the first choice in the treatment of infertility.If assisted reproductive methods appear to be the appropriate choice, the options available include ovulation induction (with drugs), in vitro fertilisation (IVF), gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), heterologous insemination (AID), intrauterine insemination with or without superovulation (IUI), egg donation and IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

The success rate in IVF varies from clinic to clinic, ranging from 10-20% per treatment, but this success rate includes a large number of cases where the cause of infertility is indeed "only" organic. In such cases, IVF is much more successful because there were in fact physical obstacles to fertilisation until treatment which could be overcome by IVF.

The success rate depends not only on the institution, but also on the couple and the age of the woman being treated. 100/20 success is statistically reported if the woman is 23-35 years old, 100/15 if the woman is 36-38 years old, and 100/6 if the woman is over 40. Bernstein et al. (1979), reviewing 11 years of results, found that in organic cases, treatment resulted in 73% successful pregnancies, while in infertile women of unknown origin the rate was only 6.6%.

What happens during IVF?

It depends on the procedure, but the basics are the same.Several eggs are retrieved at a time for fertilisation. As normally only 1 matures per month, hormonal preparation is needed. They inject themselves with clomiphene, hMG (human menopausal gonadotropin) and visit the treatment centre every day for 1-2 weeks to check the maturation of the eggs. If they understand you, they will check your oestrogen levels with a blood test. The eggs are collected using UH or a laparoscopically guided probe and mixed with the partner's sperm in a Petri dish. The partner must donate sperm on the day of egg retrieval. You can do this at home, but it is more common to do it while the eggs are being retrieved from the woman. After 18 hours, they will check how many eggs have fertilised. It is common for only 2-3 embryos to develop.The fertilised eggs are incubated in the laboratory for a few days and observed. The technician watches under a microscope as the cells divide to develop into two or more cells, blastocysts.If one or more embryos develop in the lab, the woman is called in for an embryo transfer. The fertilised eggs are then transferred to the uterus via a catheter. The procedure is like a swab from the uterine cavity, no anaesthesia is needed. No more than 2 should be implanted, the rest are frozen. Follow-up of IVF pregnancies is somewhat closer than for pregnancies conceived spontaneously.

The impact of stress on reproduction and the success of IVF treatment 

Getting pregnant and giving birth in a dangerous environment is evolutionarily risky, for both mother and child. Evolution has developed mechanisms that, under intense stress, can inhibit the reproductive system or, if the cost/benefit analysis shows that it is more profitable to lose the foetus, to "abort" the foetus.

Studies indicate that psychologically experienced stress is associated with disturbances of the gonadal functional axis, which may lead to infertility. This effect has also been clearly demonstrated in men: psychological stress inhibits sperm production. The success of IVF (in vitro fertilisation) depends on whether the oocytes obtained from the woman, fertilised with sperm taken from her husband or donor and transferred back into the uterus, will adhere.

Women undergoing IVF treatment usually already suffer from severe anxiety and depressive symptoms which in themselves can prevent them from getting pregnant. Women with high levels of anxiety or depression are the most unsuccessful in IVF treatment. This shows that medical methods cannot break through the evolutionary barriers. Boivin and Takefman (1995) found that women who were unsuccessful in an IVF programme in a given cycle experienced significantly more stress during treatment, with a weaker biological response to treatment. The authors suggest that stress impairs the biological response and may result in poorer conception rates.So even women who do not otherwise show symptoms of anxiety during IVF have increased anxiety: on the one hand, the delay in conception itself is stressful, and on the other hand, fears of treatment and failure greatly increase anxiety.

Risks of assisted reproductive techniques

These are also things to be aware of. As the chances of having a child using assisted reproductive methods are around 20-25% for each cycle of treatment, the greatest risk for those on the programme is disappointment and failure. The most common 'side-effect' of treatment is multiple pregnancies, which can lead to compromised pregnancies, more frequent miscarriages and lower birth weight. Sometimes, foetuses that have started to develop have to undergo foetal reduction, which is a great emotional burden for the parents. The most frequently mentioned risk of artificial insemination is the so-called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which in some cases can develop as a result of medication at the pre-suction stage of the egg. As the fombic generation is only 30 years old, the long-term effects of fombic treatments are not yet known. Research has shown that hormonal stimulation can increase the risk of malignant tumours in mothers after many years of treatment.

As a psychologist and perinatal counsellor for women with chronic illnesses, I consider it a matter of the heart to support couples preparing for assisted reproduction, as this process is no small challenge from an emotional point of view. In today's post, I present our latest CD of deep relaxation and self-suggestion techniques to support couples in the calm experience and success of assisted reproductive procedures.

Stress is an obvious part of any assisted reproductive treatment, which is a problem because one of the biggest barriers to a successful fombie process is tension itself, chronic stress. It is crucial to manage stress, to learn effective yet gentle techniques that will help and support you in achieving a calm and balanced fombie process, thereby increasing your chances of success.

You can read more about this in my article Stress and fertility problems.

The CD contains three audio tracks, corresponding to the stages of the IVF (in vitro fertilisation) cycle.

1. Preparation

2. Under stimulation

3. After implantation

1. In Preparing for the IVF Cycle, the aim is to cultivate and achieve a relaxed, receptive, open state and learn how to achieve and maintain this pleasantly relaxed state in the midst of exciting stress.

2. In deep relaxation you can connect with your female organs, turn to them with love and gratitude, and in this connection ask them to cooperate with you and receive the stimulant drugs with acceptance and love. You can ask the drugs to go where they are needed and to work in the way that is most helpful to your body.

3. After the implantation, the focus is on the baby/babies: building a loving relationship, supporting the implantation is the main goal, but we also don't forget to support the mother's calm and self-confidence. The two weeks of anticipation will thus be pleasantly exciting, rather than grinding and anxiety-filled.

The downloadable audio compilation costs 4290 ft, the Available in EndoShop!

I am a hombie storybook

As a psychologist and perinatal counsellor, I work with women with chronic women's illnesses, so I often meet couples and women who have been helped by the latest advances in medicine to become mothers.

There are countless reasons for this, all unique stories, but all similar in some way: Most of the time it is a long, bumpy road to the use of assisted reproductive technologies, with months and years of cycle monitoring, a regular sex life, going from doctor to doctor, from test to test, the shock of an infertility diagnosis, the grief of the process, the resulting difficulties in the relationship, the loss of female/male self-worth, self-esteem and the questioning of faith in one's own body.

Then there are the treatments, the stimulation, the tests, the injections, the hassle, the side effects, the anxious waiting, the days, the weeks, the planning, the hoping, and then the failures, the three months before you can try again. And in three months, again, and again, until those two stripes on the pregnancy test go viral. And then comes the joy, the unearthly happiness, and then usually a nine months of heightened attention and anxiety.

This is the parents' page. But what about the baby, the growing child?

For modern psychology, there is no longer any question that human life begins not at birth, but at conception. And the period spent in the womb is a period of incredible significance in every human being's life, which has an impact on our later development and personality. The foetus is competent, already in this period it sees, hears, smells, moves, feels, experiences, discovers and interacts with its environment using its own means. Under the right conditions, using special methods that require a modified state of consciousness, these early experiences can be recalled, e.g. haptonomy, we can experience what it was like to be a foetus in the womb, relive our own birth, and even, with the help of a competent therapist, correctly "recode" the memories stored from this period.

In this reading, you can see why I started from Adam and Eve: you can guess: if life begins at conception, then embryos conceived by assisted reproduction have a very different experience from their naturally conceived counterparts.

These children feel and know that "something else is with them", but they have no idea what it is, and as such, as they grow up, they may experience inner insecurity and mistrust. They can infer this or that from the phrases spoken over their heads in the family, but unfortunately the child's imagination often misinterprets things and takes them in different directions. The meaning of the words flask, laboratory, injection, the child does not know the meaning or knows it from other contexts already associated with fear, which can frighten him or her and create anxiety. I have had children with fombies who, for months, had nightmares of being locked in a freezer with their brothers and sisters - they were only children at the time - and woke up terrified at night, until their parents told them about the circumstances of their conception, playfully, in a way appropriate to their age, answering their questions and encouraging them to ask more questions. When a sentence slips out of the mouth of a well-meaning friend or acquaintance, the child often blames the parents: Why didn't you say it?

And really: why not? After all, there comes a time in every child's life when their favourite story becomes the story of their own coming into the world. Secrets and silences are always poisonous in a family, and a child's precise little radar detects at that moment anyway: something stinks. And if you want a baby brother or sister, he or she will most likely sit through another flask with you anyway, only this time as an outsider rather than a protagonist. You need to have something to say to the questions that arise. Why are there so many touch-not-touch medicines in the fridge? What are these shots, you're not sick, are you, Mom? 

It's worth thinking about why, if you're reluctant to talk to your child about fombies. Maybe you're not okay with what's happened, ashamed, or you think, oh well, he's still little, he wouldn't understand, and then somehow things just slip away? If so, you might want to come to a for a fombic consultation,  to put things right inside you.

If you yourself are okay with your flask story, and you are smiling at the "what nature doesn't give you, don't force it" comments of the forum trolls, and even if you don't read these forums anymore, you will be happy to tell your child about how he or she came into your heart, your life, your family.

Welcome my latest storybook that makes this conversation easy, intimate, fun and authentic!

Available in EndoShop as part of the Lombik Diary and Support Package!