Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos's Blog, page 13

All Women Are Infertile Most of Their Lives

Huh,  What?? I know. The headline seems somehow wrong doesn’t it? Let me repeat the words slowly so you have time to wrap your head around them: All…Women…Are…Infertile…Most…of…Their…Lives. It’s positively mind-blowing to consider, is it not? Especially since we are not programmed to view ‘infertility’ from this angle. I’ve had some time to contemplate this since I’ve been working with a colleague on an education initiative. The fact that any of us are here — through random human reproduction — is actually quite the marvel. Let’s take it further with a little math. Story problem, any one? The reproductive age of

The post All Women Are Infertile Most of Their Lives appeared first on Silent Sorority.

The Change: For Reals

While my recent blog posts have been outward facing — examining the increasingly surreal fertility-obsessed world and the entrepreneurial fertility industry eager to cash in around it  — this post, girlfriends, is kicking it old school. Grab a cup of coffee or your favorite libation ’cause we’re going inside the girl tent. The numbers don’t lie.  Menopause confirmed: FSH: 151! It might be the competitive person I am, but my first instinct upon getting the blood test results was to brag.  Yeah, that’s right. 151. Top that. Those who have followed my personal story know I long ago confronted emotional

The post The Change: For Reals appeared first on Silent Sorority.

Fertility Industry’s Troubling History of Omission, Growth Over Health, Safety

In a powerful new essay, Questioning the Cult of Repro Tech, health advocate and author Miriam Zoll reveals little publicized details behind today’s now seemingly ubiquitous fertility procedure: in vitro fertilization (IVF).  Her research and writing make for a compelling read.  Zoll raises important questions about bioethics and the way fertility medicine is marketed and dispensed. This is yet another strong case for greater scrutiny around the practices of the fast-growing fertility industry. Among the takeaways: from its earliest days the scientists and developers of fertility medicine have systematically downplayed health risks. In more recent years the fertility industry has

The post Fertility Industry’s Troubling History of Omission, Growth Over Health, Safety appeared first on Silent Sorority.

Fertility Industry Demonstrates Troubling History of Omission, Prioritizes Growth Over Health, Safety

In a powerful new essay, Questioning the Cult of Repro Tech, health advocate and author Miriam Zoll reveals little publicized details behind today’s now seemingly ubiquitous fertility procedure: in vitro fertilization (IVF).  Her research and writing make for a compelling read.  Zoll raises important questions about bioethics and the way fertility medicine is marketed and dispensed. This is yet another strong case for greater scrutiny around the practices of the fast-growing fertility industry. Among the takeaways: from its earliest days the scientists and developers of fertility medicine have systematically downplayed health risks. In more recent years the fertility industry has

The post Fertility Industry Demonstrates Troubling History of Omission, Prioritizes Growth Over Health, Safety appeared first on Silent Sorority.

Why Do We Look the Other Way On IVF Addiction?

My reaction to the picture distributed by the fertility clinic was shock. Plain and simple. In fact, my stomach turned queasy while my mind tried to process just what exactly I was looking at. The first word that popped to mind: Addiction The breathless articles, though, on what led to the now ‘viral’ photograph — on the TODAY Parents website and on other news and feature sites — never mentioned addiction and that’s troubling in and of itself. Instead the TODAY article noted: The photo features a baby girl asleep inside a heart formed by hundreds of syringes and dozens

The post Why Do We Look the Other Way On IVF Addiction? appeared first on Silent Sorority.

Here’s Why You Don’t Have To Be A Mother To Be A Loving Woman

Five years ago we made history. On September 28, 2010 Silent Sorority earned an award in the media capital of North America — New York City. There I was amid an unusual mix of a few celebrities, fertility industry sales people, clinicians, health advocates and RESOLVE representatives. In my acceptance speech I managed to hush a room of 300+ people by declaring that there is more than one ending to the infertility story. I recall my words took people by surprise. The audience — and most of society — were accustomed to hearing only from those sharing stories of motherhood.

The post Here’s Why You Don’t Have To Be A Mother To Be A Loving Woman appeared first on Silent Sorority.

Fertility Industry Conning Patients?

Doctor, con and IVF are not words you want to see in the same sentence. Yet that’s what you’ll find in this strongly worded piece written by Professor Robert Winston, author of a new guide on fertility.  Winston’s scathing analysis of his brethren and the fertility industry that has grown up around treatments is all the more noteworthy since he was a pioneer of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Profiteering and exploitation are not what we usually associate with those who take the Hippocratic oath. Rather we’ve been socialized to view doctors in white coats as trustworthy, ethical purveyors of unbiased

The post Fertility Industry Conning Patients? appeared first on Silent Sorority.

Dear Abby Strikes Out On Infertility, Childless Not By Choice Question

Dear Abby (aka Jeanne Phillips), Pamela Jeanne here.  Nice to meet you. So let me get right to the point. That 2nd letter you posted today, the one about the woman feeling a void in her life following an infertility diagnosis? Yeah, I’m afraid you struck out. You see the question posed by BROKEN RECORD is a highly nuanced once. Allow me and my crack team of experts to help you with this one.  We in this feisty corner of the blogosphere have had a lot of experience with all things infertility — not to mention society’s well-meaning but usually

The post Dear Abby Strikes Out On Infertility, Childless Not By Choice Question appeared first on Silent Sorority.

My Online Introduction to Louise Joy Brown

As I wrote in this new essay published on Medium, it was perhaps only a matter of time before the lives of Louise Joy Brown, now 37-years old and residing in Bristol, England, and mine finally intersected.Jessica Hepburn, noted UK author and blogger, was the one who brought us together in a blog post titled Test Tube Tales. Soon thereafter, Louise Joy Brown favorited this Tweet. .@JessicaPursuit @LouiseJoyBrown Awestruck by the reach of #infertility. Thank you Jessica for tying our #ivf stories together #FinallyHeard — Pamela M Tsigdinos (@PamelaJeanne) August 3, 2015 Our ‘six degrees of separation’ introduction began because

The post My Online Introduction to Louise Joy Brown appeared first on Silent Sorority.

Bioethicists in U.S. and Australia Call for Fertility Industry Regulation, More Transparency

When a former member of the ethics committee for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) calls for fertility industry regulation we should sit up and pay attention. Earlier this month George Annas, a Boston University School of Public Health professor and chair of health law, wrote a blistering assessment of what he sees as a fertility industry run amok. While he acknowledges that some people have been helped to have children they could not otherwise have, we can no longer leave patients at the “mercy of the market and unscrupulous practitioners.” Annas first raised concerns about the direction of

The post Bioethicists in U.S. and Australia Call for Fertility Industry Regulation, More Transparency appeared first on Silent Sorority.