Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos's Blog, page 8

Dark side of IVF comes into focus 40 years later

Editor’s Note: I researched and wrote this piece, As dark side of IVF slowly comes into focus, even more transparency

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IVF is 40, Untold Stories Cast Milestone in New Light

IVF is 40 this month. Type ‘IVF is 40’ into your news search engine of choice. You’ll find headlines that

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Finding Joy Beyond Childlessness

Childlessness and joy are rarely used in the same sentence. Lesley Pyne, however,  has devoted the past few years digging into the reality of childlessness. Her quest? To understand how to process the losses, carve out a new path and rediscover joy. It’s all in her new book, Finding Joy Beyond Childlessness: Inspiring Stories to Guide You to a Fulfilling Life, available now for pre-order on Amazon.com. As Jody Day, who writes the book forward, reminds us “the room called childlessness has many doors.”  This is further underscored in Finding...

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That IVF Sausage Factory

IVF is a Sausage Factory I was not Prepared For So writes Professor James Arvanitakis in an essay for The Sydney Morning Herald. Oh how we hear you, James. We are immensely grateful for your honesty. In a few paragraphs you painted a clear picture of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of IVF. “It all begins nicely. You personally meet the doctor in beautiful offices. Everyone treats you like a VIP whispering that the doctor has made so many families happy. It is private, serene,...

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How Is This Not a Thing?

You know how you hear or read something, and your first thought is, “Huh? How is this not a thing?” In my case this response usually has to do with infertility-related topics. Thing One: Endometriosis How is a proper and timely diagnosis for endometriosis still not a thing? The superb Samantha Bee recently highlighted this on her show Full Frontal.  In a segment on women’s health called The History of Women’s Pain, Bee also explains not only is there no cure for endometriosis, it takes an average of six to...

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That Damned Uterus

The uterus. It’s just an organ but unlike other organs — a kidney, a bladder or a lung — it carries tremendous identity significance.  Baggage, too — cultural and otherwise. When we reach reproductive age, its power increases. Beyond a vexing way of making itself very evident every month, it also holds the promise of creation.  If, heaven forbid, you possess an uncooperative uterus you might just as well turn your womanhood papers in now. That’s because in today’s reproductive-charged culture the power of the uterus, the ‘womb,’ is all...

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Insights from Catching Sight of Thelma and Louise

Insights often originate with films and books. The really good stories and characters become touchstones or stay with me like familiar old friends. So, on this, my 11th anniversary of blogging (yes, Happy Anniversary dear readers, it all began here February 3, 2007), I’d like to encourage all to find and watch the soul-stirring documentary Catching Sight of Thelma and Louise. Insights will rain down on you. (In hindsight I wish I’d had the good sense to bring a notebook to record them all.) You’ll marvel at the cultural pressure...

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‘Non-moms’ Often Forced to Contemplate and Carve out Their Own Unique Space and Meaning

    Non-moms recognized? Read on … That opening paragraph grabbed me. Did it grab, you, too? Truly, I didn’t expect this acknowledgement to make it into print, but it did. I stumbled upon this reference to ‘non-moms’ in a story because Silent Sorority garnered a mention in a feature about Dolly Parton.  (And that alone is mind-boggling!) It’s a great beginning to 2018, wouldn’t you say, when the world opens to consider a very real and not always easy path in life?  Yes, it is safe to say that...

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On the Move, Part One

There’s nothing quite so unsettling as a major move. Plagued by timing unpredictability and on guard for daily disturbance. We’re supposed to be adept at managing the sketchy, difficult stuff life throws at us, right? Seasoned as we’ve been by heartache, yes? To a point. If ever I needed reminding that rational thinking and planning only gets us so far, this past chaotic year — consumed by change and at the mercy of the market — did the job. Once again I learned that to-do lists are often nothing more...

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New Studies Call Out IVF Clinic Tone Deafness, Profiteering

A recent IVF study led by Yale sociology associate professor Rene Almeling stopped me in my tracks, but for reasons surely different than the research team. The IVF study goal was to “assess whether different motivations for undergoing the same medical intervention affects bodily experiences.” Published in the September Journal of Social Science and Medicine, the study compared the physical, emotional, and cognitive experiences of women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) either to become pregnant or to sell their eggs for money. “The researchers found that there is a direct...

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