Hell-bent on natural pregnancy

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I’m not exactly the woo-woo type. I eat meat, shave my armpits, and Birkenstocks don’t fit my feet. But the year I turned 35, I went a little nuts in the New Age department. My husband, Ron, and I had crossed the three-year mark of trying to conceive. So far, our fertility journey had amounted to one miscarriage and countless trips to the doctor. Tests all showed the same thing: Ron had Super Sperm; I had a luteal phase defect. Every month, my period started too early and lasted too long. It’s difficult for a fertilized egg to implant in a uterus that’s constantly shedding its lining.

Attempts to fix my cycle didn’t work. Over time, my bleeding worsened. That’s when my fertility specialist recommended in vitro fertilization. IVF, he said, would allow him to “toy around” with my hormones. As he explained how many types of drugs he planned to inject in my body, I nodded politely while screaming no way inside my head. I was skeptical of high-tech baby-making measures. All that medication didn’t appeal, for one thing. Neither did the odds: I’d seen friends go through multiple failed rounds of IVF (chances are about one in three). From what I could tell, the stress of IVF wreaked havoc on relationships. Couples pillaged their savings and retirement accounts (the procedure is $15,000 a pop). I figured if traditional medicine wasn’t for me, perhaps I could cure my infertility a more traditional way, by changing what I ate and how I lived.

A desperate housewife becomes “miracle” mom

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +0000

You don't expect a woman who's gained fame as a Desperate Housewife to be a role model. But the woman who has played the tightly wound Bree Van de Kamp would just like to clarify that, in her off hours, she is not about to be "the poster girl for older mothers." In a frank new interview in the British women's magazine Easy Living, the actress, who turns 50 in March, discusses the twin daughters she conceived at age 44 and advises, "Your forties is not the time to be thinking about getting pregnant."

Cross began in vitro fertilization treatments "a week after" getting married in 2006 and, unlike plenty of would-be moms her age, conceived easily. But the pregnancy itself proved a tougher ride, as she found herself on bed rest in the midst of her shooting schedule, developed preeclampsia, and delivered daughters Eden and Savannah four weeks early via emergency C-section. So when asked about how it feels to be a beacon of hope to other aspiring 40-something parents, it's no wonder that Cross says, "Are you kidding? It's a miracle I have these two daughters."

Salon.com > Fertility

Hell-bent on natural pregnancy

A desperate housewife becomes “miracle” mom