"Rethinking Infertility" Feature Offers Hope and Inspiration

There is a really great special this week at MSNBC.com, together with the Today Show, on infertility. The special is called Rethinking Infertility, and you can watch the videos from the Today Show at the link.

I've enjoyed what I've watched so far, and what I really think is great is the wide view they’re offering to people. They have stories of conception after IVF, adoption after infertility, alternative treatments, parenthood via egg donor, and so on. They have not finished the week, but I’m hoping they will include a story on those who decide to stop seeking treatment and live a child-free life.

Some of the videos were inspirational, and some made me cry. One story, about a 39 year old woman who was told she would never conceive, really got me crying. She was so honest about her emotions during the diagnosis and treatment phase that I couldn’t help but tear up. (By the way, she did conceive with IVF and have that baby they said she could never have.)

Another story that had me crying was about male infertility. In this video piece, there is an amazing story about a male cancer survivor who was able to have a child using IVF treatment, along with ICSIS technology. What’s really amazing about this story is they used sperm that was banked 21 years prior, a world record. According to the interview, they went through four IVF cycles, 8 surgeries, 200+ injections, and it cost them around $90,000 when all was said and done. Unbelievable.

You can see these videos about infertility at this link. If you go and watch some, I'd really like to hear your thoughts. Did you find anything surprising? Did any particular account tug at your heart strings?

Please share your thoughts about them in our fertility forums, or below in the comments. I'll be sharing more of my personal feelings about the videos in this forum thread, so if you'd like to read more, please do come in, grab a cup of cocoa, grab some tissues, read -- and share!