Fertility news everywhere!

Once upon a time in a fairytail world, a woman's ovaries were her own private affair and baby making was private conversation, not the topic of girl's power lunches, blogs, websites, or TV dramas, such as Sex and the City, Brothers and Sisters, and Private Practice, or big budget movies such as Baby Mama. Desperate women struggling with fertility issues whispered to their doctors about their trials and tribulations and secretely took drugs to stimulate their follicles and crossed their fingers that they would become pregnant. Today, eggs,donor sperm, IVF, IUI, and fertility drugs are the topic of open conversation, and everyone is eager to hear about everyone elses's problems. Its the "Ill tell you what's what with me, if you tell me what's wrong with you". Even politicians are in the fertility limelight. Sarah Palin's baby, Trig, was born when she was 44. And the newly appointed New York senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, cast a vote in Congress the day before giving birth to son Henry at age 41 last May. So baby making is the new hot topic, babies and Bugaboo strollers are the newest accessory in Hollywood. Throw away that Hermes Birkin bag ladies, and get a baby!

And yet with all the news that is out in the world about infertility, many young women still don't fully understand the facts about age as a risk factor for infertility. Women are starting families much later in life, they are going to school longer, pursuing careers and thinking that they can wait to have children, and their Ob-Gyns don't always tell them that they need to be concerned with their age and how long they really have to concieve and carry a healty baby to term. With all the 40 something Hollywood mothers like Marcia Cross and Molly Ringwald (some of whom are presumably using donor eggs or IVF to get pregnant) and cases like Palin and Gillibrand reassure them that time is on their side so its okay to wait.

This week, the American Fertility Association (AFA) is launching "Manicures & Martinis" at the Dashing Diva Nail Salon in Manhattan. This is the first in a series of one-hour conversations about reproductive health that is geared towards women in thier 20's and 30's. Its meant for women who want children, but aren't ready just yet. It will feature a leading fertility expert, who will talk about the reality of the biological clock and other risk factors for infertility. There will also be martinis as well as a non alcohol "fertilitini."