What desperation leads to:

It has been in the news a lot, and has a lot of people talking, its IVF, In Vitro Fertilization. Because of our favorite mom, the octo mom, the ethics surrounding IVF has been tested and discussed in the news to no end. It is very easy for newscasters, writers, and american citizens to say that transferring 6 embroyos was irresponsible. Now, while I do not disagree with that and I feel that both octo mom and her doctor made a bad decision, I feel that until you are placed in that situation you cannot make comments or pass judgement. We do not know what octo mom's diagnosis is and what was stopping her from concieving on her own. No one is talking about the Duggars- and they have 18 children, but because they were all concieved naturally every turns a blind eye and tunes in every Tuesday night to watch their show, 18 Kids and Counting.

What people need to understand is that when you get to the IVF stage, its certainly not the first round of fertility treatments for most people, you are in a stage of desperation. You want to have a child so badly that you will do whatever it takes and pay whatever the cost. IVF is not cheap, the average cost of one IVF cycle is $13,000 and that does not include the medication that is necessary, which can cost thousands of dollars. Most fertility treatments and drugs are not covered under most insurance plans, unless you are lucky enough to live in a state that mandates fertility coverage by insurance companies. It is up to each individual employer if they want to cover fertility treatments.

So when a couple is looking at spending tens of thousands of dollars to have a child they may take more risks and allow their doctor to transfer more then one embroyo, now not 6, but certianly more then one, which does raise the risks of a multiple pregnancy. Most couples only have one shot at IVF, becasue of the cost- so they want to get the most bang for thier buck.

There are some cases where a doctor would transfer 6 embroyos, but its unlikely. Lets put it this way, the patient would be over 40 and have several failed IVF attempts. Transferring 6 embroyos is by no way the norm. The norm is usually 2 embroyos for someone under 35 and 3 for someone who is over 35. But again each patient is different, becasue each case is different.

You may have noticed that I have used the word transfer and not implant as it is been so used in the news. Its an embroyo transfer, not an embroyo implant. There is no guarantee that any of the embroyos will implant, they are simply transfered into the uterus in hopes that they will implant and grow into a healthy pregnancy.

So the next time that you start rattling on and on about fertility treatments, you may want to stop, because you do not know what you are talking about until you have been in those shoes.
I hate getting asked if I am going to have 8 babies because we are going through fertility treatments, I really want to scream when I hear that. People please get a clue!