The Cry
“I long to hear a baby’s cry. Those wails, to me, are music to the ears. I want to change diapers, too. And if only God will grant our wish, I will forever be grateful. I will love our children to bits.”
These are what a wife confessed in front of about a hundred audience on the Infertility talk I’ve attended last Saturday. She and her husband have been married for 16 years. She hoped for even one child and shared the same prayer with her husband.
They underwent an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) method. The first two failed. But they didn’t lose hope. On the third try with the weakest embryo, she finally had a successful pregnancy. She carried twins. Now, they are proud parents to a boy and a girl.
The Hope
The success rate of IVF has grown tremendously over the past years. This laboratory procedure has resulted in about six million babies around the world. Simply, IVF is a process of fertilization wherein an egg is combined with a sperm outside the body, in vitro (in glass). The process involves observing a female’s ovulation, removing eggs from her ovaries and letting a sperm fertilize the egg in a laboratory glass dish. The zygote or the fertilized egg undergoes embryo culture for about two days to less than a week and is implanted into the uterus with the intention of a successful pregnancy.
This is the same hope Merck has, thus remains committed to changing the lives of couples with fertility problems through the Fertility Awareness Campaign.
The Commitment
Now on its fifth year, Merck continues to raise awareness about IVF methods available in the country. For this year’s campaign, which is aptly named “Bridging Baby Steps,” the pharmaceutical company invited distinguished doctors to talk about alternate ways to conceive a child. Merck even invited a couple who testified that indeed, the hope of bearing children is possible through other means, IVF method included.
MOMI LEARNS| The Cry. The Hope. The Fact about Infertility
The success rate
The success rate of IVF is, however, still dependent on many factors.
Age
The age of a woman influences the increase or decrease of the success rate of the infertility treatment. A younger female has more chances of getting pregnant and delivering a healthy infant as opposed to older ones. At age 38 and above, chances for successful IVF drops in a similar manner that an older lady’s natural fertility decreases, too.
Lifestyle habits
Lifestyle plays an important factor in one’s health. It likewise has a direct impact on the success or otherwise of the IVF treatment.
Smoking, for one, reduces the chances of successful IVF procedure by about 50%. It has an adverse effect on both sperm and egg quality. This bad habit likewise increases the risk of a miscarriage.
Other habits that may greatly affect the chances of a successful pregnancy through IVF treatment are excessive consumption of food, caffeine, and certain drugs.
The Fact
Research says that 15% of the population suffers from fertility problems. Infertility is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), as “a disease of the reproductive system. It fails to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.”
There are means and ways, though, to combat infertility. As most often say, ‘[tweetshareinline tweet=”Where There’s Life, There’s Hope.'” username=”IfZgcz8ZKo14VSCu3y8ejhrBGaCG*R!N:1:0″] It is prudent to ask around. Go to clinics and hospitals and ask about infertility and IVF in the Philippines. And the good news is, such procedure isn’t that expensive anymore as many clinics are now offering less expensive IVF options.
As for this momi, when she heard the mother who relayed she waited for 16 years before finally having children, she realized something.
She hates it sometimes when she hears her children cry. But there are some parents who long to hear those wails even at the wee hours in the morning. I should have considered those cries as my babies’ call for love and affection and not of stress. Being blessed with five boys is a prayer most couples belonging to the 15% of the population suffering from fertility problems wishes for.
Take the fertility test now and know the meaning of the cry of others, the hope for a blessing, and the facts about infertility.
MOMI LEARNS| The Cry. The Hope. The Fact about Infertility
It is sad anytime I hear of couples that are unable to bear children for whatever reasons. 15% may seem like a small number but when you consider that equates to about 1 in every 7 people, it puts it into perspective a bit better. Hopefully the advances in technology continue to bring hope and children to those couple wanting them.
I had no idea that 15% of the population has fertility problems. That is a huge number. I can imagine how hard it must be for someone who wishes children to suffer from infertility. There are solutions but for some women, they don’t work. I know that IVF is very expensive and it’s not guaranteed to work. Maybe in the future there will be discovered other solutions and maybe treat infertility even.
Thanks to your write-up I am able to share something to my friends. I have two friends who are still hoping for a baby. Though theirs is just a few years, I still wish them both to be pregnant. They both considered IVF, but apart from the money issue, they are also losing hope because of the other factors that they think wouldn’t work for them like our career. I will let them read your post and I wish that they’ll be inspire with stories like this.
Infertility seems to increase in the recent years, and I have met several couples who are young and healthy, have the chances to raise children, but they cannot have their own kids. I have also heard about the IVF, but I am not sure if it is applicable in my entire country. Merck is doing a great job, because helping people to get pregnant and thus making them happy is a matter of humanity. This post should be shared as much as possible.
I did not know that infertility can be an issue also. I have a cousin that waited for 7 years before their first born arrived. I also dream of having twins, one boy and one girl. I’ve heard about IVF and kudos for Merck for this initiative! Educating more people about more things. 🙂
I know someone who underwent IVF and I know that it is not easy. Hindi siya successful agad so you really need a budget and mahabang pasyensiya. There was a time na naggive-up na din sila kasi nga wala nangyayari, nakailang try na sila. Thank God, she tried again so after 12 years nagkaanak din sila.
I can truly relate to this post as we’re TTC for 4 years now. Same as the wife, I hope God will grant our wish.
We’re currently doing a work up with my OB but we’d be open to other options. Thank you for sharing about these. It has once again brought me hope.
Very touching and helpful topic to many. It is hard to fathom the sorrow of childless couples.
IVF is indeed a boon for many and I have known some couples who have benefited. I hope many more continue to benefit.
In these days of increasing fertility issues especially due to late marriages, its important to know about the options out there! Events like these will surely help!
I wish my aunt and my uncle were aware of this method before. They never had a kid .. they almost had one but my aunt had a miscarriage.. it was very unfortunate but I was amazed on how they both deal with their situation. They accepted it in a very positive way thinking that God has better plans for them. They were both in their 50s already and they adopted a kid who is now a graduating student.
Nowadays infertility is more common in many couples.Although treatments are there,sometimes successful rate is low.By changing lifestyle and habits,it can be improved.Hope you learned much about infertility by attending this event.
She hates it sometimes when she hears her “children cry. But there are some parents who long to hear those wails even at the wee hours in the morning. I should have considered those cries as my babies’ call for love and affection and not of stress. Being blessed with five boys is a prayer most couples belonging to the 15% of the population suffering from fertility problems wishes for.”
This is always a reminder to me everytime I’m about to get angry with all the noise in the house. We have to be grateful of what we have.:)
As someone who works closely with women who have infertility issues, I understand how painful it is to not be able to get pregnant right away. This is why every time I hear success stories from them, I make sure they know that I am happy for them to finally be able to conceive. There are many factors contributing to infertility and I’m just glad that people in the medical field never stop working to help them out. IVF is among the many ways to help couples with infertility issues.
It’s truly difficult for a couple if they already want a child but they just find out that they couldn’t. How painful it must be to long a children’s cry that others loathe. Anyway, it’s great that there is an IVF option for couples who have an infertility issue. And it’s definitely encouraging for them to read a success story. Thanks for sharing.
It is very sad and mercy for those couple who are not able to have a baby. I know the feeling of being hurt specially when you pray for it and didn’t happen. But I believe in prayers we should wait for it faithfully sometimes, in due time God will give the desire of our hearts. Pero dapat gawin din natin ang part natin while praying kasi baka naman di rin tayo nag iingat.
Infertility problems are sensitive issues to most Filipinos. Grabe, I just learned now that there are 15% of the population are suffering from fertility problem. I remember, I got pregnant to my daughter five months after we got marriage and we already consulted doctor about not getting pregnant. Then I learned I am polycystic kaya di ako madali mapreggy. Good thing, God answered our prayers after five months of trying, yong iba years talaga.
I personally know a few who went thru this scenario. Back then, adoption was their only option, while it’s a good resort, there is nothing more fulfilling than having kids of your own.
I was diagnosed of having polycystic ovaries after my eldest, I fear that I can no longer have another baby, but thank goodness I got pregnant again after taking the prescribed meds.
Anyway, good to know that IVF is now more affordable.
This is both educational and inspiring. Made me realize how lucky I am to have my own kids. 15% is large number for me. Imagine the struggle of these women who are having difficulty getting pregnant. We should really be thankful all the time that we have children.
I’m one of those blessed to not have any problems conceiving. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be for those who want to conceive but can’t. It really is great that there are other methods now like IVF that can help. I just hope it’s not that expensive, especially since the first try is sometimes not successful.
15% is a huge number. I guess infertility cases are rising because of the busy nature of our lives. People are hardly talking with each other , couples are stretching themselves very hard to make their ends meet.
I hope couples pulled back and started interacting with each other to bring the spark back.