The Fertility Diaries: Friends and Mothers
Carrie returned from the hospital overjoyed with her new daughter, but frustrated that the labor injury forced her to use a walker — and for a while, left her unable to pick up and carry Payton. "I could hold her, but I couldn't carry her," she says. "I feel so bad for Carrie," says Jenny. "You expect to be able to enjoy and bond with your baby and not have to worry about something like this. You have an image of what it's going to be like — walking around pushing the stroller, and all that. I know she's enjoying her daughter so much, but it's not fair that she has to miss out on some of the things you want to do in the first few weeks."
Fortunately, as the new family settled in, Carrie began physical therapy, and the exercises seemed to be making an improvement. "By the time Payton was about 12 days old, I could pick her up and carry her, which was great," she says. "Walking around the house still tires me out, but every day I can do a little more, walk a little farther." And every day, she is falling more in love with her beautiful daughter.
Carrie: "You see her for the first time and she's just like a little angel. I spend hours staring at her. Of course, I didn't expect to have all of the issues afterward, especially since my pregnancy had gone so smoothly. But still, even with all of that, I would not trade this for anything. She's so worth it."
It seems like a promise of perpetual fertility: Freeze your eggs now, and if by your late 30s you haven't found Mr. Right or you want to achieve career goals before having a child, you don't have to worry about your biological clock running out. Unfortunately, it's not a promise you can count on. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine still regards frozen eggs as experimental, and to date, only a reported 150 live births have resulted from them worldwide. The reason: Unlike sperm, eggs don't freeze well — ice crystals easily damage their chromosomal structure. "The success rates are so low that you're actually better off waiting until your 40s and doing IVF," says reproductive endocrinologist Glenn Schattman, M.D., of New York Presbyterian HospitalWeill Medical College of Cornell University. Freezing eggs also involves a time consuming process that can require several rounds of fertility drugs and egg harvesting. Plus, it's costly — $12,000 to $15,000 for egg extraction, and more than $8,000 total for egg storage and thawing.
The Fertility Diaries: Friends and Mothers
"She's So Worth It" continued...
Carrie returned from the hospital overjoyed with her new daughter, but frustrated that the labor injury forced her to use a walker — and for a while, left her unable to pick up and carry Payton. "I could hold her, but I couldn't carry her," she says. "I feel so bad for Carrie," says Jenny. "You expect to be able to enjoy and bond with your baby and not have to worry about something like this. You have an image of what it's going to be like — walking around pushing the stroller, and all that. I know she's enjoying her daughter so much, but it's not fair that she has to miss out on some of the things you want to do in the first few weeks."
Fortunately, as the new family settled in, Carrie began physical therapy, and the exercises seemed to be making an improvement. "By the time Payton was about 12 days old, I could pick her up and carry her, which was great," she says. "Walking around the house still tires me out, but every day I can do a little more, walk a little farther." And every day, she is falling more in love with her beautiful daughter.
Carrie: "You see her for the first time and she's just like a little angel. I spend hours staring at her. Of course, I didn't expect to have all of the issues afterward, especially since my pregnancy had gone so smoothly. But still, even with all of that, I would not trade this for anything. She's so worth it."
Should You Freeze Your Eggs?
It seems like a promise of perpetual fertility: Freeze your eggs now, and if by your late 30s you haven't found Mr. Right or you want to achieve career goals before having a child, you don't have to worry about your biological clock running out. Unfortunately, it's not a promise you can count on. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine still regards frozen eggs as experimental, and to date, only a reported 150 live births have resulted from them worldwide. The reason: Unlike sperm, eggs don't freeze well — ice crystals easily damage their chromosomal structure. "The success rates are so low that you're actually better off waiting until your 40s and doing IVF," says reproductive endocrinologist Glenn Schattman, M.D., of New York Presbyterian HospitalWeill Medical College of Cornell University. Freezing eggs also involves a time consuming process that can require several rounds of fertility drugs and egg harvesting. Plus, it's costly — $12,000 to $15,000 for egg extraction, and more than $8,000 total for egg storage and thawing.
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