Men Struggle During Infertility And Pregnancy Loss Too

In the three years that Thomas Smialek and his wife Sara have been trying to have a baby, they’ve endured two miscarriages and multiple failed infertility treatments. But this latest round of in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, has been especially challenging. Not only are they shelling out thousands of dollars in insurance co-pays and taking time off work to drive three hours round trip from their home in Marion, Illinois to their fertility clinic appointments in St. Louis, but Smialek, 33, can’t shake the feeling of being left out. While his wife and their doctor seem to talk over him during their conversations about treatment approaches and next steps, “I’m on the sidelines,” he said.  And he’s at a loss how to support his wife when her hormone medications make her feel on edge.  “She feels as if I don’t understand what she’s going through,” says Smialek about her polycystic ovary syndrome diagnosis. “I’m trying to be careful not to upset her, but I don’t know a good way to comfort her.”  Fertility is one of the few medical fields that has long focused on the experience and needs of women. After all, women bear the physical and emotional brunt of hormone treatments, surgical procedures and, of course, the preconception smoothies. Yet there’s a growing awareness that men suffer from the emotional ups and downs of infertility treatments, too ― and that includes the inc...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news