Advanced Fertility Treatments

Maybe just thinking this will unleash a shitstorm of anger but hell, maybe it won't. I was watching Birth Day, a show that features a couple of women giving birth, blood, white goo and all. I've watched it for years, though through our summer of fertility trouble I'd sort of stopped.

The episode in question was entitled 'Infertility' or something like that and it had 2 women giving birth after fertility treatments. I popped open a cold one (Sprite) and settled back to be regaled with tales of IVF or other advanced treatments. I was stunned, absolutely stunned when they said the first woman had taken Clomid (a drug that, it seems, half the western world now takes to try to conceive, thanks to the vast quantities of hormones in our water supply courtesy of runoff from birth control for the other half of the western world). That's it? Just Clomid? And her older kid isn't yet 2? It took her 3 cycles to get knocked up and you're calling her 'infertile?' Puh-leease. Ask anyone who's been trying for a while what they think of that assessment.

The next lady was also 'infertile'. She'd been trying on her own (e.g. no meds, nothing up the hoo-hah save her husband's wing-wang) for 6 years. That's tough. That's so long it made me want to cry for her. In the end, they chose a 'radical method of fertility treatment.' I couldn't wait to hear - ICSI? IVF? Donor egg? Do tell!

Nope, that Radical Treatment was IUI. Plain old IUI, which many many nice dykes in the world use as a means to get knocked up Every Day. (Yes, lots of straight women use it these days, too.) The announcer made it sound like it was this crazyass invasive procedure, a Radical Step, something Not Done Often. It's extremely effective and not all that invasive or painful (once you figure out that taking Advil about an hour beforehand and having a mostly full bladder help A LOT, not that I know or anything).

Of course I'm happy for these women and their lovely little babies. But c'mon Discovery Health Channel, reach a little further for your subjects, wouldya?