First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes …
For many would-be parents, the children’s nursery rhyme ends here. And so might a couple’s dreams for their future. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention say about 10 percent of women, or 6.1 million, in the United States have difficulty getting or staying pregnant. About a third of the time, a couple is infertile due to the woman; another third of the time the issue is with the man; and the final third of the time, the problem is either shared or the reason is unknown.
Most couples approach treatment for infertility when the woman is between 30 and 40. At this age women start to realize that their fertility is declining due to increasing age, say Shelley Rosander and Jacek Graczykowski at the Reproductive Health and Fertility Center. The journey to try to produce a baby is a rocky one. “Infertility is a stressful time for men, women and couples,” they
say. “Many couples struggle with the fact there is a problem and/or the fact they are the infertile person. A marriage undergoes an
increased strain during this time and may require outside counseling.”

Counseling helps
“We routinely refer couples to counselors,” says Dr. David Olive of Wisconsin Fertility Institute. “The process is a difficult one for many, and it can produce anger, frustration, embarrassment, depression and many other emotions. As fertility issues become
more difficult and time-consuming, the potential for having an impact on a couple’s relationship increases. Most strong marriages are able to withstand this onslaught, but not all, and many need assistance from appropriate counselors. We urge those at risk to seek help early in the process.”
The Madison area has a number of resources for those couples facing infertility.
The Wisconsin Fertility Institute is a private practice institute specializing in advanced gynecology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility. “We frequently deal with the gynecologic issues that are rare or too complex for the average obstetrician or ynecologist,”
says Olive.
Reproductive Health and Fertility Center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including laboratory evaluation, ultrasound,
various diagnostic tests and possible surgeries. Treatments range from oral medications to in vitro fertilizations.
What causes infertility? There are as many reasons for infertility as there are couples. For women, problems with ovulation, age,
blocked fallopian tubes, cervical disorders, past infections, cysts in the ovaries and more; for men, problems with sperm count, sperm
concentration, volume of sperm, sperm mobility and sperm shape can all be factors. As many causes as there are, there are treatments.
And these treatments have costs — sometimes exorbitant ones. At the Reproductive Health and Fertility Center, an IVF Risk Sharing Program is offered. Individuals pay a flat fee of $27,000 for up to four IVF cycles (the fee does not cover out-of-pocket costs such as anesthesia, embryo storage and medications).

If individuals are unable to achieve a pregnancy after the four cycles they are entitled to a partial refund of their fee. Success rates are subject to many variables including age of the woman, semen quality and more; nationally they range up to around 50 percent but vary tremendously.
“The ultimate treatment if everything else fails is IVF,” say Rosander and Graczykowski.
At the Wisconsin Fertility Institute, “The most common treatments are oral fertility drugs, artificial insemination, injectible fertility drugs and in vitro fertilization. We do surgery occasionally, but far less than we used
to in order to enhance fertility,” Olive says.

Alternative treatment
Alternative options exist, such as acupuncture. At Isthmus Acupuncture, says Michelle Buchanan, acupuncture is used to enhance fertility
“by balancing hormones, relieving stress, increasing blood flow to the uterus, and strengthening the pituitary.” She says acupuncture can help conditions such as blocked fallopian tubes, polycystic ovarian disease,
endometriosis, unexplained infertility and premature ovarian failure. Further, she says, “Acupuncturists believe emotional health and
physical health are directly related and acupuncture can help manage the emotional issues experienced with infertility at the same time it addresses the physical components.” Those couples going through infertility treatment need all the support they can get. Patrice Behrend, owner of Life Medals LLC in Stoughton, focuses on the stigma of infertility, which she says “rocks the very foundation of something you have always taken for granted.” She says studies have shown that infertility causes levels of anxiety and depression equal to cancer. To help, she has designed a Fertility Hope pendant and a web site, www.lifemedals.com. Her Fertility Hope pendant is “empowerment jewelry” to validate and help uplift women “facing the brutal adversity of infertility.”
“If society at large had a better understanding of the struggle — emotional, physical and financial — that resulting support would make a tremendous difference in lightening the emotional load to those battling infertility,” says Behrend. After five years and 13 procedures, she became a mom to a healthy baby boy. And here comes mama
with a baby carriage.

Tovah Bryan is a Madison-based freelance writer.