This post about a natural fertility treatment option was sponsored by The Stork and The Motherhood. All opinions expressed are my own.
Our children are now 10, 7, and 7 (yes, we have twins), but I have not forgotten what an emotionally draining time it was for my husband and I when we were trying to conceive over the coarse of several years. After a year of semi-actively trying, we decided it was time to speak to a doctor, which was when we started our long journey of eliminating and identifying the cause of our fertility problems, like the other 1 out of 6 couples who have difficulty conceiving in the United States.
During my initial blood work panel, I found out that I had Grave's Disease, which caused my menstrual cycles to be longer and sometimes irregular, making it difficult to know when or if I was ovulating. I ended up taking a fertility drug to make my body ovulate for several months before we became pregnant with our oldest son. Each month we got another negative on a home pregnancy test made us less hopeful, but it finally happened. During this time, I was also offered another drug to induce my menstrual cycle to start on a certain day of the month.
Trying for a sibling was an even longer road. I had a dye test to check for blockages in my tubes. My husband was tested for a low sperm count and low motility. Because I had a tipped uterus, we tried implantation, which involved getting a sperm sample at home, rushing it over to the doctor's office, where he would process the sperm to "wake them up" before they were implanted in me with what seemed like a giant turkey baster. When we finally did get pregnant, it ended in a loss of twins, where one was ectopic. Then nearly a year later, we became pregnant with beautiful boy-girl twins.
If The Stork for Women by Rinovum had been available back then, we definitely would have asked our doctor for a prescription to try this less invasive at-home treatment before resorting to fertility drugs. Although we would never trade our twins for anything, when we made the decision to start on medication, we just accepted the risk as the price of conceiving. The fact was that, if we had a choice while we were still trying, we would have opted for the choice that did not offer the risk of multiples. We were not financially prepared for twins. Our house was too small (and still is). Our car could not fit 3 car seats. We knew all this, but were willing to accept the price. Even though your doctor may recommend both fertility drugs and using The Stork, I personally would have wanted to try to conceive without the drugs for the first 2 or 3 months before going on a drug regimen.
More about The Stork . . .
- The Stork is currently FDA authorized for prescription use, however, you can expect to be able to purchase The Stork without a prescription later this year through Rinovum or Amazon.com, and eventually over-the-counter at your local CVS Pharmacy.
- This product requires no drugs, injections, or surgeries.
- The Stork is made of safe implantable grade silicone.
- This product uses a condom-like collection of the sperm and a tampon-like delivery.
- The Stork costs $79 for one treatment or $210 for the recommended 3 treatments per ovulation period. (Compared to $1,000 to $20,000 per cycle for other types of fertility treatments)
- The Stork is not currently an insurance-based program.
I think The Stork is a very timely product. It can help both traditional and non-traditional couples who need help conceiving. With the increasing number of women waiting until they're older to start trying and the growing number of same-sex couples, The Stork is a much-needed product.
To learn more about The Stork, watch the video above and visit www.thestorkforwomen.com. Also, look for updates on Facebook and Twitter about when The Stork will be available over-the-counter.