Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Some good reading

A couple of recent articles & sites of interest, especially if you live in Ontario:
  • A recent Toronto Star article about the provincial government's election province to fund infertility treatments, and the work of its expert panel, which I have blogged about previously, here. (As always, there are some interesting comments...!)
  • The deadline to take part in the panel's online survey on infertility and adoption has been extended until next Monday, January 12, 2009. If you live in Ontario and infertility/adoption has touched your life, please take a few minutes to complete the survey, if you haven't done so already.
  • The Infertility Awareness Association ofCanada (IAAC) is asking Ontario's infertile community to share their stories with the Ontario government and raise public awareness of this important issue before the expert panel issues its final report. They are hoping to collect more than 10,000 personal stories documenting the physical, emotional and financial impact of infertility in Ontario -- not just from those of us who suffer from infertility, but also our family members & friends.
  • While on the IAAC site, I found this link to the website of an interesting initiative: Did you know that a new global initiative called the Assisted Conception Taskforce (ACT) has been formed to provide advice, guidance and information for couples who are having difficulty in achieving a pregnancy? ACT includes patient leaders and health professionals from more than 20 countries around the world who are aiming to (i) help those that are having difficulty achieving a pregnancy through the process and (ii) encourage clinics to endorse a charter outlining global principles of care.
  • Today's Globe & Mail had an article about yoga for infertility. I did not start yoga until after I had abandoned treatment. I started taking a weekly class to try to help alleviate the anxiety attacks I began having after we decided to abandon treatment, following several failed IUI/injectable cycles. It was recommended as good stress relief by several sources, including the infertility counsellor we had consulted, and Alice Domar in several of her books. I obviously never got pregnant, but I have hugely enjoyed the classes I've taken anyway!

2 comments:

  1. I read the Toronto Star article. I hope IVF does get covered. If I think about how our lives would have been so much easier if we didn't have to deal with the financial burden. Even with the negative results, facing adoption costs would have been easier if we didn't have to start from zero. In Vancouver, maybe those condo owners who chose to walk away from their leaky suites when faced with $30K repair bills could relate. Hah! The government didn't care about them either.

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  2. Hey girlfriend...just stopping by for a visit. Hope you're staying warm amid all the wintery storms and sub-zero weather.

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