Thank you so much for visiting My Fertility Plan. We can’t tell you how thrilled we are that you are here!
Believe it or not, we have been working on My Fertility Plan for nearly a decade. Way back in 1999 when Angie and I started to write our first book, Living with PCOS, we noticed a major gap in the availability of quality information when it comes to infertility. As the years went by, we were surprised to see that this gap didn’t seem to be going away.
At first, we started out trying to work “within the system.” We contacted all the major players in the infertility world and let them know our thoughts about trying to provide effective education to people experiencing infertility so patients could make informed decisions. Even though all the major infertility organizations out there stress the importance of patient education, none employ a professional health educator to ensure the right information is being presented in the best possible manner for infertility patients.
Yes…these infertility organizations have plenty of fundraisers, communications people, and marketing professionals on staff, but surprisingly no one trained in health education. And while their input is important, patients and doctors are not professional educators either. There is much more to education than just fact sheets, websites, online chats, and health fairs. Health education is a multi-disciplinary approach that encourages healthy decision making by promoting changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors as well as creating environments that support these changes.
As far as we are concerned, the infertility community still has a lot to learn about infertility education. We don’t think that fact sheet on progesterone supplementation which is funded by one of the largest progesterone supplementation manufacturers is fair and balanced. Likewise, the pamphlet on egg donation written by a group of people who make their living by promoting egg donation cannot really present egg donation in a way that fully explores the complex issues related to egg donation so families can come to a conscious decision that will best work for their families.
We’ve received some criticism so far that this type of information is already available by other organizations and that we shouldn’t charge families for our services. Honestly, we struggled with these issues for a while as well. We wish this type of fair and balanced, well-researched, and un-biased information was available to everyone…for free. But, the truth is--it is not. What is available is very basic information about infertility funded by the infertility industry and written by untrained patients and physicians who are encouraged to recruit as many patients as possible into their practices.
We believe that infertility patients are smart and there is no one right way to build a family. What works for one family, might not be the right thing for another for many reasons. Most importantly, we do not want to be under the control of the infertility industry—the pharmaceutical companies, the clinics, and other businesses that make a living at selling stuff to families dealing with infertility. Don’t get us wrong, there is a lot of good stuff out there. But, there are some things that are not that helpful and honestly, can be a big waste of time, energy, and money. And given the way things are set up right now, it’s hard to tell the difference.
As a result, we set out to create a whole new model for infertility education. We decided to go straight to you…the health care consumer…for a more “consumer report” approach. You are hiring us for a specific service…to provide you with the right information, resources, and referrals to help you make the best decisions (physically, emotionally, and financially) given your own unique situation, needs, and concerns. We will fill in the gaps that have frustrated so many patients before (including us!). We will use our vast experience and expertise in the infertility field to provide a personalized action plan that will give you the information you need, when you need it, and in the manner which fits best with your individual needs so you can be successful throughout your family building journey.
And here we are to introduce My Fertility Plan….
We welcome you!
Evelina
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