There's nothing cuter than little ones, or learning you're about to become a mother,
unless of course you're unable to conceive, and each time you see a baby your heart saddens.
Infertility can be devastating.
In fact, one couple in 7 struggles to get pregnant, but there is hope.
Dr. Juliet Skinner, medical director at the Barbados Fertility Center joins me this morning
to discuss.
Good morning, Doctor.
Good morning, Olga.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you.
Doctor, let's talk about that, you know, people get married and they want to have a child,
they can't conceive.
It's painful, frustrating.
I could probably think of so many words of that anxiety that's going through them.
Infertility is a devastating medical condition.
Let's face it, many people spend years actually trying NOT to become pregnant.
Right, they're avoiding it.
They're avoiding it, and suddenly, the goal becomes a baby and a pregnancy, and this is
not happening.
So, huge frustrations build up.
I think they wonder, "Well, how long does it take to conceive?"
Well, most couples are going to achieve a pregnancy within six months.
The medical definition uses a timeline of a year before it's then appropriate to begin
medical assessment and treatment, unless of course the lady is older than 35, then in
that case the advice is altered, to being more than six months, we should certainly
investigate and treat those patients, because the success rates will decrease as a lady
gets older.
And doctor, I know there's many factors as to why someone can't conceive.
What are they?
Is it stress?
Environment?
Their body?
What?
Yeah, I mean, there's many factors that can perhaps be a problem.
I mean, I think one of the first steps we would take is to review the couple's history,
anything from their background.
For the lady, is her menstrual cycle regular?
Has she had any previous gynecological problems?
That initial history will allow us to perhaps establish some pointers of where we will turn
to.
The nest step would then be to evaluate and do what's called a primary fertility screen,
which would include a test of ovulation, test the tubal patency and a semen analysis.
If the lady is over 32, we're usually also going to do an ovarian reserve assessment,
because yes, a woman is born with all of her eggs.
We don't make them new.
And as we get older, the number and quality of those eggs will decline.
That's a huge factor and it's also a huge factor as to why is infertility now m ore
common than it was in our grannies era?
Because everybody, or most people, are having children later.
Correct.
So, for someone out there who says "Well, I have to look for that center" what should
they look for?
Well, I think choosing the right clinic is a huge decision.
I mean, ultimately, obviously success rate is extremely important.
But, unfortunately, IVF treatment is extremely costly, and particularly here in the US.
And, I don't think it's covered by insurance.
No, in most states it's not covered by insurance.
It's very much something someone pays for out of their own pocket.
Let's bring in Barbados Center.
A lot of people are going there.
Why are they going to that location?
Well, the first thing, I think is when we set Barbados Fertility Center up, it was set
up with a vision, which was that you know, one of the most important thing has to be
key that you are individualizing care.
That it's not a conveyor belt.
That each couple is different.
Is infertility stressful?
Yes.
But, I think we have to think beyond the basic science.
Science can push things so far, but we've got to take that holistic approach.
Let's face it, surely if we can combine IVF treatment, along side the fact that the patient
is also in a relaxed holiday setting, that's got to have a positive impact.
It's got to improve things.
So, you know, I think Barbados as a destination, is very established as a tourism product.
You know, we have twice daily flights from Miami and New York.
We have a wonderful group of hotels and accommodations, fantastic restaurants, and attractions for
people to entertain themselves.
At Barbados Fertility Center, we have a designated staff member, who is there to help make that
journey easier if need be.
I think that, as a center, we have a full compliment of a wonderful team of people.
One of those people, Dr. Roberta Corona joined us last year, and I think very very importantly,
we all have to have the same vision.
That vision has to be that a 1% improvement in a success rate is a baby for someone.
We must not lose sight of what we do.
And what you do is so special, and I have to an email from a couple who sent us their
thoughts on what happened with them, and this is what they wrote, and I'd like to share
that with our viewers.
They wrote "Last year, today, my dreams came true and I gave birth to my son.
This past year was the brightest and the happiest year of my life.
Any time I hold my baby, I keep telling myself this is nothing but a miracle."
How fabulous.
Yeah.
It is an unbelievably special feeling to do what we do.
You know, I think when a patient comes in to show you their baby, proudly, at the end
of delivery, or perhaps sends those early photographs and we get that call, we've had
calls from patients when the husband's calling, she's just delivered.
He's bawling crying, to let you know, and you're one of the first people that they ring.
Okay?
And I think what it does, it really grounds us.
I think it makes us remember why it is that we do what we do.
For our viewers out there that would like information on Barbados Center, what's the
website?
BarbadosFertility.com BarbadosFertility.com Thank you doctor, for
what you do.
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