CBS 11 Separates Fertility Fact From Fiction
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - For parents, family planning doesn't always come naturally. The issue of infertility often goes discussed and that can cause a lot of misconceptions.
CBS 11 News separates fact from fiction.
Susie Klimaszewski loves her role as a mother. "When I do this (kissing baby) she starts to fall asleep," she said lovingly.
Klimaszewski can't imagine her life without her 6-month-old bundle of joy. But little Charlotte Elizabeth wouldn't be here without in vitro fertilization (IVF).
"We thought we would naturally [conceive] but we knew we were running against time."
At 44 years old Klimaszewski was perfectly healthy and fit. But after two years of trying for a baby she and her husband turned to doctor Walid Shaleh.
"Having a healthy pregnancy and actually getting pregnant and conceiving are two different thing," Dr. Shaleh explained.
Unlike the popular catch phrases, Doctor Shaleh says when it comes to your fertility 40 is not the new 30.
"It is true that in your 40s you are healthy and you can carry a child with no complications, but your eggs don't wait," he said.
In fact, regardless of overall health, even women with a regular monthly cycle can have problems conceiving... Susie Klimaszewski was the perfect example.
Speaking of his patient, Dr. Shaleh said, "She had no problem ovulating, her tubes are open, her husband is normal, no infertility, she released an egg every month."
But when a woman is over the age of 40, less than one in 15 eggs might actually result in a pregnancy.
Another myth -- just because you've already had a child, doesn't mean conceiving will be easy again.
Susie Klimaszewski already had two children and for her, the third time was not a charm.
Fertility treatment can improve the odds of conceiving by extracting multiple eggs at one time, but some fear in vitro will also result in multiple births.
According to Dr. Shaleh, that doesn't have to be the case anymore. "In a young woman we only put two [eggs], but with genetic testing you can even put one."
Susie Klimaszewski did exactly that and in the end the one embryo resulted in one beautiful baby.
Doctor Shaleh says women over 35 years old who try getting pregnant for six months and can't, should consider fertility treatment.
