I'm the cover story on City Woman Chicago!

Check out the full issue table of contents here.

It's difficult to express how excited I am - Seeing my family on the front cover of the magazine was overwhelming.

While this is a print publication, they also have a .pdf version online so you can read the article even if you aren't in Chicago. (Fact: Over half of my clients are international, so I'm used to making sure people that aren't in the same area I am get the info they need!)

Let me know what you think of the article...thanks!

ART balance of expense to cost.

“The economics of health care is of vital importance to our patients, and to society generally. Using a standard measure like cost per additional year of life, infertility treatments are one of great bargains in modern health care,” stated David Adamson, MD, President-elect of ASRM. (Full Article Here)

Wow! It was actually shown in a study that adding ART as a benefit of a health insurance plan only increased the cost of insurance per member an eensy weensy bit.

The ASRM is the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. The information and studies they do are published in peer-reviewed journals (the good kind) and the results are really promising!

Building the Foundation for Infertility Treatment

Download a registration form or call (312) 582-6035 to register.

Lotus Blossom Consulting, LLC, is a concierge service for people undergoing fertility treatment. Join the company's founders, MINDY BERKSON and TONI SIRAGUSA, for this seminar that will discuss a range of issues confronting people with infertility: maximizing insurance benefits, choosing a fertility center, holistic opportunities, and financing treatment. Berskon has worked in the industry for over 10 years in a variety of capacities both at donor agencies and at fertility centers. Siragusa is a financial planner and insurance agent who has worked specifically with couples undergoing infertility to properly plan for and finance treatment. Check out their Web site at www.lotusblossomconsulting.com.

Location: Latin Upper School, 59 W. North Blvd.
Instructor: Mindy Berkson & Toni Siragusa Course Fee: $40
Date: Thu, 25-Oct 1 Class Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

ASRM Urges Caution, Strong Counseling for Women Seeking Egg Freezing

The report emphasizes that the currently available data are too limited to allow egg freezing to be considered an established medical treatment. However, many women understandably have an interest in this emerging technology as an elective fertility preservation strategy. (Source: IVF News)

Ok, you may be thinking what does freezing your eggs have to do with counseling. The bottom line is that people are thinking this is going to be a great way to deter the inevitable aging of eggs. Thus, you can use your own 23 year old eggs when you're looking to have a child at 43.

On the surface, not a bad idea. Younger eggs are always a better bet...but freezing? What worries me most is that the women considering freezing only see the potential upside. The potential downsides are kind of swept under the rug.

Have you ever put chocolate in the freezer? When you take it out, it's discolored from the cocoa doing some chemical dance from the temperature drop. It's still fine to consume, but...do you think that something as delicate as a human egg is going to still be right as rain if it separates like the chocolate? What about freezer burn?

No matter how advanced the technology, no matter how careful the scientist or doctor...you're still putting a living thing into a freezer. A very, very cold freezer. And then you're hoping for the best.

I can understand why counseling is strongly recommended. It should be. Because this is not one of the better ideas I've heard for having a child later in life.

Building Families and Achieving Dreams

I'm really pleased to be able to present you with an article published this month in FHI (For Her Information) - please take a moment and visit. You'll be glad you did!

http://www.forherinformation.com/herstoryart11007.php