Earlier this week I happened to have the TV on the channel 'Tyra Banks Show' comes on. Guess the topic... Infertility. I stopped packing to watch, more so out of curiosity as to how it would be addressed. Am I the only one watching Infertility addressing shows???
Let me say this right here- If you are newly facing a struggle to get pregnant, watching a TV program is NOT the way to get answers or lead you in the right direction! Infertility is so much more than a one hour program can cover with all the commercials and lack of information out there!
One couple had been trying for five years and were sent {all that was shared of their testing anyways} for him to have a semen analysis and her to have her FSH tested. That was it! Oh, I was screaming at the TV for being SOOOO misleading as after their results were shared and the couple cried from relief that he had normal semen count and her FSH was 7, Tyra said something along the lines of "isn't it nice to know nothing is medically wrong with you in getting pregnant?" I was so frustrated!!!! So very misleading!!
For them to have tried to conceive for 5 years, the book of tests should have been thrown at them {and may have been behind the scenes which is again why the show was very frustrating as it is very misleading what they did share for someone newly walking the journey and looking for answers}!
It also frustrated me when the explanation given for being "Infertile" was that you had to have unprotected sex for 12 months not resulting in pregnancy. Um, let's clarify. 12 cycles {not everyone has a 28 day cycle} of intercourse timed appropriately to ovulation without pregnancy resulting. BIG difference!!! So many people assume they ovulate on day 14 of their cycle like the textbooks all say and thus they could stop having sex on day 15 only to have their body ovulate on day 22 without sperm hanging out waiting on that egg! More education needs to be put on learning ones body by charting cervical mucus and charting ones basal body temperature. Heck, even Ovulation Predictor Kits are more reliable than going by the textbook day 14 ovulation theory!
And then the news that evening had a spotlight on Infertility... This was not quite as frustrating but still very misleading. This was after all only like a 20 second segment so it's more understandable that lots of points were left out.
I know I am not a Dr and do not know everything... I admit this. I have learned over 4 years of constant googling to get answers and going to Drs and reading books to know that a one hour TV show cannot answer all Infertility related questions. When something is happening to you, when your world comes to a halt because of it, you learn everything you can about it. You become your own advocate no matter how many Drs find your self advocacy irritating by questioning their jobs. Heck, had I had my own ultrasound machine and the ability to write prescriptions myself I would have gotten rid of Drs a long time ago!!! hahahaha!
Anyways, what do you think of these types of shows?
Let me say this right here- If you are newly facing a struggle to get pregnant, watching a TV program is NOT the way to get answers or lead you in the right direction! Infertility is so much more than a one hour program can cover with all the commercials and lack of information out there!
One couple had been trying for five years and were sent {all that was shared of their testing anyways} for him to have a semen analysis and her to have her FSH tested. That was it! Oh, I was screaming at the TV for being SOOOO misleading as after their results were shared and the couple cried from relief that he had normal semen count and her FSH was 7, Tyra said something along the lines of "isn't it nice to know nothing is medically wrong with you in getting pregnant?" I was so frustrated!!!! So very misleading!!
For them to have tried to conceive for 5 years, the book of tests should have been thrown at them {and may have been behind the scenes which is again why the show was very frustrating as it is very misleading what they did share for someone newly walking the journey and looking for answers}!
It also frustrated me when the explanation given for being "Infertile" was that you had to have unprotected sex for 12 months not resulting in pregnancy. Um, let's clarify. 12 cycles {not everyone has a 28 day cycle} of intercourse timed appropriately to ovulation without pregnancy resulting. BIG difference!!! So many people assume they ovulate on day 14 of their cycle like the textbooks all say and thus they could stop having sex on day 15 only to have their body ovulate on day 22 without sperm hanging out waiting on that egg! More education needs to be put on learning ones body by charting cervical mucus and charting ones basal body temperature. Heck, even Ovulation Predictor Kits are more reliable than going by the textbook day 14 ovulation theory!
And then the news that evening had a spotlight on Infertility... This was not quite as frustrating but still very misleading. This was after all only like a 20 second segment so it's more understandable that lots of points were left out.
I know I am not a Dr and do not know everything... I admit this. I have learned over 4 years of constant googling to get answers and going to Drs and reading books to know that a one hour TV show cannot answer all Infertility related questions. When something is happening to you, when your world comes to a halt because of it, you learn everything you can about it. You become your own advocate no matter how many Drs find your self advocacy irritating by questioning their jobs. Heck, had I had my own ultrasound machine and the ability to write prescriptions myself I would have gotten rid of Drs a long time ago!!! hahahaha!
Anyways, what do you think of these types of shows?
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