Infertility and the Role of Nurses

By Kathleen

Although this article is based on primary care nurses in infertility in the UK, it reminded me of how critical nurses are in the treatment of infertility in the US. In most clinics nurses are involved right from the initial consultation, during pre-screening and treatment cycles, and even follow up care. These nurses truly provide continuity of care and tremendous psychological support to patients. Personally, I prefer the clinic model in which a patient is assigned a primary nurse rather than given whomever is available. It is easier to talk with someone on a daily basis once you have already established a relationship with them. One of the clinics I went to had a team of nurses and whenever I called the nursing department with questions/concerns whomever answered the phone talked to me. It was difficult having to tell my latest “story” over and over again to different people.

The Roles of Stress, Diet, and Exercise

By Kathleen

Once again the roles of stress, diet, exercise and fertility are in the scientific headlines. Sometimes it’s hard to hear another story preaching ‘lower your stress levels, and you will become pregnant’, as it seems like these researchers don’t know how amazingly stressful infertility is. But we have to be logical, and put those thoughts aside when the evidence is so clear. Stress, as well as poor diet and excessive exercise, have measurable detrimental effects on women trying to conceive. This article talks about a specific 16 week cognitive behavioral therapy program that showed measurable results. I suspect that simpler (and cheaper!) mechanisms (self help books, yoga, etc) can also help.