Do you find this insulting?

[farmgirl77]

Interesting topic! As some one doing IVF for medical reasons, and about to have a cycle where two embryos are put back, I dont find it insulting that someone not 'infertile' would undergo treatment to try and have twins.

From a rational perspective I guess I wonder at why you would do that given the extra risks associated with any medical treatment (eg stim medication/pick up operation etc), and the risks of a twin pregnancy, and yet DH and I are willing to take on the risk of twins to achieve our baby(ies).

However, there are many reasons why 'fertile' people may use IVF/AFT (as stated earlier by BG), and from an emotional viewpoint I guess I dont feel that I can judge them just because their use of IVF is for a different reason than us.

As argued by many others, IVF is not a walk in the park emotionally or medically, so I figure if people make the choice to do IVF (for medical or other reasons), and try for twins, then they must have a very good reason. Personally, I dont want to judge if that is a good or bad reason to do IVF, as I hate it when people do that to me!

[LisaL]

IVF doesnt guarantee you even one baby, let alone twins, so to do it for the sole purpose of having two babies at once is a serious misuse of the treatment IMO. There are women on waiting lists, and those who can only afford to do it every so often, and these are women that need it. So why the drs are allowing 'fertile' couples to use the system is beyond me.

[Devon]

I guess this is a complicated question, because the info about Brangelina is just a rumour, and what they are rumoured to have done wouldn't be allowed to happen in Australia anyway. I think the Australian system is good, keeping the AR treatments for people who need them. I would hate us to go down the US path where money can buy you anything and the poor get no health care.

I guess what I find a little bit annoying (if the scenario with Brangelina is true, which I'm not saying it is) is that the super rich can get anything they want, anytime they want and the rest of us plebs have to go thorough the whole waiting game and might not end up getting what we desire more than anything else in the world. But it doesn't really apply to us here in Australia, so it doesn't really have any impact on my life. I like to try to ignore celebrities because I don't think they deserve all the attention they get.

As for fertile people being allowed to have IVF to conceive twins, as people have said - there's no guarantee that you'll even get pg through IVF, let alone conceive twins. The thing I find most irritating is the total lack of awareness out there of what is really involved in IVF (I haven't done IVF myself, just OI and IUI, but I've definitely spent some time in the world of fertility treatment). I can't stand the general perception that IVF is an easy option when it's pretty much the hardest option you can take and no one who knows anything about it would even contemplate it unless it was their only option. Our two years of TTC, miscarriage and 6 months of fert treatment almost destroyed me, lost me 2/3 of my friends and we are still feeling the impacts on our marriage even now I am pg. And I didn't even go through IVF. So what I find insulting is the media and society being uneducated and perpetuating the view that IVF is an easy and guaranteed way to get a baby.