I have been pregnant four times. Each time I got pregnant was when we pretty much decided we wanted to. We were the lucky ones. I am 43 now and with three happy vibrant children can safely (?) say I am done. I have my family. Yes, we should be a family of 6 not 5, but that is another story of loss. We were the lucky ones. My heart goes out to those who have not been so lucky and my heart especially goes out to those who when faced with infertility have to also face a potential financial crisis too.
The reality of it is, is that there is no ‘fairness’ or ‘deserving’ when it comes to fertility. Dumb luck, toss of a coin, fate, total randomness seems to decree who gets pregnant and who doesn’t Prior health issues, current health issues, there are many factors that can affect who gets ‘lucky’ and who doesn’t. What seems unfair is that when it comes to doing anything about it, your finances are front and centre. Your economic standing suddenly becomes relevant when you turn to outside forces to aid in your pregnancy dreams.
I am sure this must be a deal-breaker for many.
It is a bit baffling to me that IVF treatments are not covered, or at least partially covered in BC. When I think of everything else that is pregnancy related that IS covered, you have to wonder why balk at fertility? We lost our son (our third) at 25 weeks. That loss was handled okay, but medically everything dealing with that loss was covered. And it didn’t end there. When we were ready to get pregnant again and did with no problem, all the extra care, all the extra tests, specialists, you name it. All was covered by BC Medical. Our current coverage goes beyond purely medical too. I had a midwife for my last pregnancy. Covered. My baby was breech and we had two attempts at turning her around. Covered. I ended up with a last minute cesarean section. Covered. Thank you BC Medical.
So why can’t our government help a little bit when it comes to the 10’s of thousands that IVF can cost? Well money is the crux of it and as we have heard from our current government, you can’t give something without taking something else away. I truly feel that we cannot use the Quebec model as a comparison. This is true with the case for Universal Childcare and I am sure is the case when it comes to IVF. Quebec receives 3 times the amount of Federal Transfers than British Columbia does. A large chunk of that is for Healthcare. Quebec can afford to cover IVF. However, what would be nice if British Columbia decided to become a leader in the west when supporting IVF and everything involved. It would be great if our medical community had the funding or at least the encouragement to become the leading edge in IVF technology. I have been reading the literature from the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada, and fertility is so much more than medical procedures. I don’t think there is another area of medicine that is charged with so much emotion. I suppose then, it is back to money. Do we allow money to stand in the way to the creation of life?
Disclosure: I am a member of the #IVF4BC blog team. As such, I received compensation for this post, but my opinion is all my own.”
For more information on this campaign check out the twitter handle @ivf4bc. If you want to share your stories and support of this campaign, please visit and like the facebook page http://www.facebook.com/ivf4bc and visit their website at http://www.ivf4bc.ca/
Please also visit other voices on this issue: Jodi at http://www.rantsnrascals.com/
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