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This beautiful You Tube video reminds us that there are many ways to create families.
Take your vitamins!
That’s the advice of U.S. public-health officials who are urging women to improve preconception health and decrease the risk of birth defects by taking a daily folic-acid supplement.
According to Jennifer Swoboda, M.D., of A Place for Women in Celebration, Florida, “folic acid is essential for proper cell division in the embryo. The neural tube closes at about three to four weeks after conception.” With nearly one-half of all pregnancies unplanned, this important developmental stage often happens before a woman even realizes she’s pregnant.
The most common neural-tube defect is spina bifida, in which the spine does not close properly; and anencephaly, in which the baby, born blind, deaf, and with exposed brain tissue, dies within hours or days. Neural tube defect is the second most common birth defect in the United States.
According to Swoboda, it is best if folic acid supplement is started with 30 days prior to conception, and that taking 400 mcg. daily as part of a multivitamin can reduce the risk of neural tube defects by two-thirds.
This is a small choice that can truly pay big health dividends for you and your baby-to-be.
When a b
aby is conceived by two strangers. who gets the baby if the agreement falls apart? According to the Orlando Sentinel (9/16/07), a Central Florida couple is among the latest faced with this wrenching question. The baby, now 4 months old, lives with her biological mother, Stephanie Eckard, while the baby’s father and his wife, Tom and Gwyn Lamitina are in court fighting to take her away.
The case is an example of “traditional surrogacy,” where the woman who carries the child uses her own egg. According to Charlotte Danciu of Delray Beach, one of Florida’s busiest attorneys specializing in this field, this type of case is in the minority, as most situations implant a fertilized egg of the intended mother into a gestational carrier.
In either case, not nailing down parental rights with a legal contact was a big mistake, according to Patricia Strowbridge, an Orlando adoption attorney. With third party reproduction on the rise, this incident speaks to the need for binding legal contacts, whenever someone outside the couple is involved. Unfortunately for the Lamitina’s no attorneys were involved until it was too late, and ultimately, the outcome will be fore the courts to decide.
Conceive Magazine is a unique publication. It serves a very special niche market, that until Conceive came along, was not being met. Conceive’s founder and CEO, Kim Hahn, created the magazine from her own frustrations over the lack of positive, consumer-friendly information about fertility. 
If you are not already familiar with this magazine, look for it at your local newsstand or library.
This blog is dedicated to bringing you information about dealing with the challenges of fertility and infertility.
Look for additional information at the I Am More Than My Infertility website.
