On Sofia Vergara & Ex Nick Loeb's Bitter Feud Over Frozen Embryos - My Take

By Nkem Akinsoto

Nick Loeb and actress Sofia Vergara between 2012 and May 2014, when the couple split. Since then, Sofia has moved on, and is now engaged to fellow actor Joe Manganiello. But her past is coming back to make headlines as she and her ex battle over frozen embryos they made in planning a family while still engaged in 2013.

Sofia and Nick were using IVF to grow their family and had completed the first part successfully, which entailed combining her eggs and his sperm into female embryos in preparation to getting either Sofia or a surrogate pregnant. However, the couple split before their plans could end in pregnancy and a baby.

SAD! Mom Dies During Birth of Quadruplets Concieved Via Fertility Treatments

Erica and Carlos Morales had struggled for years to get pregnant and they finally conceived quadruplets after fertility treatment. Erica was surprised to be expecting 4 babies, but she was looking forward to being a mother at last, and was healthy throughout her pregnancy.

Erica and her husband also discussed baby names. They settled on Carlos Jr. for the boy and Tracey and Paisley for the two girls. Erica couldn’t decide on the other girl’s name. They thought they had plenty of time to figure it out. Tragically, over a month to her due date, her blood pressure became elevated and she was rushed to the hospital.

Dolce and Gabbana On #BoycottDolceGabbana Outcry - 'Different choices.. Equal respect'

Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have issued a statement over the #BoycottDolceGabbana outcry [read here] saying it was never their intention to denigrate IVF or judge gay parenting and marriage. The comments by the duo which sparked the social media hashtag were from an interview where the two co-founders of the D&G line showed their support for ‘traditional’ families,

The only family is the traditional one. You are born and you have a father and mother. At least it should be like that. That’s why I’m not convinced by what I call chemical children, synthetic babies. They are wombs for hire, semen chosen from a catalogue. And then you have to explain to these children who their mother is.

Elton Johns Sparks #BoycottDolceGabbana Trend After Designer Speaks Against IVF

Elton John started the #BoycottDolceGabbana yesterday asking his fans to boycott the fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana after the designers granted an interview in an Italian magazine castigating IVF [in-vitro fertilisation]. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, co-founders of the brand, called children conceived via the process ‘chemical’ and ‘synthetic’ in an interview with Panorama.

The interview showed that although the two co-founders are gay, and were a couple for 23 years, until 2005, they toe the line of support for ‘traditional’ families. The pair recently showcased this view during the latest Dolce and Gabbana fashion show where the theme was motherhood, and models walked the runway pregnant and with kids.

Woman Delivers Quadruplets after 18 Years of Infertility and Childlessness

44-year-old Clara Dominique, who had been childless with her husband for 18 years, was reportedly delivered of quadruplets - three girls and a boy - at the Graceland Medical Centre in Benin City, Edo State last Saturday. The report did not state whether the couple had used infertility treatments.

The couple got married in 1996, and experienced the usual turbulence that infertile couples go through. Clara Dominique said it was God’s grace that kept them through the trials of childlessness. She said they refused to keep friends because of the problem.

Celine Dion Had IVF Seven Times For Her Children, and May Do it Again

45 years old Celine Dion, through the help of IVF, is mother to three boys, Rene-Charles, 12, and three-year-old twins, Nelson and Eddy. Celine Dion is married her manager René Angélil, 71, and has not ruled out ­trying for a baby again through the same means. Her first ­treatment, aged 33, was a ­success but she struggled to conceive a second time, According to the Mirror, she says of her experience;

Being Thankful While Waiting to be Parents

Seeing the picture above recently reminded me of the fact that we have been waiting to be parents for a couple of years now, and while currently working actively towards getting a child into our life, we have been taking it step by step, not stressing over it, and thankful for what we do have and share.

Some months ago we determined to start the process of foster care and adoption and attended the relevant training we needed to put us in a frame of mind to have a child or children in our home.

Some say it is easier to do things when you're younger, like getting married or having children. I'm not talking about being physically able to do either, but about the mental state required to do these things. Now, it's not that doing those things are easier at that stage, just that when you're younger, you don't overthink these things. This could be a bad thing, as some people make mistakes, but it could also be good if you're wise and luck is on your side, or you keep educating yourself and growing together, with your husband and with your children.

When you're older, you're definitely wiser, and you may have learned from other people's experiences all that could go wrong. You analyse and weight each decision minutely before you go ahead. The training we had were packed with resources to educate and inform aspiring foster and adoptive parents, and develop our parenting skills.

The Rollercoasters of Life

I remember as a child and my biggest test of my endurance would be writing my exams and waiting the couple of weeks or so for the results to come out. After a while, it wasn't even that nail-biting. After coming in the first ten most of primary school, you kind of begin to take it for granted that you will always excel.

And somehow, that has been true in most cases for me. I got one of the top scores in the common entrance exams and got admited to the best school in town, I got the highest score in my state to get into science school for my senior secondary, I was among the top three results in WAEC in my school and I got admission the same year. I was also the best graduating student from my department in university.

It wasn't all rosy though. Yes, I passed JAMB, but I didn't make the cut-off for my first choice which was to study medicine. I may have passed top of my class to graduate university, but I did not make First Class. It took me four years after graduating - after waiting for a scholarship that never came - to get a "good job". And another two years before I could begin my master's programme.

Having to Choose - IVF versus Adoption

To summarize for those just joining us, Atala and I had been married three years, trying to get pregnant for over two years, and had about a year of fertility tests and assisted reproductive therapy (ART). The doctor's diagnosis was unexplained infertility. My laid back personality allowed me to take each day as it came but there was some anxiety and disappointment as the results for each stage came - positive if it was a medical test, and negative if it was a pregnancy test. Yes, most things were OK with my body, but I just was not getting pregnant. You can read more on the infertility page.

A Failed IVF Caused by Non viable Eggs

It is quite difficult when you have always assumed you would have children, to then find out that you need some form of treatment in order to conceive. But it shifts the ground from under you when even that treatment fails. In the cases, it is only the grace of God and the reactions of the people around you to stabilize you. I thank God for my faith, for the person He has made me to be, and for the man I chose to go through life with.

My First IVF Experience

I think I first heard about IVF in my late teens. This couple, our family friends, had not conceived in almost twenty years of marriage and the woman later had twins through IVF. This was in the 90s and it was called test-tube baby. Luckily for me, my parents were overjoyed for her and though it was announced on sorta like the hush-hush, it wasn't too secret either and those in our social circle did not treat her with stigma.