Father sleeping with baby – Image Courtesy of Pixabay
Raising a family is pretty much the whole point of living for most people. But some people have difficulty getting pregnant. Fortunately, there are options if you can’t have children.
Consider the Alternatives
There are a few alternatives to getting pregnant. Many children come from broken homes, have no parents, or are in the care system. As a loving parent without a child, you can consider some of these alternatives. Adoption provides a loving home to a child in need. But you can make a real difference in the lives of struggling children if you become a Foster parent. The main difference is that a child becomes yours when you adopt. But Foster children come and go. Yet it’s not uncommon for Foster parents to adopt the kids they care for.
Try Well-Known Fertility Drugs
One of the first steps for many couples looking to get pregnant is to explore the many fertility drugs available. The reasons for infertility could lie with one parent or both, so you will both be tested before any treatment can begin. From there, a doctor will prescribe special drugs that can increase sperm production or encourage ovulation. There are many treatments available, so it’s best to fully discuss these as a couple and with your doctor before starting. However, it’s important to note that drugs like clomiphene citrate for ovulation have a success rate of 40%.
There are Treatments If You Can’t Have Children Easily
Further to taking prescribed drugs, there are other medical treatments available. However, these are generally left as a final alternative because they’re often highly expensive. However, they are more effective than taking drugs. Some of the best treatments include the following:
- IVF: this is the most common and involves manually injecting sperm into eggs in a lab.
- IUI: similar to IVF, but sperm is injected directly into an egg while inside the female.
- ZIFT: an egg is fertilized in lab conditions and then implanted into fallopian tubes.
All of these are highly advanced scientific procedures. However, they aren’t a guarantee of success, although the rates vary between 30% and 45% from one to multiple treatments. You will also need to pay separately for each assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedure.
Genetic Material Donation
It is often the case that one parent or another doesn’t have viable sperm or eggs that are required to get pregnant. If this is the case, you can consider a genetic material donation from a third party. However, only one parent will be genetically linked to a child if you go down this road. It’s not the most suitable for many parents. But it’s a good compromise for results. Of course, it’s also possible that neither parent has suitable genetic material. In this case, you can pursue a course of action that uses both third-party eggs and sperm materials.
Accept a Child-Free Life
Perhaps the hardest choice, but one that might be better all around is to accept that you might not have children at all. Treatments for IVF and drugs are costly and out of many people’s reach. Further, it can be difficult to become accepted for adoption or Fostering. While you might feel like you need to be a parent, which is the most natural thing in the world, it isn’t always possible. Living a child-free life isn’t the end of everything, and you can still enjoy life. Accepting your position together means you can focus on building a loving life and relationship.
Summary
Not everyone finds it easy to get pregnant. But there are some things you can do if you can’t have children. There are alternatives like adoption, medical procedures, and living child-free.