In real life, motherhood isn’t a series of cute Facebook photos
Amy Wu says while advances in medical science have made having a baby easier, the choice involves a lot of hard thinking best done away from the influence of sentimental and unrealistic social media posts
Maybe it is my impending birthday, the big 4-0 that is around the corner, but lately my girlfriends of a similar vintage all seem to have jumped on the baby bandwagon.
It is nothing new that the biological clock has kicked up a notch, but the same friends say that, thankfully, we are coming of age (middle age to be precise) at a time when science and medicine are advanced.
Yes, it has never been easier to have a baby. The journey to motherhood has been extended, thanks to advances in IVF.
It is the banter around the baby quest that most bothers me. Having a child is sounding as simple as, say, acquiring a car
No wonder there are a record number of births through in vitro fertilisation in the US.
But the procedure is pricey. The cost of one round of treatment in the US is about US$12,000, and in reality women who take that route often need more than one attempt.
But here’s the good news, my friends say. At least 13 states in the US require insurance companies to cover the cost of IVF. Arguably, the US is one of the best places to achieve motherhood; in Hong Kong, IVF is not legally permitted for singles and unmarried couples.
Also, physicians from the Cleveland Clinic in the US have just announced that a uterus transplant is in the pipeline, potentially offering more women the chance of a pregnancy.
