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Infertility in the Military:
What You Need To Know
by Marianke Phillips, posted May 2010
Marianke Phillips
Senior Contributor
marianke@armywifemagazine.com
www.householdzes.com
Operation Spouseformation
Archives: OpSpouseformation
It is called unexplained infertility, which is the most frustrating thing because there is no cause to be treated. I was put on a total of six cycles of Clomid, a infertility treatment that helps produce more eggs, and can increase the chances of getting pregnant. But it failed us. We’ve also been put on thee months of birth control by our new fertility specialist, which according to him, he did to most couples he helped with infertility. Most got pregnant after stopping birth control. But, again with us, that was not a success either.
My doctor, after a referral, had also ordered me an ultrasound last year, after I started to have severe abdominal pains on my left side. There it was determined that I have a cyst on my fallopian tube, on my left side. But with a healthy right ovary, it should not hinder having kids. At this point my husband and I have decided to let it be and let it happen. The charting, the keeping track, the treatments, the cost of all the pregnancy tests followed by one disappointment after another, has left emotional scars with us. If the pain continues or worsens I might consider surgery for removal of the cyst. But it is a procedure that would have me on rest for 10 days and would mean I would have to stay home from work. Our next step, due to Tricare not covering artificial reproduction technologies, is going to be adoption. We feel going the artificial way and the possibility of disappointment after spending a large sum of money on it, without result is not worth it.
Prayer and faith in the Lord has kept us sane. Knowing that we are not the only ones dealing with this is a comfort yet hard to swallow in a society where having a baby seems so normal. A baby boom seems to be most apparent as well; however, we are not the ones taking part in that baby boom because infertility has struck us.
Infertility can interfere with the ability of a couple to participate in one of the most important and highly valued human activities-building a family. Infertility for a couple, seen and felt as a life crisis, can cause depression, feelings of anger, frustration and helplessness. The intensity of these emotions can lead to a point where a person who experiences infertility often isolates themselves from family, friends, work and society. They will avoid any activity where children are involved or any topic involving babies or kids, for example baby showers and get-togethers involving children.
Improvements in infertility treatments have made it more possible for couples dealing with infertility, to have a child. With the cost of artificial reproduction being so high, most of the time it is impossible for couples dealing with infertility to cover. Tricare covers infertility treatment to a certain extent. The following will highlight what may be covered and what is not.
Diagnostic services to identify physical illnesses or injuries to the reproductive system are covered for both men and women. Infertility treatments, corrective treatments and surgeries for women are also covered. However, correction of male infertility may be cost shared, which is determined on a case-by-case basis.
Therapies covered by Tricare include hormonal treatment, corrective surgery, antibiotics, administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) or radiation therapy depending on the cause. These therapies are covered for both men and women. Tricare also provides medically necessary appropriate medical care for erectile dysfunction due to organic, vice psychological or psychiatric causes.
Exclusions are artificial insemination or intrauterine insemination (IUI), which in some cases might be cost shared, and in-vitro fertilization (IVF) for women. Also excluded is reversal of surgical sterilization of both men and women.
While Tricare does not cover IVF, there are four military treatment facilities (MTFs) where IVF medical training programs are conducted. Beneficiaries who participate in these programs will be responsible for all MTF costs, but can expect reduced rates.
These military treatment facilities are:
To help you cope with infertility, Military OneSource offers free counseling services outside the military system. Call the toll-free hot line number 24/7 at 1-800-655-4545 or visit their website at www.militaryonesource.com.
If artificial reproduction technologies and infertility treatments are not a success, the next option is adoption. In which the U.S. Army can lend a helping hand. Options for adoption are to look outside the country or foster adopt within our own foster care system. Through the Child Welfare Information gateway at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_milita.cfm you can find all facts and information on where the U.S. Military and DoD can help you and guide you when you are considering adoption. If you are considering foster adoption, go visit sites like http://foster-child.adoption.com and http://www.adoptuskids.org for more information.
Dealing with infertility does not mean you won’t ever be able to have a child. There are some success stories, and Aymee, married to U.S. Army soldier Brian, can vouch for that. They are the proud parents of Morrigan, although born premature, a healthy baby girl. Aymee and Brian have dealt with infertility due to PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Disease) for about four years. PCOS is Polycystic ovary disease is a condition in which there are many small cysts in the ovaries, which can affect a woman's ability to get pregnant. While talking to her about their infertility journey that ended up with the birth of their beautiful daughter, she shared her story with me.
Aymee: I met my husband through my best friend Molly online around April 2005. Brian had been in the U.S. Army for four years when we met in person, June of 2005. We fell in love and got married July 8, 2005. Brian and I had been trying to conceive our first child for about a year in 2006. The U.S. Army won’t help anyone without them trying on their own for year, and so after a year of trying and getting negative results on our pregnancy tests, we were sent to the infertility clinic. The clinic gave me Provera to help me have periods and then gave me Clomid to help me ovulate. We also went through a GYFT Clinic to help us. The GYFT Clinic is a complete women's health care facility offering comprehensive fertility and gynecology services. We paid around $200.00 for them to concentrate and wash the most mobile of Brian’s semen.
We then took the semen to Madigan in a tube and they slowly injected it into me where the semen would meet up with the egg and fertilize. We found out shortly after that I was pregnant, which was also two weeks before he deployed in May of 2007. A month into the deployment, I found out I was miscarrying, and I needed my husband home so I sent out a Red Cross message. He came home on emergency leave and I had to get a D&C (dilation and curettage) done. After that we decided not to try to conceive before any deployments.
Brian went back to Iraq and finished up his second tour. When he came home from Iraq, we tried another IUI. After three months of trying again we found out we were pregnant a day before Christmas of 2008. In April of 2009, a day before Easter we found out we were having a girl-we were elated and excited. I was not due for another five months. Little did we know someone had other plans. June 14, 2009, Brian had to go to Yakima and later that night, I started having contractions or pre-term labor. I called my friend Sylvia, to come get me and take me to the ER. The ER took me to Labor and Delivery and at 10:55 pm, Morrigan Marie was born weighing in at 2lbs 11oz and 13 1/2 inches long. I had my friend Sylvia call Brian and tell him I needed him home because Morrigan came early and was not doing well because of an infection.
Brian came home didn't come home until the next day. Brian came in to check up on me in the hospital and then to see our little girl. He could not believe how tiny she was. Morrigan spent two months in NICU and came home August 18, 2009. Today she is almost ten months old and doing great, thriving and healthy as can be. We will soon be using the infertility clinic again in July to have our second child and will also be doing an IUI. We can't wait."
For any questions or concerns about your infertility, contact your local on-post Tricare office, your regional Tricare office, or if you do not know where to go, visit www.tricare.mil to find out where your local or regional Tricare office is.
Resources: www.tricare.mil, Triwest HealthMatters Issue 4: 2005, Child Welfare Information Gateway, www.adoption.com, www.adoptuskids.org.
Marianke is a foreign born Army Wife from the Netherlands, married to Active Duty US Army Soldier, Jon. She loves to assist other Army Spouses by sharing beneficial information and resources with them. She served as a former FRG Leader and is a certified Army Family Team Building Instructor. She is also an aspiring photographer, next to her full time job at one of America's biggest retailers
working at its Photo Lab and Guest Relations. If you know of a resource that would be beneficial to other wives, please email Marianke at Marianke@ArmyWifeMagazine.com. You can also read Marianke's personal blog at www.HouseholdZes.com.
Infertility: This word...to most women and men who long to start a family...cuts into their heart like a knife. On a personal level, my husband and I, at the age of 29 and 31, have been dealing with infertility for over five years now. We desire to start a family, and when we were told that we were dealing with, at the moment 'unexplained infertility', our world caved in. When we originally wanted to try for a family of our own, we thought it would not take more than a month or three to get pregnant with our first child. However, as months went by, those three months turned into a year. And thus it was time to talk to a doctor.
Both my husband and I were tested. On my husband’s side, after three trips to the fertility clinic, an hour and a half away from us, nothing was wrong. And after doing a hysterosalpingogram, or HSG (an X-Ray of the uterus where they check to see the state of the female reproductive system), to see if anything was wrong with me, the doctor told us she could not find anything wrong with me either.
May 5, 2010
I would love to mention several things a lot of army wife ( being one for over 5 yrs now) have kids, and a lot of them are stay at home mothers. There is not only a feeling of not fitting in for people who can
not have kids, but also for people who have different lifestyles. I have a 6 year old girl and dont want any more kids, and have my own career. FRG meetings are always plannend during weekdays, spousal support groups too. I feel like sometimes the military is not really sensitive to people either without kids or to mothers with careers.
Second I hope that you will succeed eventually. Tricare sadly doesn't cover a
lot of things reading in your bio that you are from the Netherlands I wonder if
you ever considered going back to your homecountry where it is covered?
Good luck and let's hope the army in the future will make changes to accomedate
ALL spouses!
Kristin
Comments (2)
May 3, 2010
This really hits home for me. After my son was born, I immediately wanted to have more kids...stairsteps...as some say. That didn't happen. To make a long story short, after 10 years and many complications, my baby girl arrived. Stories like this are needed to offer some type of hope to others who are dealing with this "silent madness" as I use to call it. Thanks for sharing!
Monica
