Robert Winston

Have finally got down to reading Robert Winston's 'A Child Against All Odds' and despite - or perhaps because of - its scientific nature am finding it strangely comforting. It is obviously good to know some facts for starters. But it is not that just that. It is very medical and technical in its description of IVF and its history, and almost mathematical in its analysis of the resulting attitudes from society, but there is a real compassion which shines through all the brighter for the factual stance. Almost as though it is not just emotionally understandable to feel the things we infertiles feel but scientifically so. It is how my dad can make me feel.
Here is a bit I particularly like:

"It is argued with so many babies born pre-term, valuable neonatal facilities are being swallowed up by increasing numbers of people who have sought this treatment for a condition that is not life-threatening and does not cause them physical pain.
"The last arguement, I have to say, tends to be advanced only by people who have either never had children, or never experienced any difficulties having children or met anyone else who has.
No physician who has witnessed the anguish of infertile couples can doubt that the condition causes extreme suffering - even if the suffering is not conveniently located in the pancreas or the foot! If you would like a short introduction, I suggest you visit some of the popular websites for people with infertility problems. Most of these are completely devoid of baby photographs... This is for the simple reason that infertile people can go through mental agony when surrounded by reminders of other people successfully getting pregnant and having babies.
"To argue that any mental pain is necessarily of a lesser oorder than physical painis an obvious fallacy, since we have long recognized depression as an illness.. We also recognise that mental stress is a relevant factor in a range of physical conditions, from psoriasis to heart attacks and our immune response to infections. Medecine clearly accepts that 'mental pain is real and that it should be treated."