Hotels Near 2011 Conference

Registration is going well....so well we have individuals from out-of-town needing recommendations of hotels!!!  Below are hotels recommeded by the North Kansas City Hospital, where the conference will be held.  If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at kcinfertilityawareness@hotmail.com.  Good luck!

Ameristar
3200 N. Ameristart Dr.
Kansas City, MO 64161
816-414-7000

Comfort Inn Kansas City
7300 NE Parvin Rd
Kansas City, MO 64117
(816) 454-3500

La Quinta Inn
2214 Taney Rd
Kansas City, MO 64116
(816) 221-1200

Hampton Inn Kansas City
4233 N. Corrington AVe
Kansas City, MO 64117
816) 452-1010

What He Can Expect When She's Not Expecting

Below is a video clip from the Today Show (aired on March 16, 2011) about a couple's journey through infertility. Visit http://whathecanexpect.com/ to learn more about their journey and the book the husband wrote.  Marc Sedaka, the husband in this video clip,  is donating two signed copies of this book!!!!

 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Emcee for KCIA 2011 Conference

http://www.mix93.com/

KCIA is proud and beyond ecstatic to announce Jenny Matthews from Kansas City's Mix 93.3 radio station as our emcee for the 2011 Kansas City Infertility Awareness Conference!!!   Please read her inspiring story that gives others currently on the journey hope and encouragement.

 My husband, Matthew, and I got married in 2005. I was 30 and we figured we had a couple of years to just enjoy married life before trying for a baby. Since my sister had six kids (two sets of twins) naturally and with no problems what-so-ever, we had no reason to believe we’d have any trouble at all! Boy, oh boy…were we wrong.

We started trying in January of 2007. Month after month passed… no luck… until July! FINALLY! The long awaited two pink lines on the at-home test! We were thrilled. Until about a week later when I started having severe abdominal pain and just knew something wasn’t right. Matthew rushed me to the E.R. to find out it was a potentially life-threatening ectopic pregnancy (in my fallopian tube). We were told we could try again on our own, but we would risk having another ectopic. Doctors said IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) may be our best bet.

I got pregnant again in February of 2008. Sadly, I miscarried at five weeks. I got pregnant a few months later and unfortunately, miscarried again. We decided it was time to see a fertility specialist.
That’s when we met Dr. Daniel Stewart at Reproductive Medicine and Infertility. He and his staff were absolutely wonderful. Dr. Stewart was straight-forward and informative, but also so kind and caring. He felt we should try a couple of IUI’s (Intra-Uterine Insemination) so we did… no luck. We were frustrated and ready to get more aggressive, so we decided it was time for IVF.

Optimistically, we started our first round of IVF in early 2009. Daily shots in the stomach… surgery to retrieve eggs from my ovaries… the mental anguish of waiting and hoping that those eggs would fertilize and that there would be some to transfer back to my uterus. It was tough. But, we were able to put two back. Sadly, neither took… I didn’t get pregnant. Talk about devastation.

Thankfully, Dr. Stewart was able to freeze four of our embryos. So, a few months later, we tried again. Unfortunately, it took ‘thawing’ all four embryos to get two to put back. We were ecstatic to find out a few weeks later that it worked! I was finally pregnant with one baby and it was in the right place! Well, at nine weeks along, I miscarried. We were crushed.

We met with a genetic counselor, we ‘re-grouped’ with Dr. Stewart, we discussed adoption…we tried to figure out our next steps. I honestly wasn’t sure if I could physically or mentally go through anything else. I just wanted to be a mom and I started to question whether a biological child was ever going to happen for us. At the urging of my husband who is the eternal optimist, we decided to try another round of IVF.

I am so thankful for that decision because… IT WORKED!!! I worried every single day of my pregnancy. I even bought an at-home ‘doppler’ so I could check her heartbeat daily (ok, sometimes three times a day!!) But, aside from feeling nauseated for nine months… it was a very normal, healthy pregnancy. I gave birth to sweet Julianne Faith on September 24, 2010.

And that’s my story. I could go on and on about the difficulties of infertility… the pain my heart would feel every time a friend would announce her pregnancy. The stress. The constant ‘what if’s’. I am so blessed to have such an incredible husband. Infertility can tear a relationship apart… in our case, it has only made us stronger as a couple.

We are lucky that we were finally able to get pregnant. She’s our little miracle and we feel so incredibly blessed. Not a day goes by that I don’t look into Julianne’s big, beautiful, blue eyes and have total appreciation for the absolute miracle it is to have a healthy baby. They were three of the hardest years of my life… but she was so worth the wait.

KCIA Receives Recognition on Reproductive Resource Center's Blog

We are honored to receive recognition and support from Reproductive Resource Center's blog, Conceivable.  Check out their blog entry regarding our upcoming 2011 infertility awareness conference.  Thank you, RRC!

http://www.rrc.com/blog/2011/03/2011-kansas-city-infertility-awareness-conference/

2011 Conference Registration is OPEN!!!!

March 1st has finally arrived, and it is the first day of registration for the FREE First-Ever Kansas City Infertility Awareness Conference!!!  The directions below are also provided on the 2011 Conference page.   

HOW TO REGISTER:

Click here to register. Each individual attendee needs to register. For example, if you are attending with one other person, please submit TWO registrations. You will receive email confirmation once each registration is received; check your junk mail box if the email does not go to your Inbox.

Registration begins March 1st and will continue until maximum capacity for the room is reached. If you have any difficulties, do not hesitate to contact us at kcinfertilityawareness@hotmail.com. We look forward to meeting you!

When you register, it is optional for you to record one or more questions for our success story panel; if you cannot think of any at registration, leave it blank. The event will conclude with a panel of men and women who have one or more children through IVF, IUI, adoption, embryo adoption/donation, or Chinese medicine/acupuncture. If you think of any questions before April 29th, please email them to kcinfertilityawareness@hotmail.com.