The Happy Meal Approach to Infertility
Do you remember how you felt going to McDonald’s as a child? The Happy Meal idea was conceived (pun intended) as the brilliant marketing strategy to capture the hearts and bellies of children across the globe. As a child, you were empowered to make one decision: chicken nuggets or hamburger. We cherished those days of simplicity.
And oh man, the toys. I remember the 101 Dalmatian Christmas series. The amount of Happy Meals ordered that year was likely way too many than any parent would want to admit.
The “box” approach to infertility treatment
The infertility industry is no different in its approach to capture the heart’s of women:
Infertility treatment is conveniently wrapped up as an out-of-the-box solution,
You are “empowered” to make one decision: IUI or IVF,
You instantly become a collector of things - medical records, usernames and passwords for pregnancy-related forums, and OPK test strips to confirm when you ovulated.
There’s little variation in treatment. I remember meeting with my new fertility team after I moved. Admittedly, I went from a rockstar team in an urban city to a rural area that had minimal medical support to choose from. My records were transferred. I caved in to getting all the standard bloodwork to get an updated baseline. And then I was given the two options:
IUI or IVF? Chicken nuggets or hamburger?
So, wait. There’s no in between? There’s nothing else we can explore as a viable option?
“Oh, you can do a round of IUI with IVF injectables but the success rate is still low. If you’re going through all the effort of IVF meds, you might as well consider doing a full round of IVF.”
I have nothing against hormone treatment as someone who has gone through it for my IUIs. I deeply understand the importance of assisted medications to amplify your cycles but there’s a deep, underlying problem here.
Let’s take the Kindbody saga from September 2023. Kindbody, a tech-driven fertility clinic and family-building provider, announced their $100M raise in March 2023. According to Gina Bartasi, Founder and Chairwoman of Kindbody, the company had a goal to be “laser focus(ed) on profitable growth."
But does profitable growth mean incentivizing doctors to push IVF? Yes and no depending on the company culture. Let’s look at the stats.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IVF has skyrocketed to 78% since 2015.
Are doctors being analyzed solely based on the number of retrievals? If yes, there’s a dangerous “profit mindset,” a term that even Kindbody used. Their companywide manual includes standard operating procedures, “KindWays,” outlining three pillars of “process, efficiency, and profit.” This is where I start to question practicing independent medical judgment based on scientific evidence versus meeting business objectives.
Why do I feel that my options limited?
As a patient who has gone through several rounds of endometriosis surgery and IUI treatment, I want to know what else is out there.
What promising advancements in reproductive health are in clinical trials?
Why aren’t they being recommended by my medical team?
What are the obstacles to scalability in the market?
Although I understand and value in having a balanced lifestyle, diet and mindset, what innovations have shown promise in the medical space? I’m looking for concrete next steps that founders have taken to increase fertility rates. If I had a quarter every time I heard…
Take additional supplements.I have a 2x per day regimen of supplements. My goodness, how many more pills can I take?!
Reduce your stress level. I moved to a state to own land, have space to breathe, have dogs to walk - to find simplicity in lighting a fire and “just being.” My husband is a cheesemaker. I work for a local non-profit in community relations. Moving to a more rural setting was our big step to reduce the city-life congestion. More importantly it was a way to reduce the congestion in our minds from the hustle and bustle. This gives your mind a chance to wander, to explore, and to absorb in a new level of comfort and joy.
Try a vegan diet. Our household is pretty healthy. I am not overweight. As someone with Celiac disease, I am in tune with following a gluten free diet. I’ve read both arguments on changing a diet to increase the odds of infertility and have come to the conclusion that it does more harm than good. It’s all about having a balanced lifestyle and that may include a steak, roasted chicken, ice cream cone, or scrambled eggs from time to time.
I’m an avid fan of Anthony Bourdain. I share in his perspective in tapping into culture and food, and going against the general opinion “just because” it’s been done a specific way for years. This is why I similarly question a medical team in providing only two options to infertility care.
"The way you make an omelet reveals your character," said Bourdain.
The way we approach infertility will reveal the character of the reproductive health industry. There’s more out there. From my observations and research, there are several key reasons why we aren’t seeing significant process in the field. As a patient, I am not being recommended options that may have glimmers of hope. They do not have to be as successful as IVF, but surely there’s got to be more innovation out there.
And if there aren’t, why not? What are the barriers? I have a running list but I’ll leave that for another day, for another post.
I will pose the same question that took me through this mental journey. Chicken nuggets or hamburger? IUI or IVF? What’s my response? I’ll steal the quote from Bourdain that embodies my philosophical approach to reproductive health. Don’t give me two options when both you and I know that there are more.
"To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living." - Bourdain
Infertility treatment is more than just two options. There are more options out there - and some may prove to be more worthy of trying.
Sunny side bump,
Olivia
