While
I have received compensation for this post from Fertility
Planit, all opinions are my own.
While
many people seem to get pregnant easily, there is actually quite a
significant percentage of the population that have difficulties in
this arena. There is a lot of emotional, mental, and even physical
turmoil that goes into trying to conceive for couples who have
fertility issues. Between jealousy and anger over the fact that it
seems like everyone around you is getting pregnant at the drop of a
hat and the ups and downs that come with each month of trying for a
baby, it is definitely a roller-coaster of emotions. Not to mention
the added financial strain that expensive, invasive treatments such
as IUI and IVF can cause, if you decide to go that route.
While
my husband, John, and I never went to such extreme measures to
conceive a baby, we did face our own struggles. It definitely took
longer for us to naturally conceive our first daughter than is
typical for most otherwise healthy, young adults. Much longer,
actually: A little over three years. I was 25 years old by the time
we finally got pregnant and my husband was 30. We were almost to the
point where we were just going to give up. John never got tested, but
neither one of us ever did get any answers as to why we had such a
hard time getting pregnant with our first daughter.
Our
second daughter was a whole other story. It only took us a few months
of really trying to conceive her. After the trouble we had with our
first, though, I could not help but worry it would take what felt
like forever again or not happen at all, not to mention the jealousy
I felt towards all of my friends and family who were announcing their
pregnancies during the time we were trying. If you have been there
yourself, I am sure you can relate to the ugly thoughts and emotions
that can rear their ugly head when you get yet another negative
pregnancy test when everyone around you seems to get pregnant just by
thinking about it.
Now
that you know a little about our trying to conceive (TTC) journey, I
am sure you will understand why I am so excited to share with you the
Stork
OTC.
The Stork OTC, by Rinovum Women's Health, is a simple device to help
you conceive naturally at home. In a nutshell, the man will collect
his semen in a cervical cap with a condom-like sheath (yes, you can
have intercourse to do so) after which the woman uses the applicator
to insert the cervical cap near her cervix, similar to how a tampon
would be inserted. After that, you go about your business and simply
remove the cervical cap after 4-6 hours. Easy enough, right?
There
are so many perks of the Stork OTC. For starters, it is the first
over the counter (OTC) cervical cap conception aid available on the
market. That means you do not even need to visit the doctor to start
using them. This makes it a great option if you are wanting to try
more natural methods first before possibly resorting to more invasive
and/or costly measures, such as hormone therapy, IUI, and IVF.
I
believe there is something to be said about not being stressed out
while trying to conceive. Everyone always says “it will happen when
it happens and stressing out about it will only make it harder” and
I think they are actually on to something. With that being said, you
will be much more comfortable and relaxed using the Stork OTC in the
privacy of your home. Thus, in theory, helping to increase your
chances of conceiving even more.
The
Stork OTC retails for $79.99. While the price may be daunting,
especially considering it is a one time use product, consider this:
IUI averages $865 per cycle and IVF averages a whopping $12,400 per
cycle. Even if you end up doing some type of hormone therapy, you are
still likely to be saving money by trying the Stork OTC first.
Since
our second daughter is only five months old, we are definitely not
planning on trying to conceive again any time soon, if at all. With
that being said, when offered, I decided to check out the demo model
of the Stork OTC.
Overall,
I think the design of the product is good and fairly straight forward
to use, which is good since you will be doing it yourself. (I still
definitely recommend watching the videos
on their site in conjuncture with reading the directions, of course.
You do not want to mess something up on accident since this is a
one-time use product.) My husband and I noticed the collection condom
is made to be sturdy, so you may lose some sensation due to its
thickness. If you are concerned about this, another option may be for
the man to collect it by himself. It also might be easier to just
pour the semen from a sanitary collection device and pour it into the
cervical cap. Otherwise you will need to be very, very careful to
remove it from the rest of the condom-like sheath without spilling
any or accidentally dumping it. I am pretty sure it is just because
mine is a demo model, but pulling down on the first “button” hard
enough to get it to click into place was kind of hard. Not that you
would not anyways, but basically just be very careful while getting
this product ready to use. Despite the items mentioned above, I would
still give this a try if you are having trouble conceiving. I would
not consider them “deal breakers”, just things to be aware of.
I
did like a few particular things about the StorkOTC. As I mentioned
above, it seems fairly easy to use and the overall size of the
product is not intimidating. The cervical cup really is designed to
be like removing a tampon with the long string that is attached,
which is handy. (Especially if you have a high cervix. Trust me on
that.) Plus, if you are already using menstrual cups for your cycle,
this is very similar. You are just not leaving it in as long and have
a device to help insert it instead of doing it completely manually.
You
can learn more, read success stories, and find out where to purchase
your own Stork OTC on their website.
Stay up-to-date with them on Facebook
and Twitter.
Speaking of Twitter, be sure to join us this Thursday, June 16th,
at 9pm EST for the #StorkStories Twitter chat where you will have the
chance to win your own Stork OTC. See you then.
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