When the stork doesn’t come. Treatment of infertility in Poland takes time, money and a lot of emotions

Infertility is not only a health problem, but also a psychological one. Some marriages deal better with it, others do not. But anyone who undertakes treatment should be patient as there is a long way to go. Difficult, exciting, expensive.

1. Infertility and infertility – do not confuse the two. In the first case, we are dealing with a permanent state, which means that it is absolutely impossible to have children
2. Infertility in Poland is a big problem because it is not considered a disease in Poland
3. – The state once gives money for treatment, other times it refuses it. Decisions about funding treatments are often made by local governments. Before starting treatment, it is worth checking what rights we are entitled to – explains gynecologist Ryszard Rutkowski
4. – During the first visit to my office, I always tell my patients that they will need three things: the patient’s patience, the patience of her partner and the patience of the doctor who will take them under his wing – adds the doctor

Alicja and Wiktor have been trying to have a child for three years, to no avail. Finally they reported for the tests – Alicja was healthy. Wiktor was to be tested in one of the best laboratories in Poland. The results turned out to be controversial: free sperm and quite numerous leukocytes. Wiktor does not drink alcohol, does not smoke, does not use drugs, but does a lot of sports. The man became fixated on the test results.

I will not be a mom, I will not be a dad

Of course, not always the problems with fertility are on the man’s side. But in both cases, partners feel helpless and defeated. The psychologist Katarzyna Miler writes about the psychological aspects of infertility treatment in the book “Życie jest cool”:

If a guy is at work and he gets a call from his wife saying that he has to come over immediately because she has the best time to fertilize, be ready and shoot after the number of times he has to do it, when he has to, he has enough of it. He starts to feel strained, weakened, angry. I think some married couples can handle it, and I think they are. But there are also some that are going through: we failed again, and again and again. Well, we will not enjoy anything, we will not go to the cinema or theater, because you cannot be happy if your child did not work out.

“I suppose it’s mostly women that come from this,” says Miller.

1. How to regain lost fertility? Thanks to this method, already 160 children have been born

Polish infertility

In Poland, infertility is not a disease. But does that mean she’s not there? As Ryszard Rutkowski, a gynecologist and endocrinologist, says: – Infertility in Poland is a big problem because it is not considered a disease in Poland. Hence the problems with access to treatment, people trying to have a child have to bear high costs, and success is questionable. One time the state gives money for treatment, other times it refuses it. Many treatments are a matter for local governments.

During the first visit to my office, I always tell my patients that they will need three things: the patient’s patience, the patience of her partner and the patience of the doctor who will take them under his wing. Infertility treatment requires it because it is a very complex matter. Of course, we distinguish between male and female infertility.

In both cases, I recommend specialized clinics to my patients, because I believe that this is a very complex problem that usually requires specialist diagnostics, which is impossible in an average doctor’s office. To this day, I find patients treated for years in private clinics, where they are not able to diagnose infertility. They come in their forties, and after many years of treatment, they don’t have basic fertility studies done. Patients lose both years and money. And I would not like to hear from my patient that I have been visiting you for so many years, that I have left so much money and that there is no effect. I was unable to obtain a complete diagnosis, so treatment was not possible. – says the gynecologist. And adds: – Meanwhile, there are many causes of female infertility, these problems also apply to men. The latter, in addition, do not want and do not like to be tested. Fertility is like everything in life, you have to be either unlucky or lucky – the doctor concludes.

– It is exactly as Dr. Ryszard Rutkowski claims – interjects the patient waiting outside the office. – I was treated for infertility for many years, to no avail. The doctor only, kindly and maturely, directed me to where I should have gone from the beginning, i.e. to a good clinic. I’m not pregnant yet, but my husband and I have regained hope. Today I am here to tell the doctor with joy about the new strategy.

1. The most common myths about IVF

Infertility or infertility?

Women suffer from infertility, usually due to ovulation disorders, obstruction of the fallopian tubes, endometriosis, diseases of immune and infectious origin. Among men, the most common cause of the lack of offspring is mechanical obstacles to the escape of the right amount of sperm and their disorders. What distinguishes Poles from the rest of Europe is the low percentage of couples who decide to undergo treatment – it is only 20 percent. par. The positive thing is that we already have approximately 70 fertility clinics. Unfortunately, most of them are private institutions. Medical service packages are in force here – the price of one is PLN 7000-8000. The package includes a series of tests that help to clarify which form of fertilization is the most optimal for us.

Read also:

1. Infertility will not be cured by a gynecologist suggesting “take it easy” or uncle – good advice saying “hurry up, time is running out”.
2. The success of French doctors. The first such case in the world
3. Does Coronavirus Cause Infertility?