Fertility advice from the Jeremy Kyle Show?

Did anyone (in the U.K.) see the Jeremy Kyle show this morning? He called it his Morning Surgery. Now, I NEVER watch that show because I HATE the format, the type of issues he covers, the type of people who are his guests, the shouting, accusing, and what I see as emotional manipulation. How do I know what it's like if I never watch it? Simply, I dislike the entire genre of talk shows that primarily exist to surprise, shock, allow their guests to attack each other's character and encourage the audience to loudly express their opinions. More specifically, I watch Daybreak and Lorraine in the morning while getting the children ready for school and see the promos for the Jeremy Kyle Show. On certain occasions when thechildren are in the kitchen with me, I have even had to turn off the TV if something really offensive is being promoted for the JK Show. It's the attitudes and behaviour...

That being said, I am always interested in how infertility is portrayed in the media, so I watched the entire show today for the first time. Jeremy had two doctors on with him this morning, *Dr Arun Ghosh  and *Dr Stacey Palastrand. 

There were four fertility "stories" told on the JK Show this morning:

• the couple who haven't conceived after 4 years of unprotected sex;
• the couple who have endured multiple miscarriages and the heartbreaking loss of their son only a few hours after his full-term birth, and are now 23 weeks pregnant; and
• the woman who gave birth at 57 to a child conceived through IVF  in a Russian clinic (I believe); and
• a 35 year old single woman, an employee of the JK Show, who decided it was time to be proactive about having what she really wanted in life, a baby.

The Pros and the Cons of this show:

• Pro:  the story of the 60 year old mother to a toddler was not overly sensationalized
• Pro/Con:  Dr Ghosh said that there should be an age limit on IVF because of the danger to the mother, the higher percentage of genetic abnormalities in children born to older mothers and the "limited money in the pot" for their care. While I applaud his intentions of keeping both mother and child safe and healthy, it wasn't clear at what age he would cut off women from having IVF... I must have heard wrong, because I thought he was saying over 35!
• Con:  Dr Ghosh kept talking about how unethical it is to treat women with a small chance of success with fertility treatment.  As long as there is no danger, as in the doctor doing harm, and there is no question of the woman's mental health being in danger, isn't that what freedom of choice is about?  Yes, it's emotionally difficult, however, so is remaining childless if you want a baby more than anything.
• Pro:   Thankfully, Dr Palastrand gave a  more balanced viewpoint on the issue of older women becoming pregnant and giving birth.  My understanding is that there is very little danger to the mother if healthy and given good medical care. Also, everyone is entitled to testing for genetic abnormalities in pregnancy, so surely there wouldn't be a large number of babies born with genetic defects.
• Pro: When asked whether having a toddler isn't exhausting for a woman of her age, the older mother answered with some feistiness, that it wasn't as hard as caring for an elderly person, which she had done for more than 15 years before having her baby at 57 years old. She had also worked with special needs children. (It's worth pointing out that her husband is substantially younger than she is.) It just goes to show that the decision of whether to provide fertility treatment should be done on a case-by-case basis, rather than a uniform ban on women over a certain age.
• Pro:  JK asked the question "Isn't it preferable for a capable, older woman to have a baby she will love and care for, rather than the unwed teenagers who neither want nor can care for the babies they are having?
• Con: Not enough was made of the infertile couple's admission that they both smoke. Surely, if they really want a baby and have been unsuccessful for 4 years, they would be committed enough to make this lifestyle change. They should have been told in no uncertain terms that smoking is not acceptable, not least because it could cause miscarriage or low birth weight if they do become pregnant.  It also made me wonder whether the JK Show couldn't have chosen a couple who have tried absolutely everything to conceive. 
• Pro/Con:  the couple with the previous losses were given a 4D scan of the foetus. This could have been a huge emotional shock to them if there was something wrong. Thank Gd everything seemed well.
• Pro/Con:  the scan and sperm sample given to the infertile couple were good for illustrating what could be an obstacle to conception, however, the Drs seemed to just say you're both fine and should have no problem conceiving. There could have been more discussion of the types of further medical investigations that should be done to discover why they haven't conceived in 4 years and how to access them. "Unlucky" was mentioned...that's not good enough.
• Pro: the single mother was able to see her 15-week old foetus and found out that she is having a boy. That was a feel-good moment for everyone.
• Con: Why did the JK show feel it necessary to pad out the program with a cosmetic procedure? It could have actually gone deeper with fertility issues and explore one more issue or give more substantive advice than it did.
• Pro/Con:  the Drs kept their advice simple and sensible, but perhaps too simple. Dr Ghosh's top 5 tips for conceiving are: 1) have sex 2 -3 times a week, 2) stop smoking, 3) maintain a healthy weight, 4) relax and 5) go see your Dr.

Interestingly, Dr Ghosh's profile on his Twitter page describes him as a "UK media GP" who runs a prescription addiction clinic in Liverpool, specialising in sexual health, obstetrics & gynaecology, weight management & CBT. Dr Palastrand doesn't appear to have a Twitter page, but completed her GP training in 2008, with aspirations to be a "salaried GP in a semi-rural practice." Although I would have liked to see more substantive information and advice from the two doctors, and links to helpful resources for viewers, they both came off pretty well and gave a balanced view of the issues.

 

Comments

[Mon]

Interesting review, Lisa. Although I have never watched the Jeremy Kyle show (I live in Australia) I think I know the television genre you are talking about. Too much hype and not enought information. Still they sound like they handled the topic reasonable well, although a little superficially which is disappointing for viewers.
Thanks for a good read, Lisa and for your comments on my blog.