Saturday, September 02, 2006

Pregnancy After Treatment

When I began treatment, my doctor made it very clear that I should not become pregnant during treatment, and for at least six months following completion of treatment. Apparently the treatment is known to cause defects in unborn children.
He was so adamant about it that at every check-up I was asked what kind of contraception I was using. I was instructed to use two different types of contraception at once.
The ironic thing was that most of the time my husband and I were using the most reliable form of contraception - abstinence! I was very rarely "in the mood" throughout my treatment.
My doctor knew that my husband and I were trying to conceive before my diagnosis. I think that scared him. He made it quite clear that we should immediately stop trying! I suggested to him that I could have the baby first and then go on the treatment, but he reckoned it would be difficult to raise a small baby on treatment. How right he was.