Effective fertility treatments are startlingly new. Throughout recorded history, humans have agonized over infertility, with ancient infecund Greeks begging Aphrodite for children. Yet, whereas the atomic bomb was invented in 1945, in vitro fertilization only arrived in 1978.

That’s right: E equaled mc2 several decades before scientists understood how, exactly, sperms and eggs do their thing.

Dr. Joseph Gambone of Durango Reproductive said since then, science’s progress has been staggering.

“When I started in the 1980s, the success rate was about 50 percent. Today, it’s around 80 percent. That’s pretty good,” he said.

Gambone’s partner, Dr. James Irish, likewise said the perennially mysterious science of conception is leaping forward.

“For the longest time, we couldn’t successfully freeze and thaw eggs. Now, a series of advances has really upgraded this and made it much more successful,” he said.

The breakthroughs can barely keep pace with the need. Today, almost one in six couples is infertile.

“It’s many more than people realize,” Gambone said.

Couples

Historically, the pressure infertility places on couples could be severe. By 1536, Anne Boleyn had spent years trying to get pregnant by her husband, the King of England. When Boleyn’s efforts merely produced a girl, Henry VIII, distraught over his lack of heirs, beheaded Anne.

Yet even in our modern age – when an educated, working woman might spend most of her childbearing years praying not to get pregnant – infertility remains shrouded in shame.

Partly, this is because getting pregnant is statistical lottery with terrifically drunken odds. Some people conceive after a single sexual experience, for others, it takes years.

“That’s what’s so frustrating for couples,” he said. “They’re trying, but they’re still not pregnant, years later.”

As medical options for infertile couples expand, Irish said the social stigma and pain surrounding infertility continues to deter couples from seeking help.

“Part of it is people not wanting to talk about it,” he said. “They don’t necessarily even share it with their families.”

Gambone said, “We have to be very careful to help couples think things through because they are often very desperate. They’re hearing from in-laws, friends – and there’s an internalized pressure within the couple.”

Indeed, Google “infertility,” and you’ll find lay cures as preposterous as they are heartbreaking: Would-be-mothers should guzzle cough syrup, semen or yams – which, apparently, guarantees twins. Men must wear boxer shorts, not sperm-killing briefs. While raspberry leaf “tones” the uterus, breastfeeding makes conception impossible. Baby-making requires that sex be had in the missionary position, with a woman’s pelvis raised or with her legs pointed to the ceiling – or standing on one leg while facing north under Pisces’ new moon.

Gambone said infertile couples, “try all kinds of things, and I don’t blame them. To seek out treatment is a big admission that things aren’t going well for them.”

Cost

IVF and hormone treatments work for many infertile couples. But they’re also expensive, and insurance doesn’t cover them. IVF increases chances of conception by a third, but it costs anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 a pop.

Gambone said with a single cycle of hormone treatments, “there’s about a 15 to 18 percent chance of getting pregnant, but they run about $1,200 with the drugs and the monitoring.”

Durango’s Lyn O’Brien, a nurse, turned to Durango Reproductive when she was 43. It took her five years and three IVF treatments to get pregnant. With Gambone and Irish’s help, O’Brien gave birth to twins four years ago, when she was 48.

“We easily have $100,000 twins, easily, and that’s not counting all the extra stuff,” she said. “But if you asked me, ‘Where on Earth did you come up with that money?’ I wouldn’t be able to tell you. We’re not people with an amazing amount of means. Everything went into that. We made sacrifices.”

The emotional tax of fertility treatment was even heftier than the financial toll.

“You just think: I can’t do hormones anymore; I can’t spend this money,” she said. “If I could give one piece of advice to people who want a family, never give up. There truly is the technology the expertise and big-hearted people out there to make the miracle work.”

Faith

Catherine Catsman, a physical therapist, turned to Irish and Gambone when she was 29. She had no idea she had polycystic ovaries, which often causes infertility.

“I had some irregular periods, but who doesn’t?” she said.

For years, she underwent fertility treatments. She said one irony of baby-making is it’s tough on the libido.

“It’s horrible, not sexy – with the hormones, everything is off. And if you’re really trying to get pregnant, you really only have 12 times a year, if you’re lucky, and sometimes you need a mental break,” she said.

She said for couples longing to have a child, others’ accidental conceptions can be maddening.

“Drug addicts get pregnant, and you’re like, ‘I’m doing everything that I can! We’re doing everything possible!’ It’s a very challenging, isolating road. You don’t want to talk about it or let other people know that you’re trying,” Catsman said.

“If you really want a child, you have to be open to all of it,” she said. IVF was really difficult. Giving myself all these shots ... hormones all over the place. But letting go, believing I could have a child, writing letters to my unborn child, that was really hardest.”

Now, after four in vitro treatments, she has two children.

“It’s such a hard mental and physical journey,” she said. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It’s like miscarriage. No one talks about it, but there are all these people dealing with it. I don’t care if people judge me. I just want them to know they’re not alone.”

cmcallister@durangoherald.com