Embryo Culture: Making Babies in the Twenty-first Century

by Beth Kohl

“Injections + Appointments + Egg Retrieval + Embryo Transfer = Resources (Energy x Time x Emotion) ” That’s the equation that was projected onto the screen when Beth Kohl and her husband first showed up at the in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic. “Good evening,” the program’s psychologist told the gathered infertile couples. “Before you begin your treatment, you should know that this program is emotionally and psychologically stressful.”

And how. In this marvelously unconventional account of her struggles to bear children, Kohl leads the reader on an oh-so-up-close tour of fertilization in America, and the ways in which science and miracle, technology and faith, converge to create life in the twentyfirst century. Along the way, Kohl wrestles with a new world of medical Should she “selectively reduce” the number of embryos successfully implanted in the womb in order to prevent a potentially complicated pregnancy? How much genetic testing of fertilized eggs is too much? What is she supposed to do with the seven embryos left over from the IVF process? When Andrew Solomon wrote The Noonday Demon , he opened the world of depression to readers as no writer had done before. And when Stephen L. Carter wrote Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby , many readers were forced to completely rethink race and prejudice. Kohl’s spirited and rich exploration of “embryo culture” will completely revise how we see modern motherhood.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2007

Reviews

[Ciara · Rating 2 out of 5]

a very strange memoir about one couple's experience conceiving through IVF. i guess it has some good, helpful info about what other folks can expect from the process, that there are other, more concretely informative books out there that can provide the same facts without all the navel-gazing & bizarre weirdness. kohl spends much of the book fretting over whether babies conceived via IVF (& other science-y assisted reproductive technologies) are "normal". she worries not only whether or not her daughters will have unforeseen health problems specifically traced to their conception, or whether she herself will face health issues down the road because of all the artificial hormone dosing that IVF entails, but also whether or not her daughters will have souls.

um...really? if you're really going to be so far out there on the crazy limb as to even be thinking that souls are real, & then you're going to take that extra step toward being worried that ART might deprive your child of a soul...why exactly are you going this route in the first place? she even goes so far as to call up a local catholic ministry to get their thoughts on IVF (they're against it, though they make allowances for couples who conceive that way before knowing that it's a sin in the eyes of the catholic church). even though she herself is not catholic.

when IVF succeeds for kohl & her husband & one of their babies needs emergency surgery to remove a pelvic cyst, kohl immediately falls apart & assumes that her baby's health woes are a product of IVF. i mean, i can understand being worried & wondering "why me?" when your baby is sick, but that doesn't seem very helpful or productive. kohl also explores the resources that are available to help children conceived through ART understand their origins & understand that they are loved & normal no matter what...am i the only one thinking that writing a book wondering whether or not your children have souls or might suddenly get IVF-induced cancer is probably not a great way to make them feel normal? what the hell?

& i really could have lived without all the insane fretting kohl does about what she wants to do with the leftover frozen embryos she has in storage. even while she acknowledges that scientists require donated embryos in order to conduct stem cell research that could save thousands of lives, & that some couples are waiting on donated embryos as their only chance to conceive, kohl still decides to keep her frozen embryos to herseld in case she ever decides to make more babies. i understand that this is a very personal decision that maybe doesn't have a big relationship to what's rational, but...it grated.

maybe someone who is actually experiencing IVF would get more out of this book than i did, i don't know. i just really hated all the obnoxious religious/health-related flights of fancy, not to mention the off-putting scene in which a very sick & disabled little girl wants to see kohl's baby & kohl wants to snatch her baby away lest the little girl's cancer be contagious somehow. this lady is kind of a jerk.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

After being amazed (and sometimes horrified) by Liza Mundy's superb 2007 book Everything Conceivable, I was interested to read a personal story of assisted reproduction, and this one got some good local press. It's a very enjoyable (often witty) and quite personal (if you're squeamish about medical procedures, or lady-parts, watch out) account of Beth Kohl and her husband Gary's journey through multiple rounds of in vitro fertilization.

There are successes and failures, and she goes far beyond her own story to detail many of the issues raised by IVF, egg and sperm donation, adoption, freezing embryos, etc, She thinks (and rethinks, and asks secular and religious experts what they think) through every aspect. I have no personal relation to this subject, and that's partly why I wanted to read it--I just can't imagine going through this.

I did get annoyed by a defensive rant she includes at the end, brushing aside those who talk about the "epidemic" of multiple births that later childbearing and/or fertility treatments have produced--see Everything Conceivable for a serious look at what the increase in twins and higher-order multiples has for maternal and child health, health care expenses, and let's not forget, the environment. But Kohl is always willing to show more than one side to each issue raised here, quite admirable for someone's who's benefitted so thoroughly from ART.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up two books on IVF at the library. The first one got put aside as too dry and too much about the psychological aspects of the business rather than what exactly goes on. I needed the first person research I found in this second book, Embryo Culture. And just in case you're wondering, it's not personal research for me (grin). I have no desire to have a first child at 43 and as a single mom. Embryo Culture was pretty good. It's a young Chicago woman's experience with IVF and gave insight into three common scenarios which she experienced: the failed round of IVF, a successful and uneventful single pregnancy and live birth, and a more trouble pregnancy with twins. It was very amusing at times, very eye-opening and detailed on the step by step process of IVF. It got a little anticlimactic and dull near the end but overall I learned a lot and think I will be able to use the knowledge in the future.

[Drea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this once, and then after about 6 months had to go back to the library and check it out again because I wanted to read about the details of her IVF journey one more time. The author has a great sense of humor, (and at times you definitely need one while going through this process) and hearing her story of how she was finally able to conceive and give birth to her 3 girls was an inspiration to me. There is one particular part of the book where she is describing how she felt after her first failed IVF. She is out for a jog and sees a pregnant woman who is holding the hand of her toddler walking down the path. She starts to cry and the emotions of, "Will I ever be a mother?" come to the surface and she must turn around and jog the other way. I bawled my eyes out, knowing exactly how she felt!! I hight recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with infertility.

[Little · Rating 2 out of 5]

This probably deserves 3 stars in that it contains a lot of interesting information about the process, repercussions, and accompanying ethics of fertility treatments. But while I found it informative and fairly interesting, it just wasn’t all that engaging. I suppose part of my problem is that what Kohl probably intends to sound introspective comes across instead as self-absorbed. Probably I would be more sympathetic if I had gone through the difficulties of infertility myself, but as it stands, a self-acknowledged yuppie obsessing about whether of not her IFV babies are normal or not isn’t my cup of tea.

[Katie Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mix of memoir and some medical research on IVF and assisted reproduction. The author shares her own journey of having children and muses on some of the tough questions and shares some of her most-intimate fears (when to tell the kids? will they be normal? what about the leftover frozen embryos? etc.). Beth Kohl is Jewish so I also found her take to all this amazing science from a position of faith very interesting. She even includes some details of her conversations with her rabbi. Parts of the book do feel a bit disjointed and left me wondering where she was going, but usually she ended up making herself clear again.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one couple's story about their experience with IVF. It was mostly interesting. She did spend too much time wondering if there would be long term effects of the "genetic engineering" they had done to her children, but to the scientist in me that was like asking if my c-section babies would somehow turn out differently than my one born the traditional way. Neither question really matters that much.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great combination of personal experience, research, and discussion of ethical issues. She ties in her own experience with in vitro fertilization to the more academic parts so they aren't too dry. Overall it's a very easy read, and I didn't have any special interest in IVF before reading it.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, witty, heartfelt book. Part memoir, part investigative journalism. She covers wide span of issues that surround fertility experience: personal experience, biology, healthcare, ethics, religion. It deserved to be named "One of the Best Books of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny memoir/journalistic foray into Assistive Reproductive Technologies. Not quite Mary Roach, but worth checking out for the personal story of a modern test-tube-made family. Weird somewhat-anti-adoption bias, though.

[Jac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly compelling book for someone with no real connection to in vitro fertilization. Beth graduated from the Art Institute a few years ago.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

An IVF memoir with interesting facts thrown in. If you have an interest in infertility, this is a good starter book on IVF.

[Amy Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

likable memoir of a couple going through in vitro fertilization. Recommended for anyone considering this procedure.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, it seems to be the story of my life, hoping for the same "happy" ending, Keep your fingers crossed!

[Jane]

Her voice annoyed me at first, but then I got into it and I really liked it. She tells her story with some good facts mixed in.

[Kristina]

Just starting.. I'll let you know.

[Jasmine Yipple · Rating 1 out of 5]

Self indulgent author who try to comes across as pithy, but in the end comes across as way too taken with herself. Who cares?

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of interesting, but not that engaging. If I wasn't going through a period of extreme baby craziness I doubt I would have read through to the end.