Dominion Fertility is running a commercial on the radio I hear every morning as I slog through the traffic on the DC beltway on the way to work. Every morning. It goes something like this:

“I know the economy is hard. But I need a doctor who understands my needs. I still want to have a baby.”

Then they launch into their spiel about how Natural Cycle IVF is the affordable option. The woman’s voice on the commercial is maddening, a whiny plea. I’m sure it was intended to be perceived as sypmathetic or maternal, but it comes off as plaintive and entitled.

I am amazed by the fact that a company is making a profit on this. Has it occurred to people that maybe, just maybe, if they are unable to conceive it is because they are not welcome in the gene pool?

And what about your needs? The commercial sounds to me as though its intended audience are the people for whom children are an accessory. The progression is thus:

• Complete college
• Complete grad school
• Enter work force
• Claw way up to middle management
• Realize that you are now middle aged, probably over 40
• Hear biological clock ticking.  Tick tock, tick tock…
• Freak out
• Throw money at the problem

Seems to me that the species has managed to propagate without the benefit of IVF, Natural Cycle or otherwise. Natural selection seems to have worked so far. My recommendation is to do it the old fashioned way. Back to basics. Now, get to it.