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Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos (born June 12, 1963 in Detroit, Michigan) is a US-author and blogger of Irish-Polish descent. With her husband, son of a Greek immigrant and a mother of Scottish origin, she lives in Los Gatos, California.

Mahoney Tsigdinos is internationally recognized for her writing on living with infertility and discussing the personal and societal challenges couples face when infertility treatments don't succeed.[1]

Life

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After two years of trying to become pregnant, in the age of 29 Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos was diagnosed with endometriosis, not long after her husband learned he suffered from varicocele. But even treating these problems did not lead to pregnancy within two years. From now on the couple started trying various methods to become pregnant, such as artificial insemination and some nontraditional approaches including herbal treatments and acupuncture. [2]

Since all efforts failed, in 2006, after 11 years of invasive procedures and emotional stress the couple made the difficult decision to stop. Since Mahoney Tsigdinos could not find resources to help her cope with this difficult situation she began an own blog[3] which she dedicated to the experiences she had to go through due to her infertility, such as the ending of treatments, how to deal with friends‘ and relatives‘ expectations, and the things that remind her of childlessness every day.

Publications

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From now on Mahoney Tsigdinos decided to help other women in the same situation and to destigmatize infertility.

In 2009 she published her book Silent Sorority in which she deals with her infertility experience. It is the first memoir about this topic not written by a mother. Concurrently, Mahoney Tsigdinos also wants to give hope to affected women getting over their childlessness and leading a fulfilled life. [2] Furthermore, criticism that concerns fertility treatments and their low success rate is part of the book. Internationally there were mainly positive reactions to Silent Sorority. Readers praised her „witty, fun, heartbreaking, and absolutely bittersweet“ [4] dealing with the issue because it gives them the feeling not to be alone.[5]

Her advocacy on behalf of the involuntarily childless and raising awareness about infertility led to an award in September 2010 for Best Book from RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association.[6] In October 2010, Simpukka, the Finnish Infertility Association profiled Mahoney Tsigdinos and her infertility journey in its quarterly magazine.[7] In 2011 Redbook magazine invited Mahoney Tsigdinos to participate in the launch of its Truth About Trying video campaign aimed at ending the shame and secrecy about infertility.[8] The same month a new edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves[9] became available with an expanded chapter on infertility. Silent Sorority is included in the recommended resource section.

Several articles followed, eg. in The New York Times[10] where she pointed out the controversial nature of fertility treatments (eg. egg freezing) and that they are primarily used for making money instead of mothers. Mahoney Tsigdinos also criticized the lack of transparency of the fertility industry, such as the fact that more than half of the fertility treatments remain unsuccessful, not to mention the health and emotional risks that may occur due to hormone therapy [11].

You will not find failure rates or the harmful impacts highlighted in brochures or on clinic websites. In the U.S. this unregulated industry’s nickname is the Wild, Wild West of American medicine.[12]

— Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos, The Sobering Facts About Egg freezing That Nobody's talking About

References

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  1. ^ Mahoney Tsigdinos, Pamela. "Facing a Life Without Children - Not By Choice," More to Life, East Sussex, UK, 10 June 2008 Retrieved on 2010=8/10.
  2. ^ a b Facing Life Without Children When It Isn’t by Choice, The New York Times.
  3. ^ Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos' Blog Coming2Terms.
  4. ^ Grown In My Heart, Marcie Pickelsimer.
  5. ^ Customer review, Amazon.com.
  6. ^ Article in Resolve .
  7. ^ Artikel in Simpukka. (Finnish)
  8. ^ The Invisible Pain of Infertility, Redbook, October 2011.
  9. ^ Our Bodies, Ourselves, Judy Norsigian (2011)
  10. ^ Selling the Fantasy of Fertility, The New York Times.
  11. ^ The tough Truth about egg freezing perks, Fortune.
  12. ^ The Sobering Facts About Egg Freezing That Nobody’s Talking About, Fortune.
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Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Writers from Detroit Category:University of Michigan alumni Category:American bloggers Category:American writers Category:Women

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