As cases of infertility among men and women are on the increase, a conference organised by Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation (IIF) scheduled for today, November 11 will attempt to raise awareness on challenges its early detection, causes and treatments as well as alternative methods of conceiving such as In-Vitro-Fertilization (IVF), egg donation, surrogacy and adoption.
Parent-in-waiting conference is an annual programme of the IIF that will feature seminars and plenary break-out sessions led by medical experts and testimonies from couples that have waded through the challenges of infertility. The foundation also provides the necessary psychological and spiritual support to help parents-in-waiting deal with the pressures that usually come with conception.
Ituah Ighodalo, the chairman, Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation, at a breakfast meeting said, the foundation will continue all its yearly programmes in fulfilment of the founder’s wish. According to him, the project 40at40, which aligns with Ibidunni dreams, has achieved tremendous successes with some beneficiary mums currently in their gestation cycle.
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In unveiling the theme for this year’s Parent-in-waiting conference tagged ‘Continuing the Legacy’, Ighodalo said that he hopes it will, “indeed the 40at40 project will stay in the minds of people”.
Speaking further on the conference, Ighodalo said that the foundation is totally committed to keeping hope alive, and helping struggling families ease their way into parenthood. “Couples needing this intervention can visit the foundation’s website to apply,” he said.
Recall that early this year, the foundation announced the second cycle of Project 40at40 to commemorate the first-year anniversary of the IVF grant which was birthed a year ago when its founder Ibidunni Olajumoke Ituah-Ighodalo pronounced that her 40th birthday wish was to gift 40 couples with 40 IVF grants.
Grace Ibijoke Ogunniyi, the newly appointed IIF executive secretary, a child and maternal health advocate, with an unwavering passion for fertility and also a breastfeeding counsellor who has participated in numerous outreaches to the less privileged, said the conference aims at deepening the knowledge around infertility, especially other options available to parent-in-waiting.
