The INCIID Story

INCIID was created by three professional women who "met" in 1993 on Prodigy's Infertility Support Board---an online exchange of information and support among couples facing infertility and pregnancy loss. In total, they'd suffered 12 pregnancy losses over 16 years of infertility. The information they found online about new treatment options and the importance of specialized care led them to doctors who helped them achieve success. Within days of creating INCIID, all three became pregnant and carried their babies to term. In July, 1995, two founders gave birth on the same day, and the third miracle baby arrived two-and-a-half weeks later.

Through their own experiences, INCIID Founders identified a clear need for an easy-to-find, online resource of comprehensive, consumer-targeted infertility information that covered cutting-edge technologies and treatments. At their first formal board meeting in February, 1995, they created INCIID and by March, had developed its site on the World Wide Web---the Internet's fastest growing information venue. INCIID's was the Internet's first nonprofit site dedicated to advocacy of the infertile consumer.

From the founders' first telephone conference call in October, 1994, during National Infertility Awareness Week, INCIID has grown to an international organization with members from every continent. INCIID hosts as many as 200,000 visits each day, representing an average of 13 million "page views" per month. To meet the needs of couples who've gone through treatment and continue to seek online support, INCIID's site has grown to accommodate those who are pregnant after infertility, moving toward adoption or exploring the possibility of living childfree. Parenting forums have been added to address the special needs of those who have children through adoption or treatment.

INCIID stresses the importance of seeking early care with qualified practitioners, and outlines the criteria for moving to a specialist. INCIID fact sheets identify standard elements of an infertility workup and explain the importance of medical monitoring during medicated cycles.

Organizational Structure

Executive Board

Nancy P. Hemenway, Executive Director
Laura McGowan, Director
Gary S. Berger, M.D., Director
Yakov Epstein, Ph.D., Director

Advisory Board

INCIID has brought together a group of internationally renowned fertility experts to serve on its Advisory Board. These experts ensure that information disseminated through INCIID is accurate and reflects current diagnostic and treatment protocols. In addition, they actively participate in INCIID events, such as moderating bulletin boards and serving as guest speakers for conferences and online auditoriums.

INCIID's team of volunteers host many of our support forums as well as weekly chat sessions on various topics. These dedicated individuals assist our visitors in their quest for infertility information as they travel through the INCIID site. We are very grateful for this valuable team of caring and supportive people.

INCIID Staff

Staffing includes three full time employees and approximately a dozen volunteers.

Nancy P. Hemenway --- Executive Director
Linda Lacy --- Business Operations Manager