| Infertility can be a huge life stressor. Wanting a baby | | | | secret under wraps for a few months. Once they |
| so bad that you dream about it at night only to find | | | | were in their second trimester, they announced their |
| that you can't have a baby without ART treatments | | | | pregnancy to their friends and family members, and |
| can be devastating. There is hope, though. Read | | | | they floated through a pregnancy from which they |
| these IVF stories of couples who overcame infertility | | | | gained their first child, a baby girl. |
| for inspiration and ideas to use in your own life. | | | | The couple is elated to have a baby, but they say |
| Stress Relief IVF Story | | | | that they aren't sure they could have found the |
| Alice and her husband John had been trying for a | | | | courage to keep going without the help of the |
| year to conceive a child before they consulted an | | | | mind-body program. Now they plan to save a little |
| infertility specialist. Both were in their late twenties, | | | | more money so that they can try IVF again in the |
| so they didn't think that infertility should be such a | | | | future, hoping that it will go as smoothly the second |
| problem. After several months of infertility drugs that | | | | time as it did the first but knowing they have the |
| never worked, the couple decided to try IUI, a | | | | skills to cope if it doesn't. |
| cheaper treatment that they could afford. | | | | IVF and Genetic Testing |
| When several rounds of IUI also failed to give Alice | | | | When Mary and her husband had five miscarriages in |
| and John the baby they desired, they thought long | | | | three years, they decided it was time to consult a |
| and hard about IVF treatments. They knew they | | | | fertility specialist. The specialist ran tests on both of |
| couldn't afford more than three rounds of IVF, and | | | | them and couldn't find anything wrong, but they |
| even to afford that, they'd have to take out a | | | | decided to try IVF anyway. Three rounds of IVF |
| second mortgage on their home. When they couldn't | | | | later, Mary had had two more miscarriages. |
| wait any longer to have a baby, they took out the | | | | Devastated and heartbroken, Mary almost gave up. |
| mortgage, and John started working longer hours so | | | | That was until she learned about PGD, |
| they could make the extra monthly payments. | | | | Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis. |
| After one round of IVF, Alice had not become | | | | The doctor who told Mary about PGD said that she |
| pregnant yet. Although they had planned on doing all | | | | may have been miscarrying because of a rare |
| three rounds back to back, the couple decided to | | | | genetic defect called translocation, which would cause |
| step back and weigh their options. That's when they | | | | chromosomes to be structurally abnormal. Embryos |
| found a mind-body program specifically for infertile | | | | with translocated genes would be abnormal and |
| couples. The program lasted for two months, and it | | | | wouldn't grow properly, so they were often |
| offered support group time, stress management | | | | miscarried very early in the pregnancy. |
| skills, and information about how they could change | | | | Mustering up their courage one last time, Mary and |
| their lives to boost their odds of getting pregnant. | | | | her husband went through one more cycle of egg |
| Alice and John were already pretty stressed about | | | | harvests, but these eggs were tested for genetic |
| their IVF treatments since they knew they only had | | | | abnormalities before they were implanted. After the |
| two more shots, so they signed up for the program. | | | | doctors weeded out the abnormal embryos, three |
| There, they met several other couples that they're | | | | were left, all three of which were transferred. Two |
| still friends with today. They practiced yoga together, | | | | weeks later, Mary found out she was pregnant. |
| learned to relieve stress on a daily basis, and figured | | | | After holding their breath for practically the first |
| out what they should be eating for better fertility. | | | | three months of their pregnancy, they finally told |
| After the program, Alice and John tried a second | | | | their family members they were pregnant with twins. |
| round of IVF. They found after this round that they | | | | Nine months later, Mary and her husband finally had |
| were pregnant! Having heard horror stories from | | | | two healthy baby girls, and they're thinking about |
| other infertile couples, they decided to keep their | | | | trying IVF with PGD one more time. |