My Infertility Journey: The Beginning

I was always sure I wanted kids. I talked about it when I was a teenager as if it were a given that I would have them someday in the far off future. There was only a very brief time in my early 20's when I wasn't sure. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: A Change of Tactics (Part 12)

With the fundraiser over and my $4,000 raised, I was able to pay back my mother and wait for the fertility clinic to call to say the study was starting. It was very exciting and I was eager to start. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Making My Own Family (Part 14)

I never imagined how important my IVF fundraiser would be to my life when I started it. I knew it was important for raising money to get the IVF. However, it turned out to mean a lot more than that. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Time to Be a Guinea Pig! (Part 10)

Shortly after I set up my crowdsourcing fundraiser for IVF, I discovered a local fertility clinic was offering an amazing proposition to interested women. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: What a Coincindence! (Part 19)

So, I was both bummed about having to wait another month to start the IVF and nervous about undergoing the polyp removal procedure. ... read more »

The Hardest Decision You Could Make: “Reducing” Multiples

Her elation was quickly dampened with the doctor cautioned her about the risks of carrying high-order multiples. She was immediately presented with the most difficult decision she would ever be asked to make: whether to take the risk or “reduce” her pregnancy. ... read more »

My Story Begins...

My story begins 14 years ago, when I was 31. I was married, happy and owned my own company. My husband was successful as well. The world was ours. But one day we looked around us and realized most of our friends were having kids. We took a step back and said "Ok, It's time." ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: The Pre-IVF Testing Begins (Part 17)

With everything squared away to begin IVF, I set up an appointment with my new fertility clinic to get the pre-testing they said I needed. ... read more »

What is a Failed IVF Cycle?

There may be a misconception among men and women seeking fertility help that all IVF cycles are complete and successful, but that is not the case. There are several reasons why an IVF cycle cannot be completed – often referred to as a failed IVF cycle. ... read more »

Stop Drinking So Much Coffee – IVF Tips

Ahh, the great coffee debate – this is one of those topics that keeps coming up year after year, but today I’m taking the battle and pushing it back into the face of every woman who stretches herself way too thin and drinks more coffee than she knows she should. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Fun With My Cervix (Part 21)

As I mentioned before, the saline sonogram was actually pretty painful even though I was assured beforehand it would be painless. This was entirely due to me having a very tiny cervix that required dilation just to get the catheter to go in it. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Could It Happen Naturally? (Part 28)

If that's how it had to happen, that was fine with me. I just wanted my babies, and I was definitely ready for them to arrive. After going through the hysteroscopy to remove the uterine polyps, I felt like their arrival was pretty certain. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: The Visit (Part 47)

Seeing as there was no way for me to avoid seeing my step-sons the day after Christmas, other than to simply leave the house (and my husband would have been upset if I'd made such an obvious display of my resentment toward them), I had to grit my teeth and accept it.  ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: The Education Session (Part 34)

Apparently, part of the IVF process at my clinic was to have an education session with the IVF coordinator and her assistant on the whole process. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: The Cost of IVF Meds (Part 35)

Once I got home from the education session, I started trying to figure out just how much all of these medications were going to cost me. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Some Advice from a Friend (Part 38)

While I was contemplating what to do about the costs of the IVF meds and whether I should do the procedure in December or wait another month till the stress of the holidays were over, I got a private Facebook message from a friend. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Those Crazy Hormones (Part 39)

So far, I was only on the initial one-month pack of birth control pills prescribed by by fertility doctor. They were the same brand I took in college, though the packaging had changed somewhat. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: First Steps at Last! (Part 31)

After being two days overdue on my period and wondering if maybe I actually did get pregnant naturally following the polyp removal, I started menstruating. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: The Initial Blood Work (Part 32)

There wasn't anyone else in the waiting room when my mother and I got to the clinic, so I got called back pretty swiftly. I invited Mom to come back with me. I'm pretty sure she hasn't been "behind the scenes" at a doctor's appointment with me since I was in high school. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: One Month More (Part 40)

It became clear pretty quickly that the finances to get all of the necessary fertility medications just weren't going to be there during the holidays. So, I called my IVF coordinator at the clinic to see if we could put it off for another month. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Making Room for Baby (Part 15)

While waiting for my first IVF appointment, I decided to make room for the new child. This was both a physical and a spiritual endeavor. I've always read that if you want something, you should act as if it has already come to you. ... read more »

Fertility Treatments May Shorten Fetus

Fertility treatments are the only answer for some couples who want to conceive, but cannot do so naturally. Some couples have luck with medications that promote egg maturation and release while other women need a more advanced intervention like IVF. ... read more »

What is 3-Parent IVF?

At the heart of the female egg is a power source – the mitochondria. If the mitochondria do not work properly, the fetus does not develop as intended and birth defects, spontaneous abortion, miscarriage and other complications can arise. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Time to Finally Consider IVF (Part 8)

We had now been actively trying to get pregnant for nearly four years and unofficially for seven years before that. Nothing we had tried so far had worked. The acupuncture was the only thing that even produced a noticeable physical difference. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Feeling Groovy (Part 45)

I let myself quiet my financial concerns and clear my mind for the first time in a long time. I couldn't help but feel that the financial pressure buying all of those fertility medicines was putting on me was the universe's way of saying now wasn't the time to be doing this. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Sperm Analysis Results! (Part 20)

A week after getting my saline sonogram, I called for my husband's sperm analysis results. I wasn't too concerned about the sperm test results, because they'd been phenomenal when we'd had it done for the intrauterine insemination three years ago. ... read more »

My Infertilty Journey: The Adventure Begins (Part 22)

I decided there was no reason for me to wait until the end of October to get that uterine polyp removed. It was basically just me putting off surgery because I dislike medical procedures of any kind and try to avoid them. ... read more »

My Infertility Journey: Mommy Mode (Part 42)

The closer I get to actually going through the IVF procedure, the more my mind and whole way of thinking is switching into what I call "mommy mode." I'm thinking like a woman who already has children. ... read more »

Frozen Biopsied Sperm as Effective As Fresh

Infertility can be heartbreaking, especially for a couple who are trying to have children. Thankfully though, modern medicine has given us alternate ways to become pregnant without having to adopt or use a surrogate mother. ... read more »

Don’t Bet on Preimplantation Genetic Screening

To ensure that you have a successful in vitro fertilization, you might have considered preimplantation genetic screening, or PGS. PGS is a procedure that tests for anatomical, physiological or genetic conditions in an embryo before transferring it into a new uterus. ... read more »

Breast Cancer Linked with In Vitro Fertilization

Unfortunately, a recent study has linked women who have had multiple births from IVF treatment with an increased risk of breast cancer. ... read more »

Both Men and Women Should Refrain from Alcohol for an IVF

Every woman knows that she should avoid alcohol when she becomes pregnant. However, many women don’t realize the negative effects that alcohol can have on their in vitro fertilization (IVF). ... read more »

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