From Our Founder: My IVF Journey
| "You have 5% chance of falling pregnant", the words no woman hopes to hear when commencing her journey to meeting her child. |
| Today I wanted to share more about my journey with trying to conceive our first child to raise awareness around a topic that can often at times be considered taboo. I have shared a lot regarding this on my personal Instagram, I now feel called to share this with our YCL Community. Did you know that within Australia almost 1 in 20 babies are born through IVF? And that 1 in 8 women are going through fertility challenges? More & more people are moving through fertility challenges, & yet it is still not something we hear about often. |
| My partner & I had been trying to conceive for close to 2 years, the first 9 months naturally. We were then told that we have only have a 5% chance of conceiving naturally, so we started the IVF process in November of 2020. After a stimulated cycle & egg collection surgery, 3 failed rounds, 4 lost embryos & a explorative surgery later, I found myself very lost & confused. |
| The hormone replacement arsenal, November 2020 |
| After my explorative surgery in May of 2021, I found out that I have high natural killer cells in my uterus, which may be attacking the embryo when transferred. We all have NK cells circulating in our blood stream & some women have high NK cells inside their uterus. I also found out that I have mild endometriosis which I had zero symptoms of. I was told by my specialist that 85% of women whom have endo do not show any symptoms of it. With both of these diagnosis' it simply means a lot more medications when transferring embryos. |
| I have learnt many lessons from this journey, the first being that we all experience challenges & to be gentle on one another. What I may be moving through in life that I find challenging, may be completely different to your journey, & that is okay. If anything these experiences could offer us more empathy when we interact with each other. Second, I have learnt that my life is full & blooming exactly as it is. I do not need anything else in the moment to bring my happiness or to 'complete' me. I have chosen to have baby with the love of my life, it is from the love that my partner & I have for each other that our baby will be born & it is this love I turn to no matter how difficult things may seem at times. And thirdly, we truly never know that fate holds for us. I never would have thought I'd be moving through the journey of IVF, so the universe threw me this curveball to move through. I try to 'never say never', & I try to remain open to all experiences this life offers. |
| On the 25th of September 2021, I found out that my 4th transfer was successful & I fell pregnant with our first baby. I am now nearly 6 months pregnant! My intention of sharing my story today was to hopefully connect with other people whom are moving through this journey too. I know when I was first hit with the news of our fertility struggles, I felt completely broken & hopeless, I did not know where to turn or where to find support. Feel free to watch my saved IVF stories on my personal Instagram to see an insight into my whole journey with IVF. It was through a few women sharing their stories on social media that helped my partner understand more about the journey & what to expect. You are not alone, this is a crazy, wild & beautiful journey. As ultimately this journey will create life, & there is nothing more magical than that. Fx |
