When Sonja Sienkowski was lying on the exam table 20 years ago waiting for her embryo transfer, she never imagined her baby would be the first of more than 27,000 babies created by Shady Grove Fertility. Her IVF baby and Shady Grove Fertility’s practice have grown up together, and both are having great success as they begin their third decade.
Sonja is a nurse who has worked in hospital labor and delivery departments for most of her career. Diligent and energetic, she helped countless women give birth as she worked through her own fertility challenges. Her faith and determination served her well as she underwent surgeries, medication regimens and fertility treatments, never doubting that she was meant to be a mother.
Sonja’s story is one of struggle, perseverance, and love that reminds us how far Shady Grove Fertility has come since its founding 20 years ago.
A Challenging Beginning
At 23 years old, Sonja married the love of her life, John Sienkowski, and has never looked back. After 20 years of marriage, she still gushes about what a great guy he is. “He is an incredibly supportive and loving person. I never have to worry as long as I have him in my corner.” And it’s a good thing, because they began facing fertility challenges as soon as they were married.
The couple was married in 1985 and found out they were pregnant around Christmas of that same year. On New Year’s Eve, Sonja had a miscarriage. Sonja’s gynecologist was Arthur Sagoskin, M.D., one of the founders of Shady Grove Fertility, who she worked with at the hospital. Through bloodwork, Dr. Sagoskin found that Sonja had a luteal phase defect that may have caused her miscarriage.
The luteal phase is the time between ovulation and the start of the next menstrual cycle.
A luteal phase defect occurs when the body does not produce enough of the hormone progesterone. This results in a delay in the development of the lining of uterus. To treat this, Sonja began on a regimen of progesterone and clomiphene that lasted a few months.
Trying Again
“A year and a half later, I was pregnant again, but the pregnancy turned out to be ectopic,” says Sonja. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the embryo implants outside the uterus. In most cases, ectopic pregnancy occurs in a fallopian tube – a fertilized egg becomes trapped there and implants.
“It was only at about six weeks, so it was very early. I had some bleeding so they did a sonogram. They saw that the embryo was in the fallopian tube,” she recounts. Sonja had surgery to remove the developing embryo from her fallopian tube. Dr. Sagoskin told her that he saw scarring on the fallopian tube that may have prevented the fertilized egg from completing its journey to the uterus.
A New Approach
Around this time in the late 1980’s, IVF treatment was beginning to become more accessible to American patients with fertility struggles. Dr. Sagoskin thought Sonja would be a good candidate for IVF and referred her to a fertility center in Northern Virginia.
This was early in the development of the IVF process. Fertility specialists did not have access to the medications and monitoring tools that they use today. Procedures for egg retrieval and for growing embryos in the lab were far less sophisticated and consequently, success rates were much lower. Sonja and John were willing to try, though, and did two cycles of IVF. Unfortunately, neither of these cycles produced viable embryos.
Soldiering On
After the failed IVF attempts, Sonja had another ectopic pregnancy. Upset but undaunted, she kept looking for answers. “I kept talking with all the doctors I worked with, looking for a way to conquer this problem.” One of those doctors suggested a surgery to remove a scarred section of her fallopian tube, in the hopes that this would help avoid another ectopic pregnancy.
When she recovered, Sonja got pregnant again, but it was another ectopic pregnancy, her third. This time, it was even more disappointing since it seemed that the surgery had made no difference.
After so many treatment attempts, Sonja and John were weary. “It was a rough haul for us,” Sonja says, “My self-esteem really took a hit because I knew that John wanted kids as much as I did, and I thought I couldn’t give them to him.” John and Sonja decided they needed a break from the medical interventions.
Taking a Break from Treatment
Time off from treatment didn’t mean giving up on their dreams of having children. Sonja and John decided to begin the process of adoption but knew they couldn’t spend years jumping through hoops. They were in their 5th year of trying to have children. They were only 28 years old, but they were in debt from all the medical bills and tiring of the emotional up and downs. They desperately wanted a family, but for their own sanity, they decided they would give it only one more year.
During that year, they would have three potential adoptions fall through. “It was just as painful as losing a pregnancy,” Sonja recalls. Sonja and John weren’t sure they could handle another failed attempt. Sonja remembers, “I decided to call Dr. Sagoskin because he had always been such a good friend and given me so much support and I wanted to get his opinion.”
The timing was perfect, as Dr. Sagoskin had just founded Shady Grove Fertility Center with his partner, Dr. Michael Levy. Sonja got hope from this call, “Dr. Sagoskin said to me: ‘I always thought IVF could work for you and the treatment has advanced since you tried it before. I really think we can help.'”
Dr. Sagoskin explains that throughout all of Sonja’s struggles, he always felt that she could be successful in having a baby. “Sonja and John together were pillars of strength with all they had to endure,” he said. “Sonja was so persistent and pleasant during the whole long process, that she actually gave me the strength and ability to encourage her to continue.”
The Birth of Shady Grove Fertility
When Sonja entered Shady Grove Fertility in 1991, there was one embryologist and eight staff in a small office. “They didn’t have that many patients and they had one closet that was stuffed with medications and lab supplies,” Sonja remembers. The practice had not yet had a baby born from IVF and there were no statistics to give Sonja and John confidence.
What Sonja and John did have was a long-standing relationship with Dr. Sagoskin and a deep respect for his expertise. Sonja says, “I put my faith in Dr. Sagoskin. I told him, I know you will do your best and if you think it can work, then I will follow your advice. It really was all about having faith in him.”
A treatment plan was created and Sonja started an IVF cycle. During her treatment, Sonja frequently saw Michael Levy, M.D. and began to develop the same trust in him as she felt for Dr. Sagoskin. “Dr. Levy was always so kind and attentive. I knew Dr. Sagoskin had nothing but the highest regard for him, so I trusted him too.”
Surprises During her IVF Cycle
Sonja’s cycle began normally with minor changes in her medications to respond to her bloodwork results. But then something remarkable happened. She found out from the adoption agency that a baby boy was available and might be a good fit for them. She and John were excited.
Sonja says, “I remember being in the office at Shady Grove Fertility to do my monitoring and my heart was racing, waiting for the call from the adoption agency about this baby boy.” The next day John and Sonja met the baby and were instantly in love with him. They took him home that day and scrambled to make arrangements for John to start a paternity leave to look after him.
“So here I was going through my treatment, with the hormone injections and appointments, and at the same time, dealing with having an infant at home.” But Sonja and John were thrilled about the baby. Sonja believes the adoption helped her to stay calm about the IVF treatment. “I prayed a lot about it, but I wasn’t expecting one outcome or another. I had the attitude that whatever was meant to happen, would happen.”
Sonja’s cycle produced seven mature eggs and four fertilized. She remembers being in the embryo transfer room waiting for the embryologist to load the catheter. “The embryologist said: ‘hold on, just a minute.’ Dr. Levy and I didn’t know what was happening.” It turned out the embryo went from two cells to four cells while the embryologist was watching. “They were all so new at this that he said he had never seen a human embryo do that before.” Sonja had all four embryos transferred back and began her two-week wait.
In February, Sonja and John got a positive pregnancy test and were amazed. Sonja says, “I had a feeling when that embryo split, that it was gonna work out. I really think that particular embryo is the one that became my daughter.”
Nine months later, Sonja gave birth to Kayla, the first baby born from Shady Grove Fertility’s IVF program. “We just couldn’t believe it. After all we had been through, we ended up with the family of our dreams – a boy and a girl who were healthy, happy babies.”
How Far We’ve Come
A lot has changed in the 20 years since Kayla’s conception. Shady Grove Fertility has gone from the staff of eight that Sonja met in 1991 to a staff of 420 highly specialized staff. Shady Grove Fertility is now the largest fertility center in America, completing 4,000 IVF cycles in 2009 as well as many other fertility treatments. Dr. Sagoskin and Dr. Levy are still giving patients expert and personalized care, but they have been joined by 21 other physicians. It is estimated that a baby is born from Shady Grove Fertility every three hours.
“It is so incredible when we think about all those who have come to SGFC and all those who have been successful,” said Dr. Sagoskin. “However, the biggest challenge we have is to make sure those who were not successful feel that we have done all we could have done. What an incredible 20 years. What an incredible group of physicians and staff I have had the honor of working with throughout this incredible journey.”
For the Sienkowski family, the journey has been sweet. Kayla, who is now almost 20 years old, has grown up side-by-side with her adopted brother. Both are currently thriving in college. Sonja tearfully reflects, “It was hard but I wouldn’t change any of it. They are both such great kids. Having this family was more important to John and I than anything else – and that’s still true today.”
And the relationship that started over 20 years ago between Dr. Sagoskin and Sonja still thrives today. In fact, six years ago it was an ironic reversal of roles that brought doctor and patient back together.
“I was having surgery on my shoulder, and Sonja (now an OR nurse) found me in the operating room,” Dr. Sagoskin recalls. “We talked as they prepped me for the surgery and then she held my hand as I fell asleep. I felt that this was her way of telling me ‘You held my hand through my journey, now I am here for you.’”
Sonja’s Advice
Sonja’s advice to other couples is to persevere. “You have to sit down as a couple and decide how much you want it, what you are willing to sacrifice and keep trying until you reach your goal. You may have to step outside your comfort zone, but you can be successful.”
And how does she feel about Kayla being the first of over 27,000 babies born through the efforts of Shady Grove Fertility? “It’s amazing. It’s hard to believe. I just thank God. And it all goes back to Dr. Sagoskin, who was always there for us and so willing to help. We will never forget what he and Dr. Levy did for us.”
