Beth never would have imagined that, at the age of 27, she’d be walking through the doors of a fertility center, especially since she had already had a child on her own. But after 2 years of disappointment that included 3 miscarriages, she found a new ob/gyn. That doctor immediately referred her and her husband, Bob, to Shady Grove Fertility.
“Bob and I both wanted to have a big family, so we started trying to get pregnant as soon as we got married,” says Beth. “Unfortunately, we spent the whole first year of our marriage either in the first trimester or having a miscarriage. The second year, I tried everything under the sun from tracking my body temperature to vitamins to special diets. I even quit my job because I thought the stress was keeping me from getting pregnant, but none of it worked.”
When they met with Dr. Ricardo Yazigi at Shady Grove Fertility’s Baltimore office, he ordered a complete infertility workup. “We were nervous to find out the results because neither of us wanted to feel that it was our ‘fault’,” remembers Beth, “but it turned out to be both of us.”
Beth and Bob both had factors that were negatively affecting their fertility, which is not uncommon in couples. The news was overwhelming for them, but Dr. Yazigi reassured them that they still had a good chance of becoming pregnant, even with low-tech treatment options.
“Dr. Yazigi was so great to us,” says Beth. “He was understanding and had a sense of humor. He laid out a plan of treatment for us that showed us all our options. We felt a lot more hopeful when we left his office.”
They planned to start with a treatment that Beth and Bob had never even heard of – Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). IUI is a simpler and more affordable treatment than In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and is more often covered by insurance plans. “I had talked to a friend who had done IVF, and I had searched for info about fertility treatment online, but I never heard of IUI,” recalls Beth. “I am terrified of needles, so I was really happy to learn that we could do the first cycle with Clomid rather than injectable medications.”
Unfortunately, Beth had to add injectable medications after the first cycle failed and even then, she had mixed success developing egg follicles. On the third cycle, she did not ovulate, and the cycle was cancelled. “Bob and I had said we would try IUI 3 times, and then we would move on to adoption because I just couldn’t handle any more negative pregnancy tests,” says Beth. “So, when that third cycle was cancelled, I was ready to quit.”
Bob thought they should give it another shot. Beth continues, “Since we said we would do 3, Bob thought we should try to do 3 complete cycles. He convinced me that we should try one more time. That was the best decision we ever made.”
On that last IUI cycle, they became pregnant. “We were extremely happy!” says Beth. “We had a very healthy pregnancy and delivered a boy we named Asher.”
Beth and Bob were surprised again a short 9 months later when Beth found out she was pregnant again. “I give the credit for both of my babies to Shady Grove Fertility, I think treatment helped to get my body into gear. It also took the pressure off of Bob and I to have another baby and I think that helped us get pregnant on our own.”
Beth encourages other couples who are having trouble conceiving to get tested. “Don’t be afraid to find out what’s wrong or to do the diagnostic testing,” Beth says. “I had read a bunch of misinformation online about the testing being painful, but it wasn’t, and I wish we would have done it sooner.”
She also says that focusing on your relationship during treatment is important. “We were dealing with pregnancy and fertility issues from the minute we got married, and we kinda got lost in that. You have to make time for each other, be intimate and enjoy your relationship. That can make the whole process so much less stressful.”
Would they do it again? Beth says yes. “We’re definitely not done having kids yet. Now that we’ve been through fertility treatment, we feel so much more hopeful about our chances. We know we have options that can work.”
