Julia & Justin

My husband and I always knew that we wanted to have children. I was diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) around 2013 and knew that it may affect my fertility or ability to get pregnant, but we weren’t prepared for the infertility journey we were going to face. Prior to trying to conceive and having a child, we focused our time on travel, going to concerts and events, and exploring NYC. 

Working with our physician

We started trying to conceive as soon as we were married in 2020 during the pandemic. We came to Shady Grove Fertility after a referral from our OB/GYN. We were struggling to conceive and wanted to test for any issues and seek help with our pregnancy journey. Dr. Anate Brauer and the whole team were incredibly kind and helpful and made us feel heard.  

We did some basic testing and were thrilled to find we were pregnant, maybe we wouldn’t need SGF services after all!  

Unfortunately, after close monitoring, we lost that first pregnancy in miscarriage, and the SGF Care Team were very supportive during that difficult time.  

Finding the right treatment

We went on for further testing and tried intrauterine insemination (IUI) which was successful but ended in miscarriage, and one other naturally conceived miscarriage before we moved to in vitro fertilization (IVF).  

We went through the egg retrieval and IVF process, and it was very convenient given the SGF’s Manhattan location and times for blood work/testing which did make the process much easier. With IVF we could test embryos prior to implantation, which would give us some peace of mind (as well as hormonal support) given our history of miscarriage. The entire IVF process, while long and with many steps, was overall easy to follow and helped us feel a sense of control over our fertility journey. The SGF Care Team explained the steps and process every bit of the way and were great resources for our questions. We were motivated to eventually hold a baby in our arms, and we were confident we could get there with SGF’s help one way or another. 

Finding incredible support and success

We were lucky and our first frozen embryo transfer (FET) was successful, and Dr. Brauer was extremely attentive. We were monitored very closely which was reassuring given our previous history.  

Throughout our infertility journey, we had incredible support from our friends and family. We were very open about our miscarriages and infertility treatments, and hearing similar stories, words of encouragement, and love from friends near and far really kept us going.  

Welcoming a healthy and happy baby girl

While I had a few complications during my pregnancy (subchorionic hematoma, morning sickness the entire pregnancy, high blood pressure), overall it was not a bad experience. While we had some anxiety at the beginning that we might not be able to sustain the pregnancy, we were lucky to have a relatively smooth pregnancy and delivery. 

It was the most amazing feeling to hold our baby after our long journey. We started trying to conceive in September 2020, we had miscarriages in July 2021, January 2022, and February 2022, and we went through the egg retrieval and IVF process from March through May 2022. Holding our little girl in January 2023 was a long-awaited joy! We are so grateful to have her in our life. 

Leni Elise is almost three weeks old and is healthy and happy. She is becoming more alert, loves to snuggle in our laps and eat, and frequently naps (which is great for Mom and Dad to grab a nap too!). 

What we learned throughout the journey

I learned that my relationship with my husband is stronger than I could have ever imagined. We had to lean on and support one another, throughout the entire process and pregnancy. We had to support one another through the grief of our losses, while still maintaining hope for the future. There is no way I would have been able to go through this process without my husband. That said, I also surprised myself with my own strength and resilience, both mentally and physically. Finally, I learned that so many others suffer from pregnancy loss and infertility. Many people do not talk about it due to grief, shame, sadness or other feelings, but you are not alone in having difficulty getting or staying pregnant.  Unfortunately, it is common, but it doesn’t make it any easier to handle or less devastating.

Hope, strength, and joy

It’s important to lean on your support systems and be gentle with yourself when fighting your infertility battles. You may feel depression, grief, anger, frustration, and many other negative or complicated feelings, but you will also feel hope, strength, and joy. It can be difficult to keep going and stay optimistic as the process can be long and arduous, but it was worth every challenge to hold my baby girl in my arms and grow our family.

Editor’s Note: SGF NY physicians are now practicing at RMANY.