Fertility specialists call IVF a miracle in modern science because it helps everyday people overcome the seemingly impossible to become pregnant. The process itself, however, can vary from person-to-person and couple-to-couple.
For one hopeful mum, Katrina Row, the journey was unexpectedly long and full of trials.
“Originally when I first started my journey, I just thought ‘okay I’m young, it’ll happen first time’,” Row tells Tarla Lambert on our podcast series Fertility Unfiltered, in partnership with Genea Fertility.
“So I told my mom, my sisters about the transfer, and they were excited like me – and then – it didn’t work so they went on this emotional rollercoaster with me.
“And then – after the second one didn’t work, and the second egg collection where I only got two embryos again, very low numbers, I then soon realised that okay it might not happen straight away.”
IVF or in-vitro fertilisation is the process of collecting eggs and sperm, and taking them to a lab for fertilisation so they can be turned into embryos. Then, at a world leading fertility clinic like Genea Fertility, the embryos are then moved to a special incubation system where they grow for several days before being transferred to the uterus.
Row’s journey with IVF ended up taking years and many heartbreaking attempts, but eventually, she found a successful treatment and was able to have the baby she’d been dreaming about.
“I’m a nanny,” she says. “And I work for a gynaecologist who wrapped her brains and thought of Dr Rashi from Genea.”
Dr Rashi did some investigating and was able to find that Row had endometriosis as well as some other issues.
“They found a little bit of endometriosis, cleaned that out and then also found that both the tubes were leaking fluid into the ovaries– which embryos are very sensitive and so that’s why [the eggs] probably weren’t sticking,” says Row, adding that doctors removed the tubes.
Luckily, doctors were able to collect two of Row’s embryos and try a fresh cycle of IVF, which culminated in her falling pregnant to what she calls her “miracle baby”.
“It was a very, very long process and I didn’t want to give up and I’m so glad I didn’t,” says Row.
Evelyn Zwhalen, a patient counsellor at Genea, also has personal experience with IVF– a journey that inspired her to work in the area.
Zwhalen tells the podcast that one of the most difficult aspects of IVF, for many women, is feeling a lack of control.
“This is something that many, many women will express to me. You know they are often women who have been very successful in their careers and in every other area of their life,” she says.
“They’re used to working really hard and achieving their goals and then suddenly they’re confronted with what seems like a really simple natural process that you know any 17-year-old can do, and they can’t and that is really, really tricky.”
“So, I’m encouraging women and men to focus on what they can control and that is how they do the journey.”
To learn about more reproductive health topics from health experts, check out the rest of the podcast series, “Fertility Unfiltered”, as new episodes are released each week. We’re creating a safe space for conversations around fertility, ranging from the possibility of parenthood, seeking guidance on reproductive health and even the science behind conception.