After a year of struggling to get pregnant my husband and I began a year of fertility treatments. It wasn’t until we had several unsuccessful treatments and procedures, that we began our IVF journey. The following months consisted of shots, ultrasounds and blood draws. But, finally, we were ready to implant our embryo.
Typically with IVF, your success of getting pregnant can be over 60%. My doctor, on the other hand, had a 92% success rate within three months of treatments. I was hopeful…
Just prior to our transfer, my physician explained our chances were less than 20% due to endometrial issues. We were then given the option to do surrogacy or attempt one transfer Due to the financial burden that we had already ensued, surrogacy was not an option. So, we moved forward with the transfer, and I scheduled a pregnancy test nine days later.
Most women who have IVF can’t wait and prematurely use an at-home kit to check if they are pregnant. To be honest, I was so pessimistic that I wanted to delay the disappointment and did not want to take the test.
The day I was expecting to get the results, I had asked my doctor to call after 5 pm. By that time, I would be done seeing patients (I’m a dermatologist) and would be home with my husband. While working nervously that day, I had missed a morning call from the doctor. I thought, “why is the doctor calling me?” I panicked… so I didn’t answer. However, I was a mess and decided to cancel my patients for the remainder of the day and go home.
Just as I was getting ready to leave the office, my husband called. Although I was in distress, I answered, but was too upset to process what he was saying. In a tearful and shocking voice he told me, “you’re pregnant!” It turns out that my doctor was so excited and couldn’t wait to tell us. So, since I didn’t answer the initial call, my husband ended up learning the news first. I always envisioned how I would tell him. But I love that he told me.
