WAITING AND WAITING … FOR NOTHING. ANOTHER NON VIABLE PREGNANCY

I’ve been waiting and waiting for over a month to see if this is going to be a viable pregnancy and I’m afraid it’s not.

The first blood results were great, but the second warned us that this might not be a viable pregnancy. More waiting and more waiting. The third blood result wasn’t conclusive so we had to wait until the first ultrasound.

And the terrible news was confirmed, two sacs but no heartbeats. 

So I am devastated because this journey is just too difficult. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.

My surrogate will go in for a final ultrasound next week just to make sure that there is no heartbeat. We have been warned, the chances are very very remote so basically I have given up hope that this is going to be a viable pregnancy.

So now we are going to all need a few weeks rest so we can start again with our hopes up.

Amanda.

EMBRYO TRANSFER

5 days after retrieval my embryos were ready for transfer. Everything went as expected and now all we can do is sit, wait and see what happens.

Some clinics prefer 5 day transfers because the success rates are higher. If embryo development is good on day 2 after transfer and there are a few embryos, it is recommended to wait until day 5.

It all seems quite simple but waiting until day 5 means that the embryos have less possibilities of survival, so while on the one hand we get embryos with higher success rates once transferred to the mother’s uterus, we can actually lose a few between day 3 and day 5. So, we could end up at day 5 with hardly any embryos, but the ones which survived will be potentially better than the rest so higher success rates.

I think its up to the doctor to decide which is the best option, to move forward at day 3 after transfer or to wait until day 5 with possibilities of having few embryos for and transfer and perhaps none to freeze.

Amanda

IN VITRO (IVF) … A FEW ASPECTS

It is absolutely amazing how the current medical techniques have evolved. However, IFV is relatively new. I read an article not long ago that the 1^st IFV baby turned 34 this year.

It seems quite simple, the eggs (own or donor eggs) are fertilized by the sperm (own or sperm donor) outside of the uterus of the mother. After between 3 – 5 days the embryos are transferred to the intended mother’s uterus and the long pregnancy process begins until the baby is born. In this case of course we are transferring the embryos to the gestational carrier’s uterus.

An import aspect to consider is whether you want to use your own eggs or donor eggs. In fact, most of the surrogacy agencies also have egg donors.

If you have experienced fertility issues already, what would you prefer? Try to be the biological mother, that is, that your baby would be genetically related to you. Or would you prefer to be a parent no matter what?

Amanda.

STEPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL SURROGATE CYCLE

Step 1: Intended parents (IPs) should contact the clinic which has been chosen.

Step 2: There will be a consultation to explain the whole process.

Step 3: Normally you also have a consultation with nurse coordinator as she is the person who will follow-up medical examinations, coordination etc.

Step 4: Receive information on costs. It is very important before starting to know the estimated cost of a cycle.

Step 5: The surrogate programs an initial examination appointment. If she passes the initial appointment, some blood work is run to check for infectious diseases.

Step 6: The surrogate should call the first day of her menstrual cycle and then she can begin a mock cycle on day 3, 4 or 5 of her period. This process takes approximately 3 weeks. The mock cycle evaluates the surrogate’s response to the medication and checks if her uterine lining is at least 8mm thick.

Step 7: After the evaluation cycle is complete, the surrogate starts birth control pills so the real cycle can be coordinated.

Step 8: If not already done, the Sono-histerograma can be performed at the end of the evaluation cycle.

Step 9: The psychological evaluation must be completed for all parties involved

Step 10: Legal contracts between the IPs and the surrogate must be signed.

Step 11: After legal and once the clinic has a copy of the contracts, the nurse coordinator will check the exact dates for the complete course of treatment and medication protocol.
Amanda

NEW BEGINNINGS

So basically we had to start from the beginning again. The previous surrogate’s results weren’t good.

So back to step 1!!!

Fortunately a very nice new surrogate came along and all I can say is so far so good. We are at the last phase of the evaluation cycle and everything was looking really good.

However, a misunderstanding between the surrogate and the clinic has been the cause of having to start the evaluation cycle again  L

All I can say is that it was a simple misunderstanding and all that this means is a slight delay.

If it goes well, then we can start legal. Let’s see what happens in the next few weeks.

Amanda.

WHO KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO BE SUCH A BUMPY ROAD!

I am still waiting. I think my lesson this year is going to be ‘Be Patient’.

I do have another surrogate but she is still in the middle of her screen. The first phase when fine (ultrasound etc…) but one of her blood results wasn’t good and now we are having to repeat the blood tests.

I am feeling anxious as basically if the blood results come back negative again, the doctor advised that it was up to me if I wanted to continue or not.

The issue is the IgM value which is positive and should be negative. This means that she is currently exposed to the CMV virus which could cause problems during the pregnancy.

So before we move to the evaluation cycle, I need to make a decision when I get the blood results. Hopefully soon.

Amanda

STILL WAITING

I thought I’d better write a short post.  Still waiting for the right surrogate to come along.

From my short experience so far, all I can say is that you need to be patient. There are a series of steps that you have to go through and basically can’t go to the next step until the previous step is successfully completed.

So here I am at the initial ‘selection phase’: agency selected, clinic selected, agency retainer revised and approved and no in the middle of the process of selected my surrogate. Any doners that are required would also be selected here.

No rushing into things if you want this to be a success.

Amanda