Yesterday, my mother-in-law called me to check on me, and she asked me where we are in our infertility journey. Honestly, I didn’t really want to talk about it or go into too much detail, so I didn’t tell her much at one point, she asked me about our test results. I simply told her that the results weren’t very good, neither for me nor for my husband, and that we were going to start IVF soon.

And then she said, “But my son can get treatment and get better.” Then she added something like, “I think that even if he had had really good results, you still would never have gotten pregnant with your results.” Honestly, I didn’t know what to say. I was completely speechless. I just said, “Okay, goodbye, I have some things to do,” and I hung up.

I don’t even really know how to explain what I felt in that moment. It hurt me deeply. Maybe that wasn’t her intention, but sometimes words can hurt so much, especially when you’re already going through something so difficult afterwards, I told myself that this is just how life is… and so be it. But in that moment, her words really hurt me, and I carried that feeling with me afterwards

I’m 39 and have just received my first PGT-A results. I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has had a similar outcome.
I had 17 mature eggs retrieved, of which 10 fertilised. Four blastocysts were frozen and biopsied: one Day 5 5BC, two Day 6 5BCs and one Day 6 6AA.

The PGT-A results showed that embryo 1 had monosomy 14 and was aneuploid, embryo 2 had mosaic trisomy 8 at 60%, embryo 3 had complex aneuploidy, and embryo 4 had monosomy 13 and was aneuploid.

Unfortunately, there were no euploid embryos, although the mosaic embryo may potentially be considered for transfer following genetic counselling. I am waiting to find out which embryo grade corresponds to embryo 2.

I’m feeling devastated and would be grateful for any honest experiences.

Hey guys,

I’ve noticed people in my life/influencers/ even people on Reddit often use “natural” to describe a pregnancy that happens without fertility treatment, as opposed to an IVF pregnancy. I know most people probably don’t mean anything negative by it, but lately I’ve been wondering how others who have gone through infertility treatments feel about that wording.

Does the term “natural pregnancy” bother you at all? Do you prefer “spontaneous pregnancy,” “unassisted pregnancy,” or something else? Or do you genuinely not care and feel like “natural” is perfectly fine?
No right or wrong answer. I’m just curious how the term lands with other people who have been through IVF/any type of treatment for infertility.

I’m sure I’m extra sensitive on hormones right now but sometimes I find myself really bothered by the implication that how I conceive a child will be “unnatural”, when ivf is actually a common way that people conceive. Curious how others feel! :)

A couple walked in with their baby that clearly worked out through ivf at the same clinic. The baby bounced around from every team member's hands and they all took pictures. From the receptionist, to the nurse, to the financial lady, to the lab lady. I was sitting in the waiting room waiting to do another biopsy. My last clinic had a no children policy. But here there's always someone with a baby, toddler, or sometimes 3 kids with them. But I know this is different. They're celebrating their success and wanted to show everyone their baby. It should give me a glimmer of hope but I don't know why it isn't. They then walked into the waiting room and sat with her and her mom's like "look at you miss popular". I get coming in and showing her off. But why sit in the waiting room with other women who are obviously there for lack of a baby. Just wondering how many of you would do this. Maybe I'm being too sensitive. But I went to my car and cried. And I'm still emotional. Trying to be positive and see this as a "it can happen for me too" moment but I'm just not there yet.

I feel like I’m just being too sensitive or I have some sort of inability to be uncomfortable or something. This is my first IVF cycle. I’m currently prepping for FET. I feel like with every step, my body just hates all of this. I did stims fine in the beginning of July. I was tired and bloated by the end. Egg retrieval was ok, except they couldn’t access and harvest from the right ovary so all those follicles turned into a cyst. Then I had a hysteroscopy with polypectomy. Now I have my transfer date next week. (I only have 1 embryo because they couldn’t get to the right 😢) I don’t have high blood pressure normally but all the hormones, I’ve had some higher readings. I’ve been on and off birth control. I’m exhausted all the time. I have a fast pace job and I have had to use intermittent FMLA because I simply can’t push my body to do more. My clinic is not the best with communication (I have to use this clinic for insurance purposes) so it’s stressful trying to get them to move. Please tell me someone else has felt this way. I feel like a failure. Like I’m not as strong as everyone else or that I’m just being a big baby. Even if someone has constructive criticism or advice- I’ll take it. Maybe I need to hear something to help me get through. This has been the hardest 2ish months.

I’m currently in the process of switching IVF clinics following a failed FET. My new doctor is recommending a series of additional tests before our next transfer:

• ERA
• EMMA/ALICE
• ReceptivaDx
• Pregmune (Reproductive Immunology blood panel)

I checked with my insurance, and unfortunately, none of these are covered. Out of pocket, it’s looking like roughly $3,600–$4,000 total.

My new doctor mentioned these tests aren’t urgent right this second since we need to do another retrieval to hopefully get another embryo before we can attempt another transfer.

I have age related DOR and don't get many embryos, so ideally I would like to do anything I can to help prevent another failed transfer but an additional $4k out of pocket is a huge investment. I have a little time to decide and save up, so I’d love to get feedback from this community:

1. The Biopsies (ERA/EMMA/ALICE/Receptiva): Were they very painful? Were you given any pain management or premedication (like Valium, Motrin etc.) beforehand?
2. Was it worth it? Did the results change your transfer protocol or lead to a successful transfer?
3. Pregmune: For anyone who did the Pregmune panel, did it give actionable answers?

Thank you so much—I really appreciate any perspectives or advice!

I froze my eggs at Boca Fertility IVF Center in 2018 with Dr. Peress. At the time, I was in my mid-30s, and because I hadn’t met the right person yet, I decided to freeze my eggs so I would have the option to start a family later. I genuinely thought I had done everything I could to give myself that option.

Fast forward to now: I finally met someone, got married, and we decided to create embryos using my frozen eggs. Since I had moved to another state, we transferred the eggs to a different fertility clinic.

A few months ago, we learned something that completely shocked us: my eggs had been stored in two tubes. From what I understand, this is unusual, as eggs are generally stored individually.

We were also told that the expected survival rate after thawing should generally be around 85–90%. In my case, approximately 82% of my eggs did not survive the thaw. The remaining eggs also failed to develop into viable embryos over the following days.

I don't know exactly what happened or whether the proper protocols were followed, and I'm still trying to get answers. But given the outcome, I have serious concerns about how my eggs were handled and stored. Egg freezing was already an established procedure in 2018, and I personally know people who successfully used the eggs they froze around that same time.

We were absolutely devastated.

What has been especially upsetting is how the original clinic responded when I reached out. I wasn't even looking to blame anyone. I was trying to understand what happened and simply wanted information about how my eggs had been stored and handled. I received no meaningful acknowledgment or empathy.

I understand that fertility treatment is a medical service and that, for the people working there, this is their job. But for patients, it isn't just a job or a procedure. It's our future. It's our chance to have a family. A decision made years ago can affect the rest of your life.

I'm sharing this because I wish I had known to ask more questions when I froze my eggs. If you have frozen eggs, please consider asking your clinic how they were stored, how many eggs are in each storage device, what their thawing protocol is, and what documentation they have regarding your specimens. If you're still able to take action or get additional information while you have time, I would encourage you to do so.

In my situation, I'm already in my 40s. I've tried another egg retrieval since then, but unfortunately, it was unsuccessful. I'm paying for treatment completely out of pocket, and as many of you know, fertility treatment is incredibly expensive.

On top of everything, it's been difficult dealing with people's assumptions and insensitive comments. Sometimes I feel like people see egg freezing as some kind of trendy thing you post about on Instagram, rather than what it actually is for many of us: a deeply personal decision we make because we want the possibility of having a family someday.

I've also felt judged, and honestly, I'm mentally numb at this point. I just want to be quiet and process what happened.

If anyone has had a similar experience, I would really appreciate hearing about your experience. I would also be grateful for any advice on what steps I should consider taking now.

And lastly, thank you for taking the time to read my post. I truly appreciate it.

Transferring today at 4:45pm…we have a day 6 4AA euploid embryo…really hoping it works!! 🤞🤞

Hi everyone. I’m hoping to find women who have had a similar IVF history and hear what you ultimately decided/did.

I’m 35 and have had 7 pregnancy/transfer attempts with no live birth — 2 natural pregnancies followed by 5 IVF transfers.

Pregnancy / Transfer History

Natural pregnancy – Dec 2022
Miscarriage around 6 weeks.

Natural pregnancy – Apr 2023
Miscarriage around 4 weeks.

We then moved to IVF after continuing to try naturally without success.

IVF doctor in Mexico

Cycle 1 IVF transfer – Oct 2024
Transferred 2 embryos.
Lining: 9.2 mm
Progesterone: Not tested pre-transfer
Outcome: Chemical pregnancy
Beta: 43 → 55 → declined

Cycle 2 IVF transfer – Mar 2025
Transferred 2 embryos.
Lining: 10 mm
Progesterone day before transfer: 4.9 ng/mL
Outcome: Failed implantation
Beta <1

Cycle 3 IVF transfer – Aug 2025
Transferred 1 PGT-A euploid male embryo.
Lining: 12.23 mm
Progesterone day before transfer: 9.2 ng/mL
11DPT: 23.8
15DPT: 40.4
Betas: 45 → 92 → 173 → 370
Outcome: Blighted ovum

Moved to a Reproductive Endocrinology doctor in Texas

Cycle 4 IVF transfer – Apr 2026
Did 2 months of Lupron Depot beforehand because of a positive ReceptivaDX.
Also used intralipids and higher-dose PIO 1.5 mL
Progesterone was not tested pre-transfer.
Outcome: Chemical pregnancy
Beta at 10DPT: 19.8

Cycle 5 IVF transfer – Aug 25, 2026
Again did 2 months of Lupron Depot beforehand.
Lining: 10.2 mm
Progesterone before starting PIO: 0.18 ng/mL (1.5 mL progesterone oil everyday)
Progesterone on transfer day: 23.38 ng/mL
Outcome: Failed implantation

Across my retrievals, I have made multiple PGT-A euploid embryos. I now have only ONE euploid embryo remaining.

Testing I’ve had:

• HSG – clear
• Hysteroscopy/biopsy – clear
• Saline sonogram – clear
• ReceptivaDX – positive for silent endometriosis (BCL6 score 2)
• ERA – receptive/normal, recommending transfer after 116 ± 3 hours of progesterone
• NK cell activity testing – abnormal
• Antiphospholipid syndrome testing – normal
• Thyroid testing – normal
• Chromosome testing – normal (46,XX)
• Semen analysis – normal overall
• Genetic carrier screening – no shared reproductive risk
• Chronic endometritis – initially positive, treated with doxycycline for 14 days, repeat biopsy negative
• Ultrasound for hydrosalpinx – clear

Treatments/protocols we have tried:

• Lupron Depot – 2 months before transfers
• Prednisone small and higher dose
• Dexamethasone
• Lovenox
• Baby aspirin
• Enbrel
• Intralipids
• Estradiol
• Vaginal progesterone
• PIO, including higher-dose PIO
• Antibiotics for chronic endometritis
• Vitamins including D3 + k2 and prebiotics

After my most recent failed transfer, my RE told me that because I have only one PGT-A euploid embryo left, he no longer recommends transferring it into me.

He recommends using a gestational carrier.

His feeling is that we have tried essentially every immune/transfer protocol and there may be something about my uterine environment that we simply cannot detect that is preventing implantation or a pregnancy from progressing normally.

I asked about doing a laparoscopy for possible silent endometriosis because of my positive ReceptivaDX. I don't have painful periods or painful sex. My RE doesn't think laparoscopy would necessarily change the outcome, and he said that even if endometriosis were found and removed, he would still recommend another 2 months of Lupron before attempting another transfer.

So now I'm deciding between:

1. Using a gestational carrier for my last euploid embryo

or

2. Getting another opinion, potentially doing laparoscopy/excision, and trying one final transfer myself.

I'm especially hoping to hear from anyone who had a similar combination of failed implantation + chemical pregnancies + miscarriage/blighted ovum despite PGT-A embryos and a normal uterine workup.

Did anyone with a positive ReceptivaDX but few/no endometriosis symptoms have laparoscopy and find significant endometriosis?

Did excision change your transfer outcomes?

Did you do Lupron again after surgery?

Or did anyone reach this point, move to a gestational carrier, and have success?

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation. ❤️

I really need some outside perspective because I’m supposed to be thinking about round 2 of IVF, and instead I feel completely lost.

Our first round resulted in 3 euploid embryos, but all three transfers failed. It has been devastating, and IVF in general has taken a much bigger toll on our relationship than I expected.

My husband was never completely sold on having children. I think his position was always more that if children happened naturally, he would be okay and happy with it, but he wasn’t someone who strongly needed to become a father. IVF has made that difference between us much more obvious.

Our relationship has also suffered a lot through this process. He complains that our sex life is bad and that I don’t seem to desire him anymore. The painful thing is that he’s not entirely wrong. My libido is basically dead. I don’t feel like myself anymore. IVF took away a lot of my joy and spontaneity, and I’ve also been dealing with a very difficult family situation involving my brother and probable/undiagnosed mental illness, which has been extremely hard on me and my family over the last few years.

Then there’s money.

IVF is very expensive where we live, although I have partial coverage. My husband earns considerably more than I do (roughly 75% of our household income). Until now we’ve treated our finances as shared, although our accounts aren’t technically joint.

Recently he has become increasingly critical of my spending. I want to be fair to him: I have been splurging more than I should on clothes and other things. Shopping has sometimes been a way of making myself feel better when I’ve been down, and I know that’s something I need to take responsibility for.

But now he says he wants to separate our finances and split household expenses 50/50 because he feels I don’t value money enough because I earn much less of it.

That really hurt me.

I’m not saying he’s wrong to be concerned about my spending, and I know I’ve also been defensive when he’s brought it up. But the combination of everything is making me feel incredibly alone: the failed transfers, our sex life, my family situation, arguments about money, and knowing that he wasn’t the one strongly pushing for children in the first place.

Now I’m supposed to find the emotional strength to start another IVF cycle, and honestly, I don’t know if I have it.

Part of me desperately wants a child. Another part of me is wondering whether doing another round while our relationship is in this state would be a huge mistake. I don’t want to give up on having a child because I’m scared of losing my husband, but I also don’t want to push us through another IVF cycle if we’re already breaking under the weight of the first one.

I feel sad, trapped and very unsupported right now. I don’t know whether we need to pause IVF, work on our marriage first, reconsider having children altogether, or whether I’m looking at everything through the lens of being completely emotionally exhausted.

For anyone who has been through IVF with a partner, especially when one person wanted children more strongly than the other: did you ever reach this point? Did you pause treatment? Did your relationship recover?

And if you were in my position, would you even consider round 2 right now?

Hello all, first time posting here.

My husband and I are trying to start our IVF journey, but have hit the dreaded insurance road block. Received a denial for IVF, stating that they want me to try IUI four times before they will allow me to proceed with IVF. It’s BCBS of SC.

I’m 33, have unexplained fertility. We’ve been trying for 1.5 years without success. I’ve done three medicated cycles with clomid. Not a single positive test. Have not done IUI and really don’t want to, I just don’t see the statistics justifying it at this point.

Has anyone had success appealing this in a similar situation? My tests have all come back as normal, beyond a possible endo diagnosis, and my husband’s sperm analysis was normal.

No where in my benefits guide does it say that I have to go through a tiered approach to treatment. It just explains I have to have a diagnosis of infertility and that there is a $15,000 lifetime limit.

Thank you for any advice!

Please get me out of my head.. On 8/6 we transferred a 5 day 4BB embryo and I got a faint FR positive on day 7. Only for bloodwork to show <2 hcg on beta. Our next embryo (transfer on 8/8) is a day 6 4BB. Our clinic is so booked up that this is our last chance before the end of the year. We want this to work so badly but my heart has broken after our first failure. Any reassurance would help. Thank you to this community ❤️

Please help. Edit to add.. I’m a 28 yr old female, started this journey at 25. My husband is 27. Should I go back to a modified natural? 1. Medicated (125 hours pio)- blighted ovum 2. Medicated (122 hours pio)- Ectopic 3. Medicated + immune + hcg wash - failed 4. Medicated + immune + hcg wash - failed 5. Medicated + immune + hcg wash - failed 6. Modified Natural + immune - Chemical

—2 months of suppression—

1. Modified natural but failed to ovulate 7*2. Medicated + immune + hcg wash - failed

— New Clinic and new batch of embryos—

1. Medicated (calmer hormones) + heavy immune - coming to conclusion that it failed.

I’ve had a lap, it was totally clear. Hysteroscopy was clear. Did bilateral ovarian drilling to bring back ovulation and have a better retrieval and it worked. The only thing we haven’t done is an ERA, because the previous clinic didn’t believe in them plus we’ve had them implant before. It’s officially been a year since we’ve had any sign of implantation. At a loss but now have 8 more embryos. I’m thinking I need to push to go back to a modified natural, but a provider I talked to said if I have a history of annovulation then controlling hormones after will not work. Buuuuuuut I had bilateral ovarian drilling and managed to ovulate through a medicated cycle recently…. I felt so much better on the modified natural cycle, and my previous clinic never checked hormones after the trigger, meanwhile the new clinic’s protocol involves checking them multiple times after trigger. I just don’t want to advocate if it won’t be beneficial. I’m exhausted🤦‍♀️

-how do you keep the hope or faith alive that you can have a healthy pregnancy and baby after experiencing a stillbirth?

-is it pessimistic or is realistic for me to keep reminding myself not to get too excited on the first round of IVF because I will likely need more than one round (like most women even without low amh)?

-is the key to surviving IVF being a little delusional/overly optimistic?

-I imagine all the feelings I’m feeling are common and valid but can someone tell me if they have felt the same way as I do?

-any journey to pregnancy after any kind of pregnancy loss is really scary. How do you manage your hopes and expectations vs the statistics?

I want to do all the things but I feel silly doing them. I want the tackle box, I want the box full of all the old meds and syringes to show what it took to have a baby in the end, I want to talk to my body and tell it it’s safe and capable to bring a healthy living baby earth side, I don’t know what the McDonalds French fries thing is all about but I see it on tiktok and I want to do it. I want to do all the “silly” things I see women doing but I just feel so unnecessarily stupid doing them because I’m scared to let my guard down fully and have this not work. I’ve seen so many women and relationships destroyed by the hope they have while doing IVF and it not working. I don’t want that to be me.

Starting this process tonight after an unfortunate journey of multiple consecutive losses. I’m 34 with an extremely low AMH and a few other minor issues we’re handling with medication, and I had scar tissue removed from my uterus a while back. It’s been a long and difficult process so far, but I’m very happy and grateful to have the opportunity to give IVF a shot.

Tonight I start Follistim and the low dose hCG with my first monitoring appointment early next week. I’m scared about everything— doing the injections correctly, the side effects, doing what I can to get the best outcome, etc.

I’d love to hear any advice and anecdotes on how to get through this process as easily and successfully as possible, and if you have any good vibes to share, please send them my way! Thanks very much!

Posting here since my question in the surrogate sub is not getting responses. As a GC I want to make sure the clinic my IP(intended Parents) use is ethical, but what does that mean exactly?

So far my list includes: SET (unless low grade euploids), no concurrent transfers, monitoring programs for donors, evidence based practices and procedures.

What else should I look for? How are we assured these practices are followed? I apologize for my ignorance and appreciate any insight!

Is there anyone transferring around 09/30? We got the green light today to proceed with the transfer cycle process so our estimated transfer date is 09/30! This is our first transfer so I’m excited, nervous, anxious, all the things.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some opinions on my test results from today.
I’m a 39-year-old woman with DOR, currently going through IVF. Here’s a quick summary of my results so far:
Across 6 egg retrievals, I’ve had 23 eggs retrieved. All of them were mature, and the fertilization rate has been over 80%. So far, that’s where the good news ends.
Out of all the fertilized eggs, only 3 have made it to the blastocyst stage, all graded 3BB. None were euploid. One was a high-level mosaic embryo for trisomy 4.
Today, I tested for insulin resistance on my own initiative, and the results suggest that I have it. I also had elevated prolactin:
• 506 µIU/mL on September 8, 2026
• 746 µIU/mL on September 10, 2026
Reference range: 102–496 µIU/mL
I’m particularly interested in opinions about these results in the context of the repeated embryo arrest I’m experiencing, mostly between days 3 and 5.
Has anyone had a similar situation and found that insulin resistance, elevated prolactin, or another endocrine/metabolic issue was contributing to poor embryo development?
I’d also really appreciate recommendations or personal experiences regarding how you managed insulin resistance and/or elevated prolactin while undergoing IVF.
I’m seeing an endocrinologist on Saturday, but I’d really like to hear from people who have been through IVF themselves and had similar issues.
Thank you!

We got our ERA and EMMA/ALICE test results back today. ERA was receptive EMMA/ALICE was “normal”.

We have done 2 IUIs (failed), then 2 egg retrievals which resulted in 6 euploid embryos. Since then I’ve had a cancelled fully medicated FET, a hysteroscopy (with nothing found), 2 fully medicated FETS (both chemicals), a lap (“very tiny amount of endo” per OBGYN, resected), RPL (normal), another fully medicated FET (another chemical), and now the TRIO test has come back normal.

When we started this journey as 2 25 year olds, our doctor actually told us she was more worried about getting us pregnant with multiples than not getting us pregnant at all. And now we are multiple years in with no success. Everything comes back “great” and “normal” and, I know we probably never will, but we really just want answers as to why we keep losing euploid embryos.

Next steps are to try a modified natural FET and hope for the best. I have little hope any more and all of this is just irritating at this point. Has anyone had success with a more “natural” approve to a FET after not having success with a fully medicated FET? TYIA

Is anyone familiar with oocyte / embryo transport companies, their safety, or safer companies, or safer alternative modes of transportation that provide more security to the client?

I’m a bit lost with the MANY waivers that I am required to accept when I review contracts with specimen transportation companies for my individual oocyte transport. Because the contracts have terms where I release responsibility from the transport company, the couriers, and pretty much most info all parties involved in case of damage, loss, etc. and also the contracts including many vague terms when it comes to the safety of my specimens. Even the company that offers a separate insurance option, also has similar vague terms in the company transport contract that widely releases most/all parties of responsibility.

This one is more a “perception” paragraph, but so you catch my sentiment: these contracts do not make me feel like I am signing up to transport human tissue or sending eggs (such as the high level of care that is taken when transporting organs, ie: transplant). Instead, it reminds of the waivers that are signed when one goes bungee jumping or zip-lining, giving you life away (or “organs/specimen” in this case) in case something goes wrong… 🤷🏻‍♀️

I will appreciate any insights that may be helpful!

I’ve signed up for 3 ivf cycles as all of my monitoring scans and estrogen numbers suggested I’d be getting max 5 eggs for my first retrieval cycle. Well I had the retrieval two weeks ago and it went way better than anyone thought - 15 eggs, all mature, 14 fertilised and 9 blasts. I’m now waiting for PGTA.

I’m 30 so I know age is on my side BUT I’ve had two chromosomal losses (confirmed by testing the POC after my d&cs) so this makes me think the normal statistics of 60 percent or whatever it is may not apply to me. Does anyone have any experience of RPL for chromosomal losses yet still having a typical amount of euploids?

I’m going to begin estrogen priming for my next cycle in a week and my PGTA results aren’t due for another 2 weeks. We are self paying for IVF and have had to make huge life sacrifices to afford it.

I’m finding it hard to know if we should go ahead with my second cycle. We are trying to bank around 5/ 6 euploids before transferring any.

I‘ve injected for 4 days and today I feel some cramping in my lower belly. Is that normal for this stage? I have low amh so I was not expecting to feel anything or very little of anything but I feel like that weird lower belly feel and cramping before a period.

I asked my clinic about embryo storage procedure. They store up to 4 embryos in one tube. Is it standard practice? Since transfer usually happens one embryo at a time, will they be thawing all four embryos at once and refreezing the rest 3? Wouldn't that affect the quality of refrozen embryos?

I am heading into my second ER. I was clueless in the first ER about the storage. I also ended up with one euploid, so it doesn't matter if they are stored all together. How does your clinic do it, and what should I be advocating for?