After 8 years, 3 egg retrievals, undiagnosed endometriosis, and 4 unsuccessful embryo transfers, Kelly’s fifth transfer (a day 5 4AA euploid embryo) led to a healthy baby boy.
⚠️ These stories are personal experiences, not medical advice or scientific evidence. People are much more likely to share success stories than unsuccessful ones, so they should not be interpreted as evidence that any particular test, treatment, protocol, or clinic caused that success. Always discuss treatment decisions with your fertility specialist.
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📊 Story Snapshot
👩 Age at retrievals: 29, 37, and 38📆 Years trying: 8 years
🧬 Embryo: Day 5 4AA euploid
🧪 Retrievals: 3
🐣 Transfers: 5
💊 Diagnoses: Low AMH/DOR, tubal issues, endometriosis, recurrent implantation failure
📈 Outcome: Healthy baby boy, 6 months old
After 8 years of off-and-on treatments between 2 fertility clinics, 3 egg retrievals, and 5 embryo transfers, and now currently 6 months postpartum, I wanted to share my experience (and what I learned).
We came to IVF after learning that I had scarring and dysfunctional tubes. I had my tubes removed after meeting with REs, as they said it was likely necessary to have successful IVF.
In 2017, we started with our first clinic, chosen over another newer clinic at the time due to cost and location. We opted not to PGT test for our first egg retrieval because it was so much more expensive, and our RE felt that I was young and healthy, and my husband had a child from his previous marriage, so he thought that made sense for our situation.
I didn’t quite feel comfortable with my doctor, and after 2 failed transfers he threw up his hands and said something like, “It must just be you… normally this works for someone your age and overall health.”
We switched doctors based on reviews that she was open to new techniques, which turned out not to be my experience. After our third transfer was a chemical pregnancy, with 1 embryo left, my doctor said that in the future I should consider donor eggs, which we had previously told her was not on the table.
After that third transfer, we took a 5-year break from IVF so I could heal and recover. I started working with a naturopath specifically for fertility, who suspected endometriosis was the culprit.
Coming back for our last embryo, I debated switching clinics but didn’t want the hassle of moving embryos. I told my doctor I wanted testing for endometriosis and other things to start, and she talked me out of all of them. Then, at my baseline for transfer, the nurse saw a cyst, which my doctor confirmed was likely a sign of endometriosis.
I asked about doing suppression therapy or further tests, and she responded, “Well, you only want the one child anyway, right?”
I said, “Yes, but I actually want to have that child, so shouldn’t we do something?”
She shrugged it off and said we’d regroup if this transfer failed. That transfer resulted in another chemical pregnancy, and my doctor once again pushed donor eggs, despite my decent egg reserves and previous conversations about donor eggs.
Unfortunately, I didn’t listen to my intuition or reservations and did another egg retrieval with the same clinic, this time with PGT. We got 2 high-level mosaics and 1 abnormal embryo. My doctor refused to transfer the embryos and said we would have to use donor eggs to get a healthy embryo, but I just knew that wasn’t the case and that something was missing. My AMH halved between our first and second retrievals, but ultrasounds showed plenty of follicles.
We regrouped and set our limit: we would do 1 more egg retrieval, with the goal of getting at least one PGT-normal embryo to transfer, or we would stop after that.
We switched clinics and doctors. My new doctor was lovely from day 1. She understood my need for a “kitchen sink approach,” and we did HGH during the egg retrieval, along with Lovenox to increase blood flow, and got our 1 normal, 4AA embryo.
We then did 2 months of Lupron Depot, a polyp removal, and that transfer was a success.
Pregnancy came with a velamentous cord insertion, subchorionic hematoma, and placenta previa that luckily cleared by 24 weeks, but we now have a healthy 6-month-old boy.
I am still unsure of what to do with our remaining mosaic embryos, especially after a challenging pregnancy, but we are considering transferring them in a natural cycle to give them a chance. After all, we spent so much time, money, and energy to create them that we should offer them and ourselves a chance at life.
What part of your journey stayed with you the most?
Throughout this process, it happened again and again that I was told something about myself, even if there was no evidence to support those claims: that I should have success with IVF right away, that I would have to use donor eggs, that I didn’t have endometriosis, etc.
The thing that definitely sticks with me the most was the conversation with the doctor about only wanting one child, meaning that we wouldn’t try as hard with our protocols. That was a real low moment.
At my first clinic, I felt like I was messing up their success rates and that my doctor wanted to fast-track me to pregnancy any way she could, even if I didn’t want it that way.
All in all, I wish I had switched sooner and spoken up more about my intuition that endometriosis was a key issue. I wish I had switched doctors or clinics as soon as I felt dismissed or was told to do something I wasn’t comfortable with. It was obvious that I didn’t feel believed or listened to, and I wish I had been more confident earlier in the IVF process.
What would you say to someone who’s going through what you went through?
You know yourself better than any doctor. You know what it feels like to be in your body, and you know your boundaries and limits. Don’t let your anxiety or another person tell you otherwise.
— Kelly Ann Street (@kellyannstreet)
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