A Destiny of Motherhood

Michelle and Robert had two strikes against them: both had problems which contributed to their infertility. Regardless, Michelle had a staunch, unshakeable belief that her destiny in life was to be a mom. Faith proved right: she and Robert are proud parents of twins, Taylor and Tyler.

"Both of my tubes were blocked, scar tissue from an infection I didn't even know I had when I was younger. Robert suffers from recurring bouts of prostatitis, for which he takes antibiotics. We have been married for 10 years and for five of those years had tried on our own to get pregnant without any success. My gynecologist tried fertility drugs and I finally went to a reproductive endocrinologist who was able to unblock one of my tubes. He suggested we go to the MGH Fertility Center, which had the capability to perform ICSI."

ICSI stands for intracytoplasm sperm injection. It is a delicate procedure in which, in the laboratory, a single sperm is injected into a single egg to aid in fertilization in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure.

"While Robert and I found it exciting to finally be doing something, we were also nervous because of the needles and drugs that would be involved with IVF. I was monitored very, very carefully though and came in to the center every other day to be checked. We got to know all the members of the staff. The nurses and doctors were great. I knew from all the reading I had done that my doctor was being up front with what he was telling us. The nurses were caring and quite feeling for what we were going through and explained everything that was going on. My doctor was very conservative, and agreed with us that three embryos would be appropriate for transfer as Robert and I felt that selective reduction was not the choice for us. When it was time, we did transfer three embryos, but none of them made it. Our first attempt at IVF failed.

"This failure was very, very hard on us and our marriage. Robert especially took it hard. I had done enough research to realize that often the first attempt doesn't work. Robert did not want to go through it again right way.

"Time does lessen pain, and, one day about a year later, I just decided I wanted to try again. Robert supported my decision, so, we went through all the routine we had gone through before. This time when it was time to transfer the embryos, assisted hatching was done, a procedure which helps the embryo attach to the uterus."

Finally, Michelle and Robert had success. Michelle was carrying twins and, because of the multiple births, was cared for by a high-risk obstetrician. She chose to leave her job as a restaurant manager, deciding she did not need the added stress in her life. Taylor and Tyler were born 5 weeks early, but weighed in at a robust six and seven pounds respectively. Both are gorgeous, healthy little kids.

Six months after the twins were born, Michelle and Robert got pregnant on their own, but sadly, lost their child. For Michelle, always the optimist, she finds some hope even in that tragedy.

"We are going back to the MGH Fertility Center because Robert and I would like to have another child. Maybe because we got pregnant once now on our own, even unsuccessfully, we might have other options open to us. We wouldn't think of going any place else because at MGH their values are in the right place. They want what's best for the patient and not just numbers for their statistics.

"When we look back on all we went through, from the IVF procedure to fighting with our out-of-state insurance company for our rights, we now regard it all as just a walk in the park for we feel that our children are truly miracles. We waited a long time for them and they are our life."