R and her husband E had a history of pregnancy loss—and some disappointing experiences with other fertility providers—prior to coming in for a consultation with Extend Fertility. As a result of their IVF cycle with genetic testing here, they now have a beautiful baby girl.

Here, we talk with R about their journey to parenthood, and what their EF experience meant to them:

What did your fertility journey look like prior to coming to Extend Fertility?

My husband and I started trying to get pregnant naturally when I turned 35. We went on to have two miscarriages. The third time was successful, but the baby had Klinefelter syndrome, and we made the difficult decision to sadly terminate the pregnancy after 4 months.

We first went to [a small NYC clinic] and did not have a good experience there while trying IUI. After three losses, we felt it was best to do IVF and genetic testing to minimize our chances of having a genetic issue. We went to [a large fertility network] and did a round of egg retrieval and genetic testing. We got 18 eggs, and one embryo was genetically viable.

However, we felt that our experience there was impersonal, and the bedside manner was lacking. The care from the doctors and nurses felt cold and removed, and it was very expensive. When we realized we needed to do another round to get more eggs—in case that one embryo didn’t work—we decided to try Extend.

EF was responsive and sensitive, and all the nurses and staff were empathetic and sweet. No one is rushing you, or treating you like a faceless number or a money sign.

How did you find Extend Fertility, and what made you feel that this was the right place for you?

Extend was recommended by a dear friend. It was less expensive, [important] especially since our insurance did not cover fertility. What did we have to lose?

[I noticed] right away [that] the office was clean and the nurses at Extend were way warmer than [during] our previous experiences with other clinics. EF was responsive and sensitive, and all the nurses and staff were empathetic and sweet. They offer laughs and hand-holding! No one is rushing you or treating you like a faceless number or a money sign. I now recommend Extend to all my friends.

How did your IVF cycle go here at EF?

Our second round of egg retrieval was super successful. We got 36 eggs, and 5 embryos were genetically viable [compared to the single embryo from our first cycle].

We loved that we could conveniently do the egg retrieval upstairs in the clinic, and the facility was clean and inviting. In past experiences, we had to go to the hospital, which was much more unpleasant and adds a layer of stress to an already stressful situation.

[As a result of our second IVF cycle], we have a beautiful, healthy, joyful, baby girl that is thriving. All of the heart ache was worth it.

We received wonderful care every step of the journey. EF continued to offer care into my first trimester, which was an especially vulnerable time, since we had lost previous pregnancies during that time. EF made us feel more confident that our baby would be healthy because of the genetic testing. EF was fantastic!

Stay positive, and try to find other ladies going through this to help with this journey. Also, freeze your eggs in your 20s or early 30s if you can!

What advice do you have for people just starting to think about fertility?

My advice is to do the egg retrieval one, two, maybe three times to get what you need—and to stay positive, and try to find other ladies going through this to help with this journey. Also, freeze your eggs in your 20s or early 30s if you can!

I also found it helpful that my husband participated, gave me shots, and was a team player. All of it is worth it now that we have a healthy baby!


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