Terri & Trey 

We knew we wanted to be parents, but we certainly didn’t expect it to be as difficult as it was to get there. We were married in a small, civil ceremony in June 2020, but coming from a Greek background and being raised in the South meant that we had always dreamed of a big wedding. While we were able to celebrate more in June 2021, the giant wedding never happened. However, we were so excited because we felt like it was finally time to start building our family. 

Finding fertility care at SGF

Shortly after our wedding, we began the process of trying to build our family. I stopped my birth control, which I had been taking since I was 17 years old, and immediately started noticing some negatives. I had horrible symptoms of weight gain, acne, losing hair on my head while also experiencing hirsutism, and most glaringly, no periods after the first initial withdrawal bleed. I talked to my OBGYN about these issues, and she immediately diagnosed me with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). She told us that she would be happy to help us by providing induction medication, but she also suggested we reach out to Shady Grove Fertility for further information as it would be likely that we would need some more help to grow our family. I began taking Letrozole to induce ovulation. After the third dose, we found one that worked for me. So, for 3 months, we tried timed intercourse with the Letrozole hoping for a positive. That positive never came. We knew it was time to reach out for more help, so we made a consultation appointment at SGF and were matched with Dr. Anish Shah. 

Dr. Shah was wonderful from the beginning. He took the time to explain everything to us in great detail and told us all the steps that we would take to discover the best course of action for us. As we began testing, we found out that in addition to my PCOS, my husband also had a low sperm count and mobility. Because of this, we also worked with Virginia Urology to determine the best course of action. It was decided that we would undergo in vitro fertilization IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). While we were excited to get started, we knew we had a long road ahead, so we braced ourselves. After going through the process, we ended up with two PGT-normal embryos, one boy and one girl. This was truly a rollercoaster because it initially looked like we would only have one healthy embryo, but our other one pulled through, and we are eternally grateful. 

March 28, 2024, came and it was the day — transfer day! We were so excited to transfer our sweet little embryo. For a month leading up to transfer day, I did everything to relax that you could think of, and I went to acupuncture, just for good measure. A few excruciatingly long days later and we got the call, we were pregnant! We couldn’t believe that our first transfer had worked, and we were so thankful to God and SGF for helping us get to that point. 

A sweet little boy after hardship

My pregnancy wasn’t an easy one. We did unfortunately suffer from the loss of a twin that had split from our embryo, which was extremely difficult. I also had a sub-chorionic hematoma, which was scary, but thankfully resolved on its own. Finally, my pregnancy ended in an emergency C-section due to severe preeclampsia and then a prolapsed cord. It was safe to say that our boy gave us a wild ride into the world, but he was healthy and born at 5lbs 1oz, and 17inches. Our sweet little boy, JB, wanted a November birthday instead of December!

Support and kindness every step of the way

I would tell future patients to not wait. My only regret is not going to SGF sooner. The support and kindness we have felt every step of the way made the extremely difficult process that much better. We are so thankful that God placed us in Dr. Shah’s hands and would recommend anyone to go to SGF for their infertility journey.