How we won an extra month for IVF preparation. Always see the bright side.
While waiting for the second beta-HCG test unfortunately my period arrived. Of course, I was still hoping that all could still be alright, as you can find many stories of successful pregnancies of women having periods while pregnant. Unfortunately, my blood test confirmed later that the HCG level dropped, meaning the pregnancy ended.
I really needed some time to digest what just happened....
"According to Dr. Lauren Averbuch study, 30-50% of women have had one chemical pregnancy in their fertile years, but many women don’t even know about it if they don’t take a pregnancy test."
The pregnancy was real, that’s for sure. Which is amazing news, because it means I am able to conceive, we are able to make a baby.
I had a ‘chemical pregnancy’, also called a ‘very early miscarriage’, which happens on the fourth or fifth week of pregnancy. Actually, chemical pregnancies are fairly common. According to Dr. Lauren Averbuch study, 30-50% of women have had one chemical pregnancy in their fertile years, but many women don’t even know about it if they don’t take a pregnancy test. This type of miscarriage is usually caused by some kind of chromosomic, genetic abnormality of the developing embryo. It’s somewhat comforting that in almost all articles I read about this topic it was clearly written that it cannot be my fault, I could not do anything to prevent it. I decided to believe it, and not to carry the anxiety with me.
When my period ended, I paid a visit to my doctor. He confirmed that he cannot see anything to worry about. Everything is in great order inside and my uterus lining started to build up again. New month, new chances. ☺ He gave me three good reasons to be positive:
- This unexpected pregnancy confirms that we are able to have a baby. The egg of mine and the sperm of my husband were happy to meet, and they are ready to cooperate.
- Because of the hormonal changes caused by the pregnancy, we have a higher chance to conceive again in the next few months.
- If we are ready, we can start our IVF treatment by my next period.
As we have to wait one more month to (finally) start our first cycle, we decided that we are going to use this extra time for some preparation, and boost our bodies and minds as much as we can.
TIP: Don't drive yourself mental during your fertility journey by getting a diagnosis of your symptoms by Dr. Google. Don’t do this to yourself.
