Fertility Road Issue 44 May/June 2018

FERTILITY JOURNEYS 2018
our interactions by e-mail, phone and Skype so
far have been professional and friendly, and have
given us hope and confidence.
In May Claire and Dave will travel to Spain to
meet the whole IVF Spain team. They will then
have their first medical consultation with Dr.
Natalia Szlarb, Medical Director at IVF Spain,
whose patients always have a word of praise for
her and is often defined as a great professional
that gets truly involved in each case and possesses
great empathy.
‘We face each Fertility Journey as a thrilling and
exciting challenge, and in this case, we are looking
forward to warmly welcome Claire and Dave. We
will study their case thoroughly to find the best
solution to their fertility issues. It is amazing
that Spanish legislation allowed for anonymous
egg donation 30 years ago. At IVF Spain we treat
more than 1000 patients every year from all over
the world for egg donation, which is considered
to be the final step in many couples’ infertility
treatment. We will do our best with Claire and
Dave to make their dream of forming a family
with a healthy baby come true. I wish them a
successful treatment at IVF Spain in 2018,’ points
out Dr. Szlarb.
We would also like to seize this opportunity
to tell you about our couple from last years
Fertility Journey.
In May Kathryn and Richard will finally be able
to hold their baby in their arms. On behalf of the
whole IVF Spain team, we wish them the best of
luck in their planned C-section. They have agreed
to share with us how their pregnancy is developing
and some other scoops:
Kathryn writes...
Kathryn
The pregnancy has gone quite well. I have suffered
from a few ailments like leg swelling, a pregnancy
rash and a few bleeds but the baby has stayed
healthy so far (touch wood) throughout this. We
have been under consultant care throughout the
pregnancy and the hospital has kept a close eye
on us thankfully. We already knew that I had a
fibroid low down in my uterus and as a result of
this, we are having a c-section at 38 weeks + 5 days
on Friday 4th May. I will have 2 steroid injections
a week prior to the operation to ensure the baby’s
lungs are developed enough.
At 35 weeks, the baby weighs approximately.
6lbs so he or she (we don’t know the gender yet)
is in the 90th percentile. This is quite large but
healthy!!! Alongside the baby, we have finally
been able to plan our wedding for April 2019. We
count ourselves so lucky and fortunate to have
been given the opportunity to part of the fertility
journey in 2017 and can’t thank IVF Spain enough
for their support and commitment to us.
The clinic has been attentive throughout the
whole process: pre, during and for the followup.
We feel that we have had the best care and
attention that we could have possibly received
and have recommended IVF Spain to a number
of couples. We have also met up face to face with
another successful couple whose little boy is 10
months old now. This has been very worthwhile
as we are aware that the treatment we have
experienced is alternative and not the ‘norm’ for
most people.
We will be in touch as soon as the baby is here. As
the Star Wars quote goes ‘May the 4th be with you!’
Lastly, we would like to talk to you about Alka
and Rhod, Runner-ups in 2017. As you probably
remember, this couple underwent numerous
unsuccessful IVF treatments in the UK, so they
decided that their best possible option to achieve
a pregnancy would be to choose an egg donation
treatment - which has higher success rates - in
order to avoid having to go through yet another
failed attempt.
During their visit to IVF Spain, Dr. Álvarez
examined the couple and performed various
tests with the aim of developing the best possible
strategy for their case. The doctor analysed Alka’s
ovarian reserve, which turned out to be quite
low. Her ultrasound scan showed very few active
follicles and her AMH was very low. On top of
that, her endometrium (uterus lining) - where the
embryo must implant and develop - was extremely
thin. Despite all this, Alka’s endometrium
responded perfectly to the medication and the
embryo transfer went smoothly. 10 days later,
the ‘beta’ test (pregnancy test) was positive. Alka
is currently going through the second trimester
of pregnancy, and both she and Rhod await with
excitement the birth of their baby in August.
Alka and Rhod
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