I was almost 40 years old. I had not conceived after I got married for nearly a year, so I go for examinations in Taipei with my husband. In the beginning, check sperm motility, normal blood, and unobstructed fallopian tubes. When the report came out, the doctor said that the fallopian tube was not seen because the white polyps were so widespread that it could not be seen, and it was suspected that the fallopian tube was blocked. So after the fallopian tube was removed, he arranged for the fallopian tube to check up again to confirm that was unobstructed.

I went to see the doctor again the next year and told the doctor that I would like to do IVF. The doctor said that I am 40 years old and do not have a lot of ovulation. The success rate of artificial conception is 10-20%, and the success rate of IVF is 30-40%. Check the position and size of the uterus, and do smear and blood tests. Then followed my period to make an appointment for an ultrasound. At that moment, there are only 4-6 follicles. The doctor suggested us to try sexual intercourse ourselves.

After the second ultrasound, the doctor performed a per vaginal examination. The path of the uterus was too small for a tube to be inserted, and cervical dilation was arranged. It took more than 7 months to get the uterine environment in good condition and start the road of IVF.

After two consecutive test tube failures, I felt very depressed. Perhaps my body has not yet adapted to such treatment! So I decided to start taking Chinese herbal medicine to regulate my body every other year. After a one-year break, I started to discuss with my husband which hospital to go to. At first, I found another Taipei obstetrics and gynecology department to test the AMH at 2.06 and the prolactin at 38. The doctor prescribed medicine for PRL to me. Because there are so many people waiting for consultation in the obstetrics and gynecology department, it took almost half a day. A friend recommended us to make an appointment to go to Hsinchu Stork for consultation.

I perform the ultrasound of the uterus on the third day of my period. There are 3 follicles on the right and 4 follicles on the left. The doctor explained that ovulation medicine should be taken in a mild stimulating way and combined with the injection, so I started recording every day, being afraid of missing any step. In the next visit, the doctor said that the follicle should be larger than 1.4, and the egg retrieval time of women over 40 years old will be earlier. The ultrasound found out polyps then, so Hysteroscopy must be done one month before implantation. The uterine environment is important for a baby's growth.

There are 2 eggs on the first time operation. The blastocysts cultivated to the fifth day are 5BB and 5BC. They are frozen first, and then PGS will be performed after more blastocysts are collected.

Ultrasound was taken on the second day after the second menstruation. There are 3 follicles on the right, 4 follicles on the left, 3 egg retrievals (not for the smaller ones), and only 1 blastocyst on the fifth or sixth day, graded 5BB.

In the third ultrasound scan, there were 3 eggs, and only 2 of the eggs were collected this time without anesthesia. Both were mature and fertilized but failed to form a blastocyst.

Collect follicles as usual for the fourth time. According to the ultrasound results, there are 5 on the right and 3 on the left. The doctor said that we can try long-acting ovulation this time. After another five days, there were 3 ultrasounds on the right and 1 on the left. Only 3 of these 4 were blastocysts, grades 5BB, 5BB, and 5BC. The doctor advised me to take a one-month rest, so I arranged a holiday with my husband to Hualien.

Retrieve 8 eggs for the fifth time. There are 6 mature eggs, and 4 are fertilized eggs. After five days, only 1 is a blastocyst with a grade of 5BC. In order to ensure that the chromosomes are normal, PGS test was performed on 7 blastocysts collected five times. It was reported that 1 had no signal, 1 was successful, and the rest of the chromosomes were abnormal. It turned out that my egg was so weak, and it was very tight in the previous knockouts. Now the only normal blastocyst is a battle between 100% pregnancy and hopelessness.

From the first four days of menstruation, take estrogen, aspirin, lactation reduction and progesterone every day as instructed. After implantation, rest at home to prevent work pressure from affecting the mood of pregnancy. Two days before the pregnancy test, I received cordial greetings and concerns from the doctor. Is it bloating? High body temperature? Have something you really want to eat? These problems, for me who have never been pregnant, I don’t know what it feels like to be pregnant. I don’t have the symptoms that the doctor said. Of course, this implantation was declared unsuccessful on the night of the release.

After resting for one month and waiting for the implantation of a blastocyst with no signal in the next month, the hysteroscopy was performed. Fortunately, only a small amount of polyps did not affect the implantation, and no surgery was required. Unfortunately, the second implantation failed.

Good blastocysts are far more precious than diamonds! If you continue to collect good eggs to become good blastocysts, it will take longer. After all, the older you get, the condition of the eggs will only get worse. So my husband and I discussed whether we should accept eggs donation to realize our dreams? Implanting young and healthy eggs and conceiving smoothly may be a shortcut. 

In the spring of the following year, I found that my fingers were a little stiff. After I went to the hospital for blood tests, the ANA antinuclear antibody was 1:160. I took the report to the doctor. The doctor suggested seeing the rheumatoid department. After another blood test, the doctor said that ANA and ENA were abnormal. Others were at a critical value and no medication was required. However, for the purpose of pregnancy, treatment is required. The course of egg donation which with 6 blastocysts was delayed a few times. 

The so-called good things are hard to come by, the treatment that was originally expected to be done, however, the uterus was suspected of the myoma when the ultrasound was taken on the 12th day of the period. Therefore, it is necessary to do the uterine environment examination and perform fallopian tube photography, bacterial culture, polyps removal surgery. Waiting for the next menstruation.

The last bacterial culture report revealed that E. coli grows in the cervix. It is necessary to take antibiotics and then undergo two consecutive implants. After implantation, the doctor prescribed the medicines and injections, plus rheumatoid medication, it fails again.

I have not been able to conceive under the comprehensive supervision of the doctor. The doctor suggested that I should stop for a while and do aerobic exercises, exercise 3 times a week, exercise for 30 minutes each time, and keep my heart rate at 130 beats to keep my body active. So the next year I started planning to ride a bicycle with my husband on holidays, sign up for yoga classes, and walk after getting off work, so I have maintained exercise habits for most of the year.  

The body seems to be in good condition, I feel that I could start the treatment again, so I went to the clinic nine months later.

After the implantation, I was resting at home. From the seventh day on, I felt that the urine was brown, lower abdominal pain, insomnia, and other symptoms. Until the urine test, the doctor announced the second line and congratulated the pregnancy. I could not believe it was true! 

The amniocentesis, high-level ultrasound, and obstetrics all done each. However, when the high-level ultrasound was taken, it was found that the amniotic fluid was leaking. So I went to the hospital to check and confirm the amniotic fluid. The amniotic fluid was supplemented twice. The fetus was taken out by emergency cesarean section. Seeing the baby's loud cry and healthy appearance is the miracle I have dreamed of in the past few years!

The process of trying being pregnant is very difficult and the time is very long. It took me five years to do seven times IVF. At one time, I want to give up, but as long as the belief is strong enough, the dream of having a child will be realized! The opportunity is reserved for those who are prepared. Thank you doctors and the Stork team for working with us for three years, and let us have a lovely baby.