IVF #1 - Results News
When I woke up Monday morning to have my blood drawn for our beta test, I saw this verse:
This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalms 118:24
I knew then that the Lord was preparing my heart for our results news. Later that afternoon, we got the call, "Hi Ashton, this is Doctor Scotchie. Is now a good time to talk?" For those of you that have gone through infertility or any kind of serious medical issue, you know it is bad news when the doctor calls you directly. As soon as I heard her voice, I knew our embryos didn't implant and that our pregnancy test was negative. She told us how sorry she was, and encouraged us that if the first cycle fails, it helps them plan a better IVF protocol for the next cycle. We told her that although we were sad, we weren't surprised based on how our cycle went.
When we went in for our transfer, Dr. Murray told us he was shocked not only at the quantity of embryos but the quality as well. Although we had 13/18 eggs fertilize, only 4 of them made it to the blastocyst stage. Each blastocyst is given a grading with a number and three letters. The number is on a scale of 1-6 and describes the amount of fluid &/or degree of expansion of the embryo. The earliest level of a blastocyst is a 1 while a 6 describes an embryo that has completely hatched from its shell (usually does not happen until after the transfer). The letter grades are A-F or A-D with A being the highest. Our clinic freezes developed embryos graded C and above. The first letter grades the ICM (inner cell mass) which is the part that forms the baby. The second letter grades the trophectoderm or the portion of the embryo that implants and supports the early pregnancy. The third letter describes the fluid filled portion of the embryo (any cells present in the fluid, etc). The number and first two letter grades are the most important when determining embryo quality. This cycle the two embryos we transferred were graded 2BAC and 1BBC, and the two embryos made it to freeze were a 4CCC and a 2BBC.
Since I have never been pregnant, it is difficult for the doctors to know why this cycle failed. It could be our embryos are low quality or abnormal. It could be because my body is not capable of implanting embryos. It could be that the Lord has other plans to grow our family. The science of IVF is amazing, but at the end of the day, it is going to be the power of Jesus that creates our baby.
Although the news was difficult, Robert and I were lucky to have 10 days praying for and loving on our embryos. We are sad that we won't get to see who these embryos will become this side of heaven, but we are thankful for the time we had with them.
I know I've said this a bunch lately, but we are so thankful for all your thoughts and prayers over the last few months. We are beyond blessed to have so many people supporting us during this process. Your kindness has made all the difference during the last few days!
Love,
Ashton and Robert
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:14
