IVF

The roller coaster of a ride known as in- vitro fertilization proved for me to be the perfect meld of science and religion.25 years ago, ivf was still not commonplace, and I was in the program for almost 18 months before I finally was able to have any eggs extracted. Perseverance and faith saw me through; it was an expensive saga that obviously had a miraculous conclusion. I was fortunate,but so many women who I met, that were in the program at the same time,did not.The acronym ART (assisted reproductive technology)makes me smile. Creation certainly is art at its finest.N'est-ce pas? We joked that we should name the boy "Petri" or the girl "Petra". Of course, I liked the name Adam, reminding me of the Sistine Chapel and God's touch. I drove about 50 miles round trip every other day to have: blood drawn, hormone treatments,medical tests, counseling, etc., and meanwhile I prayed for a viable outcome.Some months looked hopeful but there was always something that kept the extraction from happening.Finally, the stars aligned and in May 1990, coincidentally around Mother's Day, three eggs were extracted from my ovary (I only had one ovary). One egg was polyspermic meaning more than one sperm pierced the egg; that had to be discarded. One egg was judged to be post mature ( too old) , and it, too, was discarded.Did you know that if you're over 35 you have a geriatric uterus?I digress. The last egg was "perfect", and Al and I have photos of Adam at 4cells and 16 cells before he was implanted in my uterus. The statistic at the time was an 18% rate for successful pregnancy , and so an excruciating period of waiting occurred, but we found out about a month later, that yes I was indeed pregnant. Another rare procedure at that time was amniocentesis( at about 5 months ) and we knew as a result that Adam appeared normal.It was the only time the doctors (I had a team of them)wanted me to have a glass of wine "to help relax the womb" they said. Also, I love the ultrasound photos - one showing Adam sucking his thumb! The pregnancy was one of the happiest times of my life, and another was certainly when I first held Adam in my arms.