Costan @cocobeeeee:
"It took seven years to finally feel the small flutters of a baby moving in my belly. Seven years of hardship and longing. Seven years of despair and hope. And finally, after eight long years we set our eyes on our daughter in January 2023. Our dreams came true, and we owe all our thanks to the OLGA Clinic.
We started to try for a baby when I was 33 years old (2016) and the years went by, and nothing happened. We didn't get pregnant, and we finally sought help and after some examinations I was told I had plenty of follicles and we needed to give it more time. We got both a second and a third and a fourth opinion and we were repeatedly told that we would not need to worry, and we would become pregnant naturally. We continuously were given the same answer — give it more time.
Finally, I was referred to a specialist who found a polyp the size of a golf ball in my uterus. The polyp had effectively hindered any chance of me getting pregnant. In 2020 the polyp was removed during surgery and just a couple of months later I became pregnant. Unfortunately, we experienced a missed miscarriage and due to complications, l had to undergo a surgery to stop excessive bleeding and remove remaining tissue. The miscarriage hit us hard, but we were ready to give it another try. I became pregnant again but again I experienced a miscarriage, excessive bleeding and had to undergo another surgery. Loosing yet another pregnancy after waiting for so long became even a heavier blow. I was exhausted and depressed, and I knew I couldn't just continue trying as we had done previously and that we had to do things differently.
By now I was 39 and soon turning 40. I knew my egg quality had diminished and was diminishing even more rapidly each day now.
I quickly came to the realisation that:
- it was something wrong with my uterus after all the surgeries and I was not willing to risk yet another pregnancy without a proper check-up
- that we would need to PGT-A test our embryos for abnormalities to hinder possible miscarriages.
Since these options were not available in Sweden, I looked into clinics abroad and came across the OLGA clinic.
Talking to the clinic, it was the first time I felt heard and seen, it was the first time I was given concrete suggestions and options tailored to me and it was the first time in a long time I felt hope. This was during the height of the Coronavirus, yet we decided that OLGA Clinic was our best chance of having a baby and decided to go.
I was given a 3 IVF package with my own eggs, PGT-A and money back guarantee of live birth and already the same year 2021 I had my first egg retrieval in Saint Petersburg.
We received 6 embryos and the PGT-A test result revealed that we had 2 chromosomally normal embryos. Hoping for not only one child but possibly two, I had an extra egg retrieval outside of the guarantee package and received 4 embryos out of which 1 embryo tested chromosomally normal.
After that I underwent a hysteroscopy that revealed that I had scar tissue and micro polyps that were removed. My uterus was prepared for receiving an embryo and in April 2022 I had my embryo transfer and I gave birth to our daughter in January 2023.
In retrospect it is clear that we saved so much time and heartache by getting the right treatment tailored for us. I am convinced that the holistic approach that we received from the OLGA Clinic was crucial for us to finally become parents.
I wish above all to take this opportunity to thank you and your amazing coworkers Dr. Nina, Anastasia and Dr. Nathalia in helping me achieving my dream of becoming a mother. My daughter Esmé is 1,5 years now and life with her is absolute bliss."
Watch the InstaLive with Costan, her treating OLGA doctor Nina Bogdanova
and Dr. Olga. Find out more about opportunities of individualized IVF with own eggs and PGT-A
Costan’s treating doctor Dr. Nina Bogdanova explains:
Costan and Per came to O.L.G.A. Fertility Clinic in St. Petersburg in 2021 after seven years of trying to conceive naturally. Their several spontaneous pregnancies had stopped developing, and Costan, at 39, knew age was a significant factor. In April 2021 they had an individual online consultation with our expert doctor, Dr. Alena Egorova. During this consultation, they discussed their situation and outlined the next steps. Together, they decided to pursue IVF, hoping to shorten the time to achieve their dream of a baby. After reviewing their medical history, we saw great potential for treatment. We confirmed our 3-IVF package with own eggs and PGT-A and live birth money back guarantee.
I was honored to be Costan and Per’s treating doctor and together we started our journey of turning their dream into reality.
Our medical approach involved careful planning, dividing the treatment into several steps, each of them focused on finding important components for the recipe of a future successful pregnancy:
- Careful Ovarian stimulation and creation of embryos with PGT-A: to exclude abnormal embryos
- Uterus and Endometrium Focus: hysteroscopy allowed us to examine the uterus in detail, take biopsies for immunohistochemical tests, and perform an ERA test to determine the implantation window.
- Gentle Embryo Transfer: following an individualized treatment plan.
The first egg retrieval was planned for June 2021. Costan started injections and sent me her ultrasound results. However, during the ovarian stimulation, I noticed that her ovaries didn't respond well. Only one follicle started to grow despite her good ovarian reserve. Because of this, I decided to cancel the attempt. We met with Costan and Per on Skype to discuss the next steps. I explained to the couple that Constan had a good ovarian potential, and I would like to see a different reaction from her ovaries. I made some adjustments to the treatment plan and new stimulation with antagonist priming was started in August. I chose a priming protocol because it helps to avoid an asynchronous growth of follicles and get a homogeneous cohort of follicles ready for egg pick up. As a result, 11 eggs were collected, and our embryologists created 6 blastocysts, 2 of which were found to be chromosomally normal by PGT-A.
With this milestone completed, we focused on preparing the uterus for embryo transfer. Hysteroscopy and the ERA test were performed, followed by special therapy to ensure the endometrium's good recovery after the miscarriages and improved receptivity for the forthcoming embryo transfer.
The embryo transfer in April 2022 was a landmark moment for Costan and Per and in January 2023 they became parents.
Conclusion:
When a patient is undergoing fertility diagnostics and treatment, it is important to evaluate and analyze each potential reason of infertility and/or miscarriage and focus on solving each and every reason of bad luck. Even if something does not go according to plan, do not despair, because the body is not a machine. You need to stop and carefully analyze the new data before taking the next step. Trust and partnership are crucial for successful treatment. After a thorough analysis of the patient's medical history, we develop an individual path for each patient to achieve successful pregnancy and live birth. Many components must be considered before the embryo transfer is performed.
If your fertility treatment did not succeed yet in other clinics, discuss your situation with us and find out about best options by O.L.G.A. Fertility in St. Petersburg or Cyprus!
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