Hanna and Andreas @ivf.madeinrussia
Dear Dr. Nina, You were our doctor during IVF at O.L.G.A. clinic and I just wanted to let you know that our baby boy is here now!! You made the impossible possible!!! And we are forever grateful to the bottom of our hearts!!! He was born 25th of April 2021. Height 52 cm and weight 3705 g. It was a natural delivery.
Andreas and Hanna explain:
Watch InstaLive with Hanna and Andreas, Dr. Olga and Dr. Nina explained our treatment process and answered questions
We became a couple as teenagers and married young. We both wanted to take our time for studies, careers, buying a house etc before adding a child into our lives. It was 6,5 years ago at New Year’s Eve that we decided to try to get a baby and start family life. We both started feeling ready for that step at pretty much the same time. But once we decided to start trying to have a baby, no pregnancy was achieved. Hanna soon had a feeling that something wasn’t working. Despite that feeling we kept trying until we we’re qualified for a fertility investigation through public healthcare in Sweden. They found nothing wrong with us, except a possible lack of ovulation in some periods -which we spent four months medicating with Letrozol without any positive pregnancy test. Through that process and through three IVF treatments with seven embryo transfers we both ended up at a totally hopeless place. From the doctor’s point of view, everything always looked good. There were no reasons why we shouldn’t succeed. Our very first ET actually got us pregnant, but ended in an early miscarriage around week 6. Before the last embryo transfer in Sweden we decided to start an adoption process, since we knew that alternative often takes several years. After our seventh and last attempt through Sweden’s public healthcare, our doctor told us that she really thought we were going to get a baby from IVF. She recommend us to keep trying for as long as our mental health and economy allowed. We went through our options and decided that unless some clinic could offer us something different than the attempts we already had tried, or at least offer us some plausible explanations, we were well done with IVF treatments at this time. We found none of that in Sweden.
We spent a summer reading and talking through our options, when we heard about O.L.G.A. fertility clinic in a Swedish podcast. Though we both felt a bit sceptic, since what they offered sounded a whole lot too good to be true — we drove 3 hours to visit the first seminar they had available. After one fascinating evening with a very educational seminar, medical and scientific substantiated, we applied for a guarantee package. After some brief paper work and a Skype meeting we had soon booked our first flight to the beautiful city St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, Hanna’s period didn’t start on time, but we managed to have an egg retrieval in November-19. This resulted in fewer eggs than our earlier treatments, but still also in a larger amount of blastocysts!
We came back in January to perform an hysteroscopy and an ERA-test. Come February we finally came back for our first embryo transfer. This however didn’t lead to pregnancy and we immediately started planning for a new trip in April. Due to COVID-19 restrictions it was impossible to go at this time, so we rescheduled it for June with the same frustrating outcome. At this time though, we soon heard the news about the clinics plan to charter a plane and help us getting a Visa for medical treatment. We travelled in a plane full of wonderful people in situations similar to ours, had a great stay in St Petersburg, and this time we came home with the start of what became a full going pregnancy and the birth of our wonderful son!
Despite the need for a second ET and delays from COVID-19 we now have our very much beloved baby in our arms. Out of gratitude to the fantastic staff and out of enormous amounts of joy, we both look forward to participate in O.L.G.A’s Instalive-evening next Monday.
Dr. Olga and Dr. Nina explain
Before coming to Dr. Olga’s seminar in Gothenburg in August 2019, Hanna, 32 and Andreas, 32 have tried to have a baby for 4,5 years. At first the hypothesis from the Swedish doctors was that Hanna didn’t go through ovulation, why they first tried four Letrozol treatments. None of those resulted in a pregnancy, In 2018-2019 Hanna and Andreas underwent 3 IVF attempts in Sweden with 3 fresh and 4 frozen embryo transfers. Most embryos were transferred in blastocyst stage, the morphology of those blastocysts was always excellent or good. One pregnancy was achieved after the first fresh embryo transfer and unfortunately lost in week 6.
Dr. Alena has done initial consultation in September 2019 and has created Hanna’s individual stimulation layout and Dr. Nina has taken over the process as Hanna’s personal doctor curator.
We have confirmed a small 3 IVF package with guarantee of live birth. Guarantee of live birth meant that we would refund the money paid if no live birth was achieved within 3 IVF cycles.
In November 2019 Hanna and Andreas came to O.L.G.A. Clinic for egg retrieval and fertilization. Dr. Nina has picked up 7 eggs which resulted in 4 blastocysts of 4AA 4AA 4BA and 3BB morphology. No PGT-A was planned since Hanna was 32 and the majority of blastocysts is expected to have a normal number of chromosomes in women in their early 30s.
Before going for embryo transfer in our clinic we wished to find out Hanna’s individual implantation window. Many transfers of blastocysts with good morphology were done in the past, however something prevented these blastocysts from resulting in ongoing pregnancy. The 4 frozen blastocysts transfers were done in stimulated cycles with Letrozole on day 6 after Ovitrelle intake which means on day 4-5 after the beginning of progesterone production.
We believed it was too naïve doing the same process again and again and expecting a different result. So, we froze all the 4 blastocysts and planned the next step – hysteroscopy and ERA test.
In January 2020 Dr. Nina performed hysteroscopy, found inflammation in the uterus which could have taken place after the first miscarriage. Remember, Hanna got pregnant on the very first fresh embryo transfer in Sweden? - Then she had miscarriage and did not get pregnant in any of the following 2 fresh and 4 frozen embryo transfers any more. Hanna has received antibacterial and anti-inflammation therapy after hysteroscopy.
But the most important and significant finding came from the ERA test: Hanna’s individual implantation window was at 152h! This means her endometrium was receptive and capable of implantation 24 h later than in 70-80% of women and 48 later than the timing of the 4 frozen blastocyst transfers that Hanna did in a local clinic previously!
Hanna had several immune factors: seasonal allergy, asthma compensated by seasonal medication and celiac disease, compensated by diet. Due to immune factors Cortisone and Intralipid were included in preparation for Hanna's embryo transfers.
The first embryo transfer was based on Hanna’s individual endometrial receptivity, in February 2020. However, despite excellent morphology of the blastocyst and well-prepared endometrium, no pregnancy was achieved.
For the second embryo transfer Hanna and Andreas had to wait for 5 months because of pandemic COVID 19. As soon as the opportunity arose, Hanna and Andreas got on one of our first charter flights and came to St. Petersburg in late July 2020! In the summer 2020 our clinic was sending our own charter flights to Stockholm and back every Sunday to help our patients travel comfortably.
That embryo transfer in July 2020 became a landmark for our lovely couple and in April 2021 they became parents. And there are still two blastocysts in the freezer.
Conclusions
Before coming to O.L.G.A. Clinic, Hanna has had 4 frozen embryo transfers of good morphology blastocysts — all done 2 days earlier than Hannas’ individual implantation window.
Building up hope before embryo transfer and getting a negative pregnancy test again and again hurts so much. This chronic pain makes patients see their situation significantly worse than in fact it is. They start questioning everything: their own egg, own sperm, own uterus, own body. But in fact, changing just one variable in the formula of successful pregnancy may change the whole outcome. In the story of Hanna and Andreas this key to successful pregnancy was finding Hanna’s individual implantation window.
We think it is naïve to believe that doing the same thing again and again one can expect a different result. Never give up, educate yourself, ask professionals for second opinion consultation and let us find your individual recipe and create your successful pregnancy!
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