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Experiences

  Anna & Pete (Australia)
  Peter & Deirdre Hudson (UK)
  Sam McCuish (UK)
  Chantal & Philippe (Switzerland)
  Myriam (Switzerland)
  Nikki & Steve (Australia)
  The Discovery
  Deciding What To Do
  Visiting The Clinic
  What Was I Waiting For?
  Our Dream Come True


Nikki & Steve (Australia)

Chapter Three: Visiting the clinic

Liberation

What I found out was surprising and liberating. The doctor we saw was informative, hopeful and kind. I discovered that, for my age group, the success rate was about 45% (I had only just turned 30). The long-term risks of the drugs were in no way as threatening as I had thought. There is “no appreciable increase in risk” of birth abnormalities. There may be an increased risk of premature birth and low birth weight. We could have the final say on how many eggs were exposed to sperm, how many embryos transferred to my uterus (with an upper limit to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancy) and what to do with the remaining embryos.

In the beginning I wrote to my sister overseas:

“ Frozen embryos make me want to cry (I don’t quite know why). The induction of multiple ovulation makes me feel uncomfortable. The thought of getting pregnant makes it seem a bit better – well a lot better. When we were kids the idea of sex to get pregnant was pretty gross. Now it sounds so much more romantic. But maybe as I get more used to these things they wont feel as yucky as they do now.”

I was right. As I got used to the idea it became a lot less ‘yucky’, a lot more exciting and the best science lesson we had ever had. At the end of the day, the hope of getting pregnant made it all seem a lot better.





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