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Hi,
I am a mother-of-three children, two of whom were
born as a result of IVF. I am also a Bachelor of Midwifery student.
Something I have seen throughout my IVF experience
is repeated early miscarriages due to low progesterone levels. Many women have
beautiful embryos transferred, only to lose them a few weeks later. Doesn't
matter how good the embryos are, how favourable the uterus is, if your
progesterone levels fall below a certain level, you bleed.
With my third child, my progesterone levels dropped
rapidly at around 3 weeks post-transfer. (we have weekly blood tests for a while
at first). Immediately I was faxed a progesterone pessary prescription, and
began using them that day. Not sure how low the levels got, but I was told that
I would bleed within 24 hours without the pessaries. Our pregnancy continued,
and our son turned two last week. I had stayed on progesterone until 12
weeks.
I'm certainly not suggesting this woman's body is
failing her - a common misconception often thrown around by our IVF professors -
I'm just offering another suggestion.
I facilitate an online support group for infertile
couples - it is available only to these couples, via membership. Many of
these women support each other to be consumers of IVF treatment, rather than
patients. They often share stories regarding naturopathy, acupuncture,
herbalists, etc., as well as conventional IVF and GIFT treatments. Can be found
at:
I'm sure the woman experiencing difficulties will
find this webgroup supportive and comforting. We set it up when we realised most
women chose not to "show up" at social events for fear of being recognised in
our small town. As an online group, it can be as anonymous as they wish, yet
still supportive.
Best of luck,
Janine
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