I have pondered at length what my wildest dream would be if Oprah, or some other fairy godmother, were to grant it. Which famous person would I love to meet? What exotic location would I love to visit? Try as I might I cannot see past the sixth-month-old bundle in my arms. My baby girl and her three-year-old sister are my wildest dreams. Climbing Mt. Everest, running a marathon or meeting a superstar might be some people’s wildest dream, but for me conquering infertility and raising my daughters is my wildest dream.

At age 30 I started trying to get pregnant. I had endometriosis, I hadn’t used birth control for almost ten years and I had never been pregnant. I had also never imagined I would have difficulty conceiving. There was a great deal of irony in the amount of energy I put into trying not to get pregnant before my husband Red and I mutually agreed we were “ready”. After trying for more than a year, we went to see Dr. Carl Herbert and I was diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Thankfully, Dr. Herbert took excellent care of us and at age 34 I conceived my first daughter with the help of Clomiphene and IUI.

Conceiving my second daughter, however, proved more challenging, but was accomplished through IVF three years later. Even though I had tried IUI again and had produced many follicles, my IVF cycle revealed that the quality of my eggs was inferior. Dr. Herbert had the unhappy task of relating this distressing news to us during my embryo transfer, but he did so with tremendous grace and kindness. I have the utmost trust and confidence in Dr. Herbert and I feel blessed that he gave us the opportunity to conceive. Despite the quality of my embryos, we beat the odds and I conceived anyway. Yahoo!

Ultimately my goals were met, but it was the journey through infertility that has brought light and clarity into my life. With the help of my amazing doctor and with nurses like Ann McGovern (to whom I cried countless times), the laborious process of conceiving against the odds was made easier by their warmth and encouragement. I don’t know if it ever got “easier” being met with my period after each month’s unsuccessful attempt, however. By far the most searing memory, beyond all the shots and ultrasounds, was news, from what seemed like every woman on the planet, of other people’s pregnancies. And not only were they pregnant, but, their pregnancies were achieved unaided and on their first try. Of course!

What saved me and my marriage both times was a combination of therapy, friends and family. My husband was amazing through it all and our marriage is stronger and brighter as a result. When all is said and done and both my girls are strapped in their car seats or cuddling with me on the couch, all of the infertility effort seems like a distant memory. I feel so blessed to have conquered my infertility. My wildest two dreams have been realized.

– Jennifer

My partner, Shannon, and I had always wanted kids. So we went to our doctor to discuss our options for starting a family. She suggested we pick a fertility clinic to get the process started. We chose Pacific Fertility Center. We called the clinic to get started and had hundreds of questions. We spoke with Billie of the New Patient Guides. She was very friendly and more than willing to listen to all our concerns. She suggested we set up our initial consultation with a doctor. We chose Dr. Givens. We met with Dr. Givens in November and were very happy with our visit. Thankfully, we were both healthy and could start the process right away.

We decided we would go with IVF. We wanted to use my eggs for the first pregnancy, as I was nearing 40, but we wanted Shannon to be the carrier. This meant we had a lot of ‘timing’ issues to get worked out. To start with, we met with Allison, our IVF Coordinator. She was fantastic–she set up our schedules, talked to us about the different medications, and what the next steps were. We had to get both our cycles in sync, make sure I could produce enough viable eggs at the right time, get them fertilized and implanted into Shannon. WHEW! A lot to do in a short amount of time…

We met with Peggy, the Marriage and Family Therapist, to discuss what exactly the egg donor process meant. (Even though I was donating my eggs to my partner, and would be a co-parent). Peggy asked why we had chosen to go this route; how long we had been together; what were our plans as far as parenting; did I realize that the child, although mine biologically, might very well be closer to Shannon since she was the one giving birth; why did we wait so long to have children (we have been together for 12 years). It was a great re-affirmation that we were doing this for all the right reasons.

We met with Olga, one of the nurses in the clinic, for our injection class. Olga did a great job of making us feel comfortable with this less than desirable task. We started our injections – it was more difficult than we had imagined, but once we got going, it got better.

Dr. Givens started Shannon on birth control to catch her up to my cycle, and when the timing was right, she started on hormone shots. I started on fertility drugs. We moved right through the process. February arrived and it was time for my egg retrieval.

Dr. Chenette did the retrieval. He explained exactly what he would do – the eggs would be taken one by one and given to the lab for fertilization, that it would only take about 15 minutes, what the recovery would be like-very quick and little discomfort, and that in 3 days the fertilized eggs would be transferred into Shannon. I felt very much at ease with Dr. Chenette. Dr. Givens came in to tell us how many eggs had been retrieved and to make sure we were doing OK.

Dr. Chenette also did the embryo transfer. He explained what he was going to do – use a very small catheter to implant the embryo’s into Shannon’s uterus, what she would feel-very little, if anything, and what to do next. We had 6 eggs that could have been transferred to Shannon, and chose the best 4 – Dr Givens has suggested we transfer 4 embryos to give us a good chance at getting pregnant. We got to watch the transfer and it took all of about 5 minutes! Now it was just a “wait and see” period.

We went back for our pregnancy test 2 weeks after the egg transfer. It was positive!

We had our second pregnancy test 2 days after that, and it was confirmed – we were pregnant. Our next step was an ultrasound at 7 weeks. We had our last ultrasound at 9 weeks and were released to our obstetrician. Much to our dismay, we miscarried.

We are going to try again and wouldn’t think of going anywhere else. We are so happy to have worked with such professional and caring people. The staff at Pacific Fertility Center is a fantastic and knowledgeable group and we would absolutely recommend them to anyone who is looking for a fertility clinic.

– Sara and Shannon

After four years of trying to have children we were beginning to lose hope. At 36 and 48 years of age we knew we didn’t have unlimited time to keep trying.

Our journey began with high tech ovulation monitors, hoping for the best every 28 days. We lost faith more than once, struggling through the monthly disappointments. Eventually we went for fertility testing – sperm count and motility for him, ovary and uterine health for me. Everything looked fine. Still no results.

Next we sought out a Naturopath. More tests plus a daily regime of herbal remedies. No luck. Then we turned to our trusted OB for a round of IUI – what we affectionately called the “turkey baster”. Still no results. Next we looked to Eastern medicine and engaged an acupuncturist specializing in infertility. More herbs. Every day. No results. Finally, in the summer of 2004, we began researching Bay Area fertility clinics. We assumed it would be the last step in our journey, either way.

In September 2004 we began working with PFC and embarked on our first round of IVF. Scott learned to give shots, and Cara dutifully produced five eggs of various sizes, only two of which turned into embryos, both of very low quality. We hoped for the best but knew the chances were minimal. The pregnancy test ten days later confirmed we weren’t pregnant. It was disappointing, to say the least.

We met with Dr. Ryan and discussed what to expect for our second round. If we had a similar experience in round two, which was likely, we needed to consider the alternative of an egg donor. This was not good news. To learn that IVF may not allow us to have our own children was extremely discouraging. We took several months off to prepare for the second round. We felt it might be our “last chance” of having a baby that was biologically ours.

In January 2005 we started our second round at PFC with a modified stimulation protocol. This time Cara produced eight eggs, two of which became “viable” embryos and a third that was marginal. Even though the two viable embryos were “Grade 2” and were only six or seven cells, they were at least considered “reasonable.” We hoped, prayed, and tried to remain calm and positive.

Then the “magic” began. Within a few days of the egg retrieval Cara had a dream we would have twin babies – a girl and a boy. And a week before our first pregnancy test a close friend dreamt we were pregnant. Then his wife announced she had a premonition we were going to have twins. We stayed hopeful.

After ten days of waiting we received the results of our pregnancy test, and it was positive! Plus Cara’s hCG level was high enough to indicate there could be more than one “bun in the oven.” At our 6 week ultrasound we announced to Dr. Ryan that we had twins (before the ultrasound). When she found two embryos (7mm and 9mm long) with two happy heartbeats, it was as if we were being told something we already felt we knew.

We are now entering our 4th month of pregnancy. Every day we envision our babies being born healthy and happy. We are so grateful to Dr. Ryan, the entire PFC staff, and the many people that have supported our journey. We remain in awe of both medical technology and the magic of the universe for helping us to create two new lives.

– Cara and Scott France, Pacifica, CA

My infertility journey started when I was only 17. I was diagnosed with endometriosis and underwent my first laparoscopy. I had temporarily relief and then my symptoms returned. I tried various alternative treatments but they too offered only temporarily relief. This was not the life that I wanted to have as a young adult who wanted to have children more than anything in the world.

Surgery after surgery, specialist after specialist, my quality of life was slowly going down the drain. Initially, I told doctors that I didn’t want to have a hysterectomy but later, something had changed. I was eight surgeries into my journey and I asked my doctor if I could have just my uterus removed so I could still try and have a biological child. He said yes and I was quite relieved. After the surgery, I felt better for a while, but the pain still continued. I had to evaluate my life and decide what was important to me. I knew I wanted to live, but the pain had me in and out of the hospital and often times feeling suicidal. I had no other choice but to have my ovaries removed.

Luckily, I thought about freezing embryos and called Pacific Fertility Center. I met with Dr. Isabelle Ryan and she changed my life. My boyfriend and I knew we wanted to get married and I was on a limited time line until I had my ovaries removed. We only had one chance to do this and we were determined to do it right. We underwent one cycle of In Vitro Fertilization and froze all of our embryos. We froze our embryos at a 2PN stage* per Dr. Conaghan and Dr. Ryan’s request. This would help our chances of having them thaw better but we don’t know how they will turn out. We were willing to take that chance.

Two weeks later, I had my ovaries removed and then felt I was ready to move on with my life. My boyfriend and I got engaged and together dealt with the loss of having me carry our child. In our counseling session with Peggy Orlin, MFT at Pacific Fertility Center, we talked about what if a gestational cycle didn’t work. We knew that we would be parents no matter what and if it wasn’t our biological child we could be ok with that.

From time to time, I still grieve the loss of being pregnant, but know that I did everything that I could. Since then we have gotten married and have been offered the opportunity of a lifetime. A dear friend has said that she would like to carry our child. She has restored our faith in humanity. What an offer!

As we are working out the details, we are thankful for her commitment to us and our journey. We will transfer some of our embryos into our gestational carrier and hope for the best. Dr. Ryan and all of the staff at Pacific Fertility Center have been so supportive of us that we can’t wait to come back when we are ready to do our transfer.
Anonymous, San Francisco

* A note from Laboratory Director Joe Conaghan, PhD:
Embryos can be frozen at different stages of development, usually 1, 3 or 5 days after oocyte retrieval. In general, the earlier they are frozen, the better they tolerate the freezing process. Embryos frozen on day 1, or at the 2 pro-nuclei stage, survive freezing and thawing at a rate over 95%.

After trying “au natural” for several years, we were told to try clomid a few times… no luck. We were then told to try IUI but we decided against it. We always felt we had plenty of time but Daphne, my wife, had turned 36, and we knew we had to get serious.

Following a battery of tests, our picture went from bad to bleak. First we learned that my sperm count is lower than average, so I felt horrible. Then we learned that Daphne has endometriosis. So it was her turn to feel bad. You sort of feel like you’re letting the other one down.

Our OB/GYN decided we needed a specialized facility, and referred us to Pacific Fertility Center.

One of our toughest days was our first trip to San Francisco, a four-hour drive. We didn’t know anyone there. We went through the convolutions of testing and more testing and deciding to undergo IVF. And then minor surgery. This was in the middle of the holidays; Daphne felt sick, and we began thinking of all the expenses we had incurred just to get to that point. We felt like our lives were out of control. Standing on Pier 39, I wondered whether we could continue, and I said, “I don’t know if we can do this!” Daphne just looked haunted. She didn’t say a word.

Daphne was so meant to be a mother. At one point I started feeling desperate for her. Another mother in line at a grocery store yelled at her child, taking it all for granted. It just made us wonder why? Why them and not us? It made Daphne absolutely miserable.

During these tough times we would be comforted when we entered the doors of the center and felt a sense protection, as if people were putting their arms around us. We began to turn it around and started enjoying ourselves in the City while dealing with medication shots and appointments. We didn’t look back – and then it came time for the retrieval.

Just before Daphne was to receive the anesthesia, Dr. Schriock, with his soft-spoken mild manner came over to check in with us, and held her hand. That really touched her. If you’re going to go through something like this, you couldn’t ask for somebody more understanding. Whether they know it or not, the PFC physicians and nurses, and Joe come across as caring people before professionals, even though I know they’re experts.

We didn’t break any records; I think we barely made 10 embryos, but that gave us enough to use and freeze. Plus, they looked good.

After an agonizing wait, the news on our IVF cycle was negative.

We were disheartened, but Daphne quickly rebounded and we went right into our 2nd cycle – a frozen transfer. Again, the transfer, the waiting and again, negative.

Those were very black days. You feel part of a populace, but everyone is moving on and you’re not. You feel so alone. We were struggling so hard on an activity that should have been so natural. We were hostages to so many unknown factors.

We went on and did a 3rd try, again using our frozen embryos. We were fully prepared to be disappointed. After the transfer and the wait, the testing lab in Fresno drew her blood and by the time we got to our home close to Yosemite, the phone rang almost immediately. I was ready, standing next to my wife, forming the words that would comfort her, but instead she looked at me and gave me a thumbs-up!

From that time on, we were even more guarded than before… at least for a while. We were almost too afraid to tell people but we surprise-visited Daphne’s parents with a cake that said “We’re Pregnant!”

Tessa is now nearly two. Of course, you see children, and you know they’re considered perfect. But Tessa is the most photographed and beautiful baby, and she has a personality that just won’t stop.

We’re hoping to give Tessa a sibling soon with our remaining frozen embryos.

I now look back and see it kind of empirically – Tessa was one of the strongest embryos, and since being born, she hasn’t had any problems: no sniffles, no flu, not even a hiccup. So we didn’t just get a baby, she really is one of those babies!

– Randy Cohlan

My story has a very happy ending. And I’ll start with the ending first. My husband and I have a beautiful girl who will turn two in September and are pregnant with our second child who is due late this year. We feel that this would not have been possible without the expertise of a fertility specialist and, specifically, Dr. Givens.

Four years ago my husband and I decided that we were finally ready to have children. We had been together for over ten years. When we decided to start to try to get pregnant and I stopped taking the pill, we anticipated it might take a few months for my period to start and my cycle to become regular. After many months, I had not had my period and was still not pregnant. Still, we optimistically had sex, thinking that I might get pregnant even without having my period. We had heard and read that it was possible. More months went by. I spoke to my gynecologist who said that it might take a while. Still more months went by.

After almost a year, I went back to my gynecologist to try to uncover what was going on. She advised that I could start taking Clomid to assist with the pregnancy. My understanding was that I would not be able to take Clomid indefinitely until I got pregnant, and I wanted to understand the underlying problem and diagnose it before I started taking drugs. Luckily for us, I had a family member who was able to advise us to seek help from a fertility specialist and even found out the names of the top specialists in San Francisco. I then found out that before I could see one, I would need to jump through a series of hoops. The first one was to try to get my doctor to identify the right tests I would need to take to get the referral to the specialists. After many phone calls to my doctor’s office and insurance company, I was finally able to identify and take the right tests. This took a couple of more months, after which I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

The diagnosis was frightening to me at first. As it turned out, I had a mild case, and it did not interfere with my ability to get pregnant. Rather, Dr. Givens identified a very simple but elegant way to help me. She prescribed Clomid and monitored my ovulation. I was not able to detect ovulation with a home test, but Dr. Givens could see the egg maturing with ultrasounds. At the critical point, when I was about to ovulate, Dr. Givens prescribed a shot of HCG and said that my husband and I could have intercourse in the next 48 hours. It worked. This same approach worked with both pregnancies on the first cycle. We are fortunate to have found an excellent doctor and cannot underestimate the power of the expertise of Dr. Givens.

– LK (name withheld upon author’s request)

Once women with polycystic ovarian syndrome are successfully induced to ovulate with medications such as Clomid, it is likely that pregnancy will follow, if all else is normal. Sometimes Clomid alone will not work and ultrasound monitoring and appropriate timing of hCG injections will complete the ovulatory process. My patient, LK, is young and she only needed a little extra help to ovulate. She was very fortunate to conceive on the first try with both of her pregnancies. It is more typical that it may take 3-6 cycles of ovulation induction to achieve a pregnancy. Nonetheless, we are delighted that LK was able to have her family with a relatively low-tech approach.

– Carolyn Givens, MD

After three failed IVF attempts, my partner, whom I’ll call “Sam”, and I decided to go the egg donor route. The choice actually reduced the degree of frenetic attention we had been paying to our “baby project”. All along, we had been racing against my biological clock as I went from age 38 to 41 with only disappointing results, including one early miscarriage. Curiously, our decision to use a donor evoked a peculiar calmness as I realized that as long as we chose a young egg donor, I could be almost any age!

We then spent some time looking at the various donor databases, yet weren’t truly happy with any of the candidates. Not that we could define the perfect donor profile, but none of the women felt just right. So I let our “baby project” sit on the back burner as life moved on, thinking autumn would be a good time to resume.

Given that the entire process can take up to three months, this past July, without too much expectation, I casually made a 2nd appointment to view PFC’s binders, which contain photos and essays of each egg donor. I was fully prepared to go through the motions and leave without finding the “right one” but one particular donor’s profile just leapt out.

Her photographs revealed a woman who just beamed with exuberance and yet seemed grounded. Other positive indicators included a completed college degree and a job in a field that interests me. Her intelligence, focus and motivation were good signals. I also noticed we shared the same favorite color, and had both played the flute and piano at one point.

A second woman, with a closer ethnic background also emerged as a good candidate. At age 21 she already had a child but no college whatsoever. I decided to return home with both profiles so that Sam could have some buy-in on our choice, although I had quietly decided on my favorite.

When Sam wholeheartedly chose my favorite, I felt an enormous wave of relief. The process started feeling less like an abstraction and I posted her portraits on my bulletin board and looked at her face on a daily basis. Her smile was actually encouraging and I grew increasingly comfortable with the notion of using her eggs and having her genetic material in my body and baby. After all, I am in a sense fusing with her.

We then had to decide whether to meet our donor. Sam opted out but I reluctantly decided yes. No doubt, the meeting would be awkward and my biggest fear was that I might change my mind after discovering an undesirable trait!

But the mediated 45-minute meeting went well and felt relatively natural even though there was a drastic limitation to our conversation. Imagine making small talk and not being able to say much about work, home and so forth! Her quiet and reserved demeanor offset my nervous energy, and she just let me babble on. I enjoyed hearing her mention a few anecdotal points about her own childhood, giving me a good sense of her family past. We agreed that it would be a good idea to meet again at some far-off point, if a child indeed developed. I definitely got the impression that she would respect boundaries and she affirmed this.

Soon we’ll know if our donor relationship is truly successful and results in a pregnancy. Sam and I have high expectations. He likes the favorable odds and I like the donor, so we hope for the best.

– JMT / San Francisco (name withheld upon author’s request)

We are the parents of a little boy with a rare, life-threatening, enzymatic disorder. He inherited this condition through genetic mutations passed along to him by us. Caused by a recessive genetic defect, neither of us is affected in anyway as we are simply “carriers” of this disease. Once we were determined to be carriers, however, we learned that should we conceive another child naturally, there is a 25-percent chance that we will have another affected child.

It had always been our plan to have more than one child. However, as we began to discuss the possibility of having a second baby, we both realized that given the physical, emotional and financial costs of being affected by this disorder, we were not comfortable with consciously bringing another child into the world without doing everything we possibly could do to avoid this for any other child.

Embryo Biopsy

After two years of extensive pre-conception counseling, we decided in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) through Pacific Fertility Center would give us the best possible chance of giving birth to an unaffected child.

A medical technique whereby embryos can be screened for specific genetic defects prior to transfer to the womb, PGD has been performed for over 10 years and has proven to be a most effective method of diagnosing embryos for known genetic mutations. To-date there have been over 2500 PGDs performed around the world resulting in over 1600 children born without the disease for which they were screened. The error rate for PGD is less than two-percent; therefore, PGD would reduce our chance of having an affected child from 25% to less than 2%.

A little over a year ago we began our IVF with PGD Embryo Biopsy cycle. On Day 3 after retrieval, when our embryos were eight-cells or so in size, a single cell was biopsied from each embryo. These cells then were sent to a lab where the single cell from each embryo was tested for the genetic defect in question. We then transferred two embryos pre-determined to be unaffected by the disorder. In October of last year, we welcomed to the world our miraculous bundle of joy, an – unaffected – little boy.

– Name withheld upon request

My husband and I were married for 6 years before we started trying to have a baby, and essentially got pregnant on the first attempt. Unfortunately, I miscarried in the second month. Our doctor told us not to worry; we tried again, got pregnant again, and miscarried early again. We still weren’t particularly worried, but had some tests performed and nothing in particular seemed to be inhibiting fertility. Over the next 5 years we went through phases of trying and not trying as we moved twice to accommodate dual careers, worked with 3 different fertility specialists in 2 states, negotiated a variety of insurance policies, endured the gamut of fertility tests, and suffered 3 more early miscarriages. Along the way I also struggled with mild depression, and guilt that perhaps the stress and travel associated with my job was the culprit, but we generally remained optimistic that we would someday have a baby.

Gradually we attempted more intense treatments, from Clomid to ovulation induction injections to intrauterine insemination (IUI). When our second IUI attempt failed last spring, our hopes really started to fade. I was 36, and while my husband and I are blessed with the resources to try several assisted fertility cycles, there were limits to what we could withstand financially and emotionally. Although I liked my doctor (a specialist at a teaching hospital), the support staff seemed to be in flux, the office environment had a high chaos factor, and I didn’t feel as though my particular case was significant to them.

On the recommendation of my primary care physician, I set up a consultation with Pacific Fertility Center and met with Dr. Ryan. I was immediately encouraged by the thorough review of my history and finally felt that someone was really listening to me, unfortunately this is not a given with all practices. After discussing a range of options it was crystal clear to me that we should try IVF with PGD, in order to screen the embryos (since we had experienced so many early miscarriages). We figured even if PGD told us that none of the embryos were viable, at least we would have valuable information about our next steps.

We embarked on a cycle of IVF this past winter, and with each successful step of the cycle, were amazed and encouraged. When the results of PGD came in we found that the majority of our embryos had a chromosomal abnormality, but several also appeared perfectly normal. We transferred 3 embryos, and I’m delighted to report that I’m now in the 5th month of my pregnancy (one baby, a boy, due in August). So 6 years after we began our quest for a baby we see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, and it is an amazing feeling. We can’t thank PFC enough for their combination of expertise and compassion. They restored our confidence and hope.

– Name withheld upon request

After my husband and I learned that we had no chance to become pregnant by natural means, we began to investigate IVF/TESE (sperm obtained by biopsy of the testes) with ICSI (Intracytoplasmic sperm injection) as a way to realize our dream of starting a family. We expected the procedures to be challenging to our bodies, minds, and finances.

We were also concerned about the frequency of twin and triplet births with IVF. As much as we hoped to have a child, we wanted to do everything we could to provide the best start for our child-to-be. We wanted to optimize our chances for a healthy full-term singleton pregnancy, natural childbirth, and breastfeeding, if we could become pregnant.

Dr. Carolyn Givens patiently answered our many questions about IVF and embryo cryopreservation and supported us when we made a choice that was quite unusual at the time: we requested that only one embryo be placed in my uterus during the IVF cycle and that any remaining embryos be frozen. I was 34 at the time and had never been pregnant.

Eight-cell embryo

We had the exceptional fortune that our first IVF/ICSI cycle in August of 1997 produced 13 beautiful embryos, and our transfer of a single fresh 3-day-old embryo during that cycle resulted in the birth of our son Benjamin nine months later.

I was still breastfeeding Ben in 2001 when we decided to try for a second pregnancy. Dr. Givens transferred a single 8-cell frozen embryo during an unmedicated natural cycle. We had explained to Ben that there was a little, little baby in Mommy’s tummy that we hoped might grow to be his brother or sister. About a week after the transfer, Ben said, “Mommy, the little, little baby in your tummy is crying.” A few days later, my period began, and I felt like crying too.

The next month, Dr. Givens transferred another frozen embryo, also without medication. Ben thought this embryo was happy, and he was right: she grew to be his sister Charlotte.

When we were considering the choice to have our embryos transferred one at a time, we were glad to learn that the expense of frozen embryo transfers was only a small fraction of that for the IVF/ICSI procedures. I found embryo transfers performed by Dr. Givens to be gentle and comfortable. Dr. Givens’ respect for our individual preferences made our infertility treatments a very positive experience. Our children have brought us unimaginable happiness.

– Camille, Redwood City

Most couples going through IVF or frozen embryo transfer choose to transfer at least two embryos in order to improve the chances of conception with any one embryo transfer procedure. As Camille’s story indicates, however, in younger patients with nice embryo quality and overall good chances for success, electing to transfer a single embryo is a viable option to avoid the risks of multiple gestation pregnancy. It also illustrates the benefits of embryo cryopreservation for having more than one child with a single IVF stimulation cycle.

– Carolyn Givens, MD