IVF and our ITA decision
Not long after Will was placed in March 1999, we thought we should investigate the possibility of getting into the IVF program and going for a girl. So, we were accepted, had all the counselling, then the genetic counselling.....and had a favourable WORLD-FIRST decision from the ITA (Infertility Treatment Authority) to gender-select to reduce our chances of an autistic child (four out of five being boys and especially given our stats).
I went through a course, which I found unobtrusive to be honest. Sticking a needle in my tum on a daily basis was no big deal. At the end of the month, they managed to pick up three eggs, but, even though my tests showed that I wasn't premenopausal and David was fine, the team had to use ICSI to fertilise them. (when they inject a single sperm into each egg)
The upshot was that we ended up with three eggs; two were male and the female one was an anomaly incompatible with life...so we didn't go ahead with implantation. We were given the OK to go again but we decided to let nature take its course......the IVF team were in doubt that I would ever conceive, as they had to use the ICSI technique.....so we were deemed technically infertile, I guess! When I actually became pregnant at 46, I was utterly shocked and so were the team. It was so unexpected. I had CVS early on and knew I was carrying a boy with normal genes....so I thought that I would take the risk, knowing that at least I had a choice NOT to vaccinate till much later....to give him a fighting chance.
© Debs 2003