WHAT IS THE TRUTH ABOUT IVF BABIES?

I almost forgot how some people reacted when I said “I have children from IVF”.

There are different groups of people:

CONFUSED

From such people I get a very strong feeling that in vitro is a foreign word to them. Moreover, they do not associate the IVF process with doctors, the development of medicine and the huge success of infertility treatment. The confused group listened in disbelief to my stories about the creation of Embryo, as if it was associated with some deviation from humanity, black magic.

Also continue to bombard me with questions about how it mixes and how it might develop there. They expect me to answer the same questions as the doctor. They want to hear all the details, from hormone treatment to delivery.

Since I know the entire IVF regimen by heart, I try to respond and expand their view on this topic a bit.

After an extensive conversation about conceiving children using IVF I heard:

“Wow, your babies look so normal, like they didn’t come from IVF.”
At first, I thought I had misheard, but the other person’s answer:
“I’ve seen Marta’s children, they look just like all the others.”

Damn, sometimes I wonder if we haven’t gone back to the Stone Age.


How can you have such thoughts that children from IVF are not normal, different from others, etc?

I thought that there had already been so much news about artificial insemination that it was no longer a controversial topic, but I was so wrong.

OPTIMISTIC

Some of them want to try IVF, but they also want to keep it a secret, so they ask carefully. The big difference is that they show interest in the IVF process within the first few minutes. They don’t ask questions about the smallest details that only doctors know the answer to. These are people – most often couples – who already have extensive knowledge on this subject, but at the same time want to hear more from another woman.

I love conversations like this. I’ve also noticed that I don’t have to know someone for long to help better describe my personal experiences. I fully support couples in this process. If there is a chance to have a child despite infertility, we should definitely take advantage of it.

I humbly add that I wasn’t that brave the first time either. If it weren’t for wonderful doctors, I would also have postponed the possibility of in vitro. For me it looked like this:

1. first visit to the clinic,
2. the doctor counted the days of my period,
3. gave me the first hormonal injections,
4. made an appointment for another visit.

While still in the elevator, I couldn’t believe what had really happened and how it would unfold.

From the perspective of time this immediate action was the best solution for me during my first IVF treatment. I agreed to the second in vitro without any delay or disbelief.

And from this point of view, I share my knowledge on this subject with others, whether family members or friends. I lacked this information when I was diagnosed with fertility problems.
https://littlepuzzlesandme.com/dorothy-my-special-gift/

IN VITRO VERSUS NATURAL CONCEPTION

I didn’t want to make such a distinction between two types of parents, but unfortunately, situations keep showing me that such a division exists.

Of course, there is nothing to write here about love for children, because like all other parents, parents of IVF children are wonderful, over-protective, and overly loving. And it is nice to hear from couples that advanced medicine has helped them achieve the greatest happiness in life – a child.

I would kindly ask you, dear parents of natural conception, not to jump on us with this kind of stories:

“The first child will be created using the in vitro method, and with the second one you won’t even know how and when, and boom, you will get pregnant naturally.”
Or
“Don’t worry, honey, how many couples are there who didn’t work out with their first child, and then went on vacation and boom, of course, with the second one, naturally.”

Please, leave such opinions to yourself, because infertility is a civilization disease and no vacation or first child will lead to the miracle that happened to the Virgin Mary.

I don’t know where such examples appeared. I have both children through in vitro. And in the meantime, I had a miscarriage, so with all due respect, holidays, stress, better nutrition, fresh air, or whatever else people suggested to me, didn’t help.

Depending on the country and culture, knowledge about in vitro fertilization is more or less developed. I could write more about this, but that’s another post.

Finally, I will only add that I wholeheartedly support couples struggling with infertility and I admire your courage and determination. My IVF treatment was a painful process of hormone injections, miscarriage, loss of hope and doubts, but the whole process led to a wonderful, amazing ending – the birth of a child… and then another…