…from a reader
I tried for a baby for 5 years. It’s a long process because there are so many steps you have to take to rule out various problems.
First and foremost, and by far the easiest procedure is testing the sperm. Although guys will never agree that it’s any easy thing to do because it is humiliating but they get bragging rights when the test reports active swimmers!
I had a laparoscope inserted through my belly button, to look for blockages and everything looked normal. There was no apparent reason for my infertility. Back then, we didn’t have ovulation testing, which would have made my wait much shorter because that was my problem. After 2 ½ years of trying on our own I started having Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) injections, to induce ovulation.
The one thing we missed, was talking about my cycle length. Ovulation occurs 14 days before the start of your monthly cycle, which in a 28 day cycle is on the 14th day after your period ends. It is commonly known that women ovulate on the 14th day. I had a 32 day cycle, so my ovulation occurred 4 days later, and for the year we were sent away to try on our own, me missed the mark every month.
One doctor told me that living below sea level, which I did, was a contributing factor. However, I have never read anything to support this. Eventually I fell pregnant and had my first child after 5 years. My second child took another year of hCG injections.
The whole process can cause much stress on your relationship and it can cause depression. For me, I felt guilty going into baby stores, I felt like a thief who had no right to be there because I wasn’t pregnant. I hated knowing that friends and family were reluctant to share news of their pregnancy, for fear of hurting my feelings, which it did. Most of all I hated reminding my husband that tonight was the night.
After two children I relocated from the UK to the USA, were I fell pregnant 3 more times with no intervention whatsoever…. go figure, it’s not an exact science.