Elise Hussey on Conceiving via IVF
Would you tell us about your journey to parenthood via IVF, and the reactions you received along the way?
To this day when I tell people that my daughters were conceived via IVF, I get all sorts of reactions, most of them unasked for and almost always misinformed. Often, people will say "Oh I'm so sorry I had no idea you were going through all that," without really knowing what "all that" means.
The sentiment is there, but it reveals a dangerous mindset that the general population has about in-vitro fertilization. I think it's become standard to assign the role of long-suffering woman to the mothers going through IVF, when in reality, we are some of the strongest mothers in the world. I like to think of us as having an extended motherhood; we start learning about patience, hormone surges, financial planning, and teamwork with our partners long before the first positive pregnancy test.
Would you share a little more about your IVF experience?
My husband and I had a very positive IVF experience. We enjoyed getting to know our nurses, the encouraging phone calls saying that our levels were improving, the ultrasounds to count eggs. We would wear skeleton t-shirts to the surgeries and pass out candy eggs at the retrievals- we figured we might as well enjoy getting pregnant one way or another!
I will never be ashamed to tell anyone that I used IVF to conceive my daughters. When the girls are older and ask about such things, I will proudly tell them "I wanted you and loved you before you were even born," and I will have the receipts to prove it.
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