Jess
Natural Conception
Jess’s Story: Natural Conception
I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer two weeks after my 28th birthday. I chose to have a bilateral mastectomy and knew that I wouldn’t be able to breastfeed a child, which was really upsetting. But then they told me the chemotherapy would also impact my fertility. That was a blow. I tried my best to just focus on getting better, beating cancer, and staying hopeful that one day I would be able to have a baby of my own.
It was a long road, but I had my surgery, did the chemo, and finally finished Tamoxifen. I was in the clear for getting pregnant. I went to a fertility specialist to have a full check-up. I was eager to find out what my fertility status was. I already knew that a woman’s fertility starts to go down as she ages, but I had no idea how much my treatment may have further impacted my own ability to have children. I was really anxious leading up to the appointment.
I met with the fertility specialist and had a complete evaluation. They did blood tests to check my hormone levels and an ultrasound to check my ovaries and uterus. The results came back saying that I had a lower egg count than what they would expect a woman my age to have. I was still ovulating, but it was impossible to know if the quality of my eggs was any good. We discussed the reality of me getting pregnant with my medical history and fertility status. We also discussed my options for using in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get pregnant using my eggs or using a donor’s eggs. There was a lot to think about.
My partner and I discussed our options. Even though I had a low egg count, we decided to try the old-fashioned way and see what happened. I knew my “biological clock” was ticking and that it might not work. But we figured, why not give it a shot?
I did a lot of research to understand my menstrual cycle and timing of ovulation. I downloaded an app to help me track my cycle and predict my “most fertile” days. I learned how to recognize when my body was about to ovulate. We timed our sex to match up with those days as best we could and hoped for the best.
We did this for about five months. There were days that I felt really discouraged. Month after month of negative pregnancy tests – it was hard to stay optimistic. But I committed to a strict self-care routine – eating healthy, getting enough sleep, exercising, seeing friends, and finding time to relax. I tried to stay positive and found support when I needed to. I talked to my partner about the things I was struggling with, but I also leaned on friends and talked to my mom. There were ups and downs, but we were making it through.
I almost couldn’t believe it. I am now seven months pregnant and everything is looking good. I have had a completely healthy pregnancy. In a lot of ways, we consider this our little miracle baby. There were some tough, gloomy days, but now it is all behind us. Now it’s time to get ready for this baby to come!