My (hopeful) pandemic pregnancy: Inside the world of IVF and COVID-19 — Its terrifying’ – KSAT San Antonio

Authors note: This is not MY personal story, per se, (despite the my pandemic pregnancy title), but a story told by our readers, week by week. Todays is shared by Sarah.*

You might have heard that being pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or delivering right about now is strange, in this age of coronavirus. But how? In what ways? Were going to show you -- with a different feature each week. To contribute your own experience, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this article and tap the link.

Going though in vitro fertilization, or IVF, under normal circumstances, can be a challenge, both mentally and physically -- and for some, thats phrasing it mildly.

Youre going in for bloodwork, sometimes every other day. Youre attending never-ending doctors appointments. Theres a ton on your mind and you just want everything to go well. Its an often-heavy process.

Take it from Sarah*, who asked that we not use her real name, for privacy reasons. Sarah is 32, married, and lives in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She didnt mince words when it came to describing her own IVF situation. Some examples:

Ugh. No one wants to hear of another human going through something like that.

So imagine then, that your support person, like in Sarahs case, her husband, is now unable to attend any of those painful procedures or appointments.

Its scary, Sarah said.

Its also unprecedented. Safe to say, no one assumed the globe would be gripped by a pandemic this year; a true health crisis -- and no one knows when things will return to normal.

But dont get her wrong: Sarah is grateful that shes able to proceed with IVF -- which, spoiler alert, she is. (More on that soon!)

She even added that the couple has decent insurance, and said for many, theyre not so lucky. Most insurance companies dont cover things like IVF, which can total as much as $40,000 for just one round.

But all that money talk, that feels stressful, too. Sarah said if she were to contract COVID-19, her cycle would be canceled. Thats a frightening thought, lingering over ones head.

So then youd be out money, time and pain, Sarah said. (Its like), is it worth it to be doing this?

Sarah has been knee-deep in all things IVF-related for much of the year. She began the journey and went through round one starting in February.

First up, she had two to three weeks of injections, to hopefully produce more eggs.

Sarah took the injections, and then doctors performed a surgery to retrieve her eggs. She said she got through it just fine.

Next, this is typically the time when, if you had any embryos that made it through the egg-retrieval process, the doctors will mix them with sperm, and then youd transfer.

For Sarah, this was when COVID-19 arrived in the United States and started becoming more and more of a growing concern.

She and her husband had ended up with one embryo, so the next step would be a second surgery to make sure nothing is blocking the implantation of said embryo.

But COVID hit right when I was scheduled to go in, Sarah said. So we decided to postpone (and) see how things would play out.

That felt frustrating for the couple, too.

Theyve been playing the waiting game for a long time -- married 6 years, and trying for a baby for about four of those years.

And we dont have a lot of time to wait, Sarah said. We dont want the issues (that led us to IVF in the first place) to get any worse, and were not getting any younger.

Sarah and her husband opted to move forward with the second surgery.

And with the coronavirus pandemic continuing, You had to go through it alone, when youre already scared, Sarah said.

Doctors were able to perform the transfer, but Sarahs husband wasnt allowed to attend.

The whole process is devastating, Sarah said. Youre getting ready to conceive a child and your husband cant even be there.

It was already a tense time.

Then, the couple learned that their embryo transfer failed.

You want answers right away, Sarah said. But doctors arent meeting. So you need to wait for a Zoom call. Youre not being able to see your results and youre not being able to get answers.

Having to survive the failed transfer during quarantine was really tough.

Most doctors (tell you) to stay busy and lean on your support system during all (the waiting), Sarah said.

Because indeed, there is a lot of waiting. More than you might imagine.

(When it comes to) waiting for results in IVF, theres waiting a week to find out if you were able to get any embryos after the first round of injections and egg retrieval surgery, Sarah said. (Then you wait) another two weeks after that for genetic testing on those embryos to see if they are viable, and then of course, the two weeks waiting to find out if youre pregnant after the embryo transfer to see if all your efforts worked.

And, considering coronavirus, Sarah said, all of the now-solo waiting felt especially challenging.

Youre just trapped at home and not able to stay busy to keep yourself mentally healthy, she recalled. I know for me, my friends and family have been my rock during these four years leading to IVF. ... Its been so hard, being isolated.

In discussing the future with Sarah, she sounds optimistic: Theres something cheerful in her tone, and shes so willing to open up and chat about all of this with a total stranger (editors note: which I so admire!)

She and her husband will try again. In fact, theyre set to start a second round of IVF in September.

Her husband has been one of her only comforts throughout this strange time, Sarah said, so she hopes she can have him present for more in-person appointments and procedures this time around. But the future remains incredibly uncertain.

We dont know whats going to happen, Sarah said. In an ideal world, Id probably wait. But with time constraints, you have to try.

Sarah and her husband will likely hole up a bit, leading up to their second IVF round. Luckily, they both have jobs that allow them to work from home. Its a seemingly small perk, but it becomes quite notable through all of this.

And then two weeks or so before the cycle, Sarah said, itll start: Theyll be extra cautious and they wont leave the house until its all over. Too much is at stake.

It makes sense.

Sarah said she wants to help show a different perspective when it comes to pregnancy.

After all, shes had just as many doctors appointments and stressors, if not more, than your average expecting mother.

I hope it helps others who are in the same boat, she said.

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My (hopeful) pandemic pregnancy: Inside the world of IVF and COVID-19 -- Its terrifying' - KSAT San Antonio