We Couldn't Believe It

I started seeing a doctor near where we lived, who began monitoring my cycle. Everything looked perfectly normal. I was devastated because despite continuing to try, nothing was happening. I was prescribed medication to improve ovulation, but still nothing.

Every pregnancy test brought hope, followed by anger, disappointment and tears when the result was negative. At one point, my husband had a semen analysis at a nearby laboratory, and when we received the results, we were told that everything was fine.

I studied in Białystok and had a cousin there who had tried to have a baby for ten years before Klinika Bocian helped her become pregnant. She encouraged me to make an appointment there. At first, I kept asking myself why we should go when my husband’s results were supposedly fine and mine were good too.

Eventually, I made the decision for both of us and booked an appointment at Klinika Bocian. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly we were able to get one.

On the day of our appointment, my hormone levels were checked, I had an ultrasound, and my husband had another semen analysis. He found the whole experience rather embarrassing and was a little shocked, but we managed to laugh about it together.

The results were ready within two hours, so we went to get something to eat while we waited. We returned to see Dr Mrugacz in fairly good spirits, although we were both nervous. My heart was pounding, and my husband was stressed too.

Dr Mrugacz told us that my results were excellent, but my husband’s semen parameters were very poor. The smiles quickly disappeared from our faces. My husband was deeply upset. The Doctor asked whether he had been experiencing significant stress or anything similar. As it happened, my husband was leaving his job at the time, although he didn’t feel particularly stressed about it.

Dr Mrugacz recommended that my husband take vitamins. They were quite expensive for us, especially since money was already tight and my husband was changing jobs.

We returned a month later to repeat the tests, hoping that things had improved. Once again, we waited two stressful hours for the results.

Then came the moment of truth.

We entered the Doctor’s office extremely nervous, and my heart was pounding. Unfortunately, my husband’s semen parameters were even worse. Dr Mrugacz explained that neither insemination nor trying to conceive naturally was likely to be successful in our situation.

My husband was devastated, and so was I. He admitted that deep down, he had somehow suspected that the problem might be on his side.

The Doctor told us that IVF was the remaining treatment option.

We were crushed. We had always thought that IVF was something that would never happen to us. At the time, it seemed completely beyond our reach. We can’t possibly afford it, we thought.

But I asked how much it would cost, and we learned that we qualified for the government-funded IVF programme, which meant our cost would be around PLN 3,000.

I immediately said that we wanted to try. I made the decision on the spot without discussing it with my husband first. The Doctor explained the basics to us, and later, once we were home and calmer, I read more about the procedure myself.

We went to another room where we could carefully read through the agreement and the other documents. My husband was extremely upset and angrily said that we were supposed to think about it first, whereas I had immediately made the decision for both of us. I explained that signing the documents didn’t mean we had to begin straight away – we could start whenever we felt ready.

But it was a very difficult moment. We both started crying.

We had never imagined that this would happen to us.

About a month later, once we had had time to process everything and arrange the money, we began the IVF procedure.

It wasn’t easy. I felt unwell, gave myself medication while I was at work and pretended that everything was fine. At the same time, I was preparing to defend my master’s thesis. The injections frightened us, and my husband found it very difficult to watch me go through all of this.

There were moments when I felt completely overwhelmed. I wasn’t feeling well, and on top of everything else, I had to study for my thesis defense. But I managed.

I produced a large number of eggs during stimulation. I think the most difficult part was the egg retrieval because it was performed under anesthesia. I felt unwell afterward, but my husband stayed by my side the entire time and supported me enormously.

Finally, the day of the embryo transfer arrived.

My cousin had warned us not to expect our first attempt to be successful. Then came the day we had been waiting for so impatiently – the day of the pregnancy test.

Deep down, I felt that it had worked because my breasts were sore. Then again, I thought, that sometimes happens before my period too.

I took the test and…

A faint second line appeared.

I was overjoyed, but my husband still couldn’t quite believe it. I went for a blood test, and it confirmed that I was pregnant.

Our very first attempt had worked. We simply couldn’t believe it.

And today, we have a beautiful little daughter.

Thank you!