Welcome! This is a special post that is dedicated to all of YOU out there who want to share your story to inspire other women who are on the long road to baby. It is also dedicated to all of you out there who are struggling with infertility and need to read inspirational stories about baby journey success!
You might have unexplained infertility or you might have a diagnosis like High FSH, endometriosis, Low AMH, blocked tubes, PCOS, or another fertility related condition. And, darn it, you want to read about women who got pregnant anyway! Or maybe you want to read about women who decided that adoption was their path to a miracle. Well, either way, you’ve come to the right spot.
AND, if you have gotten pregnant or found your miracle baby another way after struggling with infertility, please leave your story in the comments. Leave whatever you feel like- a short synopsis, or a lengthy story. Your story can give other women hope for years to come.
Maybe you were unable to get pregnant and then you found this website or you read a book like It All Starts with the Egg, and you made sweeping lifestyle and diet changes and got pregnant naturally.
Or maybe after multiple failed IVFs you finally did that egg-health diet or that crucial mind-body work that helped you succeed and make beautiful juicy sticky embryos.
Or maybe you have the baby you’ve always dreamed for and you found them another way- through donor eggs, donor embryo, surrogacy, or adoption.
Tell us your inspirational story below in the comments and give the women who come after you encouragement!
If you have a blog or a website where you go into more depth on your success story, please feel free to share it in the comments!
My story: My husband and I had been trying for 2 years and had suffered multiple early losses (chemical pregnancies and miscarriages). I was diagnosed with High FSH (34 was the highest measured), Low AMH (undetectable was the lowest measured), Endometriosis, Low Antral Follicle Counts, Diminished Ovarian Reserve, and MTHFR mutation (single). My husband had good sperm. We were both 32 at the time.
The doctors said I was a poor candidate for IVF and offered me donor eggs. I asked for one shot at IVF if I could lower my FSH to a number they liked. This was in August. The doctor agreed and said he would do Day 3 testing (including FSH) through December. After that it was donor eggs or nothing. My husband and I went all in. I did everything- acupuncture, Chinese herbs, hypnosis, fertility diet, ditched toxins, yoga, and much, much, more (read all 79 diet and lifestyle changes I made here!).
It worked. I lowered my FSH to 12, but I never got to try IVF because I was pregnant naturally. I found out at the end of September. Our miracle arrived in May 2015.
(For those of you who are math obsessed, I had actually started doing ALL THE THINGS in July- I just didn’t have the negotiation with my doctor until August.)
My update: In April 2017 I started the egg health fertility diet again, along with the supplements and mind-body work. In May 2017 I stopped nursing. In June 2017 I went back to acupuncture and started Chinese herbs again. I got pregnant in July very, very late in my cycle (estimated ovulation CD 26/27), and am due in April 2018! Two miracle babies for the woman who was told her eggs were duds!
You can read my full story in my introductory blog post here.
Scroll below to read all the comments and be inspired by other women’s stories of success!
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Anna Rapp is a fertility journalist and non-toxic living expert. When Anna Rapp was struggling with infertility and recurrent early miscarriage, she was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve, High FSH, low AMH, low follicle count, endometriosis, and an MTHFR mutation. Despite being told donor eggs were her only solution, Anna used her graduate training in research methods and analysis to read everything she could find on fertility and egg health. Ultimately, she lowered her FSH and got pregnant naturally (twice). She blogs about how she did it and encourages her readers to take charge of their fertility journey and get happy, healthy, and pregnant!
Dear Anna,
Thank you for so many helpful tips and suggestions to conceive. Also, thank you for sharing your own journey. You have been my inspiration for my fertility journey. A number of things that I read in your blog posts helped me immensely — meditation and visualising the baby in my hands, dream journals, healthy and fresh eating habits and detoxifiying the kitchen were among those that contributed to my fertility journey. I did do IVF to conceive and I now have a beautiful little girl. Your advice made a huge difference. I had an earlier miscarriage (within 6 weeks of pregnancy) and when I read your post about your experience, I felt that I wasn’t alone. Till then, I kept wondering why that happened to me. So, here is a big THANK YOU and GOOD LUCK to continue the good work that you have been doing. I am sure it takes immense effort and time to work on something like this along with a job and a baby.
Thanks once again
Thank you so much for sharing Puja!!!
Hi, my name is Sara and I want to share my success story to help others out there. I deal with secondary infertility, my first son was conceived very easily, we weren’t even trying, so we figured when trying for the second one, it would be the same. After a few months of not getting pregnant I was worried, but my husband wasn’t concerned. Our son at the time was around a year and half, so not too much time in-between trying to conceive. I knew I had to wait at least 6 months before heading to the doctor because I was over 35. After going to the OB/GYN I was diagnosed with DOR and referred to a fertility specialist. I have low AMH 0.67 and high FSH 13.67, this was in October of 2016. I joined a few IVF and infertility groups on Facebook and thru them I learned a lot and got the book It Starts with an Egg and started doing a few of the things the book suggested, taking supplements, changed my diet a little and started changing the products I used on my body and within our house. I also had my husband do the same, I felt it couldn’t hurt and his sperm was fine except his morphology was a little off, but wanted him to retest to confirm, but we didn’t do that. The RE I was working with was fine if I started the next cycle with IVF, but through reading the book and other research I did, I felt I needed to give my body 3/4 months before we did IVF. This was a one shot for us, so I wanted to do it the right way. We were paying for this 100% our self. So through taking supplements, changing my diet (cut out carbs and sugars), changing the products we used in our house and on our body, I did yoga for IVF, I also went to acupuncture weekly, and had my husband take supplements and changed his products too, I felt we could do IVF February or March of 2017. I also researched about a priming cycle to help with egg quality, so in February of 2017 I did a prime cycle with estrogen and HGH. My FSH was down to an 7.6 that February through the changes I had made. Then I stimmed in March of 2017 and FSH was 8.1, still good, felt it may have went up a little due to the prime cycle. I had 11 follicles and out of the 11 I had 8 mature eggs and 7 fertilized, 1 fertilized on its own. We did a freeze all because my lining was too thick for a fresh transfer. All 7 were frozen on days 5/6. I did a frozen transfer in April and it worked! I only transferred one embryo, so now I have 6 frozen. I couldn’t believe the success I had after what my numbers and the doctor said. I am expecting this baby any day now and can’t wait to meet it!!
Never in my wildest dreams did I see that coming, and to say the last six years have been a crazy roller coaster is an understatement. Like many of us do, hubby and I ticked things off our bucket list (blissfully unaware that we would hit a road block!) and at 30 decided it was time to start trying to have a baby. What followed was months of nothing except growing desperation, anxiety and hoplessness. On Valentines Day 2013 we then found ourselves at a fertility clinic. Tests, more tests, ovulation inductions, IUI’s and then, the big guns, IVF. With a moderate case of OHSS, I hobbled into the clinic, to receive the incredible news that we had fallen pregnant. Finally!
But our happiness was short lived as we were told that the pregnancy wasn’t viable and that I would need to induce a miscarriage, as my body was too jacked up on progesterone to naturally miscarry for more than a month. If you’d have asked me a week before then if I had entered he’ll, I’d have said yes, but here I was, feeling even lower and at rock bottom. I’d spent years of my life and a ridiculous amount of money only to have my heart ripped to shreds having a miscarriage?!
Slowly but surely I picked myself up, and I learnt so much about myself, about how to develop grit and resilience, and I pulled myself out of the funk. After a failed FET cycle, it was time to step it up again. ICSI with prednisolone and aspirin to suppress my immune system…. and 9 months later, our rainbow baby, Chloe joined us.
Because I was nearing advanced maternal age, I was then told by both my clinic and OB to begin trying again when Chloe was 1, so there we found ourselves again *this old chestnut* ready to use our frozen embryos. We had five in the freezer, that didn’t seem to much like the cold, and three didn’t make the thaw, so we had one failed cycle, and on our last roll of the dice fell pregnant with Olivia.
Compared to the first time around, this felt too easy. And goddamit, #storyofmylife it was. I found myself with major placenta previa… where my placenta had attached itself right over my cervix. If I gave birth naturally, I’d die, and I had a 90% chance of haemorrhaging before the birth. Oh you know, #onlyfreakingthefuckout …. but you know what? The shit sandwich I had been through before taught me so much that when I did start bleeding, with Liv born 45 minutes later (my husband didn’t even make it to the hospital on time), losing half my blood volume and needing a hysterectomy, I was, and still am, pretty cool as a cucumber….. and these days I’m all about helping other women survive the shit sandwich and rotten tomatoes this journey throws at us, through the Fertility Warriors Podcast.
Life throws us curveballs, all the time. We would never wish fertility struggles on anyone else, but we gain strength from our struggles, and learn to appreciate the things we do have in times like this. If you’re in the thick of this mess, hang in there. You just might end up with the ability to wear white pants 365 days a year ???? and two beautiful, perfect little human beings that were 150% worth it.
Just want to share my story here for those who need inspiring hopeful story.
I am 35 with AMH 0.07-0.23, FSH 12.5-15.9, AFC 3-4 (there are ranges in my numbers because I did blood work a few times throughout the course of 6 months).
I was pushed to take the donor egg option because of these numbers. Even IVF is not an option for me, my doctor said.
I did IUI once in February this year, and failed. I was devastated, and wanted to give my body/mind a rest from all these BS. So I said to myself, ‘I will give natural/eastern therapies a chance, and if nothing happens in 3 months, I will consider IVF/donor egg’.
I started doing acupuncture twice a week, took Chinese herbal tea, following (most of) your instructions (I gave myself one cheat day a week though otherwise I might kill myself), and kept telling myself to relax and not think about treatments until the end of the 90 days.
Few days ago, I found out I am 4w3d pregnant by conceiving naturally.
I am beyond thrilled! I want to share it here because I was really at the lowest point of my life. I know it’s still early, and anything could happen, but I want to indulge myself in this moment of pure joy and worry about the possibility of bad scenarios later.
Please stay hopeful and don’t be bug by the numbers!
Just want to spare my story –
I’ve only been trying to get pregnant since August 2017.
I have a chemical (false) pregnancy in Oct 2017 and then had a miscarriage in Jan 2018.
Both myself and my husband were under so much stress but in the end, we had to sit down and talk about things and how to reduce the stress and get to spend together as a family.
We decided to take it slower with ‘trying’.
We already have a son who is coming up 3 soon, who was conceived naturally and without any issues. So we new it was just a matter of time.
Myself and my husband both started to eat healthy, have fertility smoothies and I was seeing a fertility masseuse.
This is also when I contacted Anna about joining the ‘tomakeamummy’ Facebook group. Listening to the positive posts, the guides and articles, all helped with trying to improve my positivity.
All in all, it paid off.
I missed my period and checked with a test and I got the BFP. I was so happy but reserved as I unsure if it was a false pregnancy again.
I basically did a test ever other day for two weeks and it was still positive!
Yesterday i had my 12’week scan and saw my beautiful second child and heard the heart beat.
So with a little positivity, reduction in stress, eating and drinking right.
It worked.
So good luck to you all and wishing you all baby dust.
YES!!!! I am so happy for you!!!! 🙂 Enjoy your pregnancy, and send me a picture of your baby when you have them!!! Thank you for sharing your story!!
Thank you Anna for all your inspiration and guidance. After getting off 10 years of birth control and not getting my period for 4 months, my blood work revealed that my FSH was 78. I immediately went to a fertility specialist who initially told me that I have premature ovarian failure at 37 years old and my only chance of conceiving was using donor eggs. My husband and I were devastated but tried to remain optimistic. An initial ultrasound however did reveal follicles, but after tracking them they would never develop due to the high FSH. I became determined and researched a ton. I read 2 books and came across your blog. Upon becoming informed, I completely altered my diet. I followed your plan exactly and began taking supplements and cut out all dairy, alcohol, caffeine, sugar and gluten. I made the daily smoothies and steamed all my veggies. Within a month, my FSH dropped to 34 and I got my first period. That cycle was tracked via ultrasound and the follicles still never fully developed. After 2 months my FSH dropped to 13. At 13 my fertility doctor allowed me to do injectables to help assist the follicles to develop. The plan was to then give me a HCG shot to ovulate and then try IUI to be sure my chances were as high as they could be. The injectables allowed my follicles to develop and an ultrasound revealed that I ovulated on my own without the HCG shot. We then tried naturally and got pregnant! This was just after being on the fertility diet for 2.5 months. It changed everything!! We are now 12 weeks pregnant with a baby boy. I cannot thank you enough for giving me so much hope and amazing results. Food is truly a healer. I’m a believer. Wish the best to all of those out there in their journey. Stay positive! Amazing things can happen.
Congratulations! Thank you for sharing your wonderful and encouraging story.
YES!!!!! I love your story!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! 2.5 months just like me!! Congratulations, and thank you so much for sharing!!! Email me a picture of your baby when you have him!! 🙂
I am truly inspired by this story. Have been spending the last several months since I was diagnosed with POI at 35 (FSH 104 and AMH 0.01) looking for inspiration and so grateful to have stumbled upon this blog.
This is an amazing testimony, Thank you for sharing. God Bless.
Amen!
I have been wanting to share my story since the second I got that BFP but I was terrified! I am finally approaching 12 weeks and am feeling much better! I have been trying for 2.5 years. We found out that my husband has low morphology and were told we needed to do IUI or IVF. We did 4 cycles of IUI without success and were not ready to try IVF so we went for another opinion. We then found out I had A LOT of polyps and mild endometriosis, I had the lap surgery exactly one year ago. After the surgery we did 5 cycles of treatment with different meds. In the middle of these cycles I found this website by mistake and I quickly became obsessed. I read everything MULTIPLE times and completely changed everything I could. I did not cheat on the diet at all bc to me it wasn’t worth it. I was going all in! After 4 months of doing this and the treatments simultaneously without success we decided it was time to proceed with IVF. At this point I was completely off all meds and treatments (besides acupuncture and everything the website says) and revisiting the different IVF doctors in town. My husband and I were committed to staying on the diet throughout IVF so we were still doing everything we could. We chose a doctor and got everything ready to start ivf, I would start the Birth Control as soon as I started my period. Well, my period never came because I was pregnant. I cannot thank you enough for this website and all of the info you shared! OH and another crazy thing is during that last month before thinking we were starting IVF, I saw you post on IG about how you conceived on vacation both times. My husband and EVERYONE always told me “just go on vacation” … yeah right, well when I saw your post, I decided it was worth a try AND that was the month we conceived. Maybe there really is something to it! Thanks again! I am a true believer <3
Ahhhhhh!!! Gillian I love your story!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!! So beautiful!!! I love that is was just like me- you never started meds because your period never came because you were pregnant!! Great work sticking to the diet!! May you have a blessed and easy pregnancy and easily give birth to a happy, healthy baby!!! So happy for you!!
Hi Anna,
My name is Connie, and I just came across your website about your fertility experiences. My husband and I just went through our first round of IVF, and I started my period today and I’m devastated. Reading your story made me cry, just in awe of how much strength you have. My heart is broken, and I can’t imagine going thru this pain month after month.
I’m laying here in bed crying and obsessing over why it didn’t work, and terrified it’s not going to work the second time (which I start on Monday).
Do you have any advice for how to get thru this disappointment? How does one stay hopeful?
I am grateful women like you share your stories. It’s undoubtedly a lonely feeling.
Hi Connie honey, I am so sorry to hear your story!!! I hope this cycle is going well for you! I have some blog posts on mind-body work you might want to check out. I think that diet and non-toxic lifestyle are both super important, but if you don’t add in the mind-body work then you are missing a huge piece. Its also totally evidence based- clear science that when you add in the mind-body work IVF success rates go up!! Maybe start with this post? BABY DUST! https://www.tomakeamommy.com/visualization-and-guided-imagery-for-fertility-and-conception/
I just wanted to say thank you for these resources! I have a bit of a weird story. I have a nearly 6-year-old son and a husband who – as much as he loves our boy – just didn’t want any more children. This was a great source of conflict for a long long time. For a man who didn’t want another baby, he’s always been very slack with contraception though 🙂 So I kept hoping. And years went by. It became clear that occasional sex without a condom was not enough to get me pregnant, so I started doubting my fertility. I researched my options and ended up doing many of the things recommended in this blog. I even got my husband on extra vitamin E, C and ubiquinol. My fertility was never really investigated beyond a couple of pelvic scans, so I don’t know my diagnosis. But after being on the diet for a few months and doing the meditation for a few weeks, I did fall pregnant and am now 14 weeks along, at age 38. I don’t know if my husband truly trying for a baby with me would have made a difference earlier, but I’m so happy I made all those changes. Now at least my eggs were in the best possible shape for pregnancy! My husband is coming around to it now, tho I’m sure it’ll be a lot more real for him when the baby is actually here. We always agreed that if I fell pregnant, the baby would be welcome. He was just hoping it wouldn’t happen. My story probably doesn’t resonate with a lot people here (or anywhere) but just in case someone else out there on this kind of a journey, I wanted to share.
Thank you for your story En!! Everyone’s journey is different, and I am happy to hear yours :-). So happy for you. and your growing family!! I hope you enjoy your pregnancy and have an easy and beautiful delivery!!
Email your successful infertility story for a chance to make it into a book I’m working on. This book will help give women, like me, hope that they are not alone on this infertility journey! Hashtagoneineight@gmail.com
Oh, gosh. Here comes a long one. We went from 3 years TTC our firstborn due to male factor infertility to two rainbow babies 21 months apart and a 3rd baby due in March 2020!
My husband and I married when we were 20 and began TTC in February 2013 when we were 21. After 12 months total TTC (with an 8-month deployment smack-dab in the middle), I casually mentioned to my OB that we had been trying for a while with no success. He ran a basic fertility workup and while everything looked good on my end at the time, we received a diagnosis of male factor infertility. Count was decent, but everything else was really bad. He referred us to an RE, but I refused to hear anyone tell us we could never conceive on our own, so I took to Google to learn what we could do to increase our chances of pregnancy naturally. In January 2015, we began eliminating toxins and synthetic nutrients and switched to wholefoods. Finally, in May 2015, we tried Softcups/Softdiscs and conceived that cycle. Sadly, that pregnancy ended in a devastating miscarriage at 7 weeks. Shortly after that, my husband left, and we filed for divorce. It was a dark time. About a month later, we reconciled, and after a lot of discussion, forgiveness, and two more cycles using Softdiscs (with the addition of baby aspirin this time), we conceived our first rainbow baby boy, born in August 2016. When he was about 10 months old, we decided to start trying again, knowing it could take a while. With help from Softdiscs, we conceived on the second cycle but sadly miscarried again at just 4 weeks. Softdiscs, baby aspirin, and 23 days later, we conceived our second rainbow baby, born in May 2018. In December 2018, I felt what I could only describe as a calling to trust in God’s timing for another baby. In my mind, that meant no Softdiscs! I was terrified of experiencing infertility and miscarriage again, but on January 16th, we learned we had naturally conceived for the first time EVER! No tracking, timing, or Softdiscs. We were diagnosed at the 9-week ultrasound with a blighted ovum, and I miscarried on March 6th at 11 weeks gestation. I ovulated + conceived naturally AGAIN on April 3rd and lost that pregnancy on April 15th, before AF was even due. I ovulated + conceived naturally AGAIN on May 9th but sadly lost the pregnancy on May 24th. By this point, my husband had had a repeat semen analysis which came back NORMAL! 271% increased fertility since 2015! My RE prescribed progesterone to start taking at ovulation and said we could continue TTC immediately. AGAIN, we conceived at my first post-miscarriage ovulation, just 19 days after my fifth miscarriage. Our first ultrasound was on July 15th. Baby was measuring one day AHEAD of what I expected with a heart rate of 148 and a due date of March 4th, 2020. After everything we’ve been through, God was so kind to give us that due date, a constant reminder to “march forth” in confidence throughout this pregnancy after loss. I blog about motherhood after infertility and recurrent miscarriage and share all the details of my infertility + miscarriage experiences at thissideofif.com 🙂
Thank you for sharing your story Jalina!! What blessings you have had!! I love following your story!
When my husband and I decided to try to conceive I was 27 and he was 26. We thought it would happen right away as we were both in good health. We got our first positive pregnancy test after 10 months, and miscarried a week later. I then saw an RE after a year and a half of trying and the only thing he could find was a small uterine septum; I had surgery to have it removed. After my surgery we waited a cycle and continued trying with not luck. Finally about 10 months after my surgery, and a new RE, I fell pregnant again, which ended in a blighted ovum and missed miscarriage, where my RE then diagnosed me with low egg quality. Just two cycles later I was pregnant yet again, and being monitored very closely by a new RE. I knew as soon as I had my first ultrasound that it was another blighted ovum, despite the ultrasound techs desperate optimism. I miscarried at 8 weeks. As soon as I suspected that I was going to miscarry again I began listening to the Get Pregnant Naturally podcast as I would take my dogs for long walks. That is where I discovered To Make a Mommy. I became obsessed and spent hours scrolling through the website and the facebook group. After I miscarried I implemented as many things as I could reasonably implement. We decided to take 3 months before trying again, so in that time I took CoQ10, D3, and omega 3. I cut gluten, dairy and sugar. I did Mayan abdominal massage. I met with a naturopath and did a detox. I drank both broth daily. I increased my protein and fat intake and decreased my carbs. I felt amazing physically, and mentally. My cycles became a perfect 28 days. When it came time to start trying again I listened to circle and blooms meditation every night, although I don’t think I ever listened to an entire session without falling asleep. We conceived the second cycle trying. I was closely monitored by my RE. When I went to my 7 week ultrasound I was terrified because I had never had a heartbeat before. When I heard the heartbeat I cried, and finally allowed it to be real. I was anxious for the entire 39 weeks and 5 days of my pregnancy. My pregnancy went smoothly, I think in part because of how healthy I was when getting pregnant. My delivery was not what I had planned but was fairly unremarkable. And I now have a healthy, 7 week old daughter who makes everything I have gone through so incredibly worth it. As my midwife handed my screaming baby to me for the first time all I could say is, “I have been waiting 4 years for you”.
OMG Serina, I’m in tears over here!!! Thank you for sharing this beautiful story of your baby journey! What a blessing this journey became for you!!! Your baby wanted a happy and healthy mama, and she got one!! Keep up the good work on your health and happiness while you enjoy that beautiful baby!!!
I couldn’t be more happy to have stumbled across your blog. It completely blows my mind how little we are taught at getting pregnant. I felt very alone when we started trying when I was 32. After 5 unsuccessful months and being told by everyone, “wait a year until you do anything,” I was ready to take matters into my own hands. I wanted to know if there was something wrong before the year so I could start acting on it!! Went through all the tests and found I had diminished ovarian reserve, low AMH, High FSH and a follicle count of 4-6. Was told start IVF and freeze eggs immediately. I found this blog and Anna’s story really resonated with me. I decided I would go all in and see if this could help! 3 months later I got pregnant naturally and Did not have to go to IVF. I’m now 11 weeks pregnant. So grateful for you sharing your story and resources, I can’t even begin to thank you!!
This blog has been SO helpful! When my husband and I decided to start trying, I was nervous. At 19 I had endometriosis laparoscopic surgery where I had stage 1 Endo removed. I am only 24 but knew I wanted to take charge of my fertility now. I had no idea if my Endo came back (I was on BC for the 5 years since) and immediately dove into this blog to get super super healthy for TTC and my husband and I got pregnant month 1 of trying! I cut out dairy, gluten, alcohol, caffeine, and added sugar. I truly believe your diet and plan was why we got pregnant as fast as we did. The one thing I am struggling with is weight – cutting out those items has made me lose weight and in pregnancy I need to gain. Is it ok to add dairy/gluten minimally back in or could this increase risks with possible Endo? I feel like all I am eating is nuts for dense calories throughout the day. Without at least 2 servings a day of nuts even with ample protein/fats, I am not meeting the caloric requirements for the day. Any advice on adding those back in, or other ways to add calories to your daily diet once pregnant? What was a sample daily meal plan for you when you were pregnant?
I just want to start by saying thank you to Anna and how this blog was my absolute life line and gave me hope when I had none!
I was diagnosed with POF at 38, my FSH 52 and AMH 0.03, I was told that I would never be able to fall pregnant naturally and I needed IVF with donor eggs. I was absolutely devastated to say the least! Then I found Anna’s blog. I immediately started the supplements, changing my diet and most of the other “things” recommended. Within 2 weeks my hot flushes were totally gone and after 5 weeks my AF returned. I am very happy to report that I fell pregnant naturally about a year after implementing all the “things” and my little girl is now 5 months old.
My advice is just as Anna’s says, you can do anything for a few months! It may seem difficult to start making all these changes but once you are doing it, it is not that hard! And remember to keep believing that you will be holding your baby soon. Baby dust xx
I have started a blog documenting my fertility journey following Anna’s advice. Please stop by and read about my success.
http://www.chasingthecherub.co.za
Hello Anna,
my story is a little big different from the others, but I want to share it anyway.
We were trying for a baby for almost 5 years. In our first year I had a missed miscarriage. We continued trying for another year before I was diagnosed with some autoimmunity problems. I started to use medication to suppress my overactive immune system, but it didn’t work. At that time I started to looking for more information. I practiced hormonal yoga and excluded gluten and dairy (which was hard for me, so this diet usually lasted only 2-3 months).
Later we finally moved to IVF and tried 3 cycles last year with only one positive chemical pregnancy test from the first one round. So in spring 2020 after these failed attempts I felt completely devastated, like I was trying to hit the brick wall. I had no motivation or belief that we could really have our baby. At this moment I found your blog, which gave me so much enthusiasm. So far I was only excluding foods from my diet, but the idea, that I also have to eat something which nourishes me, was completely new for me. I tried to follow most of your advice two months before our 4th IVF and plus I listened to the Circle&Bloom. And here comes my half-success story. I was pregnant. A positive pregnancy test after four year from the previous one felt so great.
Although I had another missed miscarriage, we see with my husband, that we found something which really helps. Your tips are amazing. We continue to follow them. Thank you very much for you blog.
I promised so many people and myself that if I had a success story, I would share EVERYTHING! After being told I would not be able to conceive my own child naturally, I was devastated and looked for any and all answers to combat that truth. Medical journals agreed with the multiple doctors and reproductive specialists- I was too old (35) and due to low AMH (.52) and high FSH (22), natural birth was not an option. She said our first child was probably a miracle baby. I remember begging the reproductive specialist to let me try clomid, IUI, IVF, anything! But she told me that beyond donor eggs there was nothing she could do for me. In order for IVF for be effective, you have to have enough Antrical follicles. I was only producing 2 at the time and due to my other factors, they were probably bad eggs which was why we continued to miscarry. My doctor even went on to state that I would begin menopause within the year. I was crushed and heartbroken. As a person who took care of their body and played college sports, non-smoker, and ate decently well, I was flabbergasted that this could happen to me. That’s when I decided that I could sulk and feel bad for myself (rightfully so), or I could try to control the factors that I could and do something about it. I scoured the internet for blogs of women who had walked this road before me. That was when I found Anna Rapp and several other blogs. I found the Fab Fertile Podcast. I began writing down all the things that women who had conceived successfully had in common. Suddenly, I felt like there was a spark of hope. The things I changed include:
– Diet: I cut all dairy, soy, and gluten. I limited carbs and sugars. (As a person with a sweet tooth who loves all fruit- cutting it down to just the berries was difficult at first, but I kept my end goal in mind).
– Cookware: I threw out all my non-stick and made the investment to buy stainless steel, All Clad D3 line.
– Food storage: no plastics! I saved glass jars and used those for packing lunches. I also grabbed a glass water bottle off Amazon.
– Makeup: threw everything out and started over. I was shocked at the horrible ingredients most companies use. I now use beauty counter deodorant, foundation, shampoo and conditioner. Honest brand mascara, eyeliner, and blush. No nail polish.
– Acupuncture: As a person with two medical professionals in the family, I was hesitant to try acupuncture (not to mention the expense), but it was something all successful stories had in common. I was upfront with her in our first meeting about how I wasn’t sure I believed in acupuncture actually working, and she was AMAZING! She brought out a medical book and showed me the chapter on conception. There is a primordial pool of eggs that are too small for doctors to see before they reach the antrical stage. Many environmental factors can kill off these eggs before they are big enough to see, so changing all the other things may help the eggs grow and mature enough to get fertilized.
Long story short, after many miscarriages and years of trying, I made these changes and I was pregnant in 2.5 months! Anna’s blog and so many women who posted their success story gave me hope. I now have a very happy, healthy, and active 8mo old. For those of you who are struggling, I feel you, but know you are not walking this road alone and that it is a well beaten path. Baby dust to you!! xxx
Rachel!! What a great story!!! It sounds sooooo much like my story!!! I’m so happy for you, and I hope your story inspires others!!!
I’ve been waiting for this day for almost 6 years! We got married in June of 2018, in September I was diagnosed with endometriosis. In December I had my first surgery. The Dr said there was no reason I shouldn’t get pregnant in six months. Fast forward 5 years and I had to have another surgery. This time my tubes were twisted and clogged. He again said I should get pregnant in 6 months and if not I need to do ivf. We decided ivf was not for us. A whole year past, and we both made peace with the fact that it may never happen. At Christmas 2023 I had a stumach bug and of course my dad’s immediate question was “is there any chance you may be pregnant?” When I told him no he said he hadn’t given up hope. That’s when I decided to look into things I could do. Of course my facebook is full of adds about “pay me and I will tell you what to do” but I found one that gave me just enough information to work off of. She said pesticides, molds, toxins and foods. I eventually found the nurses study page that had many studys on trans fats, and toxins. 1 month after I switched as much as I possibly could without going broke, I got pregnant! I’m now 5 weeks! We are so excited to be able to have a child. I do have some health risks but so thankful that we were finally able to conceive! I found one of your blogs on pintrest and I was getting ready to start your diet. I promised my husband I wouldn’t go crazy and I would start things slow. I’m happy to say I didn’t have to go any further than eating fruits and vegetables daily (I never did), cutting out mtn due and adding in water (I never drank warter), I switched all my cleaning products at home and work, and I cut out all transfats!
I’m so happy for you!!! Thank you for sharing your story!!! Blessings on your pregnancy!