The journey to Texas Fertility Center and preimplantation genetic screening

Wimberley resident, Christen, age 39, married her husband, Steven age 44, in 2008, and right away the couple knew that they wanted to start a family. According to Christen, “I come from a big family, so we knew from the beginning that we wanted to have kids.”

For several years, Christen and Steven tried to get pregnant, but they had no success. “We were watching our nieces and nephews be born, and we started to think, ‘Maybe, we’ll just be an aunt and uncle.’”

One day, when Christen was having lunch with girlfriends, her life changed when the topic turned to fertility doctors. One of her friends mentioned that she had visited Natalie Burger, M.D. at our Austin fertility center for egg freezing.

After hearing about her friend’s experience with Texas Fertility Center, Christen started thinking more about her own fertility and she made an appointment with Dr. Burger. It turned out to be an excellent decision. “We loved our consultation with her. We probably should have done it a long time ago,” said Christen.

Having a baby with help from preimplantation genetic screening

According to Christen, “When we first met with Dr. Burger last year, she was so nice and informative.” The couple asked about their fertility options and which one would have the greatest likelihood of success. Dr. Burger suggested in vitro fertilization (IVF) with preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) and the couple selected it.

Before beginning fertility treatment, Dr. Burger removed cysts from Christen’s ovaries and a polyp from her uterus. Once those procedures were finished, the couple started IVF at our Austin fertility center. They went to all of their appointments and Christen took fertility medication to ensure a successful egg retrieval. In the end, the couple had three embryos available for transfer.

Sadly, Christen suffered a miscarriage after the first transfer. “I knew it happened, but I wanted to keep hoping,” she said. At the appointment, “Dr. Burger held my hand while she checked for the baby and she comforted us while my husband and I cried.”

Christen didn’t give up hope through. After taking a few months to get healthy and recover from the miscarriage, she started to prepare for embryo transfer again. “At this point, my progesterone levels had dropped, so my husband gave me progesterone oil shots.”

All of their efforts paid off on October 12, the day of their second embryo transfer, when Christen became pregnant with the couple’s first child. According to Christen, “The pregnancy went smoothly the whole way through.” On June 29, Christen’s due date, Stone was delivered via cesarean section. “He was a healthy and strong baby boy,” gushes Christen.

Both Christen and her husband view Stone as their little miracle and they hope to have another little miracle in the very near future, using their remaining embryo.

Christen has advice for fertility patients who have experienced setbacks

Christen has nothing but good things to say about our Austin fertility center. “Everyone we interacted with was great, from the front desk staff to the nurses.” Christen also had high praises for Dr. Burger, “You can tell that she’s brilliant, but she’s also personable . . . I wish she could be my doctor for everything.”

As for her advice for other fertility patients, Christen said, “Be patient and positive, and keep trying. Have hope. If it doesn’t work once, it doesn’t mean that it can’t work later. It worked for me and now I have an amazing baby boy.”

If you have concerns about your fertility or would like to know more about preimplantation genetic screening, contact our Austin fertility center.