A fertility journey that involves secondary infertility treatment and getting creative with fertility coverage

Renata and Vladimir have a beautiful five-year-old daughter, and the couple assumed they wouldn’t have any trouble having a second child. However, conceiving the second time around wasn’t as easy. “I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t getting pregnant because I didn’t know about secondary infertility,” Renata recalls.

Around this same time, the young family was still settling into their life in Austin after moving from California. Renata was looking for a job as a nurse while the couple thought about fertility treatments, but she discovered something surprising. She couldn’t find any nursing employers in the area that offered fertility coverage.

“It’s weird to me that hospitals don’t cover fertility. As an employee, you generally receive amazing healthcare coverage, but the coverage completely ignores infertility as a disease,” Renata says.

Pushing past a roadblock to move forward on the path to pregnancy

According to Renata, “At first, we thought that we could pay for fertility treatments out of pocket, but when we started pursuing fertility treatments, the costs started adding up.”

The couple started to get discouraged at this point because Renata was in her mid-30s. “We didn’t have enough time to save thousands of dollars to have a baby, so we started thinking that maybe we couldn’t have a second baby.”

However, this roadblock didn’t hold Renata and Vladimir back for long. The couple started doing their research and discovered that a few companies offered fertility benefits. The top contenders were Costco, Starbucks and Dick’s Sporting Goods. After a bit more research, Renata ultimately decided to apply for a full-time job at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Renata started working at her new job in August, and she was able to take advantage of the fertility coverage just one month later. While it’s not her dream job, Renata is grateful for the position. “When I moved to Austin, I was thinking of going back to get my master’s and become a nurse practitioner or an oncology nurse. While working at Dick’s Sporting Goods wasn’t part of my career plan, I’m grateful for the health and fertility benefits.”

Visiting our Austin fertility center for secondary infertility treatment

With her fertility coverage in place, Renata made an appointment at our Austin fertility center to pursue secondary infertility treatment. “I had been seeing Dr. [Kaylen] Silverberg for a year before I got the job at Dick’s Sporting Goods and could finally start treatment.”

As Renata worked with Dr. Silverberg, she appreciated his direct, straightforward approach. “He’s been amazing. His approach is, “Let’s discuss your plan and here’s how it’s going to go,” and it’s exactly what I needed.”

Ultimately, Dr. Silverberg recommended in vitro fertilization (IVF) for secondary infertility treatment. Renata did her egg retrieval in November, which resulted in four frozen embryos. The couple plans to transfer an embryo in January. “I am super excited. I was praying we would have more than one embryo to transfer and we got four. 2021 is going to start out great.”

Tips for other hopeful parents with similar struggles

First, Renata recommends making an appointment at Texas Fertility Center if you’re struggling to conceive. “I went to another fertility doctor before we made the appointment at Texas Fertility Center, but that other clinic wasn’t the right place for me. A friend of mine and a family friend recommended Texas Fertility Center instead, and I’m so glad I took their advice.”

As for her second piece of advice, Renata wants other patients to know that sometimes you have to get creative when starting or growing your family. “I didn’t think we’d need to go through all this to have another baby. It’s been a stressful and an emotionally taxing time, but it’s all worth it in the end.”

If you have questions about secondary infertility treatment or fertility coverage, contact us to schedule a consultation. The team at our Austin fertility center is here to discuss your options.