“I’ve Never Felt Something So Wonderful”

After years of trying to get pregnant, Allison, 26, and her husband Andrew thought their dream of having a family would never come true. Infertility can be stressful on a marriage, but instead of driving them apart, this couple only became more resolved to have their first child. They now have a healthy son, and Allison says they are looking forward to returning to Pacific Reproductive Center to have a second baby next year.

Allison shares the details of her experience:

Q: What did you like about seeing Dr. Salem as your fertility specialist?

A: “Well, I got my son, and needless to say, that was the best part. It was exactly what I went in for and that’s what I got.

“When I thought something might be going wrong there was always someone to talk to. In the middle of the night I would call and I would get Dr. Salem. Two o’clock in the morning and he would reassure me and see me in person the next morning.”

Q: What was it like emotionally to realize that you needed to go to a fertility clinic?

A: “It was stressful, and it was embarrassing, and I felt broken hearted.”

Q: How did infertility affect your marriage? Was it hard?

A: “I think it brought my husband and me closer together because I had to go through so much because of his problem. He felt like he had to do more for me than he ever could. To make us a family I had to go through the shots and the procedures to have a child.

Q: How did you find out you needed help having a baby?

A: “We tried for close to two years before we asked for help from anybody. We asked my OB doctor, who ran tests on me and said I was fine and that my husband probably needed to get looked at, and that’s when we figured out something was wrong.

“We went to a specialist who saw my husband for a year and tried a bunch of different medicines. The specialist said that he didn’t think there was anything else he could do.”

Q: So in the end, was male-factor infertility the cause?

A: “The sperm morphology was the problem. The original doctor we saw before PRC said he had a low sperm count, but PRC said that was not the problem.

Q: How did you find Pacific Reproductive Center?

A: It was just luck. So my husband said he drove by one of the PRC offices on the freeway one day and he thought we should go and look at it. So I made an appointment, and on my first visit I got to sit with a doctor and I knew it was the place for us to be. This is my first son, and it worked the first time we did the in vitro. “

Q: What were the unexpected parts of your experience?

A: “When it’s all said and done it makes you a stronger person. You really go through a lot throughout the whole process. Everyday you wonder if you’re going to be pregnant the next day. It can be a lot of stress but I think it makes you a stronger person.”

Q: After your long struggle, what was it like to hold a healthy baby in your arms?

A: “It was wonderful. It was instant love. I’ve never ever felt something so wonderful in my whole life. I had tears of joy.

“His name is Justin and he is of course wonderful because I’m his mom (laughs). He is so smart and he is super cute.”

Q: Besides Dr. Salem’s care, how did Pacific Fertility help you?

A: “The facility itself has a great support system. It’s really stressful to go through in vitro – you don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. But you can call them and they are so helpful to get you through any hard day that you have.”