Our Embryos
As we enter our 8th IVF retrieval, I have to remember that not everyone understands IVF lingo. I break down some important terms and what it means for our embryos and future surrogate.
Embryo Lingo
Before we jump into our embryos, here is a breakdown of the language. Embryos can be tested and come back as:
euploid or “normal”: meaning 80%+ of the cells had no abnormalities
aneuploid or “abnormal”: meaning 80% of the cells have genetic abnormalities
mosaic: meaning between 20-70% of the cells may have a genetic abnormality
There is growing research to show that many mosaic embryos implant and “self correct” meaning when the baby is born there are no genetic abnormalities. There is also growing research to show many of us have some mosaicism and never knew it! Either way, we always follow the advise of the genetic counsellor at our clinic on whether the embryos are safe to transfer. In general a normal embryo has a 50-60% chance of a live birth and mosaic embryos have a 30-40% chance of implanting and life birth.
Our Embryos
One tested normal
Two tested mosaic
2 “no result” This means that when they were sampling the embryos, they didn’t take enough cells to definitively test them. Given our numbers previously, and the very high grade of both, our RE is confident at least 1 of those is normal and says both are safe to transfer.
Our Plans for More
After a retrieval in June we made a whopping six embryos (amazing for being 40!) that gave us the one normal and two “no result”. However, for us, having three normal embryos was always the goal. In general, you want three normal embryos for one child (statistically with a 50-60% live birth rate).
So we are going back for another retrieval.
As many IVFers know, retrievals can be really hard on the body and the mind! In the past, I had neglected both my physical and mental health so this time I wanted it to be different. As an IVF veteran, I knew I needed time in between my retrievals to allow my body to heal. With that in mind, I took 2 months off in between IVF rounds. I also wanted to make sure I was in peak physical condition so my recovery was easier. So I started rowing for an hour with my club four times a week. We also wanted to make sure we were healthy as a couple given the strain IVF can have on a marriage. This is why we stayed in Muskoka following Mike’s Northern Pass ride for a couple extra days.
We feel ready to go into the next round and look forward to updating this page once we get results from the testing!
UPDATE: Well I didn’t update in September because we wanted to take some time to process what happened. We didn’t get any from that retrieval. However, we found out that is likely because 1) Steph ovulated early and 2) Mike had COVID the day of our retrieval (no symptoms until after).
So we went back to it in November and it went WAY better! We aren’t quite ready to update everyone until we get the test results back, but we are very hopeful that we will get our 2 normal embryos that we wanted.
