IVF graduates due Summer 2021

[SpyroC]

A place for those of us finally moving on from the infertility boards to share feelings, questions, tmi and to generally support each other.

@ChicaXS www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/coronavirus-vaccine-period-problems-reports-b1869278.html%3famp

Did you have a private strep B test? I was going to have one and then changed my mind. Still considering it though. The consultant said to ask my midwife for the vaginal test when I see her. I quite liked this idea as being a 50% compromise. As I know the private one does the rear too.

@sazzt I am envious with you being able to birth in a MLU. I've made peace that this is highly unlikely for me. They have said I can have a water birth with wireless monitoring. I've got battery fairy and tea lights to try and de medicalise the labour suite 😂 I'll probably do all this and then cry for an epidural 1hour in! Especially if I do end up being induced!

@SpyroC this is so interesting about the period issues and ironically my sister told me today that it’s being flagged online and in the community and she feels she’s also a candidate! It’s absolutely insane ! I have PCOS so my periods are screwed as it is so I couldn’t tell if it was due to the jab or not however it having an impact on our fertility is seriously concerning. This further cements my decision of not taking the jab when pregnant as I seriously think the safety net approvals are too premature!

Regarding the low Papp a - I’m no doctor by any means however if your blood flow and placenta position is great thus far I would stick to your guns. The issue with induction is 40% increase to an emcs which is distressingly high! I actually hope your baby just comes naturally in labour so you don’t have to worry but would you favour a c sec over an induction ? Are you planning more IVF after this little one??your totally right about skilled midwives and trusts on vaginal breech births. Many trusts simply don’t support it however mine at Kingston do. They stressed already however they would prefer the c sec option as alarmingly they would need skilled vaginal breech birth consultants and midwives to be ready on call for schedule. Again alarm bells ring for a high chance of an emcs just based on their feedback.

I actually got diagnosed with group b strep by chance. On my 32w appt I complained about some discharge (sorry tmi -oddly had none post 1st trimester) and just told my go by chance. Ran she ran my vitals my oxygen levels were really low, heart rate was extremely high so she decided to run tests which included the two swabs. She called me 5 days later explaining I had group b strep and that I needed an alert sticker which I eventually got (means I need antibiotics during labour) but after my NCT class I ordered from doctors labatory the strep test before I was diagnosed. It’s unused now as I’ve been diagnosed for the birth since it was in the third trimester .

I spoke to a doctor and he told me not to panic and it’s less serious then pitched online. Many women have it without knowing - it’s the stillbirth stats though that freak me out. Luckily I have a very good moving baby-he is in his own routine and loves to dance every couple of hours and sleeps when I do!

Xx

@SpyroC or anyone else if you want the step b test happy to give it away - obviously it’s unopened but you would need to test as per the advice between 36-39 weeks x

Hi ladies, sorry I've been absent for a while, its been an eventful few days.
So my hormonal induction was stopped on Tuesday night as things got a bit too intense too quickly for baby and his heart rate started decelerating. We switched to a mechanical induction on wednesday afternoon and had my waters broken at 5am on Thursday. After a very gruelling 12 hour labour including 2 hours of pushing 😳 my little boy was born on Thursday afternoon weighing 8lb 12oz. I managed to avoid both a c section and an epidural although I did end up screaming for one 5 hours in at transition. I had pethedine instead though which made things easier for an hour. I did end up in theatre afterwards for tear repairs (not only was he huge but also came out with one hand by his head) and surgical removal of a bit of placenta that had stuck.

We did go home last night but unfortunately are back in hospital now as he's a bit poorly with suspected HDN due the the antibodies that I had in my blood which have caused a few issues. He choked on thick vomit and stopped breathing this morning which was utterly terrifying so we are being very well looked after now after the midwives on the maternity ward not taking my several concerns serially at all over the last couple of days and insisting on sending us home when he clearly wasn't right. Ladies there is such a thing as mother's intuition and if you feel something isn't right do push the issue as I found the mat ward just wanted to kick people out as quickly as possible. I almost lost my beautiful boy this morning because of it 😭

Good luck to everyone still waiting to meet their babies. I would say that induction isn't too bad but if you need to hormone drip to speed things up as I did, it's absolutely brutal so with considering an epidural.

@SamoyedFan123 congratulations!!! And I’m sorry the incident happened, glad to hear you and baby are being looked after. Keeping everything crossed for a fast recovery and you both come home healthy.

@ChicaXS baby is still breech (oblique) as far as I know. From what I can feel they are still diagonally across my belly with the majority of movements down below. Although in the last 24hr I feel lots of movement on the right side (I never felt movement there the whole pregnancy, they have always been on the lower left side of my belly) so don’t need if little baba is trying to turn. I’m going for a scan tomorrow morning - then we’ll know for sure then will make my birthplan accordingly. How abt you?

@SpyroC I think you are right about keeping an open mind for different possibilities. Let us know how it goes with everything.

Talk about Covid vaccine, I’m holding out for after birth. My MIL is a vehement followers of conspiracy theories so she isn’t vaccinated and called DH the other day asking if she will able to see the baby. Cue awkward conversation! I told her she can see baby because they are low risk at catching it but not after I’ve had the vaccine myself - and I don’t know when I’ll get the jabs, need to read on transition via breast milk.

I just came back from the scan - baby is firmly breech, and back to back too 😅. Now need to consider my options. I would still like to try for a vaginal birth if possible but we’ll see.

@ekam i'm sorry to hear that - how long do you have left to go now? My scan was on the thursday and baby was breech. Saw MW on the Monday who could feel baby still breech. ECV booked for the next day and baby was head down by the time they got started!

@SamoyedFan123 I’m 37w4d today. How far were you when they wanted to attempt ECV? How’s your bubba today? And how are you? Hope everything is progressing nicely x

@ekam so my last scan was also at 37+4. My ECV was booked for 38 + 2 and baby turned head down that day!

We've had a rough few days tbh. My baby does have mild HDN due to the antibodies I had in my blood so he's been poorly. We went home Saturday afternoon and were readmitted to paediatric ward on Sunday morning after he choked on vomit and stopped breathing. Thank god my DH managed to get him breathing again but he's poorly with jaundice and anaemia and very tired and sleepy. We're going home again this afternoon as he's nice and stable again at the moment so just going the worst is past now.

@SamoyedFan123 glad to hear baby is ok. It's seems to be a chronic problem that things don't get escalated. But when they do, people are very helpful.

@tikha yes it's frustrating - i was aising all the issues on the maternity ward because my instincts were telling me something wasn't right. Unfortunately all they cared about was clearing beds and they just made me feel like I was being OTT worrying so i allowed myself to be bullied into going home. I almost lost my little boy because of it 😭😡
The care we've had in children's ward had been fantastic though. We're off home this afternoon!

@ChicaXS I really don't get the induction obsession! So many risks that seem unnecessary at times. The cynic in me worries it is more about convenience for them in these cases...probably just me being cynical. I would not prefer a section as that is one of the reasons I want to avoid induction, the significant increase in risk of having one. Yes we definitely want to try again for a second as soon as I feel able to do so. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 for natural but this seems unlikely. We've budgeted for 3 rounds as that what this baby took. Ironically, since my last post, I've been in for checks as I managed to bump my bump and they swabbed for strep B amongst other things as part of that so I'm good thank you for offering. I bet I have it l, as you say it's super common. The absolute risk of it causing an issue is tiny, especially with the antibiotics on board.

@SamoyedFan123 congratulations! 💙💙 I'm sorry to hear you've had a rough first few days and I'm so glad he is on the mend. Well done you for sticking to your guns. I've been there before, in my gut I knew i was having an ectopic but i really had to push to be taken seriously. I sincerely hope it's all upwards for you all now.

@ekam sorry to hear baby is still breech. There seems to be a lot of breech babies in my circle at the moment! Have you decided what to do? Will your hospital support breech vaginal? I've got similar issues re visitation & Covid. I've asked my close family who will want to hold and cuddle to do twice weekly testing but only my mom has agreed! I find this somewhat selfish. I had to do it for work and thousands of people still are, whilst it's not pleasant it's really not that bad. They are all double jabbed so I need to look up how this affects transmission. It's going to get tricky when it starts to get colder with my wider circle of friends and family. Covid has made the whole process from ivf all the way through so much more complicated!

@spyroC 26.07 💗
@TheGlitterFairy arrived 15.06 💙🥰
@ChicaXS 04.08 💙
@SamoyedFan123 arrived on 01.07 💙🥰
@BonTon 25.08
@ivfjourney5 15.08 💗
@MGee123 11.08 💗
@ekam 23.07 💚
@MF1981 10.10/20.09💙💗
@tikha 20 weeks 💗
@sazzt 25.08 💗
@Leala20 25 weeks

@SamoyedFan123 I am so sorry to hear about your traumatic experience - I can’t imagine what that must have been like. I would complain to your nhs trust about your experience as it needs to be flagged to protect other babies and mothers! You are correct regarding mother’s intuition and I’m sorry it had to lead to this. I don’t know what HDN - is it the RH negative blood type? Is there an injection given to circumvent any issues? Main thing is baby is ok and I’m so glad DH was there to resolve. I am enrolled on a baby first aid class this month for exactly my fear factors as such that you have just went through!!!

@ekam I hope your baby turns - there’s still hope. Please let me know what your thinking about?

I just came back from my final growth scan and yep - bubba still breech! This must be a breech thread as I e never known so many babies to be breech in one go lol. So have a consultant appt tomorrow where they will go through the options - after much deliberation I think I want to go down the c section route against my better judgement. The ecv chances are not too appealing and I spoke to my aunt and she advised against it as she was in excruciating pain and it never worked. The vaginal breech births I want to discuss with the consultant a bit more in depth - only fear I have is the emcs stats that go with it. The good news is they will scan me on the day of the c sec so if he does turn we can go for natural and they will cancel the c sec!!

Xx

Congrats @SamoyedFan123! So glad he is here safely and now doing well + you are off home. So sorry it's been a bit traumatic for you but glad he's okay now. Hope you settle in at home okay tonight 😊

I'm also in the camp putting the vaccine on hold until post birth. I've come this far and social contact is now virtually zero as I'm WFH these last few weeks. I will have it as soon as she arrives though.

@sazzt glad you're well and growing nicely. I definitely don't think this is a time to lay off the biscuits 😉 we'll need those fat reserves when we have no time to cook/eat once they're here!

That's interesting they want to induce you @SpyroC - my friend had low Papp A and they were happy for her to go overdue (which she did, by 10 days)!

@ekam @ChicaXS sorry you're struggling with breech positions. Hopefully there is still time for them to shift around!

We're part way through our NCT classes. I think they have been useful for us to do together - not masses of new info for me but lots for my husband 😂 he's been quite engaged with it which has been great. Our group seems nice but no one has made a move to suggest socialising yet and they aren't very chatty in our what's app group. Going to wait and see what happens after our last session on Sunday!

I'm finding the third trimester by far the easiest so far, which has surprised me. Feeling rather lucky to have minimal aches/pains/issues. I'm still running a few times a week! 35 weeks now and really looking forward to finishing work in 3 weeks time. We're finishing off stuff for the nursery this weekend which are the last bits we need to do in preparation. It feels like things are coming together and we'll just be waiting on her arrival...Sod's law she will be really late now we've finally managed to get ourselves organised after a rather slow start 😂

@SpyroC your making the right decision on covid and visitors. I have my MIL that’s refusing to get jabbed or take a PCR test (she’s one them ones - MAGA fan) she lives in the USA but won’t take the jab ever. I don’t know how she’s gonna visit her grandson considering borders are strict on pcr tests and vaccinations lol!

I still haven’t decided about the vaccine and breastfeeding!!! 🙈

Hi all and sorry for the silence. Congratulations @SamoyedFan123 on giving birth and I am sorry to hear you have had this experience it must have been very traumatic and so good you pushed them and he’s getting better
I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl almost 2 weeks ago and my induction didn’t progress well at all so we went ahead with c-section. The staff were amazing snd do supportive but now I regret I hadn’t used all resources they offered breastfeeding wise as I felt at that time I was doing pretty well. Until the real milk came in and still struggling with the proper latch!
I must say doing positive hypnobirth course online (digital pack) helped me a lot to reframe prior to and during birth and though I hadn’t expected to be having CS we had an unforgettable experience.
They had gone through risks and benefits with us but never mentioned that it’s not advisable to have another FET within a year and some mention waiting 18 months? Do you know anything about it?
I also withheld with the vaccine and will get it in a few weeks time when we settle.

How did you get on with the consultant @ChicaXS . It is definitely breach crazy right now, it's the same in my yoga group, so strange! I've suggested my dad does the nasal swabs only method (it's what I had to do for work when my morning sickness wouldn't allow the throat method) though he's still yet to start 🤦🏻‍♀️ the vaccine is still in the back of my mind. I think we have to wait until 6 weeks after giving birth anyway. Here's hoping for better data on the period problems.

This is my problem @ChicaXS there are plenty of people with much lower Papp a than me who never have induction suggested. At my last scan I had a slightly grumpy midwife & she told me they've not seen one baby with restricted growth due to low Papp a and that she thinks the scans are unnecessary! I have to say, looking at the studies behind it, at my levels I see her point. Though I do like the extra scans part! I don't think my NCT would have taken off socially at all if I hadn't of started it so don't be scared to be the one who does. I hope today's session is good! You are amazing still running. At 34 weeks a walk around the block became challenging for me 😂🙈

Congratulations @Leala20 💗💗 I hope you are all doing well 😊 so many people I know have found breastfeeding much harder than anticipated. Others from my hospital have really rated their support. I'm sorry your induction ended in a section, that's my biggest issue with being induced for me. The section risks seem to outweigh the risks of going over with low Papp A. I haven't heard about clinics rules regarding future transfers but I'll add it too my list. I have heard of cases where it worsened fertility issues which is why I'm so surprised some trusts induce purely based on ivf too. I hope somebody on here has some better information for you.

37+6 here and into my last week of work tomorrow. 🙌🏻 I have a consultant review tomorrow and they will be keen to book induction. I think I've made peace with being induced as my anterior placenta has made feeling movements very hard especially now she's engaging so I just don't have that reassurance that everything is ok which causes daily anxiety. However, I will be saying 40w not 39 as the risk of it leading to a section drops significantly with each week. I'd say 41w if I was braver! (20% risk by 41). I hope everyone is doing well. Xx

@spyroC 26.07 💗
@TheGlitterFairy arrived 15.06 💙🥰
@ChicaXS 04.08 💙
@SamoyedFan123 arrived on 01.07 💙🥰
@BonTon 25.08
@ivfjourney5 15.08 💗
@MGee123 11.08 💗
@ekam 23.07 💚
@MF1981 10.10/20.09💙💗
@tikha 20 weeks 💗
@sazzt 25.08 💗
@Leala20 06.21 💗🥰

Hi everyone,

It’s my last week of work this week. 38+3 today - I think baby is still breech. I have a MW appointment tomorrow, will need to discuss birthplan then. I hope she’s sending me for another scan to check baby’s position.

@Leala20 congratulations on the arrival of the baby. Glad to hear all is well :). Hopefully baby girl is latching properly by now.

@SpyroC that’s a really good idea about asking people to do lateral flow test. I might do the same. Just today I heard of 2 cases (people I know) who are vaccinated but still caught the Delta variant. So we can’t be too careful. My MIL keeps attempting to counterpoint our argument about Covid and vaccine (she’s a full antivaxxer) and DH just flat out told her this isn’t an argument she’s entitled to do what she wants but we are also entitled to act accordingly.

@ChicaXS how is it going? Have you booked in for an elective C? I heard a planned one is so much better than an emergency one, and it can be a blissful experience as well. There’s of course our wish to try for another round of IVF as soon as possible but what’s most important right now is we are and babies are safe. I don’t know what I’m doing yet … I don’t think I’ll opt for ECV. Still hoping baby will somehow turn… but I know the chance is slim. I’m considering waiting for early signs of labour to start then go in and if baby isn’t turned by then then we’ll go straight in for a Cesarean. Baby isn’t too big but apparently has a huge head so it might be too ambitious for me to attempt a breech vaginal birth

wow all these people with breech presentations.. I am one too and this one is sitting down with her bum so not can't be delivered unless by c-section. She is also slightly small and given age, the obsetricians have recommened c-section as ECV is generally not successful and can be very painful.. They were recommending induction initially and for me the 40% emergency c-section rate with induction was not something I was looking forward to. So would rather have a controlled c-section.. Hope @Leala20 @SamoyedFan123 @TheGlitterFairy are doing well with your new babies. The rest of us are waiting in this sweltering heat..

Congrats to all who have greeted their bundles of joy! And sorry to hear so many of you are struggling with breech babies. One of mine is head down and always has been but the other has moved into breech. Had to have an additional growth scan yesterday as 2 weeks ago one twin was measuring small. But at the scan yesterday they said that even though there is a size difference, the gap isn’t getting any bigger so I’m back to growth scans every 4 weeks now. Movements have increased and I can see my belly moving from the outside now too which I think is about the only thing I like about being pregnant! Less than 10 weeks to go for me now, maybe even only 9 weeks depending on when the latest delivery date is that the consultant wants to go for. One doctor said 36 weeks but others have said 37 so we’ll see.

Any tips from those of you whose babies have arrived?!

Hi everyone,

Just abit of update especially for the breech mummas, I ended up going for the ECV. I actually already opted out, but had a call with the consultant and she convinced me that I can always opt out last minute or the moment it feels too much for me they will stop. So I thought it wouldn’t hurt to just go in. Think I was lucky because the doctor that performed it on me was really nice and reassuring and she made me feel very safe. Clearly very good at her job too because it didn’t hurt me one bit. Just felt like a Thai massage on my tummy at best 😁. DH did say it look very intense (I had my eyes closed the whole time to focus on breathing). She cued me to breath and she moved the baby with my breathing. After the third attempt baby is now head down wooo hooo. So I just want to share that because most of the stories I read on ECV was very scary and it did put me off. I’m now glad we decided to try.

Now fingers crossed bubba stays that way until they are ready to come out.

Hope everyone is coping ok with this heat xx

Hello ladies!

So I’m still breech and we weighed all our options with our doctor and the resounding preference is c sec unfortunately. Our little one is in a very tight breech position taking most of my space on my right side with my left to spare 😂. The ecv scares me a bit and my aunt talked me out of it as her baby got to distressed. @ekam I am so happy it worked for you!

Therefore my baby is making an arrival next week with 10 days to go! Can’t believe he is just over a week away! He has been moving a lot (I think it’s the heat?) and my vomiting is really bad since my lungs and stomach has been squashed by quite a bit baby. It’s my last day at work tomorrow so will spend my last week nesting (I have such an urge to get things ready already! ) and figure out what we will call him!
Congratulations 🥳 @Leala20
@SamoyedFan123 how are you feeling?!
@SpyroC any news? Seems like we’re having our babies in the same week!?
@tikha is your baby still breech?
@ekam any day soon right?
@MF1981 growth scans are great - you will get to see your babies more and more. My last one the doctor was kind enough to show us a 4d image and boy he looks like his dad. No Ivf mix up here lol!
Xx

Hi All, our CS was a very positive experience in the end even though this wasn’t on our mind and in our birth plan when we entered the hospital. I wanted to share a few tips/maybe you find it useful. Having bendable straws in hospital helped so much and even now when breastfeeding my DH holds a glass and I drink. As you get really really thirsty!
Pads- hospital provided me with enough and I bought lots to have at home. The first day you’re looked after by midwives all the time and once you start going to the bathroom you look after yourself. Snacks post surgery have porridge to go pots with you and any fibre ( prunes etc) you can get this will help your digestive system as it can take some days. Have music playlist ready for 1h if you want to bring it in ( we had a long one as we thought it would take days! And in the end couldn’t work out what top songs we wanted so just played a favourite album ( to be honest you only hear the first song then you’re miles away with excitement). I didn’t feel any discomfort or pain but could feel some sensation as if I was given a light massage on my belly. Having frozen meals made it easier for us in the first week as my DH also didn’t fancy cooking. If you want to breastfeed, even if it comes naturally, ask for feedback or support as in my case it got more difficult when real milk came. Take all painkillers they offer you ( got this advice from midwife) they mask the pain in the first week and when finished I used ibuprofen extra for a few more days. Ask midwives to check if the baby doesn’t have a tongue tie as they don’t routinely check it but later this can add issues with breastfeeding/putting on weight. Ask for the magic hour (if no issues) or more to spend alone the three of you. It’s so special and timeless and the baby crawls up to feed instantly! Pregnancy pillows are super useful in hospital and when breastfeeding. The midwives changed all the time as they were on a rota but they were all so supportive and helpful. Hypnobirth breathing techniques really helped. Wishing you all the best!