Hello!
I just wanted to share this story for anyone going through IVF as there were only a couple of these stories when I was going through treatment and I really found comfort in reading other people's journeys and I wanted to pay that forward. I was 33, partner was 31 and were going through IVF in 2024 for our much wanted second child after struggling with various infertility factors for our first child and now for a sibling. One of these factors for me was low AMH. I was nervous for stims and worried I wasn't going to produce enough mature eggs ready for retrieval. By a miracle, I was able to get 5 eggs, 4 mature and 1 immature. 4 were successfully fertilised but waiting for updates on how our embryos were developing was the most anxiety-riddled time, nervous for each call to see how the embryos were getting on.
3 embryos made it to day 3 but by day 4, 1 had stopped developing so it was looking likely that we would have 2 embryos at day 5. I was going for a fresh egg transfer and after a scary scan where they were worried about the thickness of my lining and random free fluid, I was given the good news we could go ahead with transfer after the fluid had disappeared and my lining quality had improved.
On the morning of my transfer as we were driving to the clinic, we had a lab update call with news we weren't expecting - out of the two embryos, one had significantly slowed growth and the other could not classified as a blastocyst or given a grade. They classed it as a day 5 morula, which I had no clue what that was. Without any certainty, the clinic said we could go ahead with transfer of the morula but only gave us a 13% chance of this turning into a successful pregnancy. I was absolutely gutted, we had been so hopeful after the back and forth with whether I could even go ahead with the transfer. We went through with the transfer and its awful to say but I held onto that percentage and prepared myself that it was likely to be negative news.
I went through the 2ww in a bit of a daze, analysing every symptom as PMS and very uncertain. In my head I was planning ahead for the future of most likely another cycle after a break to reset both mentally and physically. Even though it was not advised, I did decide to do a very cheap strip test 5 days after transfer (probably because I was a POAS addict) but more to prepare myself for the eventuality of the transfer not working. I saw an absolute squinter of a second line which I had initially chalked up to residue trigger shot left in my system. I waited another day and decided to do another test and was a bit bewildered to see the line still there. After a few more days and calls to the clinic, the second line was gradually increasing in strength which was an absolute miracle beyond all belief.
After a distinct positive on test day, ups and downs with hyperemesis gravidarum and prenatal anxiety, our little miracle DD was born in 2025 and made our dreams complete...
Science is an absolute wonder and I wanted to share this positive story about my experience with a day 5 morula transfer as there weren't lots of stories available for reassurance and I wanted to pay forward the support and hope for anyone in a similar situation as it gave me real comfort during a very uncertain time. Sending strength, positive wishes and hope to everyone on their IVF journeys. Xx