Children conceived through IVF?

[CareBear1]

Hi, so am currently going through IVF, and am just wondering from mothers who conceived through IVF and now have young children, how did you feel once you were actually pregnant and now that you have your child/ren. Is it something that you just leave behind during pregnancy, never look back and think about again? Or are there more emotional journeys and repercussions from it later on? Am just wondering what may lie ahead (if we are lucky and it eventually works). Also anything you think you did or didn't do that made the difference and helped it to work?

Any thoughts or recommendations much appreciated,

x x x

Hi Carebear - I seem to keep bumping into you on IVF threads . Hope your cycle is going well...and that you'll be back to share your own thoughts on being pregnant after IVF soon

I didn't find any emotional journeys or repurcussions directly linked to IVF - to be honest, being pregnant is an emotional rollercoaster, no matter how you conceived (and I'm now pregnant naturally after having DS via IVF/ICSI so do have something to compare it to). The early weeks were stressful - mainly waiting to see if we'd have twins (we transferred two blasts - but ended up just with DS). But also because I knew way too much about miscarriage risks (by being a MN addict and having taken years to get pregnant, ie lots of time on Dr Google...).

Though looking back on DS's pregnancy, I was really set on the most natural birth I could have - I was annoyed to have been automatically referred by my GP to shared consultant/midwife care (IVF pregnancy is deemed a risk, even though I was carrying a singleton and didn't have any other issues eg immunes that would make the pregnancy risky). So switched myself to the home birth team as soon as I could. I did heaps of reading/pregnancy yoga/optimal foetal positioning/hypnobirthing and planned a home water birth. Looking back, I think it's because DS was conceived in the most medicalised way and this was a bit of reaction against this.

Anyway, I ended up with an EMCS after being induced at 42 weeks and had just about the opposite birth from what I'd planned...but that also didn't matter really as we were both healthy and it was just beyond amazing to become a mother. Though I do think the hypnobirthing in particular helped (I know you're a fan of relaxation/meditation, which also helped me during ttc/IVF, so when you get pregnant it's definitely worth looking in to).

I'm really proud of how DS was conceived. Medical science at it's best. DH (he's American) has twin cousins who were conceived via IVF in the mid-80s, so his extended family is very positive about IVF. My own family in Ireland are very supportive too - especially as we shared early scans eg the picture of the two blasts, one of which turned into DS, all my sisters and SILs and mother found these fascinating, since all of them had had blasts inside them at some stage (though had had no clue that things like that had names!).

Will stop rambling now!