After a pregnancy loss due to a genetic condition, this mom went through five IVF cycles, genetic screening (PGT-M), and a transfer of a Day 7 5CC embryo — who is now a healthy 14-month-old.
⚠️ These stories are personal experiences, not medical advice or scientific evidence. Success stories are more likely to be shared than unsuccessful ones, so they should not be interpreted as proof that a treatment works. Always discuss treatment decisions with your doctor.
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📊 Story Snapshot
👩 Age: 36📆 Years trying: Not stated
🧬 Embryo: Day 7 5CC euploid
🧪 Retrievals: 5
🐣 Transfers: 1
💊 Diagnosis: Genetic issues
📈 Outcome: Live birth
We started IVF in December 2022, after terminating a much-wanted pregnancy because of a devastating brain defect. We later learned that this defect was caused by a recessive genetic condition, for which my spouse and I were carriers.
We underwent five egg retrievals, with mixed results. The first retrieval resulted in only 4 mature eggs, with many “empty” follicles. Over the course of all five rounds, we retrieved a total of 70 eggs, and after fertilization, growth, PGT-A, and PGT-M for our specific condition, we were left with only four “healthy” embryos. Since the pregnancy we lost was a girl, we wanted very badly to try for a girl. Only one of our embryos was XX, and she was our worst quality embryo, a 5CC.
After our fifth egg retrieval, we learned that the company that made and administered the genetic test for our specific condition was changing its technology. This would have meant starting the entire process from scratch – obtaining DNA samples from all four grandparents, DNA and blood samples from me and my spouse, and waiting several months for a new test to be created.
With this in mind, we cautiously went into the embryo transfer with our 5CC embryo – our only female, a carrier for our genetic condition. I am thrilled to report that she is now a happy 14-month-old, and we occasionally look at her and recall that she was once called “poor quality.” She is an absolute delight.
What would you say to someone who’s going through what you went through?
“Doing IVF is like having a full-time job, on top of whatever else you do with your time. It is exhausting, and I wish I had known how much time all of the genetic testing would take. To contend with a less-than-stellar response to ovarian stimulation, after grieving a lost pregnancy, is a challenge. I wish my clinic had embedded mental health support! The IVF reddit pages were helpful, as was the Remembryo newsletter!”
Looking for more stories like this one?
You can explore similar IVF success stories by clicking the IVF Success tags below, browse the full archive here, or visit the Uterine Wall of Fame homepage.
Want to learn more about poor quality embryos? Check out my guide on poor quality embryo success rates.
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