Jessica was rejected by two clinics due to very low AMH and endometriosis, but then gave birth from a 6-cell Day 3 embryo labeled “very poor quality”—and later conceived naturally again.
⚠️ 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: 31📆 Years trying: 1
🧬 Embryo: Day 3, 6-cell, untested, very poor quality
🧪 Retrievals: 1
🐣 Transfers: 1
💊 Diagnosis: Low AMH/Diminished ovarian reserve, Poor ovarian response, Endometriosis
📈 Outcome: Gave birth in August 2023 and conceived again naturally
At age 30, after a year of trying to conceive without success, I received the diagnoses of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and endometriosis. My AMH was 0.21. The first fertility clinic we visited said that given my AMH level was so low, they would not attempt an IVF cycle with retrieval of my own eggs. They said the cycle would be nearly guaranteed to fail. That clinic said that the only way we could conceive would be through egg donation.
We received a second opinion at another clinic, which said the same and would also not attempt an IVF cycle with egg retrieval. After months of processing this devastating news, we got a third opinion at an academic medical center in Boston. This provider agreed to try an IVF cycle with an egg retrieval, and vowed to do everything they could to give my husband and I a shot at conceiving with my egg.
In this IVF cycle, I stimmed for 22 days. They retrieved two mature eggs, and only one egg was fertilized. Our only embryo was a 6-cell, “very poor quality” embryo at day 3. They decided to do a day 3 fresh transfer (untested!) to give the embryo its best chance. We doubted that it would stick, but were hopeful.
However, our one, day 3, poor quality embryo from a third (!) opinion clinic turned into a beautiful pregnancy and our amazing two year old son, Nico.
To make the story even more wild, less than a year after his birth, I got pregnant spontaneously with our daughter, Mia! She was born last April.
We are so grateful to the science that has made our family possible. We want to protect this important work and encourage others to see its value as a critical part of family building. We give credit to our amazing team at our IVF clinic and particularly to our provider, who was not afraid to risk failure.
What would you say to someone who’s going through what you went through?
Don’t stop at one opinion for your fertility treatment. Had I taken the first (or second) clinic’s plan, I would have had a vastly different outcome. Do your research and find the team that cares about you, not about SART cycle failure rates.
— @jessicangenova
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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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