At Arizona Center for Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, it’s our joy and honor to help couples grow their family. It’s especially exciting when we’re able to help them have their first child together—as is the case of Jen and Melissa. The couple came to our office in April 2019, and they’re now expecting their first baby.
Both Jen and Melissa work in the medical field, so they understood the risks involved with late-age pregnancy and decided it was time to start their family.
The couple found Dr. Gelety and AZCREI based on recommendations. Melissa worked with someone who was able to achieve a successful pregnancy with his wife after visiting us for fertility treatments; and Jen had a friend who had gotten pregnant through treatments at our office as well.
Having done their research before beginning treatments, Jen and Melissa had an idea of how the IVF process would work and approximately how much treatments would cost. They opted for the chance to both participate in the pregnancy. Melissa, who will be 40 this year, was able to donate her eggs and Jen, who will turn 35 this year, is carrying the baby. That makes Melissa their baby’s biological mother and Jen his or her birth mother.
While they had done their research, Jen says she was still surprised at how much there was to learn about the female body. “[The first appointment] was overwhelming at first, very fast, and very informative,” she says. “Dr. Gelety doesn’t run on a calendar year, he runs on a menstrual calendar year.”
The treatments and process itself are both still a bit of a learning process, since neither Jen nor Melissa had ever experienced pregnancy before. “The surgeries my wife and I had to go through were the most difficult part,” Jen says. “But right now, it’s pretty easy—once you’re pregnant, it becomes easier.”
Jen believes the most painful part of the process was what her wife went through: the extraction of her eggs. Now that they’re expecting, appointments have become much more bearable. They come into the office for a weekly vaginal ultrasound to make sure their developing baby is doing well and the pregnancy continues to be healthy.
Like most couples who need help conceiving, the infertility treatment process for Jen and Melissa had its ups, downs, and challenges. “You need to have a lot of patience, and you need to have a lot of support surrounding you through this process because you are on an emotional roller coaster,” Jen says. “Just knowing that you have support, not only from your doctor and the doctor’s team, but from your family and friends, is really helpful.”
Throughout the process, whenever Jen or Melissa had questions, they got their answers during appointments with Dr. Gelety. Our team was also able to answer questions for them, sometimes when we were drawing blood or performing other tests. We wanted them to feel comfortable at every step—through every test and procedure—and we’re so excited that we’ve been able to help them make their dream of having a family a reality.
“Dr. Gelety is aggressive in his treatment,” Jen says, “but you can honestly tell that he enjoys fulfilling the role of a female being a mother, or a family having children. You can really see how much he enjoys doing this for people who struggle with having a family on their own.”
Just as we helped Jen and Melissa start their family and experience the love and joy that comes with being parents, we can help you. To schedule your consultation at AZCREI and begin your journey, visit us online or call (520) 326-0001.