It’s frustrating enough when you find out that that you have fertility issues and that IVF is your best shot at having a baby but when you go through your first IVF cycle and it turns out negative, it’s a whole different story. We (including my wife and I) need to realize that having a child is truly a miracle and when it comes down to it, getting pregnant is basically a numbers game whether trying naturally or going through fertility treatments such as IVF.

An unsuccessful IVF cycle does not mean the end of the world. It just means that it wasn’t your time. My wife (Wendi) and I just finished our first IVF cycle a month ago only to find out that it was unsuccessful. We were torn. The entire IVF cycle went as planned according to the doctors. Wendi had great reaction to the stimulation drugs. The egg retrieval went great. We had 2 perfect embryos transferred. They froze 3 good embyos for frozen transfers at a later time. Only to find out that it was not our time and that we’d have to go through this IVF process again.

We got our news on New Year’s Eve. What a way to start the new year we thought! It took us a little time to realize that it wasn’t our fault and that it might take a few times before we have a successful IVF cycle. Our next try, which will be a frozen embryo transfer, will likely be in February or early March. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Just remember that everything happens for a reason. IVF and infertility in general can be very frustrating and stressful but keeping a positive attitude speaks a thousand words. We know people who have had their first IVF cycle work. We know people whom it took 3 to 4 tries before it worked. Everyone is different and everyone reacts different to IVF. What we do know is that if it takes 5, 10 or 20 tries, it’s all worth the final product, a newborn baby.