Conceiving naturally after IVF

There are a few things aside from death and taxes that are inevitable in life:

• when you’re single you will always be asked why (why?! Are you serious??)
• when you’re married you will always be asked when you’re having a baby (have you lost count??)
• when you’ve got one child you will always be asked if you’re having another (is one not enough for you!?)

And while one will certainly be enough for us, there will be other couples who long for a second child after a successful IVF attempt. A study published in The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, claims that one in three Australian women who have their first baby with the help of assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF fall pregnant again without treatment within two years which is quite an optimistic statistic.

Today, I’m talking to Evelyn who conceived naturally after IVF for her first child against all the odds!

Julia: Hey Evelyn, thanks for joining me and congratulations! Incredible news, and came as a bit of a surprise I understand?

Evelyn: Thanks! Yes, it certainly did. After years of struggling with fertility and having to resort to IVF to conceive my first son, I never thought I’d be able to conceive naturally so it’s quite hard to believe!

Julia: What do you think changed to allow your body to conceive naturally this time?

Evelyn: Well it’s hard to say but I did take a long hard look at what I was putting into my body and my mentality behind it all and decided to have an overhaul. I started with food and although I didn’t want to be super strict and cut out all sugar or anything like that, I did start to drink filtered water, organic dairy, fruit and veg and a lot less red meat. By doing that I was reducing the amount of external pollutants/toxins in my body as well as limiting the amount of external hormones going in which can throw everything off.

Julia: What other changes did you make?

Evelyn: I decided I was fed up with feeling like a victim all the time with my fertility so I wrote down a big list of all the positive things that I could do to help my situation; things like, exercise more – I kickstarted my gym routine and found a personal trainer who specialised in training for women’s health which was so useful and gave me the confidence to train throughout my cycle.

I also forced myself to think about fertility less and to do more fun stuff! Things like going out more with mates, having the odd drink and generally letting my hair down more – I really think that had a lot to do with how relaxed I became and could have helped conception.

Julia: Have you been more relaxed with this pregnancy as you didn’t need treatment?

Evelyn: Not really. I think when you’ve had a long hard journey with fertility, no pregnancy is ever easy as you bring all your anxieties into the next phase of the journey. We are, and always will be eternally grateful though for the gift of another baby and hope that it all works out well but there is always the fear…

Julia: What one piece of advice would you give to people who are trying to conceive naturally after IVF?

Evelyn: I think it’s the same advice I would give anyone trying to conceive after a period of time; take it in your stride, don’t feel pressured by time or anyone and try not to make it your sole focus. These things are really hard to do but once you gain perspective and can chalk up your journey as a tough life lesson rather than the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, it really helps you stay positive.

Julia: Wise words Evelyn, thanks so much!

Natural pregnancy after IVF is certainly possible depending on your fertility challenges and making a few changes to your emotional and physical state could help – as with most things fertility related a little bit of magic can sometimes happen even in the most unlikely of situations 😊

Are you trying to conceive naturally after IVF? Wondering how your body might be more susceptible to conception now that it’s been pregnant once? Wherever you are on your fertility journey, I’d love to hear from you

Speak soon

Julia xx