Testimonials from those who had to turn to science to have a child

Beatrice and Mario – one child, in vitro fertilization (IVF)

“We decided in 2014 that we wanted to be parents. At that time, we were living and working in Mozambique. I was 28, my husband was 27, and this would be the first child for both of us. We had always been healthy, and I was monitored.” Always at the gynecological level and everything was fine. After a year of trying, we looked for help. No cause could be identified and I saw 13 different doctors in Portugal, Mozambique and South Africa, and there was no problem at all on my husband's side. On my part, It was later discovered that my ovarian reserve was low, despite my age, but I was ovulating, so this could not be the reason. We moved towards IVF, first in South Africa, but it did not work. In Portugal, we repeated IVF, and the transfer resulted The third of two fetuses for our son, who is currently 5 years old.
To achieve the first successful pregnancy, we spent about 20 thousand euros. We've been trying for our second child for five years. She then discovered endometriosis, and underwent surgery for it. I firmly believe it was the result of all the treatments.
The hardest thing about the whole process is the time, month after month, the negatives, dealing with uncertainty and losing the “count” with each treatment – ​​always starting with a relatively good number of follicles, until you get to a very large number of follicles. Good number, few fetuses. And if I felt that way the first time, even more so now – when I was 36, I had a much lower number of eggs and a much lower ovarian response to treatments. We always thought that egg donation would be a stage we didn't want to go to.
It occurred to us to give up. And at this point we are in the second phase, with the adoption process also underway.
What advice would you give to other couples who cannot conceive naturally? If you really want it, don't give up without knowing that you did your best. The way we view PMA treatments can hinder our commitment to this new journey. What matters is that your child is the result of your love, which can manifest itself in a night of sex, therapy, or adoption. And yet it is love.”

Luisa and Duarte – 1 child, intrauterine insemination (IUI) with gamete donation

“We made the decision to have children in 2016, but after only two years, and with a more stable career, we decided to move on. I was 27, he was 30. When we made the decision, I immediately had a consultation and a check-up to see if everything was okay.” Everything was fine with me. Everything seemed to be fine, but after six months we went back to the doctor. We had ultrasound monitoring for two months, and although my menstrual cycle was regular, I was not ovulating. For the next three months we By stimulating ovulation with pills and injections. More tests followed: I had a hysterosalpingogram (an The doctor wants us to follow up in a specialized clinic, to learn more about the options available to us.
In 2019, we registered publicly, but we also continued the process privately. We were told that it would be very difficult to get pregnant naturally, but there was an option for the procedure: collecting sperm directly from the source. The alternative was to consider a gamete donor. Duarte was afraid to conduct more invasive tests without confirming their effectiveness. Since we really wanted to become parents, we naturally started talking about the possibility of using a donor. It wasn't an easy conversation, but we ended up making this decision together, and it was the best decision.
We performed IUI with a female donor. Fortunately, we got a positive result on the first try. Today we have a two-year-old son. Most of the family members were always present throughout the process, especially since they always knew we wanted children. We always talked openly about what we were going through, so they wouldn't always pressure us. Only the donor part is what we decided to keep for ourselves.

Carla and Andrea – one daughter, in the ROPA way

“I was 31 and Andrea was 26 and I was the first child and grandchild on both sides. We don't know exactly when we made the decision, but we went ahead with the project in the summer of 2019. I, Carla, have always dreamed of getting pregnant, and I would love to be able to have this experience. Andrea had always dreamed of being a mother but did not want to get pregnant. Age also played a role: since Andrea was younger, her eggs would be better.
The only treatment we did was the ROPA method (Andrea donated the egg and got pregnant). IVF has to be out of the equation because I have blocked tubes. Our first choice was the public option, but then we were told it would take at least two years to wait before we could get a donor, so we decided on the private option. The financial factor was heavy and we have to thank our family who contributed some money towards the medicine.
We started the process on Procriar at the end of October 2019 and had our positive test at the beginning of February 2020 – before that we had a biochemical pregnancy. Leah was born in September 2020. The family knew this from the beginning. The reaction was very positive, but at the same time they were hesitant about how this would work and whether we would really be able to “get pregnant this way, through science,” as they said.
I think we will never forget the moment we discovered the positive, nor where we were. We will soon be transitioning to assisted reproduction because we want to give Leah a little brother or sister and still have two embryos in Procriar.
The biggest piece of advice we can give is to never give up on your dreams, despite all the anxiety and difficulty, in the end it is worth it when you have your baby in your arms. Do not isolate yourself while you are undergoing treatment, it is very important to have good friends with whom you can talk and relax. And always believe me, positive thinking always helps.