Back in 2016, when Beth and her husband, Michael, first decided to seek fertility help, after six months of trying to conceive naturally, they didn’t think their case would be that complicated. At the time, Beth was 36 years old and Michael was 45. What followed was the unexpected pain of three failed In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) cycles. Yet they still had plans to try again.
“The process was extremely hard, but we were ready to have children at any cost,” said Beth.
But when their doctor never called them after the third failed cycle, they knew it was time to find another specialist.
Fertility Care at RMA
Seeking a more supportive and sympathetic atmosphere and, most importantly, a clinic with high success rates, Beth took a friend’s advice and made an appointment with Reproductive Medicine Associates’ (RMA) Springfield, NJ, office, not far from their home in Clark, NJ.
“After reviewing our case with three clinics, we chose RMA because, aside from being the best, I fell in love with Dr. Shefali Shastri and the Springfield team!” gushed Beth. “In addition, I loved the small office and warm atmosphere. The first clinic was so big and felt very impersonal. I sensed a genuinely good vibe upon entering RMA’s Springfield office. After our initial consultation, I knew we had found the best team to help us achieve our goal.”
While reviewing their case and test results, Dr. Shastri saw that Beth had diminished ovarian reserve and potentially poor egg quality and Michael had a low sperm count and poor motility.
Diminished ovarian reserve is when a woman has too few eggs, making natural pregnancy difficult, and poor egg quality means the viability of the eggs is compromised, making it tough to achieve a pregnancy.
Men with low sperm count and poor motility don’t have as many sperm as they should, and the ones they do have are poor swimmers, making reaching the egg difficult.
After Dr. Shastri customized a treatment plan for the couple based on their medical conditions, they quickly moved forward with treatment.
“At RMA, we did two retrievals. We froze one embryo from the first, and froze three embryos from the second,” she explained.
The first frozen embryo transfer brought them their daughter, Nina, and the second brought them their son, Salvatore.
“From beginning to end, we couldn’t have asked for a more positive experience,” said Beth. “The entire team in the Springfield office was incredibly friendly, informative and above all, supportive and empathetic. Every doctor, nurse, embryologist and phlebotomist were just as amazing. We couldn’t have chosen a better clinic to help us navigate this difficult journey. We have not one negative word to say and wish we had been with RMA from the start.”
Worth Every Needle, Ultrasound and Early Morning
With the hard road behind them and their dream of parenthood fulfilled, Beth and Michael are beyond grateful to finally be a family.
Beth describes Nina, who turned 19 months in October, as “the true definition of a toddler – cranky, whiny, defiant. She also has the most infectious smile and giggles and gives us kisses every single day.”
As for their son, Salvatore, who was seven weeks old in early October, “He is the perfect little human to complete our family. He is beginning to smile and laugh, especially at his big sis. Nina loves helping to feed and burp him in addition to giving lots of love taps to the head and finger jabs to the eyes. Mike and I adore watching the progression of this forever friendship.”
“It’s true what they say, having children makes you view life and the world in a different light,” she continued. “The love we have for them is indescribable and the exhaustion is real, but totally worth it. I had worked full time since graduating college, but was laid off last December, when I was about 5 weeks pregnant with Salvatore. Being home with both of them is the hardest and most stressful job I’ve ever had. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
When asked if she’d like to share anything else, Beth added, “We just want to say thank you to everyone at RMA. And give a HUGE shout out to Dr. Shastri and the entire Springfield team who, at every single visit, calmed our fears, made us laugh and treated us like friends and family. We are forever grateful.”
