Thursday, August 26, 2010

Our Visit with the Genetic Counselor

Our visit with the genetic counselor went really well today. She didn't really share any new information with me (thanks to my personal research), but it helped confirm what I had learned and I think it was helpful for DH.

The counselor said that we have three choices for having a biological pregnancy: continue trying on our own, do IVF, or do IVF with PGD. Our other choices for children are egg donation, embryo adoption, and traditional adoption.

She also explained more about how the chromosome insertion works and why it is so hard for us to have a healthy baby. She confirmed that couples in our situation probably conceive a baby many times without ever knowing it/getting a positive pregnancy test. We also learned that the chances of us getting a baby from IVF with PGD are about 40%. There is definitely a chance that we could do IVF and get ZERO embryos that survive. The good thing is that if we do manage to get KU, we can probably safely say that if we make it to the second trimester, we will *probably* make it to full term and have a healthy baby without any birth defects. I asked the counselor if there are ever any studies with IVF and PGD for people like me, and she said not really, but she would still check to see if there was anything out there that we would qualify for.

So, even though we didn't learn much, I am still glad that we went to this appointment. I think that it reaffirmed that we are both comfortable with our plan. Hopefully we will get a baby to adopt without too long of a wait, and if we get KU, then that would be great!

4 comments:

  1. How wonderful to be happy with your decision! I felt the same about going ahead with IVF, eventually I was totally at peace with it. Soo happy for you. I also read the other post-and yes it is nice when TTC slows down and you 'have couple time' ;) just for fun!
    Still have my fingers crossed for you!!xxx

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  2. Sounds like you had a great appointment. Congratulations on your adoption approval--praying you get a match soon!

    Happy ICLW!
    #171

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  3. Sorry to hear your doctor couldn't give you any helpful concrete answers. It's so hard when there just isn't much research on the issues you face. But great news that you're approved for adoption AND that a biological child could still happen for you as well!

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  4. I have somehow been missing your posts! I am so sorry! Wish doc could give you something positive...but it sounds like things are going well overall!

    I moved my blog to http://gvandmonkey.blogspot.com

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