Pregnancy Success After 10 Ovum Retrievals

During Mother's Day, a couple surnamed Zhuang from Taoyuan brought their adorable baby to express gratitude to Dr. Chen Chung-I. While discussing their journey to parenthood, the couple mentioned their decision to seek help at Lee Women's Hospital from another city, driven by their strong desire to have their own child.

"Because I truly adore children, this process was definitely worth it! Seeing him every day~ I absolutely adore my baby!" With her heartfelt sharing, it was evident that she had faced the challenges of advanced maternal age and ovum collection with admirable strength.

Having married after both being over 40, the couple's decision to have a child came later in life. Due to this and their advanced age, they chose to directly visit Lee Women's Hospital to seek assistance from Vice President Chen Chung-I, who possessed rich experience in fertility matters.

During the initial consultation, Dr. Chen conducted fertility assessments. He found that the Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level was only 0.52, indicating a low ovarian reserve. The husband also had reduced sperm motility, and the wife had uterine polyps requiring hysteroscopy. Considering the factors of advanced maternal age and diminished ovum count, Dr. Chen recommended entering the IVF (in vitro fertilization) process, with multiple ovum collections to accumulate embryos.

Thus began the arduous journey of embryo collection, involving intensive ovum retrieval and fertilization procedures. After five cycles, they finally obtained one viable blastocyst. To avoid potential chromosomal abnormalities common in older pregnancies, Dr. Chen cautiously arranged for PGT-A screening, revealing that 30% of the embryos were mosaic. The AI embryo selection score was 1+4. Dr. Chen advised collecting more embryos in order to explore additional options during implantation.

Faced with these results, Mrs. Zhuang was determined not to give up on her quest for motherhood. She underwent another five cycles of ovum retrieval and fertilization, successfully obtaining four additional blastocysts. PGT-A testing revealed that one embryo was non-euploid, two were mosaic at 40% and 50%, and one was chromosomally normal. Combining these findings with the AI embryo selection score, they decided to implant the embryo with the highest combined score. Ultimately, they achieved a successful pregnancy and also qualified for IVF assistance.

It is said that becoming a mother imbues one with courage. During the treatment process, Mrs. Zhuang traveled to Lee Women's Hospital on her own for ovum retrieval due to her husband's busy schedule. She also overcame her fear of injections throughout multiple cycles.

"At the beginning, I was very scared and hesitant about administering the injections, but over time, I gradually overcame my fear. Although I still feel apprehensive when administering injections, it has become manageable."