As an extension of Village’s ongoing commitment to provide quality resources in patient information and education, we are pleased to introduce Village Voices, the newest addition to our lineup of resources for fertility patients. We want to hear your success stories, experiences, and advice for others undergoing fertility treatments. Contact us at voices@villagepharmacy.com or comment below to share your story!

"I just clicked on the e-mail from Village Voices and it was really amazing how it felt just to read a couple paragraphs from someone voicing feelings I have as well." -Tamar

"Thank you for sharing your story, going through IUI, IVF you always think you are alone and no one (friends and sometimes family) don't or won't understand what you are going through. No that you are not alone and thanks for your bravery in sharing your story." - AB

"Your story is very touching. I know that we women go through a lot to get pregnant. Keep on trying and I know that you will get successful one day. It's my hope too as I try to get pregnant. " - Simone McDonald

To view a full list of the stories we have presented and join those discussions, click here.

This week, we introduce a new voice to the community: Stephanie from Massachusetts. Please feel free to comment on these stories to share your thoughts and inspirations. We welcome your thoughts and your stories.

“It Shouldn’t Be This Hard,” Part Three

By Stephanie

It took me three months to recover from the loss. My husband still hasn’t quite come to terms with it. I decided that the only way to move forward was to try one last and final time. I couldn’t stand the thought of giving up with such a devastating loss. I had to try one more time. So at age 43, I embarked on my last round.

Meds were the same, my Chinese doctor encouraged me and I continued his treatments weekly but I added one more important ingredient to the mix: meditation and visualization. A good friend of mine asked me to do this… to visualize a healthy beautiful pregnancy, child birth and baby. I did this every day—it felt so good and calming that I found myself doing it two or three times a day. I continued it though all the shots, the retrieval, and the transfer. I felt more calm and relaxed than ever before and when the day of the pregnancy test came I knew it would be positive. And it was. And the HGC levels were good--800.

Two days later the levels jumped to 4000. Ok, this was good but I wasn’t getting too excited. One day at a time and one visualization at a time. Two weeks later, we went in for the ultrasound and there were two sacs with two strong heart beats! 138 and 134. I breathed a sigh of relief.

The next ultrasound showed us the heart rates were up to 169 and both were measuring right on track. We were once again blessed… but this time with twins! I am currently in the 8^th week of pregnancy and I know that many things can still happen. I’m continuing to visualize and believe that my body can do this.

We are thrilled beyond belief and we can only hope and pray that all will go smoothly throughout the pregnancy. I wanted to tell this story because I think it’s a story of hope and inspiration to all of us who struggle in our own worlds and minds with infertility.

I wish everyone success in their journey….thank you for reading my story and I hope it provided you with some comfort and possibly inspiration.

"Stephanie, thank you so much for sharing your story. I have been following it and waited for each upcoming Village Pharmacy newsletter. I am so happy to hear of your pregnancy and having twins. Best of luck to you and your babies. I hope everything continues to go perfectly for you. You deserve it. We all deserve it. I too am going through the process of fertility treatments. Your story for inspiring. Thank you." --Sandy

To read Part One of Stephanie's story, click here.