Has Anyone Conceived Naturally After Receiving an Infertility Diagnosis?

Updated on April 08, 2018
M.S. asks from Pittsburgh, PA
7 answers

Has anyone been diagnosed with male infertility and was told to proceed with IVF, only to get pregnant naturally?
Backstory: I've had two previous pregnancies. My boys are now 12 and 10. We never had any issues, in fact we weren't even trying and I was on birth control when I got pregnant with my first. So needless to say my previous pregnancies were easy. Now, we've been trying for a few years and come to find out that IVF would be our only option due to male infertility. Shockingly, I found out about 3 weeks ago that I was pregnant. Unfortunately, I miscarried a week after that around 7 weeks. So I'm wondering if this was just a fluke and/or if this might happen each time we try? Any success stories of being able to conceive naturally even though doctors said it wasn't possible?

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So What Happened?

I'm only 32 so I don't think age is a factor just yet. My husband was told a few years ago he has testicular failure due to a torsion that occurred about 10 years ago. He had a semen analysis done last week. My fertility doctor said the semen analysis was inconclusive. There wasn’t sperm in the sample. He’s producing it but it’s not getting into the semen and she’s not sure why. Everything else is normal, the volume and pH and that all was normal a few years ago too when his urologist did the first 2 analysis. So she’s even surprised we conceived naturally. But all it takes is one.
That all being said, IUI won’t work bc when sperm is extracted from the testes directly, they’re not fully mature so they can’t get to where they need to go. But they can still fertilize an egg by injecting it directly into it. So unless we somehow have another miracle, IVF is the only option. Not the answer I was hoping for.

More Answers

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I've known a few people who got pregnant after a doctor said it wasn't possible.
My boss and his wife tried IVF twice with no success and they decided to take a break from it - and got pregnant 2 months later.
Just when they thought maybe one child would be all they were going to have - they were pregnant again.

A co worker who'd had several children had trouble getting pregnant again and did IVF to have another child - which worked - and the doctor said she'd have to do IVF again if she wanted more.
Well she did get pregnant again just 3 months after having her IVF child - and it turned out to be twins.

Now for me - we couldn't get pregnant without help.
We did IVF to have our son,
We determined birth control was a waste of money - so we never bothered with it again - and we didn't get pregnant again.

It's possible - but there are so many factors involved - there's really no telling which it will be for you.

4 moms found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Boston on

There may be some anecdotes of pregnancies under those circumstances, but that's why they stand out - they are rare. There are also stories of people who have had sterilization procedures (vasectomies or tubal ligations) who have had a subsequent pregnancy, but again, they are rare.

I'm not sure of your age, but given that your kids are 12 and 10, you are either getting up in your reproductive years yourself or you are going to have an even bigger gap between your kids and any new baby. So adding more years of hoping/waiting just in case you don't need iVF might be a very risky and frustrating strategy.

If you don't trust your fertility advice, I'd suggest you get a second opinion from another specialist. Waiting around, continuing to hope/try with a known male fertility problem, and pinning your hopes on a few anecdotes of people who have, against all odds, conceived and carried successively to term, seems like a course of action that will just end in heartache.

I know you are grasping at straws and looking for hope. I know you have been through such a sad time with this recent miscarriage. I hope you will take care of yourself and get some really good medical advice rather than latch on to unlikely scenarios. Best of luck to you for healing after your loss and for good strategies going forward.

3 moms found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

no, but i know several people who have. one friend had her first child through IVF as they had been told by many specialists that the husband was shooting blanks, but they went on to have two naturally conceived kids afterwards.

i hope it works out for you too.
khairete
S.

1 mom found this helpful

T.D.

answers from New York on

my cousin, got pregnant with her twin boys after an ivf cycle, drs said it was the only way.
she later went on to have a third child which was a complete surprise. they were not trying, she switched birthcontroll pills and then had to stop taking them because she was pregnant

1 mom found this helpful
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S.V.

answers from Portland on

Its not uncommon for couples to be told they are infertile and then get pregnant (unless there is an actual physical reason that makes conception impossible, and yes, as a respondent said below, age could be an important factor in that). I used to be an adoption social worker and ran into this not too infrequently. Once a couple is resigned to not conceiving and the "pressure" is off, then a surprise happens. When we feel pressured to make our bodies do something, we can make them more restrictive with the emotional stress we undergo. The body, mind and spirit are very inter-connected. Studies have shown that when we lay-off the stress and allow our bodies to relax, all kinds of good things happen - healing from ailments, pregnancies, etc. So yes, unless your partner has a physical reason why he can't help you conceive and if he has already done this once before, then he is capable of making it happen again. Just keep yourselves stress-free when possible. I know that sounds a bit cheesy to say, but its true. Take walks together, go out on romantic dates, be emotionally connected, etc. Don't pressure yourselves. All this has shown to make a difference in fertility outcomes. But again, if you are over age 35 there could be more limitations. But those age issues are about the mother, not the father. Therefore, if the issue has been with your partner, then any concerns about age may not apply to you.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.M.

answers from Raleigh on

I know of several people who conceived after getting a bad fertility report. Some fertility issues are related to stress, and when the stress recedes, it can sometimes be at least temporarily better. IVF can be expensive even with insurance so, I wish you well. The best thing I can think of is to de-stress, its a great thing to do if you can.

Updated

I know of several people who conceived after getting a bad fertility report. Some fertility issues are related to stress, and when the stress recedes, it can sometimes be at least temporarily better. IVF can be expensive even with insurance so, I wish you well. The best thing I can think of is to de-stress, its a great thing to do if you can.

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N.Z.

answers from Los Angeles on

I had a coworker who was told to do IVF due to male infertility. About a week before her first appointment for IVF, she found out she was pregnant. She had a healthy baby boy.

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