Hi I'm Leah, I live in one of the surrounding communities of St John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. I shared my story publicly on the Facebook page "Faces of Fertility" in 2020, which I’ve copied here:
"I was always afraid I would be infertile, since long before I started trying.
When I was able to start trying and nothing was happening, I felt something was really wrong.
When I finally brought it up to the Dr we had been informally trying for three years. I was told I was young and needed to try for another year before I could be referred.
Once I was referred to the fertility clinic, I found out both of my tubes were blocked. My options were IVF or laparoscopic surgery to clear them. My laparoscopy only partially cleared them, and I'm high risk for ectopic pregnancy.
Again, we were recommended to do IVF, but chose to try IUI since we could afford it. Our 4 IUIs failed, and I was told to stop wasting my money and save for IVF.
Another Dr told me, if you can't afford IVF, you can't afford a baby. This stayed with me for a long time, and still bothers me. We would be perfectly capable of affording a child, if we could do so without a lump sum of $15-25,000.
I am very lucky to have a step daughter, but often battle guilt over doing fertility treatments, feeling that I should be happy that I have any child in my life.
A chance at parenthood should not be so expensive. I am tired of keeping my infertility a secret. I hope that more awareness will help bring funding for IVF to the province."
Since posting my story, I have had 2 more failed IUIs, another HSG, ruled out a potential hereditary genetic issue, and began fundraising for IVF. Our family and friends overwhelmed us with support, and we are now going to be proceeding with IVF in the coming months! Sharing my story has really lifted a lot of the weight of infertility from my shoulders- it feels great to not hide anymore! A small tax credit was also recently announced in NL which is great, as we have not had any funding or access to an IVF clinic in the province!