When my husband and I started on this journey, about 15 months ago, we had already been trying to naturally conceive for over two years, with no success. We thought that a significant part of that may have been my high-stress, 70-hours-a-week job, but even on vacation or other stress-free breaks, we were unable to conceive.

I also was struggling with serious fatigue issues. My primary care doctor ordered a slew of blood tests, from cortisol levels to vitamin D, and everything came back normal.

So when I first started treatment at RFC, I was excited to learn about acupuncture — an area of medicine I was not familiar with. I attended a webinar the very same week we had our initial consultation with Dr. Park. In the webinar, I learned about the treatment of the body as a whole to ensure that there’s enough energy and resources for the reproductive system to work at its best.

I started acupuncture treatment with Iris Lee and started with diagnostic evaluation and monitoring with Dr. Park. We quickly learned we had two major fertility obstacles—low ovarian reserve and endometriosis. My AMH (Anti-Mullerian Hormone) level was 0.55, which is more typically seen in a 43- or 44-year-old, and I was 38 at the time. I also had sizable endometriomas (cysts caused by ectopic endometrial tissue within the ovary) on both ovaries. Needless to say, the odds were not in our favor.

After working with Iris and Dr. Park for 5-6 months, my overall health and energy improved. We decided to proceed with our first egg retrieval and planned a second egg retrieval to immediately follow the first. Between both retrievals, we had a total of 5 embryos make it to Day 5, so we could test them. The tests came back with good news: we had a beautiful, chromosomally normal embryo, giving us a 70% chance of pregnancy.

We were so excited that we decided to try for another embryo before trying a transfer so that we would potentially have the option for a second child. For a variety of reasons, we waited a few months, so I had about 10 months of acupuncture and herbal treatment before this third retrieval. It was the most successful retrieval we ever had in terms of the number of eggs retrieved (10)! We were blessed with another high-quality, chromosomally-normal embryo (plus a “bonus” embryo for which the test results were inconclusive).

Now that we had the chance at two children, we proceeded with transferring the very first chromosomally normal embryo we had retrieved from the second cycle. After some Lupron treatment for the endometriosis and a hysteroscopy to closely examine the uterus, we transferred the embryo one month before my 40th birthday. 9 days later, I was confirmed as successfully pregnant.

We are now nearing the completion of the first trimester of a healthy pregnancy, and every aspect of our baby’s growth (heartbeat, size, etc.) is perfectly on track. And we still have a high-quality, chromosomally normal embryo waiting for us. I attribute this overwhelming success to the combination of extended acupuncture treatment, healthy diet and exercise, and the expert medical care provided by the RFC team.

Rebecca K.