Fertility challenges — the ones you might anticipate and some you might not
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Jemma Henry’s six-year-old son Jack brings so much joy to her life. But the journey to conceiving Jack was not an easy one for the CORU-registered dietitian who specialises in fertility and IVF nutrition.
Jemma, 46, and husband Brian sought fertility advice after six months of trying to conceive naturally without success. “We were over 35 at that stage. I was told I had fibroids in my uterus so I had a myomectomy, but I still couldn’t conceive. I had thought ‘problem, answer given, problem solved’ but no.”
While IVF seemed “just this enormous, on-the-other-side-of-anything” step to take, the couple signed up with a fertility clinic. Jemma had always presumed IVF was a process you went through and it either worked or didn’t.
“Nobody explained there are certain hurdles you have to get through, with all these different steps — and any one of these steps mightn’t work and it gets cancelled. My eggs were collected, mixed with Brian’s sperm, but the sperm and eggs didn’t do anything. I never knew this could happen.
“And it was terrifying because I was told over the phone I wouldn’t be able to do IVF again.
She says it was a week before she could speak to a consultant who agreed she couldn’t conventional IVF but could do ICSI [Intracytoplasmic sperm injection].”
ICSI involves a single sperm being injected directly into the egg to assist fertilisation. It worked — the couple got two embryos and the first one was Jack. Jemma recalls being “elated” at finding she was pregnant. “I loved being pregnant. I really enjoyed it. Yet Brian would say ‘but you had a very hard pregnancy’. And he’s right. I’d be texting my friends saying ‘I’m just after getting sick, I have terrible nausea’. Imagine texting your friends and saying ‘I just threw up in the bathroom’.
“And I was in and out of hospital from about the fifth month with bleeding, which was scary. But while I knew we would try again, with the second embryo, for a sibling for Jack, I also knew it mightn’t happen so I wanted to enjoy the pregnancy.”
After a 17-hour labour, Jack was born. “Brian took two weeks off work and that was the happiest time of my whole life.
“My maternity leave was spent hanging out with Jack and with the other mums and babies. I made sure I did every class. I soaked it all up because I didn’t know if I would get a chance to have another baby.”
Jemma’s sixth sense that a second baby might not arrive proved correct. Neither an attempt with the second embryo nor later with a donor egg was successful. And then came covid and a diagnosis of vestibular migraine. “I had no idea migraine could cause horrendous symptoms. I wasn’t able to work for a year and a half. It has improved — I’m able to manage it with medication, acupuncture and diet, and I’m back to work.”
While undergoing IVF, Jemma was working in rehab as a dietician. But the lack of diet and lifestyle information she had been given during her treatment led to a career shift — Jemma did further specialist training, becoming a certified fertility and prenatal dietician. She wanted to use her skills and knowledge to help others going through IVF and other fertility treatments.
In a way, she says, IVF “tore strips” off her.
“It affected me in every manner. I’m so lucky to have Jack but we also had a lot of heartache. I found NISIG (National Infertility Support and Information Group so helpful. A fertility counsellor and friends who’d been through IVF gave me great support.
“But in a weird way, I don’t want to forget how hard IVF was — it has made me better able to do my job.”
Dr Vanja Fenzl, fertility consultant with Sims IVF, says IVF is a demanding procedure. “It can bring a lot of disappointment, questions, doubts, misunderstandings. It involves several [clinic] visits, injecting hormonal medications and confronting the results of treatment.”
But Fenzl says there is a lot women — and couples — can do ahead of their fertility treatment to prepare and to make it somewhat easier. “Before coming for treatment, prepare those around you who can be a psychological support – your partner, family, friends. You may need support from a counsellor or your GP. Because the calmer you are, the better.”
And there are physical care steps you can take. Fenzl points out that to get free IUI, IVF and ICSI through the HSE, you must meet ‘access criteria’ – and this includes BMI, which for a woman should be in the 18.5 to 30 range. “The Mediterranean diet gives a good base for certain nutrients you need for fertility potential,” says Fenzl, who highlights the importance of changing eating habits long-term. “It’s not just eating healthily for a month — but as a way of life.”
She also recommends taking pregnancy care supplements for at least three months before embarking on fertility treatment.
A visit to the GP should be a priority once you start thinking about your fertility potential. “Your ovarian reserve can be checked with a blood test and ultrasound scan. You should also have your thyroid gland hormone levels checked — these can influence pregnancy success rates. All this information could be very important in [leading] couples to making fertility decisions earlier.”
Around one in six couples in Ireland encounter fertility problems. And experts believe secondary infertility — where couples can't conceive after previously becoming pregnant — is about as prevalent as primary infertility. Yet despite how common fertility issues are, new research commissioned by Sims IVF found 34% of adults have experienced fertility-related stigma directly or through a family member/friend. And 14% of respondents believe fertility is a taboo subject that shouldn’t be discussed openly.
The research, conducted among 1,000 Irish adults, revealed that people are experiencing stigma in different forms — including dealing with judgement from others, humour or sarcasm directed towards them, or unsolicited advice.
IVF and similar fertility treatments demand a lot. But it goes without saying that it is absolutely worth it when a baby is born. Before Jack was born, Jemma used to say ‘I can’t wait to do this or that with my baby’. And now she can.
Parenthood is teaching her a lot. “I always thought I’d be sad as Jack was growing up. But somebody said ‘even though you’re leaving the baby stage, you get to know and interact with them so much more, and you do more stuff’ — and that person was right. Every day’s an enjoyment because he’s here.”
She’s finding that parenting requires patience. “You have to give them time to get frustrated. Like getting into the car can be a nightmare — I’d have arguments with him. Then I found if I let him walk around the car and get in through my side, it worked better. So I learned to give him more time.”
Jack, she says, is funny and smart, he loves facts and football. “As soon as he was able to move his arms, Brian — who used to play senior Gaelic football — would have him up in the morning ‘training’. Now he’s really good at football. And he gives so many cuddles and kisses.”
- Jemma Henry (nourishmyfertility.ie) will speak about ‘Conceiving with PCOS & Endometriosis’, and also present a workshop (Three Ways Nutrition Can Increase Your Chances of IVF Success) at the Future Fertility Show, which is at the RDS on March 2-3, 10.30am-4.30pm with workshops and talks all day from 11am.
The event brings together medical and holistic experts at the forefront of Irish fertility and reproductive health. Tickets from €14.50 at futurefertilityshow.com