Anna Victoria has been very open about her infertility struggle, and has made it a point to keep her Instagram and YouTube page updated with her progress, in the hopes that it can help other women on the same path. In April we did an article that highlighted what the fitness star was doing as she began her infertility journey-- from learning to understand why she could not conceive, to changes she made to her diet and her exercise routines in the hopes of becoming pregnant. Since then, Anna Victoria has undergone a couple of infertility treatments, including IVF. In her latest video, she shares how her and her husband have persevered throughout this journey and how hopeful they are that this procedure will work for them.
In this article we’re going to discuss:
Anna and her husband had been trying to conceive naturally for most of 2018. Each time she thought she was pregnant, it turned out that she wasn’t. Although it can sometimes take couples over a year to conceive, she considered that maybe there was something else at play here. She was eventually diagnosed with unexplained infertility-- something she said she could have never dreamed of in a million years. At first she was convinced she was doing something wrong-- that there was something about her lifestyle that kept preventing her from becoming pregnant. She realized that this was just another way women tend to still blame themselves for their infertility-- and in no way is that true. She took it upon herself to understand her menstrual cycle and pinpoint the days where conception was most likely.
After this still did not yield the results she wanted, her doctors asked her about her fitness and eating routines. As a personal trainer and fitness guru, working out and eating healthy is a very important part of Anna Victoria’s life. Although a large part of her life, she also knew she had to do everything in her power to get pregnant. After reducing her high impact workouts, adding a variety of foods to her meals, and increasing her overall calories, Anna Victoria still struggled through her infertility. It was then that her and her husband made the decision to try IVF.
Anna Victoria’s latest entry on her YouTube channel shows her starting her IVF process with daily injections to stimulate her follicles in the hopes of creating eggs that are viable for retrieval. Her husband helped with her fertility injections in the days leading up to the retrieval procedure-- and this is done to help mature multiple eggs. Multiple eggs are preferred as pregnancy rates tend to be higher when more eggs are able to be retrieved.
Anna worked closely with her doctor to develop a plan for egg stimulation and monitoring. After going in for an ultrasound to check on the status, her doctor was able to determine that the follicles were growing and had reached sufficient number. This meant that it is now time for her to receive the trigger injection, before the eggs have a chance to ovulate. The next step in Anna Victoria’s IVF journey meant that the eggs were ready for retrieval, and she and her doctor set up a time for this procedure. Her eggs were removed-- 25 in all-- by utilizing a gentle suction that allows the eggs to come out with the follicular fluid. Her eggs will then be monitored for quality and then prepared for fertilization.
Anna had a successful egg retrieval, but there is still some waiting to do in order to decide if a viable embryo has been created and can eventually be implanted.
No one can predict the future, but after a successful egg retrieval, Anna and her husband will hopefully be able to eventually implant a fertilized embryo. There is more waiting after this process, to confirm that the pregnancy is in fact viable and the embryo has implanted in the uterus.
Anna Victoria has been extremely open and up front about her struggles with infertility, and has given many other women hope that just because they cannot conceive naturally, doesn’t mean they cannot conceive at all! By documenting her IVF process, she has taken on a lot of taboos that still surround IVF and other fertility procedures, and instead makes them seem very normal and relatable. We hope to give another update in the future on Anna Victoria’s progress, so stay tuned to the eIVF blog for more updates.