First Coast News is delving into an issue that many couples don’t often talk about openly; infertility. Good Morning Jacksonville Anchor, Keitha Nelson is sharing her own personal battle with infertility and going through the In Vitro Fertilization process
Part IV: We're having twins!
Infertility and miscarriage are more common than you would think. Roughly 10 to 15 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. 1 in 100 women have repeat miscarriages in the U-S. And as you get older your risk of having a miscarriage increases. With this in mind, I've been incredibly nervous during my In Vitro Fertilization process.
On Oct. 1, 2018, I took two pregnancy tests and both had positive results. I knew there was a 30 percent chance that my husband and I could be having twins. I was elated but cautious and knew I had to try to keep my pregnancy a secret at least through the first trimester but that proved to be difficult. My appearance quickly began to change and it was visible on-air.
The In Vitro Fertilization process is interesting. Before a woman's eggs are retrieved we take fertility drug injections to help stimulate our ovaries. That makes your follicles grow and produces mature eggs. My follicles grew rather large and took what felt like forever to calm down and decrease in size. The normal ovarian size in roughly 3 cm but mine were 11 cm. As a result, my stomach was a lot larger than the average woman's would be at just five weeks pregnant so hiding my pregnancy was quite a challenge.
It didn’t take long for me to feel obligated to fess up after receiving several messages on social media and emails poured into the station. I broke the news with a simple post on social media that read: "The secret is out and so is my belly."
Soon after my doctor confirmed what I had felt deep down inside for weeks.
He let my husband and I know that we were having twins.