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Chapter Eleven: Unexplained Infertility

Suspected Adhesions - LaRue’s Story

As a physical therapist who worked with premature babies and pregnant women, I commonly heard, “You are so good with children, when are you going to have a baby?” It was always a difficult question for me but how could they know I was surrounded by exactly what I couldn’t have?

At 25, my husband and I decided to start our family. He was an Ob/Gyn, so we were well aware of the time it takes most couples to become pregnant. But when we still weren’t pregnant after a year, we knew something was wrong.

We both went through tests and the doctors told me everything was fine with me. They discovered that my husband had some antibodies in his sperm. We knew the chances were low, but we decided that we would just keep trying naturally.

Each month, my hopes heightened, and then when my period came, it was like another failure. We had both succeed­ed at everything else in life and I always thought, “Why can’t I succeed at this?” To make matters worse, I was surrounded by pregnant women at work who could not understand my struggle.

This was an extremely trying period for us. In fact, my husband even cried during a delivery once. While the family thought it was out of happiness for them, he confessed to me that it was because the mom reminded him of me and the child that we were not able to have. It got to the point where I actu­ally dreaded going to baby showers. I finally accepted I would never be a mother.

It was not until years later, after my husband tragi­cally passed away, that I thought of having children. I remar­ried and my present husband traveled a lot, and although we tried when we could, I knew our chances of conceiving weren’t high. We tried for a year or so, and I became concerned that nothing had happened.

Because I was in my thirties, I wanted to make sure my hormones were at the right level. I went to see my doctor for a series of tests, which all came back normal.

My doctor recommended we try an IUI to increase our chances for conception, but when it was unsuccessful:  my husband didn’t want to continue with infertility treatments. He already had children and did not understand my desire to have my own.

For a couple of years we pursued no treatments, but I finally decided I was not okay with this option. I wanted chil­dren of my own and I decided to see a specialist.

The specialist suspected I had adhesions from three surgeries I underwent as a teenager. She suggested I have an­other surgery to remove the adhesions.

Because I am in the medical field, I knew that adhesions beget adhesions. As a physical therapist, I had already heard about Clear Passage Therapies (CPT) and asked my doctor if she felt their treatment might be beneficial. I even provided her with a brochure detailing the treatment that was available. She told me, with some skepticism in her voice, “I suppose it is worth a try if you feel strongly about it.”   

I decided to attend treatment for an intensive week of therapy. The first day of treatment, I knew right away this wasn’t typical physical therapy. The therapists evaluated my entire body and they soon found a spot that, when stretched, elicited exact­ly the kind of pain I experienced during my menstrual cycle. If I had not been a physical therapist, I would not have understood that this was a good sign. Even though this aspect of treatment was somewhat painful, I knew if they could find the area that caused my pain, they would then be able to resolve that pain.

After my first day of treatment, I must have gone to the bathroom at least ten times. It was like their treatment helped clear my bowels and bladder.

By the time treatment was over, the majority of my aches and pains were gone. In fact, I never had menstrual cramps again after that one week of therapy.

I decided to give myself six months to become pregnant, and sure enough, that sixth month I became pregnant.

After our beauti­ful baby girl was born, I knew I didn’t want her to be an only child. My hus­band thought that one child was enough. But one day, he saw her sit­ting and playing by herself and thought she looked so lonely.

We decided to have another child and were able to become pregnant again the next month! I couldn’t believe that after all of my years of struggling with infertility, it was that easy. I gave birth to our son nine months later.

A year after his birth, I was able to become pregnant again. Although I lost that pregnancy as a miscarriage, I know that a single miscarriage is not uncommon for a woman to experience.

I still think it is incredible that I was able to have three successive pregnancies because of CPT. It is nice to see a natu­ral treatment help women achieve their dreams.

Seven Years of Infertility and Chronic UTIs - Jennifer’s Story

My husband and I attempted unsuccessfully to get preg­nant from the very beginning. Upon attending Clear Passage Therapies (CPT), I had been married for six years.

I come from a large family with five siblings, including a twin sister. I love being from a large family, so I have always wanted many chil­dren. My husband has three siblings and feels the same way.  We married just a week shy of my 30th birthday, so we started working on a family right away. Early in our marriage, I suffered from discom­fort and sometimes pain during intercourse. Months, and soon years, went by and I was not getting pregnant despite the fact that I had never used any form of birth control. I felt intuitively that the intercourse discomfort and pain must be connected to my infertility. 

I decided it was time to visit my gynecologist to gain some understanding of the problem. My doctor said that after two years of unprotected sex and no pregnancy, I was officially “infertile.” Wow, I never thought that it would happen to me! But sure enough, that diagnosis became part of my life. I then began the next step, trying a fertility drug called Clomid. I tried three months of Clomid with no success. My doctor then suggested that I undergo some diagnostic tests to see if there was a physical problem.

I went through the typical battery of tests. In fact, my HSG was done on the morning of September 11, 2001. It was a bad morning in many ways to say the least! The doctors told me that I was not getting spill of the dye into one side and they suspected one of my fallopian tubes was blocked. How­ever, because of where the blockage occurred, they could not be certain that it was totally blocked. They encouraged me not to worry because, “Sometimes this procedure opens things up, and women often get pregnant afterward.”

I left with a bittersweet feeling. I had a blockage on one side, but it could be “opened up.” Although I was hopeful ini­tially, months went by, and I still was not pregnant. I then went back to my gynecologist, who sent me to the local infertility specialist.

During consultation, he suggested that I had two pri­mary options; I could either do in vitro fertilization (IVF) or artificial insemination. He said with the statistics, IVF was the most likely method to produce results. As a practicing Catholic, I knew this was not a good choice for me.

I decided to speak with several Catholic priests about this. They all sug­gested that even though we do not always understand God’s plan, or the church’s “rules” on sanctity of life, we must still obey as Catholics. We cannot “pick and choose” which rules to obey and which not just because they do not fit into our lives. I knew this was a spiritual lesson for me as well, and my responsibility was clear. 

I thought about adoption, and would be open to it, but my husband was not fully on board. He felt that God would give us a baby one day, and that we should wait longer. Easier said than done!   

I decided to buy the sticks that would tell me when I was ovulating and keep trying naturally. I used those sticks nearly daily for four years! I also tried the “basal temperature/natural family planning” method, but I didn’t have success with it either. 

In the meantime, I was having chronic urinary tract in­fections (UTIs). I went through a battery of tests regarding this, and even received antibiotic treatment for six months. All test­ing was inconclusive or negative, yet the UTIs continued.

Through all of this, I couldn’t help feeling that these issues were all somehow connected to my infertility. Af­ter all, they were in the same general part of the body. How could I have occasional discomfort during intercourse, chronic UTIs, and infertility all generally unexplained? I also knew I had chronic back pain from two accidents I was in. I asked my doc­tors if these were related, and most said no. But I still was not convinced.

My emotions during this process were difficult to bare. Any time a friend would tell me she was pregnant, I received an invitation to a baby shower, or a baby was born, I would feel happiness for the friend, but incredible sadness that it was not me.

My twin sister married several years after me. I warned her to try to get pregnant right away if she wanted a family. After all, I was having such a difficult time and we were twins. Wouldn’t you know, she conceived on her honeymoon! She miscarried a month later, and re-conceived again within two months. Two pregnancies within three months!  

Finally, in 2004, my sister-in-law was working as a medi­cal director in a medium-sized hospital. She was receiving medi­cal journals online, and found an article regarding the efficacy of treatment by Clear Passage Therapies (CPT). She forwarded the article to me, and I felt that this may just be the answer that I was looking for. Many of their patients also had chronic UTIs and infertility, as well as pain during intercourse. This sounded familiar! 

I thought this may be an answer to my prayers, and I contacted them immediately. They gave me a medical history form to complete in order to determine if I was an ap­propriate candidate for treatment. The closest treatment center at the time was in a city about 2.5 hours north of my home.

When I was accepted into the treatment program, I set up my first 10 hours during a holiday break. My family doctor specialized in physical medicine, and he readily gave me a script for “physical therapy” due to chronic pain, which ultimately helped to alleviate some of the cost of the program.

I began my treatment the week after Christmas in 2005. I am in the rehabilitation field myself, and have worked along­side physical therapists, so I had an inkling of an idea of what was to occur, but did not know fully, so I was slightly nervous.

The process consisted of both typical physical therapy maneuvers, but also “internal” maneuvers. This was uncomfort­able at first, but it proved to be one of the most beneficial parts of the process. It was kind of like go­ing to the Ob/Gyn for a check-up. The therapist was thoughtful and described what she was doing, why, and what she was find­ing in her assessment, and during treatment. She also explained why I may be feeling pain during intercourse on occasion. 

I left feeling filled with hope. Because of my work sched­ule, I had to complete my remaining 10 hours six months later. In the meantime, the clinic that I went to closed! I was devas­tated. However, CPT contacted me, and helped pay for my transportation to their Florida clinic since I had already paid for the treatment. I was relieved, and looking forward to completing the process.

Six months later in June of 2005, I went to Florida, and completed the final 10 hours. I had multiple therapists, all of whom were professional and caring. The halls of the center were filled with baby pictures, and a new mother was there showing the therapists her child. I started to cry. I felt hope and anxiety at the same time. Would this really work for me or was I just a hopeless case? Why would this work after six years of no success? Just because there are some success stories doesn’t mean it will happen to me. I was 36 years old now.

As I completed my treatment, they gave me some sug­gestions and materials for preventing pain during intercourse. When I returned home, I was eager to see my husband. We had a wonderful night, pain free and pleasurable! I had a new intimate life with my husband! This was an unexpected bonus!  

By Septem­ber of 2005 (three months later), I took a home pregnancy test at my sister’s house because I suspected I could be pregnant. It was positive! I never cried so hard in my entire life! I felt so relieved and so filled with joy and excitement. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone. I wanted the world to know — I didn’t care about “waiting until the first trimester is over just in case.” I just couldn’t hold it in. I gave my husband a “Parents” magazine with a positive test in­side to tell him our news. He was elated as well. We were finally going to be parents. 

However, we were not out of the woods yet. During the pregnancy, I contracted “fifth’s disease” while working at a school with young children. I had never heard of it before, but apparently it is one of the diseases on the “don’t get this when you’re pregnant” list. So I had to have weekly ultrasounds. It was another blessing in disguise because I had a chronicled picture history of my daughter’s development in-utero.

In June of 2006, we had a beautiful, healthy baby girl 8 pounds 6 ounces. She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I was 37 years old at her birth, and I finally had the child I had always wanted my entire life. I can’t even look at her with­out crying tears of joy. I am so grateful to God and to the car­ing, skillful therapists at CPT. They not only helped me conceive my daughter, but also conceive again naturally — I’m 11 weeks pregnant! They truly changed my life!

Infertility, Despite Multiple IUIs and 3 IVFs - Nicole’s Story

Being diagnosed with infertility is like being asked to walk a tight rope. It’s all a balancing act – having faith you will conceive but not holding on to your dreams too tight. All around you, well-intentioned friends and family offer advice and it’s hard to not be consumed by infertility charts, tests, and procedures. Ultimately, my efforts resulted in my beautiful daughter – but I had to learn to trust my own instincts and do what I felt was best for my body.

I was a year into my efforts to conceive when I realized there might be a problem. I consulted one of the top infertility specialists in the country. After all of the testing, he couldn’t find anything wrong; I was given that lovely diagnosis of “unex­plained infertility.”

He decided to put me on Clomid for a couple of cycles to see what would happen. However, the medication made me an insomniac. I normally am a great sleeper – and I need that sleep. After two months, I couldn’t function with the side effects of sleep deprivation so my doctor suggested I move straight to IVF.

Instead, I really felt I needed to treat the cause of my infertility, so I decided to consult another specialist. My new specialist felt laparoscopic surgery would enable him to find the cause of my infertility. During surgery, he found that the tiny fimbriae at the ends of my fallopian tubes were adhered. He told me, “Your fallopian tubes are still clear on the inside, but your fimbriae and tubes are stiff and not moving. I tried to remove as many adhesions as possible, but I did not want to damage your fimbriae.”

I tried to become pregnant naturally afterwards, but suf­fered a miscarriage. My doctor and I decided to continue with different forms of hormones. I was able to become pregnant once again, but then I miscarried again. We even tried sev­eral IUIs to help the sperm reach my uterus, but I was only able to become pregnant once and then miscarried again. 

Finally, two years into my struggle to conceive, I pro­ceeded with IVF. At 38, I did my first cycle and was able to be­come pregnant, but again miscarried. I did two more IVF cycles at 39 and 40, but I didn’t get pregnant at all.

By this time, the infertility specialist told me that the “grade of my eggs” was low because of my age and encouraged me to pursue donor eggs. I didn’t agree with his assessment because I always responded well to the drugs and produced high quality embryos – my inner voice was telling me that there must have been a problem with implantation.

It was then that a friend mentioned Clear Passage Ther­apies (CPT). I looked it up online and was intrigued. I was al­ready familiar with massage and physical therapy because I have scoliosis. I had tremendous success with these treatments and I hoped manual physical therapy could help my infertility.

Before I attended treatment, another friend of mine suggested a doctor who specialized in finding causes of infertil­ity. As I wanted to cover every possibility I went to see him. The doctor found I was positive for mycoplasma, which he could easily treat with antibiotics. It is a bacteria/virus that is hard to find and in some can cause infertility. He also found that my natural killer cell count was a little high and may spike at the time of pregnancy. Natural killer cells are the “special forces” of the immune system and they see an embryo as a parasite and try to kill it. High levels of natural killer cells are usually found in people who have fought cancer – and that was definitely me. When I was 20, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had to have a portion of my cervix removed. My doctor explained that when I became pregnant he could test me for the natural killer cell levels and give me medications to prevent my immune system from killing the embryo.

I spoke with my doctor about CPT and he felt their treatment made sense. I sched­uled the therapy and explained my extensive his­tory to the CPT therapists. When they examined my cervix, they found it was very tight and hard, leaving only a small opening. This was an important finding as it was yet another key to a cause of my infertility. My evaluating therapist said that they would add a special focus for treatment in this area during my sessions.

Since there was a CPT clinic where I lived, I scheduled my remaining sessions over the next few months. Each session, they worked to reduce the scar tissue around my cervix and fimbriae. At the same time, my therapists greatly reduced my upper back, neck, and shoulder pain.

I became preg­nant naturally after 16 hours of therapy and before I was finished with the antibiotics course for the my­coplasma. I immediately went to my doctor who gave me the medication I needed to suppress my immune system. He also noted that the tightness in my cervix was greatly reduced. My pregnancy was phenomenal and I delivered naturally – eight days after she was due! She has been amazingly healthy.

My success was a combination of my doctor’s efforts and CPT. I am so grateful that I was able to become pregnant naturally. I think CPT created the possibility for my body and reproductive organs to work properly, and then my doctor re­solved the conditions with my immune sys­tem that were imped­ing a full-term preg­nancy.

My struggle with infertility showed me that my body functions as a whole entity. Everything is connected. You can­not just treat your infertility; you have to treat your entire body. Exercising, liv­ing cleanly, and eat­ing healthy food will help, but sometimes we need additional help clearing out the psychological and physical damage of the past. I think my CPT treatments helped me do that. They rejuvenated my body and prepared it for the greatest natural miracle.

Myomectomy and One Blocked Fallopian Tube - Nyamekye’s Story

I thought I had planned the “perfect” life. I got married at 18 years old, and went to college on a full scholarship. I got my first teaching job right out of college. When things settled down for my husband and I financially, we decided to try foster care by a referral of a friend. My husband and I loved working with children and we thought we would welcome a few in our home. We enjoyed the fostering so much that we decided it was time to start our own family. We thought the fostering had given us great experience with the full-time nature of parenting.

I stopped taking birth control pills and started taking prenatal vitamins. I was ready! We tried for a couple of months, and got pregnant! I surprised my husband with the news by buying a bib that said, “I love my daddy!” When my husband saw it, he was just as happy as me. 

The next day, I started bleeding. I read on the Internet that some women bleed in pregnancy so I decided to take it easy at work, but it did not stop. I immediately called the doc­tor and told her. She tested my blood and said it did not look like a viable pregnancy. She confirmed it during a vaginal ultra­sound when she could not find anything in my womb. I was devastated. The doctor encouraged us to keep trying.

We tried for many months after that loss. Intercourse started to become monotonous, scheduled, and meaningless. After more than six months of trying with no success, we went back to the doctor. She told me that she could begin run­ning some tests. 

All of the blood tests came back normal, but the HSG showed my uterus was covered with fibroids and I had a blocked fallopian tube. She immediately referred me to a specialist. The specialist recommended surgery to unblock the fallopian tube and to remove the fibroids from my uterus in order to become pregnant. My world simply shattered. For many months, our moods were very down and I thought my chances for preg­nancy were nil! My husband could not help but blame me and vent to his relatives overseas.

In December of 2004, I consented to have a myomec­tomy, even though my husband was out of the country on a pre-scheduled trip. My sister-in-law came to stay with me and comfort me. This was my first major surgery!

The surgery was successful in removing the fibroids, but she was unable to open my tube. I was told to re­cover for six to eight weeks and then come to her office to discuss the next steps. My husband re­turned and we decided to return to the specialist. She told us that we could try some less expensive alternatives, like insemination. Now that the embryo could stick to my uterine wall, we just needed to bypass the tubes. Okay, we decided to give this a try! 

We got started with all of the testing of my ovula­tion, the drugs to stimulate ovulation, and the testing of the quality of my husband’s sperm. The test showed a significant problem with the sperm and that we would need a miracle for it to produce a pregnancy.  Again, our spirits took yet another dive. My husband really struggled with this news! He had been putting pressure and venting on me until this day. He broke down emotionally.

The specialist suggested we consider a sperm donor. I remember looking on the website for a donor. My husband was crushed and refused to participate. He said there was no way he would ever let us consider that option. We talked about adoption, but we just could not wrap our brain around the fact that we were an infertile couple.

We went through two cycles of insemination with my husband’s sperm, even though the doctor said it was highly un­likely to work with his sperm. I took Clomid and other drugs to boost my ovulation. Neither cycle worked! At that point, my infertility benefits were depleted. We were convinced the inseminations were not working, and we needed more options. The specialist said that our only remaining option was in vitro fertilization (IVF). She told us to visit with the financial coun­selor who may be able to help us find a way to pay for it. 

I was not convinced and I did not want a home equity loan on our house. I got on the Internet and wanted to do more research. I had researched previously and saw a website about blocked fallopian tubes. I did a search again, and typed in “blocked fallopian tubes.” Again, the same website, Clear Pas­sage Therapies (CPT), came up first that had appeared when I was researching the surgery.

This time I decided to really analyze and look at the website again. I read all of the information on the website, ordered the brochure and video, and talked with my husband. I wanted to really see if there was a possibility in this technique or if it was too good to be true. On my next visit with the specialist, I asked her about the treatment. She said she had one patient who went to the clinic, but she was unaware of the outcome and she did not know about it personally.

We watched the video and read the results over and over. We were inspired by the story of Larry and Belinda dis­covering this miracle procedure that was helping women get pregnant. We were touched by the individual stories of success when there seemed to be no hope, so we started listing the pros and cons.

The cost was drastically cheaper than IVF, and it could also help to make IVF more successful if we had to go that route. The only cons were the time away from work for both of us (I was not going to go alone), and the travel expenses. We made the decision to go for it. The week before school started in August, my husband and I traveled in faith to Florida. We stayed with my husband’s cousin, a medical doctor. We asked her to look over the CPT materials and see what she thought. She said to give it a try and just pray for a blessing. 

Each morning, we drove to the clinic. My husband came to all of the sessions with me and came in the room to give me support. The CPT staff was very welcoming and encouraging. Each night we would walk and pray for a miracle. The stretching in the sessions made me tired and sore, but I didn’t mind!

We came home hoping to get pregnant really soon. Nothing happened in September. In the beginning of Oc­tober, my breasts started to grow. I knew I was pregnant. I took a test. We were pregnant! I knew not to get excited yet, because of what happened the first time. This time proved to be different! We were really pregnant on our own!  

I had a very smooth and easy pregnancy. I delivered a son on July 13, 2005, weighing 8 lbs., 2 oz., and 21 inches long. We were parents!

We enjoyed our baby boy and when he turned four months old, we were pregnant again! We got pregnant on our own with no assistance. CPT had definitely cleared my tubes! I delivered a baby girl, August 31, 2006, 6 lbs. 0 oz., and 20 inches long. Our parents and supporters were shocked at the rapid turnaround.  

My hus­band’s cousin, the doctor in Florida, is now refer­ring her own infer­tility pa­tients to CPT after seeing our results. We are forever appreciative to CPT for their part in making our family!

Infertile after IUD - Mia’s Story

“My infertility is unexplained,” Mia told us. “My doctors have never been able to find a cause.”

Like thousands of women, Mia was frustrated with her diagnosis and wanted to find answers. Her infertility struggle had begun years earlier, and as she explained, her experience was different from many infertile women, “I am in a same-sex relationship, so for us, natural conception means home insemi­nations and intrauterine inseminations (IUI).”

At 29, Mia tried for a year to become pregnant with a friend. Then they tried with the help of IUIs, but after three unsuccessful attempts she decided to take a break.

A few years later, Mia and her partner decided to re­sume their efforts, but this time they pursued in vitro fertil­ization (IVF). “I was devastated when it didn’t work,” she told us. But after a while, she realized that she needed to move on and began researching other options. That search eventually led her to Clear Passage Therapies (CPT). Hoping to improve her body’s ability to conceive and carry a child to term, Mia sched­uled a one-week course of therapy.

When Mia arrived, we reviewed her history to look for possible areas of adhesion formation, which we have found to be a frequent cause of unexplained infertility. Among other things, we noted that she had used an intrauterine device (IUD) years earlier — a contraceptive device that is inserted through the cervix into the uterus, where it prevents pregnancy by creating inflammation. We suspected that Mia had adhesion formation in her cervix and uterus that was interfering with implantation. Our therapists worked  to dissipate those adhered tissues, and restore normal mobility and receptivity to the area.

As we worked with Mia in this process, we explained each step. Mia said she appreciated our informative approach and later told us this helped her learn to “experience and un­derstand her body on a whole new level.”

Three months after treatment, she tried another IUI with Clomid. When it didn’t work, she tried again two months later, with frozen donor sperm. While many physicians and researchers have found that frozen sperm yields lower success rates than fresh sperm, in Mia’s case, it worked! Mia told us, “I believe the work I received at CPT was very beneficial.”

Thirty-three weeks later she gave birth to a son. “Luc was born premature,” Mia told us, “but he was fine. He’s almost two years old now, and doing great!”

Age 42, Five Prior IVFs,vand Three Miscarriages - Ashley’s Story

My husband, Aaron, and I met and married in our mid-30s. We knew that we wanted children, so after roughly six months of marriage, we began trying to conceive. Little did we know the long, difficult journey on which we were embarking. In the beginning, we were very excited about trying, and each new month brought with it the renewed anticipation of achiev­ing a pregnancy. We couldn’t wait to become parents!

After several months of trying without success, we be­gan getting a little worried. I made an appointment with my Ob/Gyn in order to have things checked out. She ran a series of tests on me and on Aaron. My test results indicated no hor­monal problems and no blockage in my tubes. Some problems were found in Aaron’s semen analysis, but none of the prob­lems would ultimately prevent conception, only make it more difficult to achieve. Because of my age, she referred me to a reproductive endocrinologist. Now, we were officially on the roller coaster ride of our lives.

The RE ran some additional tests. I passed the Clomid Challenge Test (a test in which Clomid is used to measure if the woman has decreased ovarian reserve), so we were ready to pursue IVF. We began completing the required checklist of items in preparation for IVF, including training on giving shots. As we worked toward the completion of the checklist of re­quirements, we couldn’t wait for the day to arrive to begin the procedure. Once again, we were full of hope, and I found it refreshing that the doctor and nurses were now in charge. I could stop charting my temperature and monitoring each day of my cycle. I didn’t realize until much later how much stress my body was being put under, simply due to this constant reminder of our fertility struggles at the start of each day.

The day finally arrived to begin our IVF cycle. The next few weeks were comprised of giving myself shots, taking pills, having blood drawn, and ultrasounds. The day of retrieval finally arrived and it was a success. Several eggs were retrieved, and the next day we were informed that ten had successfully fertil­ized. Things were looking good, and on day three, the doctor transferred four embryos of good quality.

Aaron and I felt good about how things had gone. We were experiencing feelings of hope and excitement, but I couldn’t help also feeling fear and anxiety in anticipation of tak­ing the pregnancy test.

On the scheduled date, I showed up at the doctor’s office to have blood drawn for my pregnancy test. Afterwards, I drove to work and started the wait­ing game again. Ev­ery time the phone rang, I fearfully an­swered and thought to myself, “Is it the doctor’s office call­ing with the results?” When it finally was a nurse, I heard the words, “You’re pregnant.” We did it! I was finally pregnant! I called Aaron with the news.

I can’t even begin to describe the way that we felt, but unfortunately, the joy wouldn’t last. At about seven weeks I miscarried, and the emotional roller coaster continued. We went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, and I began asking God, “Why?”

We met with the doctor to discuss our options, and we decided to try IVF again. Once again, the retrieval was a success. Two blastocysts of high quality were transferred to my uterus and six remaining blastocysts were of high enough quality to freeze. The cycle was going very well, and Aaron and I were very excited. Once again, a pregnancy occurred with one em­bryo, and we were back on an emotional high.

We were thoroughly enjoying watching our baby grow in the ultrasounds until about week ten. It was at this ultra­sound that our nightmare began again. The doctor could no longer find a heartbeat. I had miscarried for a second time. He scheduled me for a follow-up ultrasound a few days later to confirm the miscarriage before going forward with another D & C.

Aaron and I turned to one another as we searched within each of us to deal with the grief of losing another baby. We later found out that the baby was a boy, and he miscarried due to a chromosomal abnormality. While it didn’t lessen the pain, it was good to have an answer, and fortunately, the prob­lem was not highly anticipated to recur.

After some time, we met with our doctor and discussed our options yet again. We decided to do a frozen embryo trans­fer. The decision was made to transfer three embryos, and for­tunately, the first three thawed well, leaving us with three still frozen. Again, I beat the odds for someone my age, and I became pregnant with one baby. Now, each ultrasound brought with it fear and anxiety, as we waited each time to hear and see the heartbeat. Only after finding the heartbeat each time could we relax and enjoy seeing our baby grow. Near the end of the first trimester, my RE released me to my OB’s care.

Finally back under my OB’s care, we breathed a huge sigh of relief when I made it to the second trimester. The preg­nancy continued progressing well, and we found out that we were having a boy at the 20 week ultrasound. Aaron and I were feeling really good about everything as we headed into the holiday season. We traveled a few hours to my parents’ house for the weekend to celebrate Christmas. It was there that our nightmare began yet again.

After we arrived, I couldn’t shake the feeling that some­thing was wrong, and I had noticed a decline in the baby’s move­ment. The morning we were leaving, I told Aaron that I thought we should call the doctor. The nurse tried to reassure us that everything was probably fine, but if we would like, we could go straight to the hospital when we got back into town to have the baby checked. When we arrived, the doctor could not find a heartbeat. I had never before felt such a deep pain and sense of loss in my life. I can still see the image of tears running down Aaron’s face. The pain never completely goes away. Even now, four and a half years later, recalling these memories has brought tears to my eyes.

The next day, my doctor began in­ducing labor, and our son was stillborn on December 23, 2003. He was beautiful, our little angel, and we were given the opportunity to hold him and to say goodbye. The doctor and nurses allowed us to keep him with us for the night. I am eternally grateful for this time with him.

Aaron and I had a very quiet Christmas, and we found ourselves questioning our faith once again. I can remember feeling completely empty inside, and as we prepared for our son’s funeral, I found myself longing to be with him. I knew that I couldn’t begin the healing process until the funeral was behind us. Grieving is a process of steps, and the next few months were spent reading books about coping with the loss of a child and about trying to understand God’s purpose. In time, I began getting my faith back on solid ground and praying to God for guidance.

After some months had passed and with no explanation found for the death of our son, we went back to our RE to discuss our next step, while I also continued praying for guid­ance. We decided to go through another fresh IVF cycle, and so the routine (shots, lab work, ultrasounds, etc.) began again. By now, I had grown to hate the process, but I was also feeling very desperate. My 40th birthday was approaching, and the doctors, unfortunately, do us no favors mentally, emotionally and physi­cally with the way they paint very negative pictures for women in this age group. The stimulation went well and they retrieved 13 eggs. It was at this point that the cycle turned bad. Only one egg had fertilized overnight, so the embryologist performed ICSI on six more eggs. The doctors could find no explanation as to why this was happening because the eggs and sperm had looked fine. Ultimately, only three actually fertilized, and on day three, two were still of a good quality when the transfer was done. This time, my pregnancy test was negative. Aaron and I were crushed and truly no longer knew where to turn. We were afraid to simply try again, and all of the treatments were beginning to take their toll on my body. I was actually beginning to expe­rience menopause symptoms.

It was at this point that I began being open and re­ceptive to more natural methods of enhancing fertility. In past research, I had come across the benefits of acupuncture and types of foods in relation to fertility, but at the time, I was not yet receptive to such unconventional measures. I had to reach the point of hopelessness before I could hear the guidance for which I had been praying. I began researching these topics more, and read a book by a doctor specializing in acupuncture, diet and herbs (Traditional Chinese Medicine) to enhance fertility. It was fascinating, and I found renewed hope.

Aaron and I began seeing a fertility specialist, originally from China, who was a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. We saw her and her husband for nearly a year, driving eight hours round trip for each appointment. Using the knowledge I had gained from the TCM book that I had read, we also be­came very focused on the type of foods we included in our diet. While we noticed favorable changes in our health, including the disappearance of my menopause symptoms, we unfortu­nately did not achieve a natural pregnancy, and so once again, we geared up for another fresh IVF cycle.

We went into this (our fifth IVF cycle) with very high hopes because of the TCM and our very healthy diet. Much to the surprise of the RE, because of my age of 40, I stimulated very well and a good number of eggs were retrieved. I attribute this to the natural measures we had taken. Un­fortunately, no pregnancy occurred. Our TCM doctor was just as surprised as we were. Aaron and I somehow held onto our faith, and I continued praying for guidance.

I had decided to jump right back into the acupuncture and herbs, but God had another plan for us. Conflicts on week­ends kept occurring, preventing us from traveling to see the TCM doctor. By the time a month had passed, I had gotten the courage to pursue another natural way that I had uncovered in past research.

Through the Internet, I had discovered a couple who, af­ter much research, had finally succeeded in conceiving naturally twice by changing their diet and adding certain vitamins, sup­plements, exercise and meditation to their daily regimen. The objective was to address the health of the whole person (mind, body and spirit). It seems the mind can have a very powerful effect on the body and how it performs, and anyone struggling with fertility issues and the all-consuming desire to have a baby, has most likely had a lot of negative influences (test results, medical statistics, poor prognoses, etc.). So our new journey began. We had already improved our diets and were exercising regularly. I came up with a vitamin and supplement regimen for us to follow, and I began working on my mind with meditation, visualization and positive affirmations.

Several months went by, and while we knew we were healthier and felt better, no pregnancy had yet occurred. I was now 41 years old. I continued praying for guidance, and some new information always seemed to come my way when I need­ed it most. I read a book by another woman who had been di­agnosed with high FSH and who conceived naturally after addressing the health of her whole being. As a result, I made a few minor modi­fications to my reg­imen. I also began practicing yoga and Qi Gong geared toward enhancing fertility, and get­ting monthly hour-long massages in an effort to reduce stress and improve blood flow to my reproductive organs. Prior to ovulation, I would massage my lower abdomen to improve blood flow to my ovaries with the goal of improving the quality of my eggs.

Months came and went. If a biological baby were to be in our future, I needed a booster shot of hope, and I got it. Not long after praying for more guidance, I came across a link on the Internet to the Clear Passage Therapies (CPT) website. I found the information fascinating, and I wanted to learn more so I requested additional information. I was so excited when the information came in the mail. I read the information, and it seemed to address a problem that could be affecting me, scar­ring from the multiple D&Cs that I had after my miscarriages and stillbirth and from an appendectomy in my youth. I was ex­cited about the possibilities, but at the same time, I was hesitant to spend even more money chasing our dream. I put it aside for a while, but the therapy was always in the back of my mind.

My 42nd birthday was fast approaching, and I still wasn’t pregnant. I brought the topic of the therapy up again with Aaron, and we decided to go for it. We thought if nothing else, I would be doing something good for my body, and we would get a vacation out of it. I scheduled the therapy and off to Florida we went in the Spring of 2006.

The treatment was wonderful, and the therapists were friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. They put me at ease right away, provided a lot of interesting information, and made the sessions very relaxing. They found a lot of tightness in my reproductive area, and I learned that organs must be free to move in order to function at their best. They worked on me from my head to my toes.

By the time I left, sex no longer hurt in one position, my appendectomy scar felt completely different, and my tailbone was more properly aligned. No matter what happened after we returned home, I knew that I was feeling better both mentally and physically, and we had spent a wonderful vacation together.

Heading into fall of that year, I put my BBT thermom­eter away after Aaron told me to stop taking my temperature and leave it in the hands of God. It was so out of character for him to speak so frankly and pointedly to me that I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I truly felt as if God were speaking through Aaron and telling me to trust in Him. It wasn’t until I stopped taking my temperature that I discovered just how much stress that morning routine was putting on my body. It was truly lib­erating to retire my thermometer.

I was now 42 years old, and I felt like we needed to come up with a plan once again. Finally, I discussed my feelings with God, then with Aaron. I told him that if I were not preg­nant by the end of the year, I thought we should try our remain­ing frozen embryos. If that didn’t work, I thought we should pursue adoption. I was done with fresh IVF cycles, and I was ready to move on in our lives. He agreed. The remaining weight was now gone from my shoulders.

That was the month I became pregnant naturally, rough­ly seven months after my therapy at CPT. At 42, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.

I truly believe that the therapy provided by CPT was the help that my body needed to be receptive to a pregnancy.

My advice to others facing fertility issues would be to keep an open mind and don’t think of it in terms of “infertil­ity.”  That alone has a very negative connotation to it. Medical science and what doctors have been able to achieve is wonderful, and many couples have had their dreams of having children fulfilled with the high tech procedures. ART did help us to achieve three pregnancies. Just remember that doctors are not God, and if you are open to other ideas, you might just still achieve your dream. There are no guarantees, but there can be hope outside the realm of medically assisted techniques such as IVF.

Releasing Emotional Pain - Molly’s Story

 

Let me first say I always wanted children and I always wanted to have a family. I never thought I wouldn’t. My struggle to have children began with personal issues from my childhood. I had to change my thinking before my body and emotions would allow me to get pregnant and have a baby.

When I married at age 22, I was ready to start a family. However, my husband and I wanted to be in the right emotional and financial state. It was until New Years Eve of 2000, when I was 35, that we finally decided to start our family. My husband had a new job, I had a master’s degree, and our new home was finally completed.

My husband and I flushed my birth control pills togeth­er down the toilet. We then went to an open field and lit fire­works together to celebrate our decision to have a baby.  We moved into our new home and couldn’t believe how wonderful everything with my husband was.

However, my body now wanted to stop my heart from joy...we could not get pregnant. Every month, we kept seeing my period. I was com­pletely devastated.

Christmas Eve of 2001 marked one year since we tried to get pregnant. We didn’t have the money to see a fertility specialist, but my parents offered to pay for it.

In January of 2002, I turned 37 and all tests came back saying there was no reason I couldn’t get pregnant: my tubes were clear, my FSH was 6, I did not have fibroids, my pe­riods were normal, etc.

The doctor advised we begin Clomid ...nothing. We also tried IUIs and injectables, but no baby. Our doctor said it was time we try IVF, but the lab was closed for the next six months.

In the meantime, my mother came across an article on Clear Passage Therapies (CPT). She told me, “You know while you’re waiting for your IVF this will keep you feeling proactive and help your uterus be nice and cozy for the new baby.” I am crying as I write this for my mother and her support and love and finding this article.

My husband and I went to CPT from August 27-29th for 10 hours of treatment. We were so impressed with ev­eryone there. My husband was even in the room dur­ing some of the treatments where they tried to show him how he could do the massages at home.

I then went by myself for an additional 10 hours from September 3-6th. I had a lot of time to reflect, and one of my therapists explained how we hold past emotional trauma within ourselves and how we need to release it somehow. It got me thinking that maybe I was holding on to my past and even though everything seemed to be okay now, deep down I was still hurting. 

That night, I went back to my hotel room. I started thinking about the messages from my past and how they could be holding me back. I vowed to start loving my body and so what other things I could do to get ready for IVF in January. I felt rejuvenated – all the way to my uterus and cervix. For the first time I loved my body and released the emotional pain from my heart that I did not realize was there.

When I got home, I decided to start acupuncture and eliminated bad carbohydrates from my diet. In November, I re­turned to the IVF clinic for a consultation and the doctor was amazed by how clear and smooth my uterus looked. I told him about CPT and he scuffed at the idea - but I knew CPT helped! CPT allowed me to start taking notice of my body and emo­tions on a whole. I learned that I needed to take care of my body and emotions in order to achieve a pregnancy.

In January I returned to the IVF clinic for my transfer. I was shocked when they told me my FSH was 16! My IVF cycle was canceled and the doctor told me my only option was donor eggs. The doctor said I had a 1% of ever conceiv­ing with my own eggs. I fell to pieces. I left the clinic so angry and mad – I could not believe I had another obstacle. It was the worst day of my life.

I was soon able to rationalize the experience with my­self though. Even though he was a doctor, I knew he was not GOD and did not know everything. I knew my body was healthy.

I remembered that CPT told me to let go of in­ternal anger. I got on the internet and started searching and came across a book by Julia Indichova called Inconceivable. I ordered it with a two day RUSH!

I remember so clearly the day it came in the mail. There were two packages – one with egg donor information from the fertility clinic and one with Inconceivable. I opened the egg donor info and was angry that all these girls had their eggs and were so young and healthy. When I was their age, I wasted my time and now I was too late.

I called my mom and she told me not to worry about it. She suggested we go on a cruise together to take our mind off everything. Her idea made me feel better so I dried my tears and got out the book. I read it straight through.

Afterward, I took a long hot bath and thought about my past. From my soul I cried just like the CPT therapist talked about. I could feel such love wash over me. I realized that I was meant to have a baby. Inconceivable talked about these same things and how women can ALLOW them­selves to have a baby. I visualized that I could ei­ther walk down the road infertile with no baby or that I could walk toward my husband and the baby he had in his arms. I also visualized my mother, father, husband, and everyone whom I loved all around me smiling and wishing me to have a healthy pregnancy. Even my sister who died at birth was there. It felt so good to see these images in my mind. 

My husband and I made love that night, we did not try to get pregnant we just loved each other.

Later that week, my mother and I left for our cruise. I turned 38 while on ship. The day I got off, I took a pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE!!!!!!!  My husband, my parents, and I were all there together in shock! We all cried and laughed and celebrated!!!! Then my husband and I drove back to our home a few states away with a little baby in my tummy.

Just 17 days earlier my doctor had told me that I had a less than 1% chance of ever getting pregnant with my own eggs. He never would have guessed that just nine months later, I held my beautiful little boy in my arms – born out of pure hope and love.

39, Multiple Miscarriages, and 12 Years Infertile - Makayla’s Story

As a young married couple, the thought of not bearing children never entered our minds. As a matter of fact, on our third date we named our children and over the course of our union, we prayed for them by name on a regular basis. When­ever we spoke of our family’s future, we always referred to our children by the names we gave them, some 20 years ago.

After our first two years of marriage, we miscarried our first child early in the first trimester. Laparoscopic surgery was performed on me, but the doctor insisted that there wasn’t any reason for alarm. He told us that miscarriages happen without concrete medical reasons in most cases and one to three miscarriages were not unusual before delivering your first child.

After a brief mourning period, life continued. With the growing pains of marriage and career changes, life progressed. After seeing a holistic doctor for basic health reasons, the iri­dologist (after looking into my eyes for less than five minutes), told me that I had had a miscarriage and that my left tube was blocked. Both my husband and I went on a detox regimen and took specific herbs to increase our chances to conceive. Over the next ten years, I had several early miscarriages, yet our faith sustained our belief that our children would be born.

By our 12th year of marriage, we were faced with the reality of not having any children. Amongst our peers and family, we were the only couple in our age group that had not produced any children. Needless to say, there was constant questioning and in some instances taunting that challenged my husband’s manhood. After a near restaurant brawl with one of our clos­est friends (whose wife was six months pregnant at 42), the incident provoked us to seek medical advice.

Through our HMO, we took the necessary fertil­ity classes and tests. To the relief of my husband, there was no conclusive evidence of why we couldn’t conceive (in other words, his sperm count was GOOD!). All hormone levels were normal! I did remember to tell our fertility doctor about the holistic examination done several years prior, but he was not a believer in those methods. Yet after several months of more testing, it was “medically” determined that I had a blockage in my left fallopian tube. Doctors performed a second laparo­scopic surgery, and once again we were cleared for conception.

A year after the surgery, my husband and I were still determined to conceive. We tried various tips: eating oysters, rotating days, ovulation tests, and even the upside down meth­od (don’t laugh — it seemed logical). Nothing, nothing, nothing. Over this process, I was really in tune with my body and could feel certain pains emanating from the left ovary. By this time I was 39, and I attributed most of my pains to the aging process.

Around this time, the external pressure started to tam­per with our parental psyche. We were bombarded with the same old question, “When are you going to have children?” There was constant prayer at our church; every time there was a healing line for couples wanting children, people would drag us to the front of the line. Finally it became so overwhelming to me that I made the decree that by the age of 40 I would deliver my first child, it would be a girl (who we had already named years ago), and I even got specific with other physical attributes. No one ever asked me again; they just prayed!

One day I was watching the local news and I saw an exposé on Clear Passage Therapies (CPT). I called a girlfriend, who was struggling with conception as well, and told her about the news story. She immediately called and requested more information.

Once I received my information package (which was quite impressive), I was convinced that the treatment offered at CPT would benefit my plight. Over the next several months, I gathered all the required information necessary for the treat­ment. After obtaining my surgical notes from the previous year, I noticed that the doctor had discovered a “nabothian cyst” two inches in diameter. Not only had he just left it there, he failed to even mention it to me. I sought medical attention from my gynecologist, who said the cyst should have no bearing on my ability to conceive.

By this time, my CPT treatment was days away. Upon my arrival in  Gainesville, the staff at CPT was great. I had missed my original flight and arrived a few hours late. They restructured my schedule and began treatment. I was so overwhelmed with their personal attention, their knowledge, and just their over­all kindness. The facility was pris­tine and the atmo­sphere was peace­ful. By day three, I was calling all of my close friends to recommend the treatment for body realignment, peace of mind, and just an overall treat for self-improvement.

My sole purpose for the treatment was to increase my chances of getting pregnant, but by the time I left, the colors in the spectrum were more vibrant, my body was back in align­ment, and the constant pain in my left ovary was gone. I felt more in tune with myself than ever . . . it was liberating.

Within months of my treatment, I conceived and by my 40th birthday I was entering my second trimester! Today, at 43, by the grace of God, I have a beautiful and extremely busy three-year-old little girl!

Without question, I attribute the miracle of having a child to my Heav­enly Father, but I am cer­tain that He blessed the minds and hands of those at CPT to provide a balanced, more feasible approach to conception for those of us with the desire to bear children.

Seven Years of Infertility - Barbara’s Story

My husband and I married in 1985. I was 29 and my husband was 33. We knew from the beginning that we wanted to have a family and decided to not use any birth control.

Becoming pregnant wasn’t our main focus at the time and we weren’t concerned when two years passed by without any pregnancy.

After the third year, we began wondering, “Why aren’t we pregnant?” We considered going to a doctor, but we had just moved to Florida and didn’t know any.

By our fourth year, we found a doctor and went through basic testing. We were counseled on the normal things: Don’t wear boxer shorts, don’t be in a hot Jacuzzi, etc. He really made us feel that we had nothing to be alarmed about.

We kept trying, and also decided to focus on healing my body. In 1986, 10 months into our marriage, I had a severe car accident. For years I had sought help from physical therapy, orthopedic doctors, and chiropractors in Colorado. Now, in Florida, I had continued this process. I was still experienc­ing pain and severe headaches on a daily basis when my chiropractor recommended I see Belinda Wurn, head of a new physical therapy clinic that had recently opened. At first, I was skeptical, but I was told that she had a new physical therapy technique and, as a massage therapist, I knew her manual treat­ment could only help.

I started attending treatment with Belinda and my body improved greatly. Over time, my one lingering complaint was severe headaches. Belinda explained that the dura runs from the base of the skull all the way to the tailbone. She felt that my car accident caused my dura to be pulled, leading to con­striction and headaches at the base of the skull. She wanted to loosen the scar tissue around my sacrum and tailbone to see if it would help reduce my headaches.

After her explanation, I agreed and she performed the techniques to reduce scar tissue. Because I was a massage therapist, she also showed me how to perform some of the techniques myself.

Within eight to ten hours of therapy, my headaches disap­peared. But the most astounding side effect was one I never ex­pected — I was pregnant! After seven years of infertility, I was finally pregnant! When I told Belinda, she cautiously asked me, “Did you want to be?” When I explained my story she breathed a sigh of relief and told me, “Oh, I’m glad. I was afraid you might be upset. I’ve been using this technique and women who were infertile are getting pregnant! Some people are very shocked!”

Intrigued by yet another pregnancy, Belinda asked me a series of questions about my history. Because the technique re­duced scar tissue within the reproductive tract, she was look­ing for probable causes of adhesion formation in my past. I told her that my doctors once thought I had pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), but they never did anything to treat it. They also told me that I had some endometrio­sis, which also wasn’t treated. I had also been sexually abused as a child.

Belinda explained that these events could have caused adhesions to form that prevented me from getting pregnant. When I told her that the painful intercourse I experienced before treatment had also gone away, she felt that the adhesions were the likely culprit of that pain as well.

My beautiful son was born in 1993, when I was 36. After his birth, my husband and I wanted to have more children. We tried many times, but we never had success. Finally, I suggested to my husband that we try the scar tissue reduction techniques that Belinda had shown me, and we got pregnant immediately afterwards! We miscarried that little one, but using the tech­nique, three months later, we conceived again. At age 40, my second son was born.

I have since been able to get pregnant two more times. We are not sure what caused those pregnancies to end in miscarriage, but I still think it is incredible I was able to become pregnant five times. Furthermore, it was only after I used the techniques Belinda showed me that I was able to become pregnant.

As I look at my two sons now, I remember what Belinda told me during therapy: “Embrace the car accident. It happened to you, but look at all it is affording you.” Because of the car accident, I was able to receive the funds for counseling and physical therapy. Through counseling, I discovered I was sexually abused as a child, which my parents later confirmed. I was also able to become pregnant through Belinda’s physical therapy. God orchestrated something bad into something completely wonderful.

When I look at Belinda’s own history, I can also see God’s divine nature. She went through the tragic experience of cancer and was unable to have children afterwards. Yet, be­cause of her cancer, she discovered a treatment that is directly responsible for my two children and dozens of others.

Nine Years Infertile Myomectomy and Failed IVF - Addison’s Story

For nine years, I tried to get pregnant — five years with a previous marriage and four years with my current husband. During the first five years, I did not pursue any invasive treat­ment. However, with my current husband, we were willing to try anything to have children.

I had several surgeries to remove fibroids and tumors on my ovaries and in my uterus. Afterwards, we tried Clomid and other hormone treat­ments, but nothing worked.

We made the deci­sion to try IVF, however, my body did not accept the medications and it ended up costing double what we had anticipated. We chose not to try IVF again, and believed that God’s plan for us must be to adopt, so we registered with a local agency.

Several months passed while we waited to hear from the agency. One day, as I was listening to the radio, I heard an ad that Clear Passage Therapies (CPT) would be featured on the news that evening. That night, I was fascinated with what I saw.

I told my husband about CPT, and he figured it was just a scam. After all that we had been through, he was not willing to lose any more money.

A few weeks later, my husband saw CPT featured on the news and became interested. We asked for more in­formation and received a packet.

A month later, we saw another interview with CPT on the news. We started to feel that there must be a reason we kept hearing about it, and decided to pursue treatment im­mediately. After all of the heartbreak we had been through, we decided to go in with a mindset of decreasing my intercourse pain, rather than getting pregnant. 

Our experience at CPT was wonderful. I received 20 hours of treatment over a 10 week period. The two hour drive up and back gave my husband and I quality time together. We usually took an entire day off for the trip — eating in the area and walking after treatments. We felt like the whole staff be­came family during our journey.

Upon completion of our treatment, we determined that it was well worth the money and time since my pain had been tremendously reduced. In addition, my therapist found and re­lieved problems that none of my previous specialists could.

Shortly after we completed our treatments, we received a call from the adoption agency. They told us that a couple had chosen us to be parents for their unborn child. We were ecstatic and hurried to meet the birth parents. Our meeting went well and the agency, the birth parents, my husband and I thought it was a perfect placement.

We decorated the nursery in lilac with butterflies. Ev­eryone was so excited and happy for us that we had three baby showers! We were completely prepared and all we had to do was wait for the call.

We finally received the call in October. We rushed to the hospital, and were then taken into the nursery to meet our new baby girl. She was precious, and the nurse allowed me to stay with her in a special room for adopting parents.

The nurse told us she would be released the next day, so we hurried home to gather everything we would need to bring our daughter home. When we returned to the hospital, a representative from the agency came in and told us, “I have some bad news.” My heart sank — I knew immediately what that meant. She proceeded to say, “The birth mom is having second thoughts.” 

I could not move, and the nurses came in to remove the baby from us. I fell to the floor in tears. My husband was devas­tated and so an­gry, but was try­ing to stay strong for me. For weeks, I refused to speak to anyone.

I was not about to give up, however. I pro­ceeded to search the Internet for information on International Adoption. In a matter of days, I had completed most of the paperwork and set appointments with doctors for all of the medical requirements.

The day before our doctor’s appointment, I was feel­ing really strange. I felt nauseated while driving back home. I couldn’t recall the last time I had my period because I had been so busy working on the adoption process. I stopped at the store on my way home and picked up a pregnancy test, thinking that one more letdown wouldn’t hurt.

I hurried to get home and take the test before my hus­band came home. I did the test, and it immediately changed to positive. I thought I had a faulty test because I had never seen one change to positive.

When my husband came home, I told him what happened, but told him not to get excited because I had bought a cheap test. I went out that night and bought two more tests. I did one that night and another in the morning — still, they were all positive.

I said, “Well, we have a doctor’s appointment today any­way, I’ll have them do a pregnancy test before they administer the medical tests for the adoption.”

We explained the situation to our doctor and she went ahead and did the pregnancy test. She came in a few minutes later and confirmed that I was in fact pregnant. We were so shocked, we didn’t tell anyone for several months due to all of the heartache that we and both of our families had already endured.

However, everything turned out just great. I had a very easy pregnancy and Abraham was delivered six weeks early in June 2004. He was very healthy at birth despite the early arrival, and is doing very well today. We are so grateful to everyone at CPT for making our dreams come true!

Two Prior IUIs and a Failed IVF - Paulina’s Story

I never expected to have any problems getting pregnant. My mother had four children, and each of my two sisters have one son. So as I faced my mid-thirties, I kept wondering what was wrong with me, what was wrong with my body, why was this happening to me? I am healthy. I take care of myself. I try to eat right and exercise. Why is getting pregnant so hard? 

“Trying” to have a baby, definitely took the fun out of having sex with my husband. After two years of “trying” on our own, we decided to get some professional help. We started with tests and then more tests without much explanation oth­er than the fact that I had one blocked fallopian tube (the other was still functional).

I am a believer in natural body remedies, so I started acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine and continued with this treatment for the next year.  

My Ob/Gyn recommended Clomid to help with my ovu­lation. Unfortunately, I was on this drug for about six months with many unpleasant side effects, but no luck.

My Ob/Gyn then referred me to a fertility specialist, one of the top doctors in NYC (and one of the most expen­sive). After more tests for my husband and me, we discovered we were both healthy, no real issues — only a closed fallopian tube.

Of course, the fertility specialist immediately recom­mended the most aggressive treatment — IVF. He still had no real answers why we could not get pregnant. I never really felt comfortable with that doctor, as he would always ad­dress my husband, not me, when we consulted with him. I really felt like this was way too much and way too fast, without any explanation.

Before agreeing to IVF, I wanted other options. We tried intrauterine insemination (IUI) twice, but it failed both times. After a few months of frustration and feeling the pressure of getting older, I agreed to IVF treatment, which became the most difficult process I had encountered. I had a lot of ups and downs on the meds and never felt quite confident it was going to work. I always felt this was not the way I was supposed to have a baby. Yet, I stuck it out and went through it all.

We spent our savings on IVF and fertility treatments, and it was devastating for both my husband and I when it did not work. After this treatment failed, we certainly didn’t receive any sympathy from our doctor. His advice was we needed to do IVF again and we shouldn’t wait too long.

At that point, I just decided I needed a break from treatments. I started researching and reading many books about infer­tility and diet and ways I could make changes in my life to help my body prepare for a baby. During this time I discovered Clear Passage Therapy’s (CPT) website and read the personal stories from their clients. I thought it was amazing, but was too good to be true. However, there was something about how the women told their stories, the sincerity and honesty. The stories really created an emotional response in me. Unless you have experienced how devastating it feels not to be able to get pregnant, then you just don’t understand how desperate you are and how you are willing to try anything.

I wrote to CPT and was fortunate to discover they were opening an office in NYC. So I decided to get their infor­mation, apply, and set up appointments when they opened. I was very pleased to have such a wonderful therapist. I knew there was no guarantee with this treatment, but I was willing to try it and es­pecially glad that I would not have to take any more meds. 

Treatment with CPT was painful at times but my thera­pist always took the time to explain the treatment and what we were going to do. She was always aware and sensitive to my pain tolerance. The treatment definitely took a lot out of me. Emotionally and physically I was exhausted after each treat­ment and I started writing about my feelings. This helped me deal with my feelings of failure because I could not get pregnant.

After treatment ended, I felt better, with less pain in my uterus overall. I also noticed my cycles were stronger and healthier.

After the treatment, I wanted to talk to another fertility specialist to get a second opinion. My specialist was really insightful and explained why my previous IVF treatment failed. I told her about CPT and my acupuncture treatments. She was very open to alternative treatments and basically sup­ported anything that I believed would help me. She really want­ed to help me find the cause of my infertility.

She suggested, given my medical history and closed fal­lopian tube, I may have endometriosis. She did not recommend any drugs or any treatments until she knew more. I agreed to exploratory laparoscopic surgery to clear up scar tissue or any problems in my uterus. I was scheduled for surgery in Decem­ber and performed the routine blood tests required before surgery.

A week before I was scheduled to undergo the surgery, I received a call from my doctor, informing me that I was not a candidate for surgery because my blood tests confirmed I was pregnant! I was in complete shock and could not believe it. I asked them if they were sure because it was not possible — I had a regular menstruation cycle last month. “Yes, we are posi­tive because of your blood work,” they told me. “It confirms you are pregnant.” I needed to get in there for a sonogram immediately, she said. 

Well . . . the rest is just a happy ending. After years of infertility, I gave birth to my daughter, Teresa, who is my greatest gift and blessing in life. She is our miracle and has given us such complete joy and happiness that we have never known before.

I am very grateful to my therapist and CPT for all of their work that not only helped me, but continues to help many women with their fertility issues. No treatment can guarantee success, but at least women have an option without drugs or surgery. This manual physical therapy does much more than just massage therapy . . . it gives us hope, and in my case, a beautiful daughter despite years of infertility.

Unexplained Infertility after Motor Vehicle Accident - Stacy’s Story

Stacy, one of our former patients, sought our treatment to help resolve her unexplained infertility. Stacy had been treated for two years by the head of reproductive endocrinology at a large medical school. Her physician was a highly respected infertility specialist, but despite his skills, she remained childless. In fact, she never had a single pregnancy during that time.

When we conducted her onsite evaluation, we learned that Stacy had sustained injuries to her hips and pelvis in a mo­tor vehicle accident several years before. The more we spoke, the more this trauma stood out to us as a possible source of her infertility problems.

When we treated her, we addressed all of her reproduc­tive structures, but also paid special attention to her hips, which are the joints where her legs join her pelvis. Anatomically, we noted that the inside of this joint was very close to the ovaries, at the ends of her fallopian tubes. We thought it was reasonable that adhesions which formed here after her accident may have spread over time, and now involved her nearby tube and ovary.

As it happens, Stacy became pregnant naturally two months after therapy and delivered a baby girl. She has since reported another natural pregnancy and live birth, so her infer­tility is a thing of the past

 

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Language: العربية Deutsch Español suomi Français Italiano 日本語 Nederlands Português Русский Svenska Filipino 中文 (简体) 中文 (繁體) email: info@clearpassage.com direct phone: 352.336.1433 ph, 352.336.9980 fax 1.866.BABYHERE (866.222.9437) - toll free, US & Canada MA11614  MM11022 Date of last modification: May 4, 2009

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