It’s a complex procedure that can have a big payoff.
These days, many couples are turning to in vitro fertilization to have a baby.
First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes a baby carriage, right?
Well, not always, as Jeff and Lynn Haring found out.
"I come from a big family and my older sisters — they had their kids a little older too," said Lynn Haring of Salt Lake.
Lynn and Jeff actually fell in love ten years ago but wanted to travel before starting a family.
Here they are bungee jumping in New Zealand. They’ve even climbed to the top of Mount Fuji.
In 2005 they got married and started trying to have a baby soon after.
"You assume it’ll happen and then time passes by month after month and you get start getting worried like uh oh," said Lynn Haring.
"And then we started doing timing, all the things you can do naturally, to try you know, time the ovulations. And do the ovulation testing," said Jeff Haring of Salt Lake.
They also tried relaxing per friends advice.
"So we go to Molokai. Nothing to do there, right? Kauai, little trips," said Lynn Haring.
That didn’t work, neither did yoga, acupuncture, or feng shui.
Finally, after all else failed, they turned to infertility specialist Dr. Benton Chun at IVF Hawaii.
"People are waiting longer now to get pregnant. In in vitro fertilization, almost 60% of the people are over age 35," said Dr. Chun.
In vitro fertilization is a process by which eggs are fertilized by sperm outside the body.
And this is where the "magic" happens.
"So if you can imagine, we’d have an egg here."
As an embryologist, Pauline Balazy gets to randomly pick the single sperm that gets injected into the egg.
"It’s definitely a very rewarding job," said Balazy.
Helping couples like Lynn and Jeff.
But the procedure isn’t guaranteed.
Lynn and Jeff actually started doing IVF three years ago.
"The first one didn’t work, the second one wasn’t viable after eight weeks, and the third one didn’t work," said Lynn Haring.
"Mostly it was her age," said Dr. Chun.
Lynn was 38 when she went to see Dr. Chun.
"The older a person gets they have fewer eggs and fewer normal eggs," said Dr. Chun.
Dr. Chun says a 35-year old woman has up to a 50% percent chance of getting pregnant, a 40-year old — 20%, and a 45-year old — 1%.
Under Hawaii law, insurance companies must cover most of the costs of only the first IVF attempt.
But luckily, Lynn and Jeff’s insurance has covered their first, second, third, and even fourth try.
Without insurance, it can cost $10K-$15K per try.
It can also take an emotional toll.
"I got to the point where I started researching adoption," said Lynn Haring.
But then, during the fourth attempt, it happened.
"Really really excited!" said Lynn Haring.
"Coming soon to a hospital near you!" said Jeff Haring.
Their baby boy, who still doesn’t have a name, is due on June 23, so in about five weeks.
"So it’s pretty cool we’re going to be parents!"
Proving that love can conquer and triumph against great odds, with help from science.
"I always thought it would work somehow," said Lynn Haring.
Tomorrow on our ten o’clock news, we catch up with Hawaii’s first IVF baby, who’s now 25-years old.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
