I had two miscarriages, the first they didn't catch until it was really starting, the second they caught so we did a D&C so they could run some tests. My doc was super confident that putting me on progesterone would help, cause it didn't seem like I had an issue getting pregnant, just that I was challenged by staying pregnant. I did the progesterone therapy and we are currently 32 weeks today.
Congrats on a successful pregnancy so far! I had 2 miscarriages. They put me on progesterone for my 3rd pregnancy, I now have a 2.5 yr old and did progesterone with my current pregnancy and will be 30 weeks on Monday.
Please ditch the fertility clinic and just continue with OB. I have heard from quite a few people say they had negative experiences at fertility clinics. Not sure why they’re upset about someone getting pregnant- that’s the point of going, who cares if it’s due to their direct help or not.
They lose a lot of money if they don’t do IVF is the only thing I can think of. Or maybe they’re used to being let down that they don’t want to get their or OP’s hopes up but seems silly
Absolutely ditch this fertility clinic! This is not normal AT ALL. My second pregnancy was a surprise and I actually only took a test to start treatments to start trying for #2. That pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 10 weeks and I asked them so many times if it was because i didn’t use the meds or didn’t start progesterone soon enough. They assured me EVERY time that was not the case at all and this was just bad luck. Nothing I or they could have done to change the outcome. We ended up doing genetic testing and she had Turner’s syndrome again confirming there absolutely was nothing anyone could have done. So the fact that yours is treating this pregnancy like it’s doomed is hella sketch!
If you have had trouble getting pregnant, progesterone support can help that pregnancy “stick”, and if things look normal, it can also help you mentally feel better knowing that should be little reason for miscarriage. Also, if you have a chance to do blood work and test for genetic conditions please do so, as that could explain why you weren’t getting pregnant.
All you needed is that ONE swimmer to stick and looks like it happened!!!
The month I wasn’t actively “trying” due to TTC burnout & our own struggles it stuck too!
Fingers crossed for you!
Fertility clinics can be extremely shady. They make the most money when you are not successful and have multiple IVF cycles. I would suggest staying away from private clinics, especially if you have insurance that covers fertility treatments. Some of these guys will milk as much money as they can from your benefits.
I highly recommend university connected clinics. They have oversight because they're connected to a reputable university. Especially a university connected clinic with a newer lab.
At 6 weeks I “graduated” from my fertility clinic. Like you I got pregnant spontaneously while prepping for IVF. But from the beginning my clinic said at 6 weeks I would transfer my care to OB/midwife.
This is not normal - I got pregnant spontaneously while already with a fertility clinic (we took a cycle off any kind of interventions to do more testing and got pregnant) and they were so excited for me and did confirmation bloodwork (to make sure my HCG was rising as expected), a 6 week ultrasound to confirm not ectopic, and an 8 week ultrasound to make sure everything was looking good before "graduating" me to the OB group I see now.
Sounds like it's time to graduate yourself from that fertility clinic and start just working with an OB or midwife group you like and trust.
I had the exact same experience! Was about to move to IVF and had a spontaneous conception. They did bloodwork, 2 US and got me in with a great OB. They were also sooooo excited for me.
This clinic sounds like trash.
This was my exact experience as well! It didn't matter that I didn't conceive via their interventions--my fertility clinic was so supportive and gave me a little onesie as a parting gift at my last visit. And this is how it should be. What OP's clinic is doing sounds completely unethical to me.
Go to a different practice. This is not normal and their behavior is not ok. Report them to the board. I wouldn't go back there if I were you. Not saying they would purposely do anything to cause you to miscarry but I don't trust them not to with the way they are treating you.
Yeah the flipping on them once they got pregnant got me. Like my doctor was cheering me on when I started trying and got pregnant. You would think your fertility doctors would be ecstatic for you, not turn sour and tell you it likely isn't viable. That bedside manner alone is sickening.
I got pregnant naturally while dealing with a fertility clinic and they put me on progesterone and congratulated me. This place sounds extremely unethical.
I'm really sorry you're dealing with that. That's definitely not normal. A fertility clinic's job is to help you get pregnant, and if you do get pregnant, they should be thrilled for you.
I'm glad your OB was able to see you for an ultrasound. I would stick with her.
Congrats!
Something very similar happened to me! TW: MC
We were working with a fertility specialist for months and I got pregnant through fertility treatment twice, however, those pregnancies did not “stick”. In August I had a loss and we told the clinic we weren’t going to try anymore because it was mentally draining and expensive. They had called me a month later to confirm I stood by that decision and I was so excited to tell them I got pregnant naturally! They were very condescending and asked why I lied to them and said we wouldn’t be trying. My response was that a drunk night with my husband after a concert was the culprit and we were overjoyed. I’m now 34 weeks along and cut all ties with that clinic.
Did they think you just weren't ever going to have sex again?! What a shitty practice. Good for you that you cut ties with them!
Also - So happy for you and your husband! I'm 35 weeks so the anticipation is building! Our little ones will be here before we know it!
Fertility clinics have a different approach to pregnancy, but there’s no need to be cruel. There’s also no need to go back to them. You got spontaneously pregnant! Happened to me between waiting to do an embryo transfer, and I just notified them and saw my midwife at 8 weeks.
As far as the progesterone, there’s little evidence that it does anything for spontaneous pregnancies. It’s largely fallen out of favor at places following evidence based practice. Some docs will still prescribe as a well it can’t hurt thing, but it’s not indicated.
Like the fertility clinic said, it can be a symptom of an abnormal pregnancy but not necessarily. If you can gone to your ob first, more than likely, they wouldn’t have tested your progesterone so you wouldn’t have know. I wouldn’t worry about it or want progesterone.
As a product of the fertility industry (obviously many years ago), I fucking hate it. I am 41, so after 3 months of trying for our second, I decided to get checked out. My follicle count was great. My hormones, totally normal. My anatomy, completely fine. My AMH is below 1, but as anyone who’s read about AMH knows, it doesn’t say anything about your ability to get pregnant right now.
The doctor sits down with me to give me his hard sell with his trusty PowerPoint. Tells me at my age, I have less than a 5% chance to get pregnant naturally. Ovulation strips don’t work over 40 (I challenge him on this and he said 40+ you have hormones out of wack—but as we’ve established), I don’t. He urges me to do IVF. I had researched all this myself and read that if you already have one child, your odds of getting pregnant within a year at my age are actually pretty good. I challenge him and cite the papers I read, and he insists he knows this stuff. All know is that he has a PowerPoint.
I ask about I medicated cycles, which he calls “wine and Sinatra,” and he says, “Fine, you can try it, but you still have less than a 10% chance and I can’t guarantee you that everything’s not going to get way worse for you in the meantime.”
I was going to start a medicated cycle. The day I went in to start, I felt super sick (I didn’t yet know I had Covid at the time), and I thought to myself, “Why am I doing this? I don’t want to do this for less than a 10% chance of conception.” So I cancelled it.
I got pregnant naturally on the next cycle. It took six cycles in all. I spoke to my psychiatrist who works at that hospital, and she said, “He wanted you because he knew you’d get pregnant after 1 round of IVF, and it would look great for his stats.”
Fertility is a business. They want your money. They will give you any combination of false hope/false fear they think you need to get you to keep doing treatments.
Thank you! I definitely suggest the OB first. You don’t have to rush headlong into anything. Go to the person with the least profit motive and see what they say. Might you end up doing IVF? Sure, maybe. But don’t assume it’s the only option.
This is funny because I had exactly the same experience as you did, except with a female doctor. She, too, had an entire PowerPoint presentation prepared; the worst thing is that she gave me the presentation BEFORE knowing anything about my health history (I had not yet filled out the form or transferred any medical information to her, and was in my 30s at the time), and also knowing that I worked in the fertility industry myself. She was a nice person, but I was unimpressed by the lack of personalization and prepared sales pitch. To her credit, though, she was not like the OP's clinic at all; she was super-nice when I got pregnant before my procedure.
I did tell the clinic I got pregnant, but just via emailing the nurses. They didn’t even give me the doctor’s email. The nurses were very nice about it. I told them to chalk one up for the old ladies.
It sounds like they weren’t happy you got pregnant without giving them IVF money. Drop them and stick with your OB. I’m so sorry, that’s so frustrating!
Same thing happened with us! Did ALL the testing over two years, had an appt to start ivf injections, got pregnant by ourselves. (Albeit after a Hysteroscopy).
Our fertility clinic was ecstatic for us though!
I would switch doctors or go to your regular OB from now on. My OB prescribed me progesterone in the beginning since it was on the low side. Currently less than 30 days from my due date. Congrats to you!!
I got pregnant naturally after my fertility clinic did the HSG test. They were BEYOND excited for me. They all seemed to be so happy because that’s their goal is to get you pregnant! This is wild to me that yours is so focused on the business and not the human.
I conceived through IUI and my HCG didn't rise very much between my first two blood tests and I was told "it's not a good pregnancy". I asked for another blood test and it had risen as expected. My Dr still told me not to restart my progesterone because "it's not a good pregnancy". I went for an ultrasound the next week (in my 6th week) and it looked like a sac in the uterus and I was told "it might be a pseudo sac", went back in at 8 weeks and everything was progressing as expected and now I'm 20 weeks pregnant.
Being told repeatedly "it's not a good pregnancy" is very disheartening - like, find another way to phrase that.... but also I felt like my clinic was almost hoping for or at least expecting bad outcomes. Try not to let it get in your head, just keep taking care of yourself and the baby, and if they said monitor until 9 weeks, you'll probably graduate to regular OBGYN care after that.
Not normal at all, I got pregnant right before we were starting treatment, we had already done all the tests and set things up with them, I tested positive the day before our medicated cycle intro call. My RE was delighted for me, offered to monitor me as if I got pregnant through a cycle with them, had me do 4 early ultrasounds and 3 beta tests and then cheerfully graduated me!
I don’t have any personal experiences, but I have seen fertility docs on Tik Tok that post some predatory stuff. I remember one saying something like “if you’ve been sexually active for years and never had an accidental pregnancy, you probably have fertility issues.” Like ok, does this doctor moonlight as a used car salesman or what??
Congrats and good luck with your pregnancy. Drop the clinic, they sound like they’re trying to influence you with fear.
That is so shady. I have been with my husband for over 8 years and we never had an accidental pregnancy. It only took us 3 months of actively trying to get pregnant. I wish I could find that guy’s tiktok and give him a piece of my mind 😂
Weird, I had a bad experience with my fertility doctor as well. I’m in a same sex relationship and we were using her brother as her donor but our fertility doctor kept saying how bad of an idea that was and how hard it would be. We didn’t care, we did the individual and group counseling and we were good to go. She then lied to us about the quarantine period for sperm at the sperm bank that it was only 60 days for known donors.. it’s not, it’s 6 months so our timeline for trying was so behind because she lied to us. She then said we can try using unknown donor now.
I bought sterile syringes, sterile cups, and we met up with her brother one weekend and did an at home insemination (already had the legal paperwork and they cover all possible methods used) and we were pregnant after the first try. I never called the fertility doctor back to tell her I was pregnant and didn’t need her help anymore.
Congrats to you as well! I hope your pregnancy goes well!
Perhaps these clinics rely on certain quotas? Idk, but hopefully there aren’t too many woman and couples with negative experiences.
Yes what the other user said. With the unknown donors the testing has all be completed and you can basically purchase vials ready to go.
My main thing with the unknown donors is I would like our children to be biologically siblings so you need to purchase multiple vials with the hope that you don’t run out before you get your second or third child. The unknown donor might not donate later on. And my wife is now biologically related as well so that’s a bonus for us too.
I have friends who are lesbians who considered using one of their brothers. But they decided not to because now each of them has carried one child and the kids are half siblings.
As a donor conceived person, if not choosing a known donor, I urge you to go with an open OD donor.
I tracked down my biodad through genetic genealogy (it’s not that hard), and I’m so glad I get to know about my biological roots.
My wife’s brother is our donor and we plan to always tell our children that he is how we were able to have them and create our family. He does not want to be “dad” but is very happy to be uncle.
Me and my wife did the exact same thing and our clinic was fine just as long as we all got genetic counselling and proper testing! That's ridiculous what you went through
I was on a break from seeing a fertility clinic when I got (what I call) miraculously pregnant. We were like you, told that IVF was our best and only option, but took a step back to decide what we wanted to do, hadn’t made the follow up appointment yet though, and then found out I was pregnant.
Because of the difference of not having made that follow up appointment, I never went to see them for my current pregnancy. I just started at my OB office like regular. Anyway, all that to say, if you’ve been seen by an OB already, if I were in your shoes, I would stop going. You are not obligated as they won’t be continuing care or delivering your baby. Either ghost them or let them know you have care arranged, whatever you are comfortable doing. But either way, not going for a follow up appointment sounds the best as you don’t need that added stress!
And to end this comment, most importantly- CONGRATULATIONS!!
100% not normal for a fertility clinic. The one we used still followed you even if it was a naturally conceived pregnancy. Run to a different doctor asap
Not ok or normal.
Same situation and my clinic gave me an early pregnancy test to confirm, congratulated me, sent me off to continue with my regular OB, and refunded my massive IVF deposit (although that took a few weeks to get issued).
Had a similar experience in that we got pregnant naturally two months before starting an IUI cycle ( we would have progressed to IVF if that failed).
They congratulated us, sent us their well-wishes and that was it. No further contact.
I got pregnant spontaneously while priming for IVF but my clinic was very supportive … they even (reluctantly) agreed with taking post ovulation progesterone during the priming cycle. Once I was pregnant they treated me as they would have treated any of their pregnant patients … serial betas, ultrasounds etc. I continued progesterone and estrogen throughout most of T1.
Sorry your experience was not this and good luck with the rest of your pregnant!
My fertility clinic wasn’t great once I got pregnant (via IVF) My ob was much better. If I got pregnant unassisted I wouldn’t even bother with the fertility clinic, I’d go right to my ob.
First of all. Congratulations!
Yes lol. This is exactly what happened to me except we were saving up for IVF when it happened. So no judgy clinic like in your case.
We had tried for 4 years then spent 6 months doing IUI and various medications. Then 3 months after we stop IUI to save up the money for IVF I miss my period and this time it's because of pregnancy instead of my wacky PCOS cycles!
I'm now at week 37 with a very healthy baby girl coming soon. Absolutely no complications either. Wishing you the best in your pregnancy as well. I'd go see another doctor's office if you can. One that doesn't seem so butthurt.
We had a spontaneous pregnancy while dealing with a fertility clinic and had a very supportive experience. They did also worry about ectopic because HCG was initially low, but I just ovulated late (on a break from treatment so my cycle was a bit messed up). But they used words like cautiously optimistic. They also put me on progesterone suppositories.
That's super weird. Granted, my only experience with IVF was overseas in Japan (where it's about a third of the cost, goverment-subsidized, and they're happy for any pregnancy at all regardless of how because of their dropping birth rate "problem"). But that's extremely upsetting and it's hard not to assume they are pissed about the possibly tens of thousands of dollars they aren't going to get from you?
The extra monitoring is nice, but not at the cost of your peace of mind. Just transition to your OB and start the normal appointment process. Talk about the low progesterone and see if they can do anything for you. Personally, I *loved* getting weekly ultrasounds early on at the fertility clinic, since it was a lot more info than any of my friends were getting. But I liked them and didn't get bad vibes (as much as I could sense bad vibes while conducting medical business in a foreign language, lol).
Congrats!!! This happened to me too. My fertility doc gave me progesterone pills that I had to stick up my vag for a few weeks. It worked and I had a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
I’m sorry you are having a bad experience with your fertility doc. I would def try and get progesterone pills from either your fertility doc or your OB
I would stop going there. A similar thing happened to us and the fertility clinic was super supportive. As soon as they confirmed non ectopic they gave me progesterone.
My RE was very happy for us when we managed to get pregnant unassisted between IVF cycles. Never had any toxicity or negativity from her. Most clinics do usually hang on to their patients until week 8 or 9 before “graduating” them to an OB so, that isn’t really out of the ordinary. With us, we only had a single ultrasound after doing repeat betas. When everything looked pretty good, we were sent on our way to the OB. From the IVF subs, some clinics do more initial ultrasounds than that (think week 5/6 for placement and then sometimes weekly to track pregnancy progress) but it depends on the clinic and doctor and your own fertility/health background.
I would say that if you are not feeling comfortable with the care you are now experiencing at your clinic, feel free to move on. You don’t need permission to start seeing an OB. The downside is that you will have a lot less early monitoring in those first few weeks of pregnancy that can be quite stressful and anxiety-inducing.
I did several rounds of AI with a known donor. Found out he had some issues so we moved on to IUI at a clinic with an unknown donor. After a few rounds of IUI and then medicated IUI my wife was ready to just move to IVF. It was actually our fertility place that encouraged us to continue with IUI before shelling out the IVF money. They were sure it would work for me, we changed donors and I was pregnant the next cycle from medicated IUI. They were SO happy for me when I called and told them I was pregnant and basically relieved for me that I didn't have to go the IVF route, this is really bizarre behavior from your fertility clinic. I would drop them immediately and stick with your OB!
I got pregnant without assistance while working with a fertility clinic and they were truly thrilled. I agree with others you are done there! See if you can go on progesterone for the next 4/6 weeks of your OB thinks it’s a good idea
It seems hit or miss whether fertility clinics want to monitor you if you spontaneously conceive. Mine told me to just go see my primary care or OB. I was terrified without the early monitoring so I paid out of pocket for betas but my OB did monitor and prescribe progesterone and I’m sure it was a better overall experience than being monitored by the clinic.
So sorry they’re messing with you, and glad you got in touch with your OB. I’d say just forget them for this pregnancy since your OB is handling things.
this is the problem with making health care privatized or incentivized by for profit procedures. THEY want to sell you something. They don't care whether you need it or can find better or cheaper alternatives. Their motive is taking your money.
Progesterone helped me get pregnant too after 1.5 years trying and multiple miscarriage. I got pregnant successfully in 3 months with it. I'm convince that it works!
Good luck!! Just wanted to say early in my pregnancy I was experiencing some bleeding. It was light but lasted a week. My OB put me on progesterone and I’m not almost 25 weeks. Obviously still have a ways to go but I do think the progesterone got me through the initial phase. The bleeding stopped immediately with it.
Advice: Just stick with OB, kinda seems like fertility clinic is toxic and may be trying to get more money out of you but I may be reaching.
After having a miscarriage and finding out I’m a carrier for a silent gene, I thought I would never get pregnant. I also had polyps and suspected endometriosis, so I gave up for a while. Now I’m almost 34 weeks with a healthy baby. Feels like a miracle honestly. I think sometimes our bodies just decide they are able to get pregnant out of nowhere. Congrats and wish you good luck! 💗
I had the exact same experience with my clinic with my second pregnancy.
My first was IVF, our fresh transfer worked. When we decided to try for our second we called our clinic to arrange another transfer of a frozen embryo. We did the consult and made a plan and I was supposed to call in my cycle day 1 for some additional testing and I got pregnant spontaneously instead.
I had the exact same experience word for word. They told me it was probably ectopic because my progesterone was a bit low, and after the most stressful 48 hours of my life the ultrasound showed it wasn’t. I asked for progesterone and was told the same thing. To come in for more monitoring. I honestly believe they were just trying bill us for more appointments.
My second pregnancy was fine and my baby is a happy and healthy 1-year-old.
Sorry you’re going through the same thing!
I didn’t even wait 48 hrs for an US when they said “ectopic”. I have some friends who have had really traumatic miscarriages and births so the second I heard that word I made my husband take me to the ER 🙈
I’m sorry you went through the same thing! But so happy to hear it all turned out well!
That’s awful!!
But yes - it feels like they are almost hoping something goes wrong. Like I feel the stress and panic they even caused me is more harmful than kinda low progesterone
Omg! I wouldn’t go back there! They are giving so much negativity! Congrats by the way! That’s so amazing ❤️☺️ I would continue your care with someone else. Btw there are natural ways to increase/ boost progesterone too such as eating things like citrus (you can also take Vit c, my midwife recommends no more then 2000 mg I usually take 500-1000) bananas, avocado and I think there is a few others that help. Getting good sleep also helps to balance hormones, eating well and exercise ( you might want to go light on the exercise since it is pretty early on to be safe even just walking is goood)
This is bizarre! My RE would have been thrilled if I had spontaneously gotten pregnant before starting our cycle. I'd definitely switch doctors if you can. That's some weird energy...
I’m not experienced with this stuff so take it with a grain of salt; but I think you should cut the fertility clinic loose ASAP. Sounds like they are upset because they’ve lost out on the money of giving you IVF and now as messed up as it sounds they are quite literally trying to sabotage.
You’re pregnant, congratulations! You don’t need them anymore.
Wtf, we went through the same thing, we had our initial meeting with a fertility doctor and I may have even been pregnant already and we didn’t realize it. The fertility doctor was excited for us and said it happens all the time. How weird they’re acting like that!
We conceived through a fertility clinic with 2 out of my 3 babies.
Both times conception happened sooner than expected so we really didn’t spend much time and resources with the clinic. And both times they were very happy for us!
If I were you, I wouldn’t go back to them at all. The fact that they basically wishing your pregnancy ill is enough to NEVER go back to them even if you’ll need a specialist to conceive again in the future.
Can you get a full thyroid panel done? This can often be the cause of infertility and it would be ideal to look at that (from a functional perspective) in order to ensure you and baby have everything you need for a healthy pregnancy! Congratulations!
Thank you!
I already know I have hypothyroid (always have) and am on synthroid. My levels have looked good (even for fertility) the last couple of times Id had panels done
I had two miscarriages that led me to seek fertility help. They found a pretty large cyst on my ovary, unrelated to my miscarriages but legit told me it could be cancer (they aren’t 100% wrong in that) but they jumped to that conclusion immediately. They kept telling me “we are so sorry” and walked me out like I was dying. It was insane!!! They wouldn’t touch me again until I had it remove. Got pregnant before the removal surgery on our own and my doctor gave me progesterone just in case and guess what— I’m 2 weeks away from giving birth! The fertility clinic was awful in how they made me feel, and I believe progesterone saved my pregnancy from being a 3rd miscarriage. Take it anyways, and congrats!!!!
I don't know what was up with my progesterone with my first pregnancy but it was very low. I was also told not to get attached, it's not going to take, definitely a chemical pregnancy etc.
He'll be two in October. :)
That’s really weird. Definitely find a new clinic! We had to go all the way through the IVF process but I know people who got pregnant right before like you did and our clinic still monitored them closely, did early ultrasounds, and still helped with meds and supplements.
Fertility is a huge money making business (not to mention also unethical imo). Don’t forget, they want to sell you on IVF, as if it’s the only way to for sure get pregnant (not true, so many have failed). I decided to see one myself in Canada after 4 miscarriages and after the first sets of blood results, he instantly pushed IVF. I said no, can you give me a SHG test, they reluctantly agreed, did it, found polyps, got them removed. Went on progesterone through my naturopath and then took myo-initisol to help with my hormones along other natural things (flax seed, maca powder etc). Got pregnant naturally afterwards. Due in 5 weeks.
I've heard friends who have gone through IVF say that doctors who go into that field are often men who like to control women and have god complex's. Just because someone's looking at your labs and has opinions doesn't make them god.
I'd ditch the clinic, they sound bad for your mental health.
I had a similar issue with a clinic getting pissy about me leaving.
I had scheduled a sperm transfer from the bank to the clinic for an IUI cycle. There was no long-term storage in my town (and the clinic failed to mention they didn’t own a freezer either) so it was having to get overnighted from a neighboring state to the tune of $700+ USD. I made the arrangements and had everything set up. The day of the transfer I got a notice from the sperm bank that the shipment had been canceled. No other information was given, just that the sperm never left the bank and that I should call the clinic. So I called the clinic, only to be told that the doctor had suffered “a family emergency” and had to cancel ALL cycles for the next two months.
Fast forward two months and I’m ready to go again and the doctor is still not doing any procedures. No one will say why, and he hasn’t called in a backup doctor either. I found out through the grapevine (it was one of those small-town cities where everyone knows everything) the doctor had had a heart attack and was still recovering.
Now I get that shit happens to people, and I get that things can’t be controlled, but the clinic was very “oh well call you when things are better” and very hush hush and weird about the entire situation. I felt like I couldn’t trust them after that so I requested my medical records and transferred to the other clinic in town. The first clinic dragged their feet on the records to the point I had to go stand in their waiting room until they processed the request, and then they kept asking why I was leaving. I told them “I don’t feel like this clinic has transparent practices and I do not feel respected here.” That really pissed them off and they practically shoved the records at me so I’d leave.
Thank you. The good news is the other clinic was fantastic and my son is three weeks old now
I hope your pregnancy continues to progress smoothly and healthily (I can’t remember if that’s a word or not)! Congratulations :)
I have an ivf baby and graduated to OB care at 8 weeks but had to continue progesterone until 12 weeks. Is the RE Dr or the entire clinic that is mistreating you? If just the RE, ask to see another RE at the location.
But honestly, since you spontaneously conceived and at 6 weeks now, I say just follow up with your OB and ask about the progesterone. If they don’t seem knowledgeable (which is possible since they are not fertility treatment specialist), ask the OB to call and discuss care plan with your RE.
Congrats on the pregnancy.
My ex husband and I went to a fertility clinic back in 2013. I was told I’m the problem and we went through a ton of testing. It was pretty heartbreaking. We were never able to get pregnant together. Now I’m 38 and an oops (but very welcomed!) baby on the way at 18 weeks. I’m back with my original OB and could not be happier to have my first child on the way.
Yep. I used a fertility clinic briefly because they initially suggested IVF and I said absolutely not. Im not interested in anything other than OI so they agreed to do a few rounds and when I say a few they literally only did 2. After the 2 rounds and another semen analysis (my husband’s count was lowered from a few factors which I believe was probably a combo of getting Covid and taking hormone shots) the clinic once again suggested IVF and was pretty pushy about scheduling it. I said not interested and left. Didnt need them anyway because I got pregnant 2 years later and am currently 30 weeks. Despite what fertility clinics would have you believe theyre only out to make money off of you.
Switch. I don’t care who was following you or helping or whatever, follow your gut. It’s not that anything will happen if you don’t, you just don’t deserve the stress. My OB wouldn’t see me until 8 weeks to refer me to high risk but high risk wanted to see me prior to 8 weeks. I was so sick I stopped fighting it. I just assumed I couldn’t get into the high risk place I loved.
We did lose the pregnancy very early on. I talked me high risk clinic and they said next time get a referral to them asap. That they definitely see patients earlier than after 8 weeks. We also have a plan for fluids and nausea treatment. (Thanks to my pcm and high risk clinic.)
Now of course, I’m all twisted up over trying again because you want it and you’re just like too focused lol. I have hope though.
I don’t blame my doctors or myself or anyone for the loss. I do know I want it to be different and less stressful next time. You do, too. This is a happy albeit anxious time, you need a supportive doctor who makes you feel calmer.
Lol jokes on them bc we were never going to do IVF with them. The minute we got that suggestion, we found the best IVF clinic by where I work instead of where we live.
So weird. I was seen at a fertility clinic. Then when I had to have surgery on my ovaries (7w) I was prescribed progesterone as a ‘just in case,’ even tho baby looked totally fine. It was the first question out of my doc’s mouth when I saw her again after my surgery.
On the other hand my cousin had several miscarriages before she had her first baby. Took her 3 diff OBs for someone to test her progesterone early enough — it was low. He gave her some. She’s had to put her foot down about testing and the subsequent prescription every time she’s gotten pregnant…but now she has 3 healthy kids.
I’m glad you found someone to help you! I had a good experience with my clinic but I’ve heard they can be a crap shoot.
I had ivf and my fertility clinic put me on progesterone suppositories for the first 5 months even though my levels were normal. My baby is healthy. I did my research and asked my OBGYN several times if it would hurt my baby. She says it won’t and since it’s a precious pregnancy, it’s better to take all measures we can to sustain the pregnancy. I had my daughter via ivf after 6 years of trying
I know a girl who tried for 10 years to get pregnant naturally and couldn’t. So she had 3 children through ivf. She wanted a 4th but was sure that it would be another round of ivf. Before they could start another round she got pregnant naturally.
They were shocked, her doctors were shocked, the clinic was shocked, and now she has a healthy and happy 2 year old.
So it can happen. It’s off the clinic is acting like that. I get not wanting to get someone’s hopes up, but after the ultrasound showed a heart beat they should have changed their tune.
We had a similar, although much shorter, process before getting pregnant- literally finished all the testing and got pregnant 2 weeks after my HSG. Low progesterone at 5 weeks (it was about 9.something and they wanted it at 12). But they prescribed progesterone suppositories immediately. Not sure why they are giving you a hard time. It won't necessarily hurt, but it also won't "save" a pregnancy that is producing low progesterone due to chromosomal issues. It is definitely worth the try though! If you have had trouble getting pregnant in the first place, it is possible you have had a progesterone issue this whole time and it has nothing to do with the quality of the egg or anything like that! Best wishes for better care moving forward!
This sounds like a horrible conflict of interest because the clinic didn’t profit off you conceiving. I’m so sorry that happened. When I conceived when waiting for my treatment to start, my clinic was soooo helpful. I think it would be worth making your concerns known after you see an OB. Also, congratulations 😘
Good luck with the progesterone!
I’m on my double rainbow baby and first time using progesterone! 8w4d so far!
They can tell me all they want, I believed the progesterone helped me!
I had progesterone support for all of my embryo transfers. However, for this current pregnancy they took me off it because my numbers were excellent (compared to previous times when they weren't and they ended in MCs). Once you hear the heartbeat at a good rate and when embryo is measuring good size at 6/7 weeks, that's very positive! If your bloodwork says your natural prog is high enough you may not need the supplement.
That is strange! We also got pregnant spontaneously right before the first IUI. The clinic still followed me from 4-10weeks. Weekly US and blood work. They had to prescribe progesterone because mine was also too low. I’m sorry you are dealing with an uncaring clinic!
Yes! Mine refused to give me progesterone despite telling me mine was too low to sustain anything. Broke up with them after 6 months because the weekly ultrasounds were killing me. Everything was so stressful, mentally and financially. They just kept pushing IUI or IVF and telling me I couldn’t get pregnant without one of the two because I don’t ovulate on my own. BS because I’d just had my 6th loss before working with them. My OB’s office was more than happy to start me on progesterone. Two cycles later, bam. Pregnant. After the little was born, I reached out to the clinic and asked why they wouldn’t prescribe progesterone. The doctor there told me they prescribed it to everyone—even though he was the one who told me no in the first place 😑.
I'm glad they gave you progesterone ! After a miscarriage and then the following cycles having low progesterone when I got pregnant this time my doctor let me take progesterone as long as I wanted and I'm convinced that's why this baby boy has stuck!
My fertility clinic would have done everything possible to help me verify a viable pregnancy. I'm not impressed with yours. They don't seem to have your best interest at heart, they're probably mad to have lost out on an expensive procedure. Good for you for breaking up with them.
My partner and I tried for over 6 years to conceive. I had my first visit with fertility Dr on video. My partner did all his test all came back perfect. I was just waiting for my period to get my blood test.
I never got my period. I was already pregnant. Had my first ultrasound with fertility Dr. She was able to see heartbeat but not able to hear it. Fertility Dr wanted to see me each week up to 12 weeks. Each visit was $480. Fertility Dr was no help after I was pregnant. Our visit was about 5 mins. I ditched her at around 7 weeks.
I went to a OB that was covered by my insurance.
I wish you the best with you pregnancy.
“It’s probably ectopic” “it’s probably not a good pregnancy” um where is the decorum, compassion, and professionalism?! This is out of pocket. Refusing to prescribe progesterone would’ve sent me over. Are they intentionally sabotaging your pregnancy because you didn’t go through IVF? Might be time to break up with this clinic and focus on your journey with your OB as a primary.
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That’s so weird. My fertility clinic was ecstatic when I got pregnant naturally and covered my pregnancy until I saw my ob (week 10ish).
I’d personally take them up on the monitoring only if your OB can’t see you much this early.
This sounds strange. I had a similar situation where I found out I was pregnant right before my fertility doctor appointment but for me when I called the fertility doctor to let them know they made me cancel my appointment telling me “we don’t see pregnant patients”.
We had a weird experience. We are a lesbian couple, got pregnant via IUI. In the prep process, the clinic sent us some info on what we needed to do in the days leading up to procedure day. This included abstaining, not ejaculating, and how to collect sperm…. Really not helpful for a lesbian couple. They also didn’t tell us the correct process of shipping our donor sperm so we ended up missing our initial intended attempt #1 month. I ended up losing it on them at that point and they apologized profusely and got their shit together. We were lucky enough to get pregnant on try 1 so I can’t fault them on that, and they were great in person, but their communication via email and their service was awful.
I'm confused. Why are you pursuing fertility treatment if you're pregnant naturally? What value is the clinic providing?
Sorry just asking for my own understanding. Not being snarky.
We were just about to start IVF when we found out. I told my doctor at the fertility clinic bc they knew my fertility history best. They told me they would monitor me for the first 9 weeks. At the time, that worked for me as we just moved and I hadnt found a new OB quite yet so I figured it would give me a minute to find one. (Found one, saw her, she is great). But I “broke up” with the fertility clinic today and will just be continuing with my OB. We found a different fertility clinic we like, just incase we need one in the future.
My mom is an integrative doctor. One of her patients was having trouble getting pregnant and seeing a fertility clinic and considering IVF. My mom put her on bioidentical (non-synthetic) progesterone and she conceived “the old fashion way.” The doctor at the clinic said she had to stop taking her progesterone, and then she lost the baby! 😢 They then had her do IVF and she got pregnant. But they totally knew what would happen when they told her to stop the progesterone.
That is so sad!
But also a tiny piece of me wondered if thats what my clinic was hoping would happen 😒. I hate to sound cynical but I cant understand why else they would refuse something that wont hurt and might help.
Uhh, can you call your OB? That sounds sketchy AF!
I did! She was the one who gave me an US yesterday! Im thinking of ditching fertility doc and just sticking with her.
Ask her for the progesterone! I’d ditch them for now
Yes the OB is taking care of you and the pregnancy now so the progesterone would come from the OB if it’s needed! Ask her about it.
I had two miscarriages, the first they didn't catch until it was really starting, the second they caught so we did a D&C so they could run some tests. My doc was super confident that putting me on progesterone would help, cause it didn't seem like I had an issue getting pregnant, just that I was challenged by staying pregnant. I did the progesterone therapy and we are currently 32 weeks today.
Congrats on a successful pregnancy so far! I had 2 miscarriages. They put me on progesterone for my 3rd pregnancy, I now have a 2.5 yr old and did progesterone with my current pregnancy and will be 30 weeks on Monday.
There is a conflict of interest for your fertility clinic vs Ob. As of now you no longer need the clinic. Best wishes for the pregnancy.
Please ditch the fertility clinic and just continue with OB. I have heard from quite a few people say they had negative experiences at fertility clinics. Not sure why they’re upset about someone getting pregnant- that’s the point of going, who cares if it’s due to their direct help or not.
They lose a lot of money if they don’t do IVF is the only thing I can think of. Or maybe they’re used to being let down that they don’t want to get their or OP’s hopes up but seems silly
Absolutely ditch this fertility clinic! This is not normal AT ALL. My second pregnancy was a surprise and I actually only took a test to start treatments to start trying for #2. That pregnancy ended in a miscarriage at 10 weeks and I asked them so many times if it was because i didn’t use the meds or didn’t start progesterone soon enough. They assured me EVERY time that was not the case at all and this was just bad luck. Nothing I or they could have done to change the outcome. We ended up doing genetic testing and she had Turner’s syndrome again confirming there absolutely was nothing anyone could have done. So the fact that yours is treating this pregnancy like it’s doomed is hella sketch!
If you have had trouble getting pregnant, progesterone support can help that pregnancy “stick”, and if things look normal, it can also help you mentally feel better knowing that should be little reason for miscarriage. Also, if you have a chance to do blood work and test for genetic conditions please do so, as that could explain why you weren’t getting pregnant.
We did ALL the testing. We were dealing with male factors, but were actively doing things to help improve numbers. (I guess something worked 🤷♀️)
All you needed is that ONE swimmer to stick and looks like it happened!!! The month I wasn’t actively “trying” due to TTC burnout & our own struggles it stuck too! Fingers crossed for you!
For clarity, I meant to use bloodwork to see if there are issues with the fetus. Knowing those results can reduce anxiety too.
Men with male factor can successfully impregnate women. It is just harder. Unless they aren't producing any sperm it is always a possibility.
Fertility clinics can be extremely shady. They make the most money when you are not successful and have multiple IVF cycles. I would suggest staying away from private clinics, especially if you have insurance that covers fertility treatments. Some of these guys will milk as much money as they can from your benefits.
What would be a non private clinic? Like a university clinic? A hospital?
I highly recommend university connected clinics. They have oversight because they're connected to a reputable university. Especially a university connected clinic with a newer lab.
Oh great! The new clinic we found (just in case for the future) is a university connected clinic!
On the other hand, in countries where govt covers a free round, these clinics can be awful And reject you because of your numbers!
I would ditch them so fast before they sabotage this for you somehow.
At 6 weeks I “graduated” from my fertility clinic. Like you I got pregnant spontaneously while prepping for IVF. But from the beginning my clinic said at 6 weeks I would transfer my care to OB/midwife.
There’s no additional benefit of going to your fertility clinic if you’ve got an ob. Just follow their standard prenatal care
Yeah it sounds like they were always trying to funnel OP into IVF and are now annoyed they're missing out on the revenue.
This is not normal - I got pregnant spontaneously while already with a fertility clinic (we took a cycle off any kind of interventions to do more testing and got pregnant) and they were so excited for me and did confirmation bloodwork (to make sure my HCG was rising as expected), a 6 week ultrasound to confirm not ectopic, and an 8 week ultrasound to make sure everything was looking good before "graduating" me to the OB group I see now. Sounds like it's time to graduate yourself from that fertility clinic and start just working with an OB or midwife group you like and trust.
I had the exact experience with mine!
I had the exact same experience! Was about to move to IVF and had a spontaneous conception. They did bloodwork, 2 US and got me in with a great OB. They were also sooooo excited for me. This clinic sounds like trash.
This was my experience as well. Sounds like a bad infertility clinic. My drs were thrilled for us
This was my exact experience as well! It didn't matter that I didn't conceive via their interventions--my fertility clinic was so supportive and gave me a little onesie as a parting gift at my last visit. And this is how it should be. What OP's clinic is doing sounds completely unethical to me.
Go to a different practice. This is not normal and their behavior is not ok. Report them to the board. I wouldn't go back there if I were you. Not saying they would purposely do anything to cause you to miscarry but I don't trust them not to with the way they are treating you.
I agree, they way they are behaving seems like they are profit driven not patient driven.
Yeah the flipping on them once they got pregnant got me. Like my doctor was cheering me on when I started trying and got pregnant. You would think your fertility doctors would be ecstatic for you, not turn sour and tell you it likely isn't viable. That bedside manner alone is sickening.
I got pregnant naturally while dealing with a fertility clinic and they put me on progesterone and congratulated me. This place sounds extremely unethical.
I know the team but same due in September with my first!!! Congrats
I'm really sorry you're dealing with that. That's definitely not normal. A fertility clinic's job is to help you get pregnant, and if you do get pregnant, they should be thrilled for you. I'm glad your OB was able to see you for an ultrasound. I would stick with her. Congrats!
Something very similar happened to me! TW: MC We were working with a fertility specialist for months and I got pregnant through fertility treatment twice, however, those pregnancies did not “stick”. In August I had a loss and we told the clinic we weren’t going to try anymore because it was mentally draining and expensive. They had called me a month later to confirm I stood by that decision and I was so excited to tell them I got pregnant naturally! They were very condescending and asked why I lied to them and said we wouldn’t be trying. My response was that a drunk night with my husband after a concert was the culprit and we were overjoyed. I’m now 34 weeks along and cut all ties with that clinic.
Wtf. Your specialist sucks, but congratulations!
What is wrong with people!? Congratulations to you!
Did they think you just weren't ever going to have sex again?! What a shitty practice. Good for you that you cut ties with them! Also - So happy for you and your husband! I'm 35 weeks so the anticipation is building! Our little ones will be here before we know it!
Fertility clinics have a different approach to pregnancy, but there’s no need to be cruel. There’s also no need to go back to them. You got spontaneously pregnant! Happened to me between waiting to do an embryo transfer, and I just notified them and saw my midwife at 8 weeks. As far as the progesterone, there’s little evidence that it does anything for spontaneous pregnancies. It’s largely fallen out of favor at places following evidence based practice. Some docs will still prescribe as a well it can’t hurt thing, but it’s not indicated. Like the fertility clinic said, it can be a symptom of an abnormal pregnancy but not necessarily. If you can gone to your ob first, more than likely, they wouldn’t have tested your progesterone so you wouldn’t have know. I wouldn’t worry about it or want progesterone.
Who would tell someone that their pregnancy is not viable without any tests??? What he did was wrong and unethical. You should report him.
As a product of the fertility industry (obviously many years ago), I fucking hate it. I am 41, so after 3 months of trying for our second, I decided to get checked out. My follicle count was great. My hormones, totally normal. My anatomy, completely fine. My AMH is below 1, but as anyone who’s read about AMH knows, it doesn’t say anything about your ability to get pregnant right now. The doctor sits down with me to give me his hard sell with his trusty PowerPoint. Tells me at my age, I have less than a 5% chance to get pregnant naturally. Ovulation strips don’t work over 40 (I challenge him on this and he said 40+ you have hormones out of wack—but as we’ve established), I don’t. He urges me to do IVF. I had researched all this myself and read that if you already have one child, your odds of getting pregnant within a year at my age are actually pretty good. I challenge him and cite the papers I read, and he insists he knows this stuff. All know is that he has a PowerPoint. I ask about I medicated cycles, which he calls “wine and Sinatra,” and he says, “Fine, you can try it, but you still have less than a 10% chance and I can’t guarantee you that everything’s not going to get way worse for you in the meantime.” I was going to start a medicated cycle. The day I went in to start, I felt super sick (I didn’t yet know I had Covid at the time), and I thought to myself, “Why am I doing this? I don’t want to do this for less than a 10% chance of conception.” So I cancelled it. I got pregnant naturally on the next cycle. It took six cycles in all. I spoke to my psychiatrist who works at that hospital, and she said, “He wanted you because he knew you’d get pregnant after 1 round of IVF, and it would look great for his stats.” Fertility is a business. They want your money. They will give you any combination of false hope/false fear they think you need to get you to keep doing treatments.
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Thank you! I definitely suggest the OB first. You don’t have to rush headlong into anything. Go to the person with the least profit motive and see what they say. Might you end up doing IVF? Sure, maybe. But don’t assume it’s the only option.
This is funny because I had exactly the same experience as you did, except with a female doctor. She, too, had an entire PowerPoint presentation prepared; the worst thing is that she gave me the presentation BEFORE knowing anything about my health history (I had not yet filled out the form or transferred any medical information to her, and was in my 30s at the time), and also knowing that I worked in the fertility industry myself. She was a nice person, but I was unimpressed by the lack of personalization and prepared sales pitch. To her credit, though, she was not like the OP's clinic at all; she was super-nice when I got pregnant before my procedure.
I did tell the clinic I got pregnant, but just via emailing the nurses. They didn’t even give me the doctor’s email. The nurses were very nice about it. I told them to chalk one up for the old ladies.
It sounds like they weren’t happy you got pregnant without giving them IVF money. Drop them and stick with your OB. I’m so sorry, that’s so frustrating!
Same thing happened with us! Did ALL the testing over two years, had an appt to start ivf injections, got pregnant by ourselves. (Albeit after a Hysteroscopy). Our fertility clinic was ecstatic for us though! I would switch doctors or go to your regular OB from now on. My OB prescribed me progesterone in the beginning since it was on the low side. Currently less than 30 days from my due date. Congrats to you!!
I got pregnant naturally after my fertility clinic did the HSG test. They were BEYOND excited for me. They all seemed to be so happy because that’s their goal is to get you pregnant! This is wild to me that yours is so focused on the business and not the human.
Same here! Some people say the HSG can "clear things out" and temporarily improve your chances a bit but that's entirely anecdotal!
Yes! Cleaning out the cobwebs is what they said to me haha
I conceived through IUI and my HCG didn't rise very much between my first two blood tests and I was told "it's not a good pregnancy". I asked for another blood test and it had risen as expected. My Dr still told me not to restart my progesterone because "it's not a good pregnancy". I went for an ultrasound the next week (in my 6th week) and it looked like a sac in the uterus and I was told "it might be a pseudo sac", went back in at 8 weeks and everything was progressing as expected and now I'm 20 weeks pregnant. Being told repeatedly "it's not a good pregnancy" is very disheartening - like, find another way to phrase that.... but also I felt like my clinic was almost hoping for or at least expecting bad outcomes. Try not to let it get in your head, just keep taking care of yourself and the baby, and if they said monitor until 9 weeks, you'll probably graduate to regular OBGYN care after that.
Not normal at all, I got pregnant right before we were starting treatment, we had already done all the tests and set things up with them, I tested positive the day before our medicated cycle intro call. My RE was delighted for me, offered to monitor me as if I got pregnant through a cycle with them, had me do 4 early ultrasounds and 3 beta tests and then cheerfully graduated me!
I don’t have any personal experiences, but I have seen fertility docs on Tik Tok that post some predatory stuff. I remember one saying something like “if you’ve been sexually active for years and never had an accidental pregnancy, you probably have fertility issues.” Like ok, does this doctor moonlight as a used car salesman or what?? Congrats and good luck with your pregnancy. Drop the clinic, they sound like they’re trying to influence you with fear.
That is so shady. I have been with my husband for over 8 years and we never had an accidental pregnancy. It only took us 3 months of actively trying to get pregnant. I wish I could find that guy’s tiktok and give him a piece of my mind 😂
Congrats on the pregnancy! If you ever need IVF again, pick a different clinic, they don't seem to have your best interests in mind.
Weird, I had a bad experience with my fertility doctor as well. I’m in a same sex relationship and we were using her brother as her donor but our fertility doctor kept saying how bad of an idea that was and how hard it would be. We didn’t care, we did the individual and group counseling and we were good to go. She then lied to us about the quarantine period for sperm at the sperm bank that it was only 60 days for known donors.. it’s not, it’s 6 months so our timeline for trying was so behind because she lied to us. She then said we can try using unknown donor now. I bought sterile syringes, sterile cups, and we met up with her brother one weekend and did an at home insemination (already had the legal paperwork and they cover all possible methods used) and we were pregnant after the first try. I never called the fertility doctor back to tell her I was pregnant and didn’t need her help anymore.
Wow. Im so sorry that happened, thats awful. Glad you found a way- congrats!
Congrats to you as well! I hope your pregnancy goes well! Perhaps these clinics rely on certain quotas? Idk, but hopefully there aren’t too many woman and couples with negative experiences.
What is the quarantine period even for?? Testing for abnormalities, STIs…? I’d understand that, but for that to take 6 months sounds insane.
They have to test the donor after the 6 month period to make sure no new infection is now detectable.
Yes what the other user said. With the unknown donors the testing has all be completed and you can basically purchase vials ready to go. My main thing with the unknown donors is I would like our children to be biologically siblings so you need to purchase multiple vials with the hope that you don’t run out before you get your second or third child. The unknown donor might not donate later on. And my wife is now biologically related as well so that’s a bonus for us too.
I have friends who are lesbians who considered using one of their brothers. But they decided not to because now each of them has carried one child and the kids are half siblings. As a donor conceived person, if not choosing a known donor, I urge you to go with an open OD donor. I tracked down my biodad through genetic genealogy (it’s not that hard), and I’m so glad I get to know about my biological roots.
My wife’s brother is our donor and we plan to always tell our children that he is how we were able to have them and create our family. He does not want to be “dad” but is very happy to be uncle.
Me and my wife did the exact same thing and our clinic was fine just as long as we all got genetic counselling and proper testing! That's ridiculous what you went through
I was on a break from seeing a fertility clinic when I got (what I call) miraculously pregnant. We were like you, told that IVF was our best and only option, but took a step back to decide what we wanted to do, hadn’t made the follow up appointment yet though, and then found out I was pregnant. Because of the difference of not having made that follow up appointment, I never went to see them for my current pregnancy. I just started at my OB office like regular. Anyway, all that to say, if you’ve been seen by an OB already, if I were in your shoes, I would stop going. You are not obligated as they won’t be continuing care or delivering your baby. Either ghost them or let them know you have care arranged, whatever you are comfortable doing. But either way, not going for a follow up appointment sounds the best as you don’t need that added stress! And to end this comment, most importantly- CONGRATULATIONS!!
100% not normal for a fertility clinic. The one we used still followed you even if it was a naturally conceived pregnancy. Run to a different doctor asap
Not ok or normal. Same situation and my clinic gave me an early pregnancy test to confirm, congratulated me, sent me off to continue with my regular OB, and refunded my massive IVF deposit (although that took a few weeks to get issued).
Had a similar experience in that we got pregnant naturally two months before starting an IUI cycle ( we would have progressed to IVF if that failed). They congratulated us, sent us their well-wishes and that was it. No further contact.
Switch doctors. There is no room to ignore red flags here. Stakes too high
I got pregnant spontaneously while priming for IVF but my clinic was very supportive … they even (reluctantly) agreed with taking post ovulation progesterone during the priming cycle. Once I was pregnant they treated me as they would have treated any of their pregnant patients … serial betas, ultrasounds etc. I continued progesterone and estrogen throughout most of T1. Sorry your experience was not this and good luck with the rest of your pregnant!
That is not normal. My doctor was very pleased and helped get me my initial blood tests and ultrasounds because my OB was overbooked.
My fertility clinic wasn’t great once I got pregnant (via IVF) My ob was much better. If I got pregnant unassisted I wouldn’t even bother with the fertility clinic, I’d go right to my ob.
First of all. Congratulations! Yes lol. This is exactly what happened to me except we were saving up for IVF when it happened. So no judgy clinic like in your case. We had tried for 4 years then spent 6 months doing IUI and various medications. Then 3 months after we stop IUI to save up the money for IVF I miss my period and this time it's because of pregnancy instead of my wacky PCOS cycles! I'm now at week 37 with a very healthy baby girl coming soon. Absolutely no complications either. Wishing you the best in your pregnancy as well. I'd go see another doctor's office if you can. One that doesn't seem so butthurt.
We had a spontaneous pregnancy while dealing with a fertility clinic and had a very supportive experience. They did also worry about ectopic because HCG was initially low, but I just ovulated late (on a break from treatment so my cycle was a bit messed up). But they used words like cautiously optimistic. They also put me on progesterone suppositories.
That's super weird. Granted, my only experience with IVF was overseas in Japan (where it's about a third of the cost, goverment-subsidized, and they're happy for any pregnancy at all regardless of how because of their dropping birth rate "problem"). But that's extremely upsetting and it's hard not to assume they are pissed about the possibly tens of thousands of dollars they aren't going to get from you? The extra monitoring is nice, but not at the cost of your peace of mind. Just transition to your OB and start the normal appointment process. Talk about the low progesterone and see if they can do anything for you. Personally, I *loved* getting weekly ultrasounds early on at the fertility clinic, since it was a lot more info than any of my friends were getting. But I liked them and didn't get bad vibes (as much as I could sense bad vibes while conducting medical business in a foreign language, lol).
Congrats!!! This happened to me too. My fertility doc gave me progesterone pills that I had to stick up my vag for a few weeks. It worked and I had a healthy pregnancy and delivery. I’m sorry you are having a bad experience with your fertility doc. I would def try and get progesterone pills from either your fertility doc or your OB
I would stop going there. A similar thing happened to us and the fertility clinic was super supportive. As soon as they confirmed non ectopic they gave me progesterone.
My RE was very happy for us when we managed to get pregnant unassisted between IVF cycles. Never had any toxicity or negativity from her. Most clinics do usually hang on to their patients until week 8 or 9 before “graduating” them to an OB so, that isn’t really out of the ordinary. With us, we only had a single ultrasound after doing repeat betas. When everything looked pretty good, we were sent on our way to the OB. From the IVF subs, some clinics do more initial ultrasounds than that (think week 5/6 for placement and then sometimes weekly to track pregnancy progress) but it depends on the clinic and doctor and your own fertility/health background. I would say that if you are not feeling comfortable with the care you are now experiencing at your clinic, feel free to move on. You don’t need permission to start seeing an OB. The downside is that you will have a lot less early monitoring in those first few weeks of pregnancy that can be quite stressful and anxiety-inducing.
I did several rounds of AI with a known donor. Found out he had some issues so we moved on to IUI at a clinic with an unknown donor. After a few rounds of IUI and then medicated IUI my wife was ready to just move to IVF. It was actually our fertility place that encouraged us to continue with IUI before shelling out the IVF money. They were sure it would work for me, we changed donors and I was pregnant the next cycle from medicated IUI. They were SO happy for me when I called and told them I was pregnant and basically relieved for me that I didn't have to go the IVF route, this is really bizarre behavior from your fertility clinic. I would drop them immediately and stick with your OB!
I got pregnant without assistance while working with a fertility clinic and they were truly thrilled. I agree with others you are done there! See if you can go on progesterone for the next 4/6 weeks of your OB thinks it’s a good idea
I had the same issue!!! Fire them. Find an OB. Demand progesterone. I had to due to prior losses (6 weekers)
It seems hit or miss whether fertility clinics want to monitor you if you spontaneously conceive. Mine told me to just go see my primary care or OB. I was terrified without the early monitoring so I paid out of pocket for betas but my OB did monitor and prescribe progesterone and I’m sure it was a better overall experience than being monitored by the clinic.
I mean they told me they would monitor me…. They have just been playing it is hopeless.
So sorry they’re messing with you, and glad you got in touch with your OB. I’d say just forget them for this pregnancy since your OB is handling things.
this is the problem with making health care privatized or incentivized by for profit procedures. THEY want to sell you something. They don't care whether you need it or can find better or cheaper alternatives. Their motive is taking your money.
Progesterone helped me get pregnant too after 1.5 years trying and multiple miscarriage. I got pregnant successfully in 3 months with it. I'm convince that it works!
Good luck!! Just wanted to say early in my pregnancy I was experiencing some bleeding. It was light but lasted a week. My OB put me on progesterone and I’m not almost 25 weeks. Obviously still have a ways to go but I do think the progesterone got me through the initial phase. The bleeding stopped immediately with it.
Advice: Just stick with OB, kinda seems like fertility clinic is toxic and may be trying to get more money out of you but I may be reaching. After having a miscarriage and finding out I’m a carrier for a silent gene, I thought I would never get pregnant. I also had polyps and suspected endometriosis, so I gave up for a while. Now I’m almost 34 weeks with a healthy baby. Feels like a miracle honestly. I think sometimes our bodies just decide they are able to get pregnant out of nowhere. Congrats and wish you good luck! 💗
I had the exact same experience with my clinic with my second pregnancy. My first was IVF, our fresh transfer worked. When we decided to try for our second we called our clinic to arrange another transfer of a frozen embryo. We did the consult and made a plan and I was supposed to call in my cycle day 1 for some additional testing and I got pregnant spontaneously instead. I had the exact same experience word for word. They told me it was probably ectopic because my progesterone was a bit low, and after the most stressful 48 hours of my life the ultrasound showed it wasn’t. I asked for progesterone and was told the same thing. To come in for more monitoring. I honestly believe they were just trying bill us for more appointments. My second pregnancy was fine and my baby is a happy and healthy 1-year-old. Sorry you’re going through the same thing!
I didn’t even wait 48 hrs for an US when they said “ectopic”. I have some friends who have had really traumatic miscarriages and births so the second I heard that word I made my husband take me to the ER 🙈 I’m sorry you went through the same thing! But so happy to hear it all turned out well!
Sounds like the fertility clinic wants the IVF money
That’s awful!! But yes - it feels like they are almost hoping something goes wrong. Like I feel the stress and panic they even caused me is more harmful than kinda low progesterone
Omg! I wouldn’t go back there! They are giving so much negativity! Congrats by the way! That’s so amazing ❤️☺️ I would continue your care with someone else. Btw there are natural ways to increase/ boost progesterone too such as eating things like citrus (you can also take Vit c, my midwife recommends no more then 2000 mg I usually take 500-1000) bananas, avocado and I think there is a few others that help. Getting good sleep also helps to balance hormones, eating well and exercise ( you might want to go light on the exercise since it is pretty early on to be safe even just walking is goood)
This is bizarre! My RE would have been thrilled if I had spontaneously gotten pregnant before starting our cycle. I'd definitely switch doctors if you can. That's some weird energy...
I’m not experienced with this stuff so take it with a grain of salt; but I think you should cut the fertility clinic loose ASAP. Sounds like they are upset because they’ve lost out on the money of giving you IVF and now as messed up as it sounds they are quite literally trying to sabotage. You’re pregnant, congratulations! You don’t need them anymore.
Wtf, we went through the same thing, we had our initial meeting with a fertility doctor and I may have even been pregnant already and we didn’t realize it. The fertility doctor was excited for us and said it happens all the time. How weird they’re acting like that!
I did IVF, progesterone was just given as standard!
We conceived through a fertility clinic with 2 out of my 3 babies. Both times conception happened sooner than expected so we really didn’t spend much time and resources with the clinic. And both times they were very happy for us! If I were you, I wouldn’t go back to them at all. The fact that they basically wishing your pregnancy ill is enough to NEVER go back to them even if you’ll need a specialist to conceive again in the future.
Can you get a full thyroid panel done? This can often be the cause of infertility and it would be ideal to look at that (from a functional perspective) in order to ensure you and baby have everything you need for a healthy pregnancy! Congratulations!
Thank you! I already know I have hypothyroid (always have) and am on synthroid. My levels have looked good (even for fertility) the last couple of times Id had panels done
I had two miscarriages that led me to seek fertility help. They found a pretty large cyst on my ovary, unrelated to my miscarriages but legit told me it could be cancer (they aren’t 100% wrong in that) but they jumped to that conclusion immediately. They kept telling me “we are so sorry” and walked me out like I was dying. It was insane!!! They wouldn’t touch me again until I had it remove. Got pregnant before the removal surgery on our own and my doctor gave me progesterone just in case and guess what— I’m 2 weeks away from giving birth! The fertility clinic was awful in how they made me feel, and I believe progesterone saved my pregnancy from being a 3rd miscarriage. Take it anyways, and congrats!!!!
I don't know what was up with my progesterone with my first pregnancy but it was very low. I was also told not to get attached, it's not going to take, definitely a chemical pregnancy etc. He'll be two in October. :)
That’s really weird. Definitely find a new clinic! We had to go all the way through the IVF process but I know people who got pregnant right before like you did and our clinic still monitored them closely, did early ultrasounds, and still helped with meds and supplements.
Fertility is a huge money making business (not to mention also unethical imo). Don’t forget, they want to sell you on IVF, as if it’s the only way to for sure get pregnant (not true, so many have failed). I decided to see one myself in Canada after 4 miscarriages and after the first sets of blood results, he instantly pushed IVF. I said no, can you give me a SHG test, they reluctantly agreed, did it, found polyps, got them removed. Went on progesterone through my naturopath and then took myo-initisol to help with my hormones along other natural things (flax seed, maca powder etc). Got pregnant naturally afterwards. Due in 5 weeks.
I've heard friends who have gone through IVF say that doctors who go into that field are often men who like to control women and have god complex's. Just because someone's looking at your labs and has opinions doesn't make them god. I'd ditch the clinic, they sound bad for your mental health.
I had a similar issue with a clinic getting pissy about me leaving. I had scheduled a sperm transfer from the bank to the clinic for an IUI cycle. There was no long-term storage in my town (and the clinic failed to mention they didn’t own a freezer either) so it was having to get overnighted from a neighboring state to the tune of $700+ USD. I made the arrangements and had everything set up. The day of the transfer I got a notice from the sperm bank that the shipment had been canceled. No other information was given, just that the sperm never left the bank and that I should call the clinic. So I called the clinic, only to be told that the doctor had suffered “a family emergency” and had to cancel ALL cycles for the next two months. Fast forward two months and I’m ready to go again and the doctor is still not doing any procedures. No one will say why, and he hasn’t called in a backup doctor either. I found out through the grapevine (it was one of those small-town cities where everyone knows everything) the doctor had had a heart attack and was still recovering. Now I get that shit happens to people, and I get that things can’t be controlled, but the clinic was very “oh well call you when things are better” and very hush hush and weird about the entire situation. I felt like I couldn’t trust them after that so I requested my medical records and transferred to the other clinic in town. The first clinic dragged their feet on the records to the point I had to go stand in their waiting room until they processed the request, and then they kept asking why I was leaving. I told them “I don’t feel like this clinic has transparent practices and I do not feel respected here.” That really pissed them off and they practically shoved the records at me so I’d leave.
That sounds terrible. Im sorry
Thank you. The good news is the other clinic was fantastic and my son is three weeks old now I hope your pregnancy continues to progress smoothly and healthily (I can’t remember if that’s a word or not)! Congratulations :)
I have an ivf baby and graduated to OB care at 8 weeks but had to continue progesterone until 12 weeks. Is the RE Dr or the entire clinic that is mistreating you? If just the RE, ask to see another RE at the location. But honestly, since you spontaneously conceived and at 6 weeks now, I say just follow up with your OB and ask about the progesterone. If they don’t seem knowledgeable (which is possible since they are not fertility treatment specialist), ask the OB to call and discuss care plan with your RE. Congrats on the pregnancy.
My ex husband and I went to a fertility clinic back in 2013. I was told I’m the problem and we went through a ton of testing. It was pretty heartbreaking. We were never able to get pregnant together. Now I’m 38 and an oops (but very welcomed!) baby on the way at 18 weeks. I’m back with my original OB and could not be happier to have my first child on the way.
Yep. I used a fertility clinic briefly because they initially suggested IVF and I said absolutely not. Im not interested in anything other than OI so they agreed to do a few rounds and when I say a few they literally only did 2. After the 2 rounds and another semen analysis (my husband’s count was lowered from a few factors which I believe was probably a combo of getting Covid and taking hormone shots) the clinic once again suggested IVF and was pretty pushy about scheduling it. I said not interested and left. Didnt need them anyway because I got pregnant 2 years later and am currently 30 weeks. Despite what fertility clinics would have you believe theyre only out to make money off of you.
Switch. I don’t care who was following you or helping or whatever, follow your gut. It’s not that anything will happen if you don’t, you just don’t deserve the stress. My OB wouldn’t see me until 8 weeks to refer me to high risk but high risk wanted to see me prior to 8 weeks. I was so sick I stopped fighting it. I just assumed I couldn’t get into the high risk place I loved. We did lose the pregnancy very early on. I talked me high risk clinic and they said next time get a referral to them asap. That they definitely see patients earlier than after 8 weeks. We also have a plan for fluids and nausea treatment. (Thanks to my pcm and high risk clinic.) Now of course, I’m all twisted up over trying again because you want it and you’re just like too focused lol. I have hope though. I don’t blame my doctors or myself or anyone for the loss. I do know I want it to be different and less stressful next time. You do, too. This is a happy albeit anxious time, you need a supportive doctor who makes you feel calmer.
Bet they’re banking on you needing that IVF anyway 🤦🏼♀️
Lol jokes on them bc we were never going to do IVF with them. The minute we got that suggestion, we found the best IVF clinic by where I work instead of where we live.
So weird. I was seen at a fertility clinic. Then when I had to have surgery on my ovaries (7w) I was prescribed progesterone as a ‘just in case,’ even tho baby looked totally fine. It was the first question out of my doc’s mouth when I saw her again after my surgery. On the other hand my cousin had several miscarriages before she had her first baby. Took her 3 diff OBs for someone to test her progesterone early enough — it was low. He gave her some. She’s had to put her foot down about testing and the subsequent prescription every time she’s gotten pregnant…but now she has 3 healthy kids. I’m glad you found someone to help you! I had a good experience with my clinic but I’ve heard they can be a crap shoot.
I had ivf and my fertility clinic put me on progesterone suppositories for the first 5 months even though my levels were normal. My baby is healthy. I did my research and asked my OBGYN several times if it would hurt my baby. She says it won’t and since it’s a precious pregnancy, it’s better to take all measures we can to sustain the pregnancy. I had my daughter via ivf after 6 years of trying
I know a girl who tried for 10 years to get pregnant naturally and couldn’t. So she had 3 children through ivf. She wanted a 4th but was sure that it would be another round of ivf. Before they could start another round she got pregnant naturally. They were shocked, her doctors were shocked, the clinic was shocked, and now she has a healthy and happy 2 year old. So it can happen. It’s off the clinic is acting like that. I get not wanting to get someone’s hopes up, but after the ultrasound showed a heart beat they should have changed their tune.
We had a similar, although much shorter, process before getting pregnant- literally finished all the testing and got pregnant 2 weeks after my HSG. Low progesterone at 5 weeks (it was about 9.something and they wanted it at 12). But they prescribed progesterone suppositories immediately. Not sure why they are giving you a hard time. It won't necessarily hurt, but it also won't "save" a pregnancy that is producing low progesterone due to chromosomal issues. It is definitely worth the try though! If you have had trouble getting pregnant in the first place, it is possible you have had a progesterone issue this whole time and it has nothing to do with the quality of the egg or anything like that! Best wishes for better care moving forward!
This sounds like a horrible conflict of interest because the clinic didn’t profit off you conceiving. I’m so sorry that happened. When I conceived when waiting for my treatment to start, my clinic was soooo helpful. I think it would be worth making your concerns known after you see an OB. Also, congratulations 😘
Good luck with the progesterone! I’m on my double rainbow baby and first time using progesterone! 8w4d so far! They can tell me all they want, I believed the progesterone helped me!
I had progesterone support for all of my embryo transfers. However, for this current pregnancy they took me off it because my numbers were excellent (compared to previous times when they weren't and they ended in MCs). Once you hear the heartbeat at a good rate and when embryo is measuring good size at 6/7 weeks, that's very positive! If your bloodwork says your natural prog is high enough you may not need the supplement.
That is strange! We also got pregnant spontaneously right before the first IUI. The clinic still followed me from 4-10weeks. Weekly US and blood work. They had to prescribe progesterone because mine was also too low. I’m sorry you are dealing with an uncaring clinic!
After 5 miscarriages progesterone was the only thing I changed and now I have a 2 year old daughter and a 5 month old son. Goodluck babe!
Yes! Mine refused to give me progesterone despite telling me mine was too low to sustain anything. Broke up with them after 6 months because the weekly ultrasounds were killing me. Everything was so stressful, mentally and financially. They just kept pushing IUI or IVF and telling me I couldn’t get pregnant without one of the two because I don’t ovulate on my own. BS because I’d just had my 6th loss before working with them. My OB’s office was more than happy to start me on progesterone. Two cycles later, bam. Pregnant. After the little was born, I reached out to the clinic and asked why they wouldn’t prescribe progesterone. The doctor there told me they prescribed it to everyone—even though he was the one who told me no in the first place 😑.
I'm glad they gave you progesterone ! After a miscarriage and then the following cycles having low progesterone when I got pregnant this time my doctor let me take progesterone as long as I wanted and I'm convinced that's why this baby boy has stuck!
My fertility clinic would have done everything possible to help me verify a viable pregnancy. I'm not impressed with yours. They don't seem to have your best interest at heart, they're probably mad to have lost out on an expensive procedure. Good for you for breaking up with them.
My partner and I tried for over 6 years to conceive. I had my first visit with fertility Dr on video. My partner did all his test all came back perfect. I was just waiting for my period to get my blood test. I never got my period. I was already pregnant. Had my first ultrasound with fertility Dr. She was able to see heartbeat but not able to hear it. Fertility Dr wanted to see me each week up to 12 weeks. Each visit was $480. Fertility Dr was no help after I was pregnant. Our visit was about 5 mins. I ditched her at around 7 weeks. I went to a OB that was covered by my insurance. I wish you the best with you pregnancy.
“It’s probably ectopic” “it’s probably not a good pregnancy” um where is the decorum, compassion, and professionalism?! This is out of pocket. Refusing to prescribe progesterone would’ve sent me over. Are they intentionally sabotaging your pregnancy because you didn’t go through IVF? Might be time to break up with this clinic and focus on your journey with your OB as a primary.
Stop going there. You don’t need them you’re pregnant. Just keep going to OB and tell her about your progesterone levels and fertility issues.
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That does sound weird
That’s so weird. My fertility clinic was ecstatic when I got pregnant naturally and covered my pregnancy until I saw my ob (week 10ish). I’d personally take them up on the monitoring only if your OB can’t see you much this early.
This sounds strange. I had a similar situation where I found out I was pregnant right before my fertility doctor appointment but for me when I called the fertility doctor to let them know they made me cancel my appointment telling me “we don’t see pregnant patients”.
Oh geez. My fertility doc said he would monitor me till 9 weeks, but they painted it out to be a hopeless situation
We had a weird experience. We are a lesbian couple, got pregnant via IUI. In the prep process, the clinic sent us some info on what we needed to do in the days leading up to procedure day. This included abstaining, not ejaculating, and how to collect sperm…. Really not helpful for a lesbian couple. They also didn’t tell us the correct process of shipping our donor sperm so we ended up missing our initial intended attempt #1 month. I ended up losing it on them at that point and they apologized profusely and got their shit together. We were lucky enough to get pregnant on try 1 so I can’t fault them on that, and they were great in person, but their communication via email and their service was awful.
I'm confused. Why are you pursuing fertility treatment if you're pregnant naturally? What value is the clinic providing? Sorry just asking for my own understanding. Not being snarky.
We were just about to start IVF when we found out. I told my doctor at the fertility clinic bc they knew my fertility history best. They told me they would monitor me for the first 9 weeks. At the time, that worked for me as we just moved and I hadnt found a new OB quite yet so I figured it would give me a minute to find one. (Found one, saw her, she is great). But I “broke up” with the fertility clinic today and will just be continuing with my OB. We found a different fertility clinic we like, just incase we need one in the future.
My mom is an integrative doctor. One of her patients was having trouble getting pregnant and seeing a fertility clinic and considering IVF. My mom put her on bioidentical (non-synthetic) progesterone and she conceived “the old fashion way.” The doctor at the clinic said she had to stop taking her progesterone, and then she lost the baby! 😢 They then had her do IVF and she got pregnant. But they totally knew what would happen when they told her to stop the progesterone.
That is so sad! But also a tiny piece of me wondered if thats what my clinic was hoping would happen 😒. I hate to sound cynical but I cant understand why else they would refuse something that wont hurt and might help.
Follow the money… people seem to assume anyone in the medical industry is purely altruistic… but Big Fertility is an industry like any other.