(CNN) – Danielle and Kenny Scott are used to facing obstacles together.
Danielle, 34, underwent a hysterectomy after she was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer in 2013. Kenny was by her side, even though they had only been dating for three weeks at the time of her diagnosis.
Seven years later, Terre Haute, Indiana’s current married couple is trying to conceive through a surrogate. Two substitutes did not work. But with their third substitute, they were hopeful.
Until last week, when the coronavirus pandemic put everything on hold, including her fertility treatments.
For couples struggling with infertility, the IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) process is already an emotional journey. Now many women, including Danielle Scott, are learning that their fertility treatments are being postponed as healthcare workers are called to the front to help treat the coronavirus.
“It just sucks,” Danielle Scott told CNN. “That day (when she found out about the postponement of the procedure), she was at work when they called, it was like 7 p.m. I cried all the way home and even fell asleep. “
Postponing procedures like these became the norm after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published guidelines for suspending all elective procedures and rescheduling of non-urgent outpatient visits.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has also issued new guidelines specifically for patients undergoing fertility treatments. In its recommendations, the ASRM requested the suspension of new IVF cycles and the retrieval of eggs. The organization also said couples should seriously consider canceling all embryo transfers.
The impact of covid-19 on fertility, pregnancy and transmission patterns is unknown, the ASRM noted, and the guidelines are intended to protect the health of patients and workers in this sector.
While affected families said they know safety should be a priority amid concerns about the coronavirus, the reality of having to wait longer for the new family member has made them more anxious.
‘A great wait together’
Patients who are still “on cycle” should still be monitored, and doctors should minimize in-person visits, the ASRM said. The organization says it will review its guidelines no later than March 30.
Now, some women are concerned about how an unknown delay in their procedures will affect their chances of having a baby. Others wonder if they will be able to start treatments again.
David and Alex Von Eschen.
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Alex Von Eschen, who is a special education teacher, discovered that her IVF would be suspended while she was in the hospital doing her pre-op documentation.
“I was definitely disappointed,” Von Eschen, 34, told CNN. “It is difficult to prepare mentally for (IVF).”
Before beginning IVF, the Minneapolis resident had a hysteroscopy scheduled, a procedure to remove uterine polyps.
“I feel like the world is holding its breath right now,” he told CNN. “We are in a great wait together. Because we’ve been through infertility and are used to uncertainty, I think we’ve coped with this change in life a little better. ”
The news of the delay was even more disappointing for Von Eschen and her husband, David, because they had saved for months to cover the treatments. The average cost of a single IVF cycle in the US it is $ 12,400, according to the ASRM.
They had estimated April 1 as the start date of their first cycle of IVF treatments. Now your schedule is undefined.
It is ‘devastating’ to learn about the cancellation of treatment
Like the Scotts, Ashley and Paul Wolfe were scheduled to transfer their embryo this week.
But then Ashley Wolfe, 33, received a call from her doctor the night before her last ultrasound appointment, and learned that the transfer would have to be rescheduled.
“It’s been devastating,” Ashley Wolfe told CNN. “It sounds dramatic to use that word, but when your whole life is spent on dates, blood tests almost every other day, injecting yourself with tons of hormones, spending thousands, missing work because of appointments, just to listen, ‘we are canceling it and not I know when we can proceed ‘… it’s mentally draining. ”
The Wolfe’s have tried for a year and a half to have a baby, and this was their third round of treatments. Embryo transfer is the last step in the IVF process and has a 41 to 43% success rate for women under the age of 35, according to the American Pregnancy Association.
Ashley Wolfe, who is a nurse at a gastroenterology clinic in Buffalo, New York, has seen firsthand the impact the pandemic has had on the medical sector. She claims that her office has implemented video and phone appointments to help her patients.
Still, the 33-year-old woman says she is in conflict with ASMR guidelines on postponing procedures, because she feels there is no “valid research” about the coronavirus and pregnancy.
“They are our embryos, our money,” he said. “I’m especially sorry because we were so close that we should have had a choice.”
Meanwhile, he says he’s working to accept that his search for baby is on hold for now.
“It is like a death,” he said. “You are sad, then angry, then in denial, and hope that in time you will accept it. I just don’t see the acceptance part coming soon. ”
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