IVF And The 'Two Week Wait'

Kate Caville lives in Brisbane and is a first-time mum to her four-month-old baby, Lewis. With a fly-in-fly-out husband, she is kept busy looking after her little boy, getting to the gym most days and also running two home-based businesses in personal training and graphic design.

Lewis was born via IVF. Can you tell us about your IVF journey?

After going off contraception and realising a few things weren't quite right, I went to my doctor. She referred me onto a gynecologist who diagnosed me with a very resistant case of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). We wanted to start a family, and it seemed that my PCOS and anovulation were going to cause fertility issues for us. We were then referred onto a fertility specialist in Brisbane, where we tried three rounds of oral medication (no luck), two rounds of intrauterine insemination (no luck), and finally fell pregnant with our little miracle through our first round of IVF. I had quite a large count of 17 eggs collected, however only one of these progressed into an embryo, so we feel extremely lucky and blessed everyday to have our little fighter, Lewis.  

Describe the moment you found out you were pregnant.

I'll never forget it. Every couple who goes through IVF has to endure the excruciating 'two week wait'. This is the two weeks from time of insemination to finding out whether or not the embryo has taken and embedded into the wall of the uterus. On 27 March 2018, we were sitting on the couch early in the afternoon when I received the phone call from the fertility clinic. My heart was beating so fast, I was so worried for the worst. But, the lady said, "congratulations, you are pregnant". And from there, I couldn't get a word out, I was crying too much. I passed the phone to my husband. It was one of the happiest days of my life. Following on from the two week wait though, there was still another nerve-racking fortnight wait until our first scan to see if our baby had a heartbeat. After this, we were able to rest a little easier knowing our baby was growing and thriving. 

As a personal trainer and fitness instructor, you stayed active throughout your pregnancy. How did you keep up the momentum (and motivation) to exercise?

My main motivation was maintaining a healthy body for my baby. I also wanted to maintain strong muscles to assist my birthing process (although, in the end, I didn't get to give birth naturally unfortunately). My post-birth recovery was also a good motivator and I knew if I just stopped working out completely throughout my pregnancy, it was going to be a whole lot harder to get back into things again down the track. But apart from all of that, I just love physical exercise, it makes me happy, so it wasn't hard to continue on (that is until I got extremely big and uncomfortable!). 

Has becoming a mum been what you expected?

Yes and no. Yes, because I feel like being a mum is something I was put here to do. I feel very natural in this role and I am just loving the experience and figuring out things as I go. And no, because I didn't know I could have so much LOVE for something (or someone). It's shown me a whole new meaning to the word. 

What would your advice be to first-time mums?

I am a first-time mum myself, so I don't feel like I am 'qualified' to give advice yet! But one thing I would say is, you are doing the best for your baby. No matter what anyone else says or thinks. You are the best influence and role model for your baby so you need to do what you feel is best. Use your maternal instincts.