Being a mother is one of the most beautiful feelings for every woman. The joy of giving birth to a human and being capable of loving someone more than yourself is incomparable. Shilpa’s successful IVF journey is full of ups and downs, but one thing that remained consistent is magic! From the first attempt to conceive till the baby was born, her story bespeaks volumes about the magic that women can create when they stand up for each other. Dive into this emotional rollercoaster to know more.
7 years of happy marriage! 3 years of relentless efforts to conceive! Despite repeated attempts, my dream of being a mom seemed unachievable. After thorough research, me and my husband Amogh decided to try IVF. We consulted a great doctor and started our IVF journey with bated breath. The next six days were the longest days of our lives as we were about to figure out how many eggs fertilised.
To our pleasant surprise, 10 eggs fertilised into embryos and 2 were transferred in me. It was my first positive pregnancy ever and the beginning of a hopefully successful IVF journey. I was on cloud nine. I was 7 weeks pregnant when I woke up to terrible bleeding and cramps. The doctor heard two healthy heartbeats, but the bleeding wasn’t stopping. I suffered a miscarriage and lost both babies.
I felt a huge void! Something in me was broken and could never be repaired. It took me a long time to recover from the loss. In June 2018, we tried again and I conceived! My happiness lasted only a few weeks because I lost the baby too soon! It was easier to bear the pain this time but I had now given up on my dream to have a child of my own. The physical and mental exhaustion to have a successful IVF journey was too much!
We started exploring adoption and commercial surrogacy. My mom, who is a gynaecologist, suggested altruistic surrogacy where a family member (sister or sister-in-law) can carry an embryo for me.
That’s when the miracle started shaping itself! My younger brother’s wife Lucky was ready to carry our embryo. While the 23 year old girl was kind enough to help us, we were scared about the upcoming challenges. Lucky had given birth to her own child just an year back and birthing another one so soon might be risky.
Besides worrying about Lucky’s health, we were concerned about societal repercussions. Our biggest concern was if Lucky’s parents would agree to her being our surrogate.
As they say, nothing comes in between God’s will! We managed to tackle all challenges and were set to welcome our baby in 9 months!
The embryo transfer process to Lucky’s womb was a normal one, but for me – those were the most scary hours of my life! “It’s done,” these two words from my mom came as a shocking surprise to me! It was hard to believe but yes I was finally going to be a mother!! Mine is going to be a successful IVF journey!
The next few months were hard for Lucky, but by God’s grace our healthy baby girl Tirshika was born on December 14, 2019. She weighed a little less than a normal baby, but didn’t need NICU.
Many people spread false claims about the disturbed relationship between sister-in-laws, but mine is a blessing for me! She has changed my world and I will be forever grateful to her. I can proudly say that when women stand up for women, they can do anything.
Shilpa’s story teaches her a lot about patience and strength. While it was difficult to overcome life’s hard blows, Amogh and Shilpa’s successful IVF journey exemplifies that willpower can help one fulfil every dream.
If you liked to read Shilpa’s story, you’ll definitely enjoy knowing many other inspiring women at our website. Happy reading!
