>>> WELCOME BACK. TODAY MARKS THE START OF
NATIONAL INFERTILITY AWARENESS
WEEK.
WEEK. >> THE TRIALS OF PREGNANCY AND
FERTILITY CAN BE OVERWHELMING.
PURE JOY WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT.
THERE CAN BE MOMENTS OF
HEARTBREAK.
HEARTBREAK. THIS MORNING I’M SHARING MY OWN
FAMILY’S STRUGGLE TO HELP SHED
THE STIGMA.
THE STIGMA. >> WE GOT REALLY LUCKY WITH
CALVIN.
CALVIN. WE TRIED MAYBE ONE OR TWO MONTHS
AND WE GOT PREGNANT RIGHT AWAY.
I ENDED UP HAVING AN EMERGENCY
C-SECTION.
C-SECTION. I HAD CALVIN AND I FELL IN LOVE.
NINE MONTHS AGO WE DECIDED WE
REALLY WANTED TO HAVE ANOTHER
BABY.
BABY. I WENT TO MY OB/GYN.
I SAID WE HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR
SIX MONTHS AND I DON’T REALLY
KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON, BUT MY
CYCLES ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE.
SHE TOOK MY BLOOD WORK AND THE
RESULTS SHOWED THAT I HAVE A
VERY LOW EGG COUNT.
INSTEAD OF HAVING THE EGG COUNT
OF A 37-YEAR-OLD, I’M MORE LIKE
MID-40s.
MID-40s. SHE SAID TYPICALLY I WOULD TELL
YOU TO TRY FOR A YEAR BEFORE I
SENT YOU TO A FERTILITY
SPECIALIST.
SPECIALIST. BECAUSE YOUR EGG COUNT IS LOW,
WE DON’T REALLY HAVE THAT MUCH
TIME, SO SHE REPD MECOMMENDED ME
DR. RIESCH MAN.
HE SAID, I THOUGHT SO.
MY UTERUS WAS TWO-THIRDS SCARRED
SHUT.
SHUT. YOU CAN’T HAVE A BABY IN THOSE
CONDITIONS.
CONDITIONS. HE SAYS WE NEED TO HAVE A
SURGERY.
SURGERY. HE GOES IN, CLEARS OUT THE SCAR
TISSUE.
TISSUE. WE GET PREGNANT LIKE THAT.
I HAD THE PREGNANCY TEST RIGHT
HERE.
HERE. BRIAN SEES IT AND IT’S POSITIVE.
HE IS LIKE, GET OUT.
HE RUNS OVER TO ME.
IT’S LIKE THAT MOMENT YOU WAIT
FOR.
FOR. FIVE WEEKS GO BY.
I WAKE UP TO JUST MASSIVE
BLEEDING.
BLEEDING. TO THE POINT WHERE LIKE I’M
STANDING IN THE SHOWER AND IT
WON’T STOP.
WON’T STOP. I WAKE BRIAN UP AND TELL HIM
THAT.
THAT. I SAID I THINK I LOST THE BABY.
THE FIRST THING HE SAID IS YOU
DIDN’T LOSE THE BABY.
IT’S YOUR BODY DOING WHAT IT
NEEDS TO DO.
YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG.
HE IS SO SUPPORTIVE.
AND I GET TO WORK AND I HAVE TO
DO THE "TODAY" SHOW AND SMILE.
THAT’S WHAT WE DO.
YOU PUSH IT DOWN, GET THROUGH
THE SHOW.
THE SHOW. I GO TO THE DOCTOR.
THEY DO AN ULTRASOUND.
BABY IS STILL IN THERE.
THE BLEEDING IS JUST A FLUKE
BLEEDING.
BLEEDING. EVERYTHING’S FINE.
EVERYTHING’S FINE. A FEW MORE DAYS GO ON AND I’M
STILL BLEEDING.
STILL BLEEDING. I WENT BACK TO THE DOCTOR.
HE JUST LOOKED AT ME AND SAID,
I’M SO SORRY FOR YOU.
AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, WHEN HE
SAID THAT, I WAS LIKE, THAT IS
THE PERFECT THING YOU CAN SAY
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. I AM BLESSED WITH A FAMILY THAT
I HAVE.
I HAVE. BUT GOING THROUGH A MISCARRIAGE
AND NOT KNOWING WHAT THE FUTURE
HOLDS IS EMOTIONAL.
AND I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW
THAT I’M GOING THROUGH IT, TOO.
>> DYLAN’S HUSBAND BRIAN JOINS
US WITH OUR DR. RIESCHMAN.
THANK YOU FOR COMING IN THIS
MORNING.
MORNING. I TOLD THEM OFF CAMERA, I SAID
THIS IS A PLUNGE, BUT I THINK
THE ONE THING ABOUT THIS SHOW IS
WE RECOGNIZE IT’S A PLATFORM AND
A GIFT.
A GIFT. AS MUCH AS WE SHARE THE GOOD, WE
SHARE THE CHALLENGES, TOO.
FIRST THINGS FIRST, WHY DID YOU
DECIDE TO SHARE?
>> I THINK WE AGREED THAT THIS
IS SOMETHING THAT YOU NEED MORE
AWARENESS OF.
AWARENESS OF. THERE IS THIS GUILT THAT YOU
HAVE FOR WANTING A SECOND CHILD
WHEN I HAVE FRIENDS OF MY OWN
KBHO COULDN’T HAVE A SINGLE
CHILD.
CHILD. HERE I AM BEING SELFISH THAT I
WANT TO HAVE A SECOND CHILD.
HE IS LIKE, NO, THAT IS NOT THE
CASE.
CASE. THIS IS OUR WORLD.
JENNA JUST ANNOUNCED SHE IS
PREGNANT TODAY.
PREGNANT TODAY. I AM SO HAPPY FOR HER.
THAT’S HER WORD.
THIS IS MY WORLD.
MY SADNESS ISN’T MINIMIZED
BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE HAS A
SADDER SITUATION.
SADDER SITUATION. NO.
NO. >> I DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO
QUALIFY ANYONE’S EMOTIONS.
EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO
FEEL -- LIKE SO, YEAH, WE’RE
VERY LUCKY TO HAVE CALVIN.
THIS IS MY FAMILY.
AND IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS
HAPPENS, I AM GOING TO FEEL SAD.
I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO TELL ME I
SHOULDN’T BECAUSE IT’S MY WIFE,
MY CHILD.
MY CHILD. THAT’S MY FOCUS AND PRIORITY.
>> MAYBE IT WILL HELP OTHER
PEOPLE REALIZE IT’S OKAY TO HAVE
THESE FEELINGS.
THESE FEELINGS. >> ADMITTEDLY, I HAD NOT HEARD
OF SECONDARY INFERTILITY.
IT WAS NOT A CONCEPT THAT I WAS
FAMILIAR WITH.
FAMILIAR WITH. DOCTOR, WHAT IS THAT?
>> SO INFERTILITY IS TRYING TO
HAVE A BABY AND NOT BEING ABLE
TO.
TO. TYPICALLY, THAT’S 12 MONTHS OF
TRYING.
TRYING. OVER THE AGE OF 35 FOR THE
WOMAN, WE CALL THAT SIX MONTHS
OF TRYING.
OF TRYING. THE SECONDARY PART IS SOMEONE
WHO HAD A CHILD PREVIOUSLY AND
IS NOW STRUGGLING FOR THE SECOND
OR THIRD CHILD.
>> WE HAD CALVIN RIGHT AWAY.
AND I THOUGHT WHEN WE DECIDED TO
HAVE A SECOND CHILD WE HAD HAVE
A SECOND CHILD RIGHT AWAY.
I HAD AN INTERESTING SITUATION
BECAUSE MY C-SECTION CAUSED
SIGNIFICANT SCARRING.
SIGNIFICANT SCARRING. IS THAT TYPICAL?
I MEAN, WHY ARE WE SEEING
SECONDARY INFERTILITY ON THE
RISE?
RISE? >> BY FAR AND AWAY THE MOST
COMMON CAUSE IS AGE.
PEOPLE ARE WAITING LONGER HAVE
THEIR FIRST CHILDREN.
THEREFORE, THE SECOND AND THIRD
CHILD COMES LATER.
SO, TYPICALLY, IT’S AGE
SPECIFICALLY FOR SECONDARY
INFERTILITY, WHEREAS PRIMARY
INFERTILITY CAN BE A NUMBER OF
CAUSES.
CAUSES. IN YOUR CASE, YOU HAD A RARE
COMPLICATION FROM THE CESARIAN
SECTION, C-SECTION, WHERE THE
UTERUS HAD SEVERE SCARRING
AFTERWARDS.
AFTERWARDS. >> CLOSED FOR BUSINESS,
BASICALLY.
BASICALLY. >> THIS IS AN INTERESTING
SITUATION.
SITUATION. NOW WE LOVE YOU.
WE ARE INVESTED IN YOU.
EVERYBODY WANTS THE BEST.
NOW WHAT?
NOW WHAT? WE ARE NOT DOING A STORY WHERE
WE SAY THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED.
NOW WE ARE ON THIS JOURNEY WITH
YOU.
YOU. SO NOW WHAT?
>> THAT’S KIND OF --WHAT WE’RE
HEARING
HEARING HERE TO SAY.
WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT NOW
LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE.
IT SEEMED LIKE THE RIGHT TIME.
I MEAN, IF WE GO THROUGH WITH
IVF, WE ARE HOPING TO GET
PREGNANT.
PREGNANT. BUT IVF IS PROBABLY OUR NEXT
STEP.
STEP. >> BEFORE WE SAW DR. RIESCHMAN,
WE HAD TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH
OTHER.
OTHER. IT’S REALLY PAINFUL.
YOU DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT,
BUT YOU HAVE TO.
BE OPEN WITH EACH OTHER.
HE’S HELPING A LOT.
WE HAVE DEFINITIVE LANDMARKS ITT
HIT.
HIT. WE HAVE A LINE IN THE SAND.
IT’S OUR PLAN TOGETHER THAT WE
MADE.
MADE. >> AND I ALSO THINK IT’S
IMPORTANT TO, LIKE WE’VE TALKED
ABOUT, YOU HAVE TO ADVOCATE FOR
YOURSELF.
YOURSELF. IF THERE IS A DOCTOR THAT YOU
DON’T FEEL LIKE IS LISTENING TO
YOU, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIND THE
RIGHT DOCTOR.
RIGHT DOCTOR. AND IF YOU FEEL LIKE SOMETHING’S
NOT RIGHT, I MEAN FOR US TO HAVE
BEEN TRYING AS LONG AS WE WERE
AT AGE 37, SOMETHING WASN’T
RIGHT, YOU KNOW.
AND YOU KIND OF WENT IN AND YOU
FOUND WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS OUR
MAIN PROBLEM.
MAIN PROBLEM. BUT NOW WE ARE GOING TO START
THE IVF PROCESS AND THE SHOTS
AND THE SCHEDULING AND THE BLOOD
WORK.
WORK. I MEAN, EVERYTHING THAT GOES
INTO IT.
INTO IT. WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO
EXPECT RIGHT NOW.
>> HOW ARE YOU?
NOT PHYSICALLY, BUT --
>> I MEAN, A PART OF ME FEELS A
LITTLE MAD AT MY BODY FOR NOT
BEING ABLE TO DO THIS NATURALLY.
BUT THAT’S WHY WE HAVE AMAZING
DOCTORS AND A GREAT SUPPORT
SYSTEM.
SYSTEM. GOD HAS A PLAN, AND I PRAY EVERY
NIGHT JUST LET ME STAY OUT OF
YOUR WAY AND YOU DO WHAT’S GUEST
FOR US.
FOR US. >> DYLAN IS THE GREATEST MOTHER,
THE BEST FRIEND.
NOTHING OF THIS IS HER FAULT.
IT’S JUST HER BODY DOING WHAT
IT’S SUPPOSED TO DO.
>> BRIAN, HOW ARE YOU?
YOU ARE OUR RESIDENT HAPPY,
CHEERY GUY.
CHEERY GUY. >> WHEN THIS HAPPENED WE HAD
PLANS WITH HODA.
AND DYLAN CAME TO ME.
SHE SAW THE PIECE.
SO SHE HAD TO GO TO THE DOCTORS.
WE MET WITH HODA TO DO A "SESAME
STREET" LIVE.
STREET" LIVE. SHE IS THERE.
IT’S THE FIRST TIME I EVER SAID
IT.
IT. SHE ASKED, WHAT’S WRONG?
AND SAID, DYLAN HAD A
MISCARRIAGE.
MISCARRIAGE. AND IF I COULDN’T HAVE MY
FRIENDS THERE, MY FAMILY, WHO
BETTER TO HAVE HODA THERE?
>> YOU ARE GOING TO BREAK DOWN.
POOR HODA.
POOR HODA. EVERYBODY BREAKS DOWN TO HODA.
WE ARE IN GOOD HANDS.
WE WILL FIGURE OUT WHAT’S GOING
TO HAPPEN.
TO HAPPEN. >> WE LOVE YOU.
>> THANK YOU.
>> THANKS.
>> THANKS. >> A LOT OF GOOD THIS MORNING.
>> NO CRYING.
>> ALL RIGHT.
FOR MORE ABOUT COPING WITH
SECONDARY INFERTILITY, YOU ARE
CHANGING THE WORLD, MY FRIEND,
SO MANY WOMEN CAN RELATE, READ