seeking advice - trying to conceive after premature birth

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this, so please forgive me if I get abreviations etc wrong.

In 2005, I had my son prematurely at 25 weeks because of chorioamnionitis. I'd been on bed rest and in & out of hospital because of bleeding since week 20. My ob/gyn told me - after my son was born - that the most likely cause was that my placenta had started to lift, and that this had set up the "perfect environment" for infection to set in - hence the chorioamnionitis & premature birth.

My little boy lived for 15 days. He had been doing really well, but got very sick on day 10 &tests showed he had ecoli meningitis. The was nothing that the doctors could do, and on day 15 he died in my arms.

Fast forward 3 years (of hell) - and as terrified as I am of history repeating itself, I am finally ready to try to have another baby. Problem is, I will be 38 in 2 days and time is not on my side!! And I have a few other factors against me as well. I am overweight, and it doesnt seem to matter how much I modify my diet or how much I exercise, I dont seem to be able to lose any weight. I am on metformin because I am insulin resistant & have a strong family history of type 2 diabetes. And for the trifecta - I have high blood pressure and am on medication for that as well.

My ob/gyn tested my progesterone levels late last year and it was low at only 5 (he said it needed to be 25 - 30). He started me on Clomid, 50mg from day 5-9, tested my progesterone again at day 21 and it had dropped - to 0.5!!!!! So he upped the dose to 100mg, but my most recent blood test shows my progesterone is still only 3.

So now he's recommending ivf.........but I dont know which doctor I should try for.Can anyone recommend a doctor at Westmead Fertility Centre who is highly skilled & is also compassionate, caring and listens to what his/her patients have to say?
Any advice you can give me would be great - and even better, if anyone has had similar problems as me & had success with ivf, it would be good to hear your story too.

Thanks,
ER Jordan

ER Jordon, I am very sorry for the loss of your baby boy and my heart goes out to you hun :hug: I am very sorry you have had to find yourself here but I hope you find lots of comfort and support amongst us. My situation is different to yours but I lost my little boy from an incompetent cervix last year and my partner and I were trying for about 5 months after we lost him and nothing was happening - even though I fell pg with Sebastian 2nd month trying. I know that trying for 5 months is not a very long time but considering my age (I am also 38), emotional state and the fact that my cycles became so erratic after my loss, I decided to do IVF to give myself the best chance of falling pg again quickly. I am seeing Prof. Peter Illingworth and IVF Australia in Westmead and he is absolutely wonderful. He is caring and compassionate and very skilled. I just finished my first cycle and found out I was pregnant last Friday - however my HCG level is a little lower than they would like so I am re-testing tomorrow to see if my levels are rising.

I think this clinic is a little more expensive than Westmead Fertility Centre (which I believe is in the hospital right?) but I would certainly recommend him sweets.

I wish you the best of luck and hope your stay with us is very short. If you're up to it, join us in the thread above where a few of us chat regularly.

Hi ER Jordan,

I am sorry that I am unable to give you any advise in this area, but just wanted to say how sorry I am for the loss of your son, I can't even imagine what you have been through. I pray that you find the right medical help and carry a healthy baby to full term. As Diana said, please feel free to join us in our thread above this one. All the best to you & your DH :hug:

By the way, it must be your birthday today right, :happybirthday: Here's to a happy year ahead for you!

Hi ER Jordan,

First of all, I want to say how sorry I am for your loss of your precious son :hug:. It's a tragic experience no woman should have to go through, but unfortunalely many of us do. I lost my little boy Joshua at 20 w 6 d in October 2008, and I will attemp to have another baby soon through IVF.
My story is different from yours, as I lost Joshua because I had a large fibroid in my uterus wall which put too much pressure on the uterus and I went into early labour a few days after my 20 week scan. Joshua was conceived through IVF with ICSI (where they inject a single sperm into an egg) as my partner has had a versectomy in 1998 and the reversal was unsucessful. I am also 38 so we didn't have time on our hands either, so went straigt into IVF after 6 months of trying naturally (before we found out my DP's sperm count was almost zero after the reversal).
Unfortunately I live in Melbourne, so can't reccommend a FS in Sydney, but it sounds like Diana has a good one.
I really wish you well on your journey, and I hope you are able to hold your little baby in your arms soon.
Please feel free to join our TTC after Late Loss thread, as we have a great bunch of wonderful and supportive girls there. There is also a LTTTC & Assisted Conception thread (Long Term TTC & Assisted Conception ) which is excellent for women undergoing IVF treatment.
Good luck hun, I wish you all the very best.
Beata xxx