The Stork Foundation for Infertility was contacted by 15 year old Andrea from New York City about a community service project required by her high school, Marymount School of New York. She wanted to raise money for our grant recipients. Why? Because after years of trying and several rounds of infertility treatment cycles, she was finally conceived through Invitro Fertilization in 2005. She has been baking and selling cupcakes to support our organization, one that has great significance to her own family story. We talked with Andrea about her passion for infertility advocacy and her experience coming to know how hard her parents fought to have her as their daughter.
Why did you want to connect with the Stork Foundation to complete your community service hours?
My parents, Rafael and Martha, conceived me in 2005 through IVF after pursuing infertility treatments for three years. My mom was diagnosed with ‘unexplained infertility’. They had several IUI cycles and failed IVF cycles. They conceived me on their 4th and final attempt at IVF. I was really motivated to seek out organizations that supported individuals who need to pursue infertility treatments because I know how costly they can be. Thankfully, my parents were able to just barely afford their own fertility treatments and even then, they used pretty much all their savings at the time to have me. They did have a little bit of insurance to pay for some, but it was not enough because it was such a long process for them.
A lot of teenagers don’t want think about how they were conceived. How did you become aware of your family’s story?
Growing up, I always knew that my mom was older than my friend’s parents. She was 39 when she had me, though she had been trying for several years. When I was in about 6th or 7th grade, I started to learn more about fertility and how age can impact fertility. I guess I was curious and started asking my mom how long it took for her to get pregnant with me. She would tell me that it took some time and ‘they got help’. My dad is a doctor, and we have a very open house about different medicine, sex and resources and they just told me their entire infertility journey over time.
When you found out that you were conceived through IVF, did you feel any ‘different’?
I am Hispanic and have always felt that my cultural background has made me unique and different. I think that this news just reinforced how unique I am and I took the news as something that is special about me. A lot of children born through IVF are twins or even triplets. During the only successful IVF cycle my parents had, they were only able to retrieve five eggs and the eggs were extremely small — the odds weren’t in their favor, but I am one of those five eggs. As I learned more about infertility, I think I just felt more grateful for infertility treatments.
Have any of your peers and friends been surprised by your interest in volunteering for a foundation that supports infertility treatments?
Last year in Biology class we actually did talk a little bit about infertility but not much. They were aware of what infertility was but they were really shocked to hear about how expensive treating infertility can be. Some of my friends had already known that I am a proud “IVF Baby” so they were not shocked at all. I know some of my friends thought it was pretty cool that I would choose an organization that was so meaningful to me.
When promoting your fundraiser, have you been open about the fact that your parents struggled with infertility?
I am promoting this as a way to support a foundation and a worthy cause. I am really proud of my parents and not shy about the fact that I am an IVF baby. My parents are one of the few that have been able to seek out infertility treatments and I think that makes an incredible story. I have had so much support already, especially from neighbors, friends and even medical doctors have been buying cupcakes for their entire office to support The Stork Foundation.
Has your perspective changed at all on becoming a mom one day?
I have a lot of cousins and a very large extended family so being an only child, I always felt a little bit different. I realize now that infertility can be completely unexplained. There may be a genetic factor that I will face in the future. Knowing that my mom struggled with infertility has empowered me to know that I can seek help if I am ever having any issues getting pregnant naturally in the future. It is powerful to think of it that way, actually.
We want to extend a sincere ‘thank you’ to Andrea and her parents for sharing their journey to parenthood. By being so open and vulnerable with your story, we truly believe that you are changing the conversation and removing the stigmas around infertility.
