Dealing with infertility and pregnancy during the pandemic

Pregnancy can be beautiful, but it’s a heartbreaking topic for others.

IVF treatments are on hold because of the pandemic, and women who have become pregnant may be left to deal with some complications at their homes.

One reproductive doctor said these women can’t get the surgery that would ease their pain or feel comfort hearing their baby’s heartbeat.

And when things do reopen, there could be a backlog.

For three years, Kaitlyn and Michael Kusky tried to get pregnant.

“IVF is not for the faint of heart. You never know how strong you are until you have to be strong,” Kaitlyn said.

“Out of all of that we got pregnant one time and we miscarried about 7 weeks.”

Now, they can finally say they’re expecting.

“We’re expecting fraternal twin boys,” Kaitlyn said.

She leads a fertility group called “Moms in the Making.”

“We actually have a lot of moms in our group who have had cancelled treatments, cancelled transfers, and it’s devastating,” she said.

Many moms in the group go to Dr. Craig Sweet, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist.

Sweet said he stopped seeing most patients in person because of COVID-19.

“I’ve had to do two surgeries, two miscarriages; they were bleeding and so they were on the urgent side but otherwise all of my other patients, the vast majority of my patients have been placed on hold.”

That’s because infertility treatments are considered elective.

Sweet said many women can’t wait for the all-clear to continue the process. With time, a woman’s reproductive chances decrease.

“To tell someone who’s experiencing infertility to just sit and wait is just devastating. It’s terrible. You just can’t do it,” he said.

The Kusky’s twins are due at the end of May.

Sweet said he hopes he can start seeing many patients again soon, with protective measures in place.