Trying and not succeeding: The struggle with infertility - East Idaho News
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Trying and not succeeding: The struggle with infertility

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IDAHO FALLS — For many couples the idea of getting married and having children has always been in the cards.

One Idaho Falls couple had the same dream before finding they couldn’t conceive. Alyssa Brayton and her husband Chris have been married for almost 9 years. Several years into their marriage Alyssa felt it was time for she and Chris to start having kids.

“(We) decided that (we) wanted to have a baby,” Alyssa said.

With no success for a while they decided to get serious about having a baby. Last year the Braytons turned to modern medicine and midwifery to assist them in their journey.

Dr. Keith Blauer, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Reproductive Care Center in Sandy, Utah has seen many patients who are dealing with infertility. He told EastIdahoNews.com a common misconception is that women primarily suffer from infertility. He said in 50 percent of cases men suffer from infertility as well.

“Specifically when I’m talking to patients there are four major areas that we focus on. One would be the quality of the man’s semen sample, two would be the quality of a woman’s eggs, three would be ovulatory function and four would be anatomical problems,” Blauer said.

When Alyssa and Chris were tested doctors found they both had healthy reproductive organs, however the reason for infertility still wasn’t apparent. Because Chris specifically had no complications the burden of becoming pregnant rested with Alyssa. Ultimately, it was decided that she was the one suffering from infertility.

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Alyssa and Chris Brayton | Courtesy Photo

“It’s frustrating because all I want is a baby, all I want is to be a mom,” Alyssa said, “So it’s really frustrating to not know what is wrong, what am I doing wrong? For a long time I blamed God. I finally came to realize that it’s not God, it’s just his plan right now.”

Resolve.org, official website to the National Infertility Association, reports that one in eight couples struggle to get pregnant.

“And I’m that lucky one,” Alyssa said.

Although Alyssa hasn’t experienced success yet, Blauer said there is hope for couples trying to have children.

“Most patients or couples can achieve a baby if they’re willing to use the technology and regrettably often times this is an expensive process,” Blauer said,”But We do what we can to try to help.”

Blauer said if there weren’t financial limitations, or hesitancy with available technology 99 percent of patients could become pregnant.

Alyssa has tried many methods to become pregnant including artificial insemination. She said the next step is for her and Chris to decide if in vitro fertilization is right for them.

“I want to be able to have pictures of this journey so I can remember it, and so I can show my children the hard things that I went (through) to have them,” Alyssa said.

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