#myIFstory: Jen MacLeod

Anyone who has been on an infertility journey will tell you that conceiving and carrying a child is so much more than doctor visits, shots, blood tests, sonograms, etc. Faith is an active ingredient in all fertility miracles. Jen MacLeod speaks to this! Worry is the opposite of faith. By faith anything is possible. Jen, thank you for sharing your story with us. It takes a lot of strength and courage to do so. You are our 's'hero!

Jen MacLeod & Samuel

"My story begins back in 2006. On June 24, at the age of 23, I married the man I loved. We had been together for 5 years and knew we wanted to build a life and a family together. I stopped taking my birth control pills right after the wedding (after being on them for 6 years) and we began to try right away. We were young, in relatively good health, and just 'knew' that we would have no trouble getting pregnant. But, as we all know, it’s not always that easy, and that would prove to be true for us. Month after month went by and not only did we not get pregnant, but I wasn’t getting my period. After 12 months of no birth control, no period, and no positive pregnancy test, I begged my doctor to try and find out what was wrong. An ultrasound and HSG later, it was determined that I had PCOS. After a little bit of research I discovered that weight loss can help you to ovulate if you are overweight and suffer from PCOS (both of which applied to me), so I began a weight loss program and started dropping weight.  My period came back within a few months.

1 year and 6 months after we first started trying, I had my very first positive pregnancy test. I was over the moon. I had hopes and dreams and loved that baby from the moment I knew it was growing inside me. 4 weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, my first sweet baby went to heaven. 2 of it’s siblings followed it that year, in July and December. 3 miscarriages finally qualified me to have further testing and after numerous vials of blood, I was told that I have Factor V Leiden and Prothrombin  Gene Mutation – two blood disorders that cause over clotting of the blood. It was likely that these were causing my miscarriages. We devised a plan for the next pregnancy but it was all for naught as my marriage fell apart shortly thereafter.

6 months after my husband left me, I would meet the man who would show me how a relationship should work. Someone who treated me with love and respect, no matter what. In 2013 we got married and again, we knew we wanted to have a child (ideally children) of our own. My husband knew of my past fertility problems and was ready to do whatever we needed to do. I met with a hematologist to make sure it would be safe to carry a child. The day that he told me it would be perfectly ok for me to have a child was the day that I got my period. That day was also the day I began my first ever round of clomid to help me ovulate.

By the grace of God (and a whole lot of “trying”) my husband and I conceived that very first cycle in July of 2013. I immediately began a regiment of baby aspirin, progesterone supplements and daily Lovenox injections (and MANY prayers). My pregnancy was as uneventful as anyone could hope for and on April 23, 2014 my beautiful rainbow baby, Samuel, was born at a healthy 8 lbs 7 oz and 20 ¾” long. He has been our absolute joy for the past 2 years and I hope that by telling my story it will give other women who are struggling, hope and to help break the silence and stigma around infertility."

- Jen MacLeod

 If you would like to share your infertility story, please email us at if.campaign1@gmail.com or visit out FB page, www.facebook.com/if.campaign1.