From Infertility And Ivf To Finding Strength After Miscarriage

Fashion entrepreneur Velda Tan on the most challenging aspects of her motherhood journey, from infertility and IVF to finding strength after miscarriage

- Cheryl Lai-Lim

BECOMING A MOTHER

That trip to the gynecologist changed her life. Tan discovered that she has polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, a common endocrine disorder that can result in the infrequent release of eggs. While the symptoms vary, the more common ones include irregular periods, obesity and infertility.

When I received the diagnosis from the gynae, she said that it was going to be very hard for me to conceive without any assistance, Tan recalls. PCOS affects everyone differently, but for me, it specifically means that I don't have a regular ovulation cycle and my eggs are unable to develop and mature. Tan's doctor recommended for her to immediately start on medicated cycles, where she would take oral medication to allow the eggs to grow to maturity.

One cycle slowly spun into another and soon, Tan found herself going through six medicated cycles within a year, all of which failed. The following year, she persevered through three more cycles, which were also unsuccessful.

Tired and discouraged, she confided in a friend, who introduced her to a fertility specialist. At that time, I honestly didn't know that there was a difference between a gynecologist and a fertility specialist, Tan tells me. After conducting various tests, the specialist recommended superovulation, also known as controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, a process where medicated drugs are used to induce the release of multiple eggs within a cycle. To our immense joy, we were successful on the first try. After six years of marriage, we welcomed Ellery into our lives in 2018.