My husband Stephen and I got married April 21, 2018 and immediately knew we were ready to try and start to have a family together. We tried and tried and tried for a year to get pregnant with no luck, but just as we were about to seek some help from our obgyn we finally saw those two beautiful pink lines and were completely over the moon with excitement. Unfortunately though our joy was very short lived. A week after my pregnancy was confirmed with our obgyn I started bleeding and cramping right around the six week mark. We rushed to the emergency room and through an ultrasound and bloodwork our worst fears were in fact confirmed and we were told I was having a miscarriage. Our hearts were completely broken that day, but we still remained hopeful for our future.
After taking a couple months to heal both physically and mentally, we started trying again and were lucky enough to find out we were expecting once again right before leaving for vacation in July of 2019. About four days after finding this out I started spotting but was reassured by our doctor that this was normal with early pregnancy and to not worry. Well unfortunately the following day at about the 5 week mark I began heavily bleeding and cramping and those two pink lines disappeared. I was having another miscarriage. A blood test confirmed once we returned from vacation that I passed the pregnancy and didn’t need any further medical assistance. Once again we were left broken.
To our surprise we became pregnant for a third time a month later, but just like a horrible case of deja vu the exact same thing happened as with the first two pregnancies and I had a third miscarriage right around the five week mark. It was at this time that our obgyn told us that our case was well beyond his means of treatment and understanding so he referred us to a reproductive endocrinologist for fertility. We had our first appointment with our specialist at the end of October 2019, and they ran more tests and took more samples of blood between my husband and I than I could begin to count. We received word about a month later that all of the test results came back completely normal and they had no answers or explanations as to why we keep miscarrying. So the only diagnosis they could give us was that we had “Unexplained Infertility due to Unexplainable Recurrent Pregnancy Loss” which was now placing us into that 1 in 100 category. Hearing this news absolutely shattered our hearts and left us so confused and uneasy about our future. Our specialist decided that we would try a round of medications first once we started trying again to see if they would help us.
He placed me on daily baby aspirin with my prenatal vitamins and as soon as we would get a positive pregnancy test I would begin progesterone suppositories. Well low and behold in December of 2019 we were blessed to see those two pink lines once again and I started my medication very hopeful. Unfortunately as so many times before, we received the worst news after my first hcg blood draw that my levels were very low and they were not doubling. It was about two days later just past the 5 week mark that I ended up having my fourth miscarriage. My doctor decided then for my next ttc cycle that we would track my ovulation closely and start the progesterone right after I ovulated instead of after a positive pregnancy test.
We started trying again in January and did exactly what our doc had recommended, and ended up getting pregnant again in February. Once again however just as in December, we got the news after my blood draws that my hcg wasn’t rising yet again and I ended up miscarrying a fifth time right at the 5 week mark. We were supposed to have a follow up with our doc but then Covid hit and that changed our plans. We ended up having a telemedicine appointment in April 2020 with him and they added an estradiol to my medications along with everything else I was already taking. We ended up getting pregnant for a sixth time, but despite the change in medications I ended up miscarrying again at the 5 week mark.
After this our specialist ordered a saline ultrasound in June and from that they were able to see an abnormality on the left side of my uterus and ended up scheduling a hysteroscopy and biopsy for the end of July to correct the defect and look for any other possible problems with my uterus to explain our recurrent losses. They were able to correct the defect they found, however the biopsy results came back completely normal and what they once thought was the cause for the defect was not the case. They originally thought it was due to left over pregnancy matter that never passed from one of the miscarriages, but no pregnancy matter was found on the defect so they still have no idea what caused it or if it even contributed to any of the miscarriages.
On top of everything else I ended up getting Covid in the midst of my recovery from the surgery and was down for the count for almost three weeks. After all of this we finally got the go ahead to start trying again about a month later. Our doc decided to put me on letrozole to move up my ovulation and then continue with my progesterone as usual and also add in folic acid supplements to take daily. We ended up getting pregnant the first month trying, and had our best hcg levels to date. However, despite the number being the highest it has ever been it never doubled only slowly increased by a couple digits over the next week, and right at six weeks we miscarried for a seventh time.
Our doctors are completely stumped and still have not been able to give us any explanations or answers why this keeps happening, so right now we are just at a standstill. Completely shattered and broken, and honestly unsure where we go next. So that’s my story, sorry I know it’s so long but if you end up seeing this thank you again for taking the time to listen.
You can follow Kenzie's path to motherhood on Instagram at @one.in.onehundred and/or @kenzeckinger