personal experiences
kelli paugh
Kelli Paugh and her husband, Rob, knew they wanted to have children soon after they were married in 1998. But after three years of trying to have a baby, enduring questions from their families and dozens of negative pregnancy tests, Kelli and Rob finally decided to visit a fertility specialist, or reproductive endocrinologist (RE), at the age of 29.
Kelli and Rob went through several diagnostic tests. The tests confirmed the couple’s fertility problems were due to low sperm count and low sperm motility. Although they knew the emotional, physical and financial stress would be challenging, the couple decided with their RE to undergo fertility treatment with in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
Kelli and Rob both consider themselves lucky to have conceived during the first round of IVF, and then again with a second round of IVF two years later. After delivering her first son, Kelli decided she wanted to “give back” by working part-time as an RE nurse and now helps other couples as they face their own problems with fertility.
In hindsight, Kelli wishes that she hadn’t wasted so much time before visiting an RE and encourages couples that are having trouble getting pregnant to seek out more information and support. She is extremely thankful for the medications and technology that helped her and now help her patients realize their dream of having a family.
kelli’s perspective
Mainstream media has led many women to believe they can get pregnant well into their 40s. However, the truth is that a woman's fertility actually peaks in her early 20s, starts to decrease around 27 and drops dramatically at age 35. Kelli explains why she decided to visit a fertility specialist at the age of 29:
Although many couples choose not to talk about it, an estimated 1 in 8 American couples experience fertility problems. Kelli discusses her and her husband's initial reluctance to share their struggles getting pregnant with family and friends, yet how they learned that many of Rob's coworkers had been through the same experience:
Over the past 10 years, advances in fertility treatment have allowed thousands of couples to realize their dream of having a family. Kelli speaks about the impact of those advancements on her life: