by Nadia Mahmood
Disclaimer: This article is not medical advice, a diagnosis substitute or any treatment endorsement. Always a qualified health provider for your medical condition.
The first time a doctor told Haruni that she was too big to have a baby was in 2013. She had just turned 30 years old and had been trying to get pregnant ever since she tied the knot with her husband in 2007.
The Asian Woman sat down with Haruni to talk about her fertility journey.
Like most married couples, Haruni and her husband wished to have a beautiful family filled with their own mini-mes but two years went by and the couple were still unable to conceive. So they turned to fertility treatments.
The Penang-based businesswoman knew that undergoing fertility treatments would be an emotionally draining experience, so she braced herself and began her journey with IUI in 2009. After a few unsuccessful attempts, the couple then tried hCG hormone injections.
Note: Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) involves placing sperm inside a woman’s uterus to increase the number of sperms that reach the fallopian tubes to increase the chance of fertilisation. Meanwhile, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) hormone injection will cause ovulation approximately 36 hours after you take it, allowing your doctor to better time intrauterine insemination or the egg retrieval.
According to The Star, IUI fertility treatment ranges from RM800 to RM2000 whereas hCG costs around RM2,300 (Note: Prices relevant as of March 2009.) These treatments are generally cheaper than IVF, which starts from RM16,000 and may increase depending on your age. That doesn’t include medications, follow-up visits or the expenses of prenatal care and childbirth.
Still, none of their efforts were fruitful.
After 4 years of failed fertility treatments and negative pregnancy tests, a hormone doctor told her that, “If you are fat you cannot get pregnant [because] you can only conceive if you are thin. Perhaps it’s better for you to adopt a child instead.”
Haruni was left feeling overwhelmed and brokenhearted. Hearing the remark from a doctor, Haruni felt so upset that she stopped seeking treatment for years.
On the couple’s 7th wedding anniversary however, the businesswoman decided she must have a baby and gained courage to seek out another doctor’s opinion.
Finally, she found a doctor that suggested she undergo a HSG test.
Note: Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) is a procedure that uses an X-ray to evaluate the fallopian tubes and uterus by injecting a camera into the vagina to check whether your reproductive system is blocked or not.
The HSG test result was a turning point in her fertility struggles of 8 years. As it turns out, her fallopian tube was blocked, explaining why she was unable to get pregnant for years.
For years, she was led to believe that being physically big hindered her ability to conceive, but in reality, it had nothing to do with her body weight at all.
The doctor then suggested for her to do a Laparoscopic Surgery to remove the blockage. Not long after that, Haruni felt joy as the long-awaited blue lines finally appeared on the pregnancy test.
Her pregnancy went on smoothly, and she is now the proud mother of two beautiful boys.
“You have to go for the HSG treatment to make sure that your reproductive system is normal. If you don’t know the cause, you’d be [wasting money and time by] going to various hormone treatments,” urges Haruni.
Watch the full interview video here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/4nWSNqOzMfo?autoplay=0&mute=0&controls=0&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmanage.wix.com&playsinline=1&showinfo=0&rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&enablejsapi=1&widgetid=5
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