Mighty Mama: Amanda Osowski and her Journey to her Miracle Baby
Bringing back #MightyMama with a truly strong mother, Amanda Osowski. Amanda is a mother and an Infertility and Postpartum Doula and Coach. She is passionate about sharing her education and experiences with new parents and parents-to-be. When she started trying to conceive she knew nothing about infertility. But negative pregnancy test after negative pregnancy test left her feeling overwhelmed, disappointed, and alone.
As Amanda chronicled her fertility journey, she realized how hopeful she was that her experiences would prevent other moms-to-be and new moms from feeling alone in their stories. With several years of experience in the healthcare field spanning public health work to patient and mental health advocacy to clinical research management, Amanda founded Heartfelt Beginnings and began helping others the wished that someone had helped her. Read her story below.
1. CAN YOU SHARE YOUR JOURNEY TO BECOMING PREGNANT?
“My journey to pregnancy began before my husband and I even got married. As someone living with Crohn’s disease and a deep dive into my medical history, we felt it would be most beneficial to get advice before we began trying to conceive (TTC). In the spring of 2017, we met with two Maternal and Fetal Medicine Physicians (MFM) for preconception consultations, where we reviewed all of my history, the medications I was on and had taken previously, my surgical history, etc., and received “permission” to begin TTC. After about 9 months of ovulation and basal body temperature (BBT) tracking, I found that my cycle length varied somewhat each month, and I was discouraged at the continual stream of negative pregnancy tests followed by my period showing back up each month. I scheduled an appointment with my regular OB, where I asked her several questions about maximizing my chance to conceive. She ordered some tests on both my partner, and myself and I was shocked two weeks later to receive a call from her, where she simply said “I’m so sorry, but I don’t think you’re going to be able to get pregnant without medical intervention.”
“After a three-month wait, we met with a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE) who ran another smattering of tests, and eventually diagnosed my husband and me with Unexplained Infertility (UI) — meaning that there wasn’t an exact reason they could pinpoint in which we hadn’t been able to get pregnant on our own. She recommended we start with the least invasive methods of fertility treatment— so we did. We did one medicated cycle, followed by four rounds of Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). Each time the treatment failed, my heart was crushed. I thought we just needed a bit of help to get pregnant— but that bit of help hadn’t gotten us any further than we’d gotten on our own.
“Eventually, in August 2018, we started In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). I went through one round of Stims, followed by an egg retrieval and then a fresh embryo transfer. I never opened my mind to the possibility that transfer wouldn’t work. So, when we lost that embryo I seriously struggled to move forward. At that point, we decided to have our 3 frozen embryos biopsied and sent for preimplantation genetic screening (PGS). This would determine if the embryos we had remaining were chromosomally normal, giving them the best chance of implantation after transfer.
“At the end of September 2018, we transferred the embryo which became our daughter. I delivered her at 35w5d in May 2019, and she will always be our miracle baby.”
2. WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO OTHERS WHO MAY BE STRUGGLING WITH INFERTILITY?
“Getting pregnant can be so hard. Struggling to conceive can make you question everything and everyone you know. It can be such a challenge not to get lost in that— in the frustrations and the sadness and the anger and the pain and the confusion. It’s also something that can be really stigmatized— so I know that reaching out for help and finding support can feel extra difficult.”
Here are five things I wish I’d known about Infertility:
There's an entire language surrounding Infertility & it's really overwhelming without a cheat sheet or a visual dictionary!
Knowing where to start & how to process everything is half the battle.
Infertility treatments are both a choice AND a challenge.
Intimacy changes. A lot.
The most supportive and interactive community found was on Instagram!
3. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT YOU HAVE HONORED EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH?
“I love this question. Shortly after the birth of my daughter, I became an Infertility Doula— it has been so important to me to offer the type of support, coaching, and resources to others walking this path that I would’ve found instrumental during my journey. I also continue to talk openly and loudly about Infertility. Sharing my story goes to the notion of destigmatizing and normalizing the conversations around trying to conceive, and babies that are made in so many ways and places beyond the bedroom.”
4. HOW CAN OTHERS BE HELPFUL TO FRIENDS, FAMILY MEMBERS, OR PARTNERS GOING THROUGH FERTILITY STRUGGLES?
I recently wrote this blog post on how to ask for (& offer) support while struggling with Infertility— it’s written from my heart, and combines both my own personal experience along with those from friends and clients in the Infertility community. Most importantly —think before speaking. Many questions feel intrusive, judgmental, and even downright nosey. Be genuine. Ask how we are, show up with coffee or dinner, send gift cards or flowers, just share the love— it’s always, always appreciated.”
Amanda is an Infertility and Postpartum Doula & Coach and the founder of Heartfelt Beginnings, providing support to women and their families going through fertility challenges, pregnancy, and early parenthood. Check out Heartfelt Beginnings to find more about Amanda’s services, as well as complimentary services and free downloads, resources and guides, and supportive services.