An American woman who had IVF treatment to have a second baby has welcomed triplets – but there is more to this tale than meets the eye
Shelby and Chase Stewart told People magazine they wanted to add to their family and give their daughter, Bennett, a sibling.
However, having had cancer at just 15 years old, Shelby was told she would never have children and would go into early menopause at about the age of 26.
She had egg retrieval ruled out at the time of the cancer diagnosis, and it wasn’t until she met Chase and the couple married that they began looking at their options.
After they married, the pair went to a fertility doctor and were told their best shot was either IVF or IUI.
They did IUI, and it worked on their second attempt, conceiving Bennett.
Shelby said: “I had her, and I was turning 27 six months later. I thought to myself, ‘I have this miracle baby, but I’m supposed to be going into menopause soon. My small window is closing quickly, and if I want another baby, we should start trying.”
The couple began trying again but without success. After five IUI attempts, they turned their attention to IVF, but with three transfers and three losses, they began to lose hope.
Shelby said: “At that point, we had sunk a lot of money and time into the process. Throughout the process, we would check in with each other about pushing through.”
The couple had an in-depth conversation with their fertility doctor, who agreed to try a different medication to get that sibling they desperately wanted for Bennett.
The couple did another egg retrieval and created six good embryos.
They decided to transfer two embryos – a boy and a girl.
After a dicey start, the couple discovered they were expecting but were unsure if it was one or two babies.
An appointment and more tests confirmed the pregnancy but that it was not two babies Shelby was carrying – but three.
The pair went into shock and spent some time getting their head around the idea of having triplets and how it had happened.
They were convinced that the girl’s embryo had split.
Following an incredibly stressful and anxious pregnancy, the triplets were born at 35 weeks.
Soon after the birth, the couple realised that the girls did not look alike or identical.
This began a personal investigation to discover why and how they had come to have the triplets.
After ruling out three embryos being transferred, they look at the possibility that Shelby could have become pregnant just days before the embryo transfer of the two embryos.
The only feasible explanation the couple can come up with is that Shelby and Chase conceived one of the girls on an anniversary trip while preparing for the transfer.
Shelby said: “While we were doing the shots and everything to prepare for the transfer, I had a small follicle, which was weird because I don’t grow my own follicles, and I don’t ovulate on my own. It was never checked again, but we were told it was fine to be intimate as the medication had stopped any ovulation.”
Shelby said she has received amazing support from the online community and wants to continue to share her story.
She said: “I want to be the person that is talking about it. I found those people on Instagram. I want to be that for other people.”
