Yes I have known others who were unable to conceive or carry a baby after they already had child/children. It is getting more common as the age of first childbirth rises. Since I don't know anything about the circumstances it is hard to say what would be the cause but as a woman progresses through her thirties many lose a lot of their fertility...Not everyone of course but it happens to many. What is your daughter's age?
Joann

I had secondary infertility. After giving birth to my daughter I had an ectopic pregnancy followed by two miscarriages. My last miscarriage was at 28.

It was emotionally devastating.

My daughter is an only child.

My daughters age is 32. It seems that woman are waiting to have children so late in life and they run into these problems. I really think woman were made to have children early. I am hoping that this ivf will work, the doctors told her she had a 50/50 chance of it taking but that does not mean she won't miscarry.

No helpful information from me, but I just want to say that you and your daughter have my sympathy. Infertility is terribly difficult. I had a struggle getting pregnant, and it felt like a miracle that I was able to have three children. Of course, every birth is a miracle. Best of luck to your daughter.

One of my daughter's bridesmaids finally had a baby last year after trying for several years. It was via IVF. She is about 40 or 41 now, and I am sure her age had a lot to do with it. They couldn't find anything causing the infertility. Needless to say, we were all thrilled for them.

My daughter had trouble keeping a pregnancy and it turned out to be a blood clotting issue. She gave herself heparin shots daily and had a baby girl after 4 or 5 miscarriages. This is a pretty common issue, we have sense found out. You might have her talk to her doctor about it. They found her problem through genetic testing.

Yes, she had the test for the blood clotting issue but the results were negative.

Thanks for all your answers. It is interesting what some woman have to go through to get pregnant and keep it.

If your daughter ultimately doesn't have a 2nd child, I hope all people around her don't inadvertently or purposely pressure her about having only one child. That would be truly sad.

I was 30 when I got pregnant for my daughter. At that time, it was discovered I had some issues caused by a previous pregnancy--I didn't even know I had been pregnant and miscarried years earlier, it had to have been extremely early, obviously. After having my daughter, we tried for about 5 more years to get pregnant again with no results. Nothing ever diagnosed, we just figured what would be would be.

I, too, do hope your daughter is able to accept comfortably what life has in store for her, and that people don't hassle her about having a second child. 32 years later, I can honestly say there are a lot of positives to having only one child. We're not at all disappointed in the way things turned out for us--and hope your daughter can find that kind of acceptance and happiness IF there's only one child in the cards for her.

This post was edited by azzalea on Mon, Jan 28, 13 at 16:04

I know this is hard on a family. We have been there. Our daughter-in-law had a hard time getting pregnant. She did the IVF and it worked the first time. She had a wonderful baby girl. Sadly 2 months after giving birth her mother died . After trying for 4 more years without success they did IVF again. It took twice to get pregnant. She had twins. THEN she got pregnant again on her own when the twins were 5 months old. Little Makenzie came into the world.

A friend of ours daughter had IFV and did very well. A friend of our daughters just had twins. Lots of success stories.

Breaks my heart when a couple want children and have a difficult time having them I remember when our daughter-in-law was going through the process they were told if you pay as you go along it was cheaper. What a shame because not everyone can afford it. insurance does not cover it.

Longing for a child is heartbreaking. I wish your daughter the best.

Susie

I am hoping my daughter has success with the ivf, it is very expensive and if it doesn't work just adds one more stresser to their lives.

She is starting the process in May, keep your fingers crossed.

I'll pray for your daughter that the results are very quick and successful. I've known many who have beautiful children due to the process. I think it will all turn out fine.

Is this a 'fertility' problem? She gets pregnant, but miscarries. Am I missing something? Have they had a second opinion?

I know the pain of infertility. I was unable to conceive after an eager-to-operate Gyn. removed what turned out to be a 'nothing' ovarian cyst and destroyed my left ovary. I was 26. My right fallopian tube was blocked with endometriosis. IVF didn't exist back then.

We were fortunate to be able to adopt our DS when I was 30.

Chisue,

This condition is medically referred to as "secondary infertility." IVF was also my next step, had I decided to try again - and I saw many MANY specialists.

I, too, was hounded by many (likely, well-meaning) people about having "another baby." It hurt like the dickens.

I've heard of many women with secondary infertility getting pregnant after using progesterone cream. It's inexpensive and over-the-counter ... might be worth a try!

I am a mother to an only child... and yes, it was by choice! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Progesterone fertility guide

I had the same problem as your daughter (but never tried to find out why). I had my son, got pregnant 4 more times and lost 3 of they between 7 and 8 weeks and the last one at 11 weeks. My son ended up being an only child (did not want him to be). He was also born 1 1/2 months early.

So...'secondary infertility' is about the body rejecting the fetus -- not inability to conceive? (Sue, who never even *played* a doctor on TV.)

Thank you for all your replies, it certainly is an education.

This may not be the issue, and may sound kind of "out there", but look up "wheat miscarriage" on the internet.

Some women with undiagnosed gluten intolerance/celiac disease have multiple miscarriages. It could be a different food sensitivity issue, where her body is overwhelmed dealing with a sensitivity and cannot maintain a pregnancy. Doctors are not taught much about nutrition as a cause/cure in medical school.

I read about this issue a year or so ago regarding infertility, but it made me wonder if wheat sensitivity was the cause for it taking two years of us trying to get pregnant with our last child when the others were conceived quickly.

A book called Wheat Belly was an eye opener for me in regards to how wheat was bred in the last 50 years to produce a higher yield has been altered so much that our bodies cannot tolerate it. The increase in heart disease, diabetes, cancers, and many other illnesses are what have occurred in the last 50 years.

Best wishes to you and your daughter! I hope the proper cause is found and remedied very soon!

Chisue.

Secondary Infertility is just that - it's infertility for whatever reason following a successful pregnancy.

I find your statements and assumptions a bit mean-spirited with your nitpickiness over semantics.

I understand you've never been able to conceive a child, but I conceived four and only met one. The other three - who were as REAL to me as my living child - left a gigantic void in my life and my heart. You do not know that feeling. And you don't want to.

I had infertility issues from the start. I had trouble conceiving and carrying - lost two, maybe more before the end of the first trimester. I had a septate uterus - where there is a partial seperation of the uterus. If the egg implants there, there is not enough blood flow for the pregnancy to continue. After nearly 8 years of trying, I finally found a doctor who was willing to remove it - got pregnant the next cycle and had my son - wonderful pregnancy. Then - never conceived again! (I did use Clomid - a fertility drug before and after the surgery to remove the septum). then when my son was 6, I developed an ovarian cycst - it grew quickly and they had to do an emergency hysterectomy and they found out I had endometrosis all over. I never had the pain associated with endometrosis - unitl the cycst was the size of a grapefruit. I had never been told I had it before but I sometmes wonder if it was there (endometrosis) to begin with.

It is a terrible pain in your heart to even lose an early pregnancy - its an undefinable loss. I wish I had more children but at least I have my son - and he now has a son. Over time, you come to terms with it - but its not easy. I wish your daughter and family the best. The whole infertiltiy issue can control your life. have her check out the support group RESOLVE. Even sharing with someone online ( if you find a local group, that's better) can help.