The World Health Organization estimates roughly 1 in 6 people worldwide are affected by fertility issues, but many don’t know they’ll have trouble conceiving until they actually start trying and statistics show couples are waiting longer.
One South Florida woman got a surprising diagnosis and wants other women to know their bodies and their options.
When Natalie and Charles Sommers got married, they thought they had time to start a family. The nurse and firefighter enjoyed life as newlyweds before trying to grow their family.
Problem after problem presented challenges
Natalie eventually got pregnant, but it ended in miscarriage. So, they tried again, not knowing the challenges ahead.
“Every time we went to the doctor, it was relentless. Every time it was bad news,” Charles Sommers said. “Something else would come up. Adenomyosis or there’s a blockage now of her fallopian tubes. Just repetitively, every time we went, something bad, another surgery, another surgery. You start to lose hope.”
In addition to cervical stenosis, which is a narrowing of the cervix, Natalie Sommers was diagnosed with adenomyosis, a condition in which endometrial tissue grows into the uterine wall.
Adenomyosis is different from endometriosis, where the tissue grows outside the uterus on surrounding organs.
Adenomyosis is more common in women in their 40s, and a third of women with it may be asymptomatic.
“It just starts boring holes into the wall itself. That wall is made of pure muscle and if the muscle is damaged, then the uterus itself, which is a very active organ, a very dynamic organ, to complete the functions that it’s meant to do, is incapable of doing it. So in its inability to do that, it elicits pain, infertility, bleeding, which are the preeminent signs of adenomyosis,” Dr. Armando Hernandez-Rey, with Conceptions Florida in Coral Gables, explained.
The Sommers find help
“I was just terrified,” Natalie Sommers said. “I was thinking, ‘Oh, I wanna be a mom so bad.’ Like we thought we were talking about it and we thought that maybe that wasn’t for us. I was like, yeah, maybe we’re not gonna be able to make it happen.”
Hernandez-Rey and his team were determined to help the Sommers become parents through in vitro fertilization. He said cases like this prove that women’s health issues are complex and multifactorial.
“Her case was unique because it was a complete distortion of the uterus. The uterus had diffuse infiltrating adenomyosis. It’s something you may not have heard of because now the phenomenon that’s happening, as you well know, is that women are waiting a lot longer to have children and like anything, as women age, it’s not only about their fertility and the egg quality, but it’s also about the uterus and other factors as well,” Hernandez-Rey said.
Pregnancy success
The Sommers hope that one day fertility treatment can be more accessible and affordable for everyone looking to grow their family.
“I feel that this is a dream. When I feel him moving, it’s like, ‘Oh my God’, I don’t know how to explain it,” Natalie Sommers said.
Baby Sommers is due in August. Natalie will need to have a C-section due to the cervical stenosis.
They have one more embryo and would like to have a second child sometime down the road. For now, they say spreading awareness is key so people don’t feel so alone.
“After my experience, I want women to start having open conversations with their partners and with their healthcare providers about their fertility,” Natalie Sommers said. “It’s important to think about it. It’s important to know your options.”
