Beth and Joe were married in 1987 and started trying to have a child in 1991. They tried for seven years before Beth’s gynecologist referred the couple to the Washington University Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Beth and Joe were conservative and did not choose in vitro fertilization (IVF) right away. They opted first for artificial insemination, which they tried for two years. At first, Beth wasn’t sure if she wanted to try IVF, but her specialist, Randall R. Odem, M.D., recommended it. Because their insurance paid for the procedures, the decision was a little easier, Beth says. Their son, Jake, now 5 years old, was conceived during the third IVF cycle.

“Beth had taken a pregnancy test and it had come back negative,” Joe says. Beth was so upset, she thought about skipping her scheduled office visit. But she went anyway.

“I told them I didn’t know if I could go through this any more,” Beth says. “But later that day, they called back and said, ‘Congratulations, you’re pregnant!’ We couldn’t believe it! Only one egg had been fertilized, so Jake is the result of our hard work. He is our one percent baby!”

Beth calls Jake a miracle. “Even today, doctors still don’t know what the problem was, or why I could not conceive,” she says. “The only option they had left was the in vitro fertilization.”

Beth and Joe speak highly of the care they received from the Washington University Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “Every step of the way there was someone to hold your hand and help you. It was not sterile and cold like I thought it would be.”

Beth felt so comfortable, in fact, that when she had to find an obstetrician, it was difficult to say goodbye.