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  • Writer's pictureDr. Jennifer Hintzsche, Ph.D.

Science & Love: My infertility journey

Updated: Jul 15, 2022


PherDal, like many companies, was started of necessity. Seven years of my life were dedicated to getting my Ph.D., and after getting married in 2016, my husband and I were ready to have kids. I got off my birth control and thought I’d be pregnant within a few months. Six months passed, and anxiety and fear increased. After a year, we went to a fertility doctor and were diagnosed with (the terribly named) “Unexplained Infertility.” So, we both started going through numerous tests and had them very closely monitor my cycle & hormones with lots of blood draws and found few answers. The doctor suggested we start by doing three months of intrauterine insemination (IUI). We were asked to pay $9,000 upfront for all three months of treatment ($3000/month). If this didn’t work, we would move on to in-vitro fertilization (IVF). That, of course, would be more invasive and costly. We were devastated and didn’t have $9,000 as our insurance only covered the tests that got us to a diagnosis, not anything to help us make a baby.

I thought there had to be a different way. If anyone knew what was supposed to happen to make a baby, it was me - I mean ... I have a doctorate in Biology. So, I put that Ph.D. to use.