Daughter's birth a miracle for Winnipeg couple
Fertility clinic celebrates 10 years Sun Nov 4 2007
By Meghan Hurley
Boris Minkevich / Winnipeg Free Press
Mike and Jackie Touchette with their girls Kiandra (left) and Madison, who was conceived through in vitro. JACKIE and Mike Touchette gambled $8,500 with the odds stacked against them, but hit the jackpot -- they got pregnant on the very first try.
The Touchettes were the first couple on a waiting list for Heartland Fertility & Gynecology Clinic, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Many people were going to other provinces, so in the early 1990s Dr. Gordon McTavish and two other doctors came up with a plan for Manitoba's own fertility clinic.
The Touchettes' daughter Madison, now almost 10 years old, was the clinic's first success story. Despite only a one-in-three chance, she was conceived using in vitro fertilization.
The Winnipeg couple had tried to get pregnant for almost six years before Madison was born. Jackie had tubal factor infertility, in which her fallopian tubes were either blocked or scarred. She had surgery to try to repair the tubes, which didn't work.
Finally, Jackie and her husband decided to give the newly-opened fertility clinic a try.
"When they implant them, you have to wait two weeks for them to say that it worked," Jackie said. "That was the hardest two weeks of my life to sit there and wait."
Fertility treatments THERAPEUTIC DONOR INSEMINATION: OVARIAN HYPER STIMULATION: Oral medications or injections are given to help produce more eggs. The clinic will monitor the number of eggs a woman produces and will artificially inseminate them with her husband's sperm. A risk to this method is multiple births. The cost ranges between $1,500 to $2,000 per cycle.
IN VITRO FERTILIZATION: Use for women who have blocked tubes or ovulation problems. Eggs are removed from the woman's ovary and mixed with sperm to produce an embryo outside the body. After a few days the embryo is transferred back into uterus. The prices ranges between $8,000 and $10,000, including the cost of medications.
But sure enough, the clinic called her at work to tell her she was pregnant with her first child.
"We were very lucky with everything," Jackie said. "It was quite amazing and it was a very emotional time, even to talk about it now."
The couple's joy did not stop there. Shortly after Madison was born, the Touchettes were able to get pregnant again, naturally.
"I knew after I had Madison that's your most fertile time, so I didn't prevent anything from happening," Jackie said. "I went back to the clinic and said I need an ultrasound because I was pregnant and the doctors were quite blown away."
The Touchettes' success story is just one of hundreds. Since the clinic opened in 1997, around 400 families have been helped. Despite the odds, many people come to the clinic very hopeful.
"I think that some people realize they haven't been able to get pregnant any other way, so a one-in-three chance is definitely an improvement from zero," McTavish said.
One obstacle many couples face is the cost of fertility treatment. In vitro fertilization can cost up to $10,000, including the price of medication.
"An individual coming up with $10,000, that's expensive," McTavish said. "If the government sponsored it, it would cost $3 million for around 300 cycles for Manitoba residents. That's not all that expensive in the overall health budget."
Many insurance plans, including Jackie's, don't cover fertility treatment.
But that didn't stop the Touchettes.
"You want it to happen so badly that you do without things," she said.
To help ease the financial struggle, a Giving Hope Fertility Assistance Fund has been set up. The fund will be unveiled Nov. 6 as the clinic hosts its 10th anniversary celebration at the Inn at the Forks.
The fund was set up by a group of women who were once patients at the clinic. They have volunteered their time to raise money for Manitobans who might not be able to afford the treatment, McTavish said.
Packages of 15 greeting cards were created with the picture and story of a family who used the clinic.
They will be sold at the 10th anniversary party for $25 to begin fundraising for the assistance fund.
meghan.hurley@freepress.mb.ca 
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