Some journeys are not sprints. They are ultramarathons.

Some journeys are not sprints. They are ultramarathons.

Today, a patient walked into my clinic carrying her six-month-old baby. I looked at the baby, looked at her, and thought of everything it had taken for them to reach this moment.

She was 35 when she first came to me. Nine years of trying to conceive. Low AMH. And a heart full of hope.

I wanted her to proceed with IVF without losing precious time. But life does not always allow us to do what medicine recommends at the right time. She could not afford the treatment then. So she went away, worked towards her goal, saved the money, and returned a year later.

One year. A thousand thoughts. And hope that refused to die.

We began stimulation. We retrieved five mature oocytes. Three embryos were created. We transferred an embryo on Day 3.

And then came two words that changed everything.

Pregnancy positive.

What followed was another emotional marathon. Antenatal screening, anxiety over the results, the uncertainty surrounding further investigations, and finally, the amniocentesis. Every step demanded patience, courage, and the ability to keep going when the answers were not yet clear.

And today, here she was, holding her baby.

Six months of motherhood. Nine years of waiting. One year of saving. And a journey that neither began nor ended with a single IVF cycle.

Low AMH is a marker of reduced ovarian reserve. It is not a verdict that pregnancy is impossible. The response to stimulation may be limited, and every patient’s chances are different. But a low number on a report cannot tell the whole story of an individual’s journey.

There is another reality we must acknowledge. Some women do not delay treatment because they lack commitment, understanding, or hope. They delay because they cannot afford it. They go home, save, rearrange their lives, and gather the resources to try again. Time, unfortunately, does not wait while they do.

As fertility specialists, we see ovarian reserve, follicular growth, oocytes, embryos and pregnancy tests. But behind every cycle is a human being negotiating with biology, time, finances and hope.

This journey reminds me of the backyard ultramarathon, where runners keep returning to the starting line, lap after lap, until only one remains standing. It is not always about being the fastest. Sometimes, it is about finding a way to continue when the road is long and the finish line seems impossibly far away.

Not every fertility journey will end this way. We must always be honest about that. But we must also remember that low AMH does not, by itself, mean there is no chance.

Today, I did not just see a baby.

I saw nine years of perseverance, a year of saving, the courage to try, and the extraordinary moment when hope finally had a face.

Sometimes, the greatest achievement is not simply getting pregnant. It is making it possible for someone to keep trying until they have had their chance.

#LowAMH #FertilityJourney #IVFSuccess #InfertilityAwareness #FertilityCare #HopeAndPerseverance #DrIndiraGaneshan #IRENEIVFCentre