Little Known, Affordable IVF Alternative Offers Hope to Couples Struggling with Infertility

With approximately ten percent of couples nationwide struggling with infertility, some are taking advantage of a little-known branch of medicine called restorative reproductive medicine. It seeks to identify the underlying causes and treat them as opposed to using the popular option of in vitro fertilization to have a child.

Karen and Anthony Monetti are one such couple. After nine years of marriage, they felt the Lord leading them to have a baby.

"Put it in God's hands," Anthony told CBN News.

"Put it in God's hands and let go," Karen echoed. "And we got pregnant pretty fast."

Four Heartbreaking Miscarriages

Unfortunately, the couple experienced a miscarriage, and then three more after that.  

"Nothing has hurt, and I've never grieved so much as the infertility journey," Karen lamented. "But one thing I want to say is there's hope." 

Like many couples struggling to have a child, Karen, then age 41, and Anthony were advised to try in vitro fertilization. However, the couple refused. 

"My hematologist said, 'I really want you to go through IVF. You're older, you don't want to run the risk of any genetic defects,'" Karen recalled. "And my husband and I flat out said, 'We're not doing it. This is all in God's hands. He will take care of us.'"

The primary reason the couple decided against IVF is because the procedure often involves creating embryos that go unused.

"I didn't want to have multiple eggs that were conceived just sitting there frozen," Karen said. "I could not bring myself to that, knowing that there was life there that was not inside of me and I was not birthing."

An IVF Alternative

Instead, Karen and Anthony heard about an IVF alternative called restorative reproductive medicine and decided to give that a try.  Restorative reproductive medicine, or RRM, is a natural, holistic, approach to infertility.  Instead of performing a procedure that goes around the problem, RRM doctors seek to find the root cause, then fix that.

Karen and Anthony visited MorningStar Family Health Center, an RRM clinic run by Edward Fleming, MD, CFCMD, and Jean Golden-Tevald, DO, CFCMC, FCP, IFMCP.

"The amazing thing is, in 20 years of doing this, I have never had a woman who we evaluated that we came up and said, 'We can't find anything wrong,'" Dr. Golden-Tevald told CBN News. "There's always something."

The process begins with a detailed examination of the woman's ovulation cycle and hormones among other things.

"Right off the bat it was a lot of testing," Karen said. "Dr. Eddie and Dr. Jean from the practice both had me go through a lot of blood work."

The men get tested as well. "Men with low testosterone, which can affect male function," Dr. Fleming told CBN News, "and also affects sperm counts."

The root cause of a couple's infertility varies. In Karen and Anthony's case, she dealt with serious blood clots and hormone issues.

"It's almost always never just one thing," said Dr. Golden-Tevald. "There's usually multiple factors."

Miracle Baby

Karen started taking a blood thinner, hormones, and more. Not long after that, the Monettis had their prayers answered when she gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, little girl.   

"My pregnancy was a huge success," Karen said. "We finally have our baby, our miracle."

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Doctors say RRM's success rate is equal to or better than IVF.

"The other piece is that there's really no risk, and it's really inexpensive too," said Dr. Fleming. 

The Monettis wish more people knew about RRM.

"I don't think many people know it exists," Karen said. "I think RRM is not talked about in the mainstream medical practices. I think it's just, 'Go to IVF, go to IVF.'"

Dr. Fleming said there isn't much financial incentive to recommend RRM.

"Unfortunately, RRM is not very well known, and I think a big reason for that is because it's not advertised as much, in a mainstream sort of way," he said. "There's not a lot of money to be gained in RRM."

Some members of Congress are trying to expand access through legislation. Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford recently sponsored the RESTORE Act, saying it "prioritizes addressing underlying causes of infertility to help families bring the miracle of life into the world."

The new Senate is expected to resume consideration of the RESTORE Act.

In the meantime, advocates rely on word of mouth.

"I recommend everybody I know who struggles with fertility," Karen said, "I've given out Dr. Eddie and Dr. Jean's information, because again, God gave them to us and they are incredible, and we have our miracle baby now."
 
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