Causes & Treatment
How to Ease the Burden of IVF
Eloise Edington | 13 May 2022
One of the main worries we hear at Fertility Help Hub is how isolating a fertility struggle can be.
When we’re TTC, sometimes we feel we’re the only ones not getting pregnant, other times we fear friends/partners/family members don’t “get it”. Most of the time we feel we’re the only ones holding all the responsibility and need to remember everything…
It really doesn’t have to be this way, even in our post-pandemic world where some fertility clinics prefer only patients to attend appointments.
We spoke to our FHH community (follow us on IG) and learnt that:
- 10% are going through fertility treatment solo.
- 31% don’t feel supported through the fertility journey.
- 94% feel they carry most of the burden.
So if you’re having fertility treatment and feeling exhausted trying to remember everything, you need the Bonzun IVF app (visit the partner profile). Bonzun IVF gives you evidence-based and expert fertility information when you need it and, best of all, the app can be cloned for shared support. Download the app here.
Read on for stories of three women, from different relationship constellations across the globe, about how Bonzun IVF supported them in their fertility journeys. As an exclusive for FHH readers: claim 10 days of free access to premium app features.
Written by Holly Pigache
Last year, I froze my eggs and made embryos with donor sperm. Whilst my parents and close friends were incredibly supportive, remembering everything and asking the right questions lay solely on my shoulders. Because of the pandemic, I wasn’t allowed anyone to accompany me during my appointments and being a single woman, I very quickly learnt how to administer IVF medication alone.
If I knew about the Bonzun IVF app I certainly would have downloaded it. To share the burden of IVF (and my, how it’s a burden as well as a privilege) would have undoubtedly made the journey easier.
Let’s hear from three women who downloaded the Bonzun IVF app for their fertility treatment…
We can track the same journey, together
Lara Bloom lives in the UK with her wife. Over five cycles, Lara’s wife (Christina) has had IVF treatment so Lara and Christina decided Lara control the main app while Christina’s app mimics the primary account. This way, Lara stays in control of the fertility treatment alongside her wife and takes the burden of medication and appointment logistics.
Here’s their story:
“My wife and I have been on the IVF roller coaster for over two years now. We have lost two babies and shared lots of heartache, frustration, grief and financial worries along the way. Finding the Bonzun IVF app at the start of our last cycle made such a difference.
There are so many apps out there for once you are pregnant, but few options for the IVF journey, especially for a partner. Being able to manage all the meds was a game-changer. As we approach our fifth attempt I am grateful that I found Bonzun and all the support it brings.” Lara
Expert advice whenever you need it
For Lara and Christina, being able to duplicate the app and all their fertility notes meant they could easily keep track of the medication and rely on the handy reminders to not miss a shot. As expert fertility guidance is available 24/7, sleepless nights can be ameliorated and answers are there whenever you need them.
The step-by-step guide allows both users to understand what is happening at each step of the process. Bonzun provides expert advice not only about IVF stages but also informs users of why something happens at each stage and whether any discomfort is normal. Information is presented in a straightforward way that won’t overwhelm – readily accessible by both copies of the app.
The unique cloning feature of Bonzun keeps your chosen supporter informed about every aspect of your IVF journey. Whether the cloned app goes to a partner, a close friend or a parent, feel reassured that you don’t need to hold all the burden. Sharing the load can bring you closer together and help to make this difficult journey a little easier.
Whereas Lara and Christina cloned the app as partners, Ariel is a surrogate mother who duplicated her Bonzun account for her intended parents.
Intended parents can stay in the loop with their surrogate
Ariel lives in the Canada and is a surrogate. She clones the Bonzun app with the intended parents so they can follow in all that is happening in the IVF process; all updates, procedures and more. Ariel is about to embark on her sixth, and final, surrogacy.
Here’s how Bonzun has helped Ariel and the future parents she carries for:
“As a surrogate, Bonzun IVF is so helpful because it allows my Intended Parents to stay in the loop with fertility treatments by simply cloning the app! We can both follow along with the protocol and have a countdown to our transfer.
I also really appreciate the medication reminders and that I can search specifically for my medications and dosages. It’s really handy when there are multiple medications throughout the day and the app can keep them organized for me. The community forum also offers great advice and peer support. I would highly suggest that anyone in the surrogacy community download and use Bonzun IVF!”
Surviving the 2WW
Lara and Christina have been through the 2WW time and time again. So, too, has Ariel – and as have her intended parents she carries for.
Anyone having fertility treatment knows about the two-week wait. Either you’ve been through it or are gearing up for it, but you’ve heard the stories of how arduous the fortnight can be. In fact, 97% of our fertility community said they’re nervous about the 2WW.
And no wonder. Many describe the 2WW (from embryo transfer until doing a pregnancy test) as one of the most difficult times in life. You want to get pregnant so badly but you have no control over the outcome and cannot influence the process. Plus, you’re thinking about taking the test early but don’t want a false negative… It’s safe to say that during the 2WW, emotions are everywhere and we’re bouncing between happiness, hope, despair and every emotion in between. It’s incredibly exhausting and it’s easy to feel completely consumed by the wait.
Bonzun IVF’s “Two-week-waiting-program” gives you the tools you need to feel good during this time. The program gives you a clear anchor point in everyday life to start from so that you can focus on the here and now, together with the people who are important to you. You get a concrete schedule with information and practical exercises that you can follow each day of the fortnight.
Developed with a clinical psychologist, these exercises are rooted in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and provide ways to change your behavior and mindset and feel more emotionally balanced, without the hefty price tag of a psychologist.
When the time comes to take the pregnancy test, you’ll hopefully feel the wait hasn’t been all-consuming and you’ll be mentally prepared for the result.
A sense of clarity
Hanna Theorin knows the importance of focusing on the here and now and Bonzun gave her the tools to feel calm during fertility treatment. Living in Sweden with her boyfriend, she has been through five embryo transfers so far and lost four in week seven and one child in late pregnancy.
Here’s what Hanna says:
“Something that I wish to have during fertility treatment is someone from the outside to turn to – who I can talk to and ask all my questions about IVF. Someone who actually understands the position I’m in. Bonzun IVF has provided me with a sense of control and calm; it has given me that feeling of not constantly having to juggle everything at the same time but being able to focus on what is here and now. It gives me a lot of answers when I need them.
A big challenge when going through IVF treatments is to be able to include your partner in the whole process and make them feel more involved. Thanks to the app, my partner feels closer to our fertility treatment. I wish I would have known about Bonzun IVF when I started my fertility journey, many cycles ago.”
Fertility Help Hub readers can claim 10 days’ FREE ACCESS to all premium features of Bonzun IVF by emailing “I love Bonzun” to ivfsupport@bonzun.com.
Bonzun IVF is available to fertility clinics that provide the app to their patients as support. If your clinic is yet to adopt Bonzun IVF and you think other patients would also benefit, ask your fertility specialist to contact Bonzun at ivfsupport@bonzun.com.
What else can Bonzun offer me?
All content within the app is evidence-based, developed with and reviewed by IVF physicians and psychologists. In any IVF app, you’d expect expert articles, medication trackers and fertility appointment reminders, and Bonzun has all of this and more. Beyond the cloning feature which has had such a positive influence on the fertility journeys of the three women above, Bonzun offers:
- Access to a supportive, global fertility community – meet TTC warriors from all over the world!
- Step by step guide – detailed guidance on what happens and what to expect at each stage of the fertility process plus common discomforts.
- Planner for appointments, activities, medications (find these in the app and add personalised meds) and reminders ease the insecurity of forgetting and constantly checking dosage notes.
- Psychological support programs for when you need it most.
- Clone the app with your chosen support on this journey – do it together, all the way in every aspect.
- Statistics for your cycles and all treatment protocols: Short and long protocol, FET – natural, stimulated and programmed cycles.
- IVF FAQs – answers to the most commonly-asked questions fertility clinics receive.
- The Waiting Room – articles on all sorts of fertility-related topics from taking your first steps in fertility treatment and beyond.
- Letterboards to share your IVF progress or express your feelings during this roller-coaster ride of emotions.
At FHH, we also love that every user of Bonzun IVF creates data for research to improve fertility care. Of course, you can opt out at any time (and all data is anonymous and follows GDPR guidelines).
ivf, improved
Download the Bonzun IVF app here and subscribe for just £4.99/month, £12.99 for 3 months or £39.99 for a full year.
Claim free access to all premium features of the app for 10 days by emailing “I love Bonzun” to ivfsupport@bonzun.com.
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