Chelsea Ritchie and her husband, Josh, came to CCRM Minneapolis in the spring of 2016, after battling infertility for nearly a decade. Chelsea suffers from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which can make it extremely challenging to conceive and carry a successful pregnancy to term.
The Ritchies had seen this firsthand. Prior to receiving treatment at CCRM Minneapolis, Chelsea had undergone three failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, five failed intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles, and experienced three devastating miscarriages. She had also worked with a naturopathic doctor and an acupuncturist, all to no avail.
Chelsea and Josh had heard about CCRM’s reputation as a world-class fertility clinic, but weren’t sure they would be able to make the trips to Colorado for treatment at CCRM’s flagship location. In 2015, CCRM opened a location in Minneapolis, and in 2016, after deciding to attempt one final cycle of IVF, Chelsea and Josh scheduled their appointment with Dr. April Batcheller at CCRM Minneapolis.
Dr. Batcheller worked closely with Chelsea and Josh to assess what had been done in their past IVF cycles and to make adjustments that would hopefully result in a successful pregnancy. Dr. Batcheller adjusted Chelsea’s IVF protocol, put both Chelsea and Josh on a special vitamin regimen, and made other suggestions regarding diet and lifestyle. She also recommended that the Ritchies use a frozen embryo transfer instead of fresh, giving Chelsea’s body time to recover between egg retrieval and embryo transfer.
In the spring of 2016, Chelsea underwent egg retrieval, and shortly after, Chelsea and Josh found out that they had seven healthy embryos. They opted to transfer two embryos in September 2016, and in October 2016, Chelsea and Josh got the news they had been waiting for: they were pregnant with twins. Chelsea and Josh welcomed their beautiful twins, Logan and Kirsten, into the world on May 10, 2017.
In the words of Chelsea, “We are so incredibly grateful to have found Dr. Batcheller and CCRM. From the moment we sat down to talk, we were refreshed by her optimism and enthusiasm to help us start a family, especially after we had already been through so much and felt scared to hope. Her knowledge of our case proved to us that we weren’t just a number, but humans, and her willingness to do whatever it took to help us succeed, whether it was coming in on a weekend, or hopping into an unplanned ultrasound, demonstrated unexpected and unbelievable patient care. From the beginning, she entered a partnership with us – listening to our questions and allowing us to advocate for things we felt strongly about, offering us her wisdom and joining us to make the best decisions for our cycle. Her sincere and heartfelt congratulations to us the day we learned that we were pregnant is something we will never forget. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you CCRM for making our dreams of a family come true!”
