Natalie’s story of faith, IVF & turning from a Nashville fertility clinic to a caring TRM doctor
Natalie and her husband were young when they first married. They chose to wait before starting a family, enjoying their time together as a couple. After that first year, they stopped using birth control and took an If it happens, it happens approach to having children. But as the years passed, their hope began to fade, and the question became why isn’t it happening?
This is their story of faith, resilience and life-changing difference of finding a caring, center of excellence doctor who made all the difference.
A new job, new benefits and new hope at a fertility Center of Excellence
“We started trying around 2011 or 2012,” says Natalie, who was about 24 at the time. “We kept trying naturally. My husband and I were both in school and we couldn’t afford to go to a fertility clinic.”
They continued trying to conceive naturally, hoping for a change despite knowing their struggles might be beyond what they could solve on their own.
Their situation took a turn for the better after Natalie graduated from college and landed a job with comprehensive fertility benefits. “We had been trying for eight years by then and we hadn’t been able to get pregnant.”
The catch preventing them from using a Nashville fertility clinic
Fortified with new hope and health insurance, they decided to move forward. But there was a catch: Their insurance required them to go to a certified “center of excellence” fertility clinic. The Nashville fertility clinic they visited was in the process of certification, and she was told it could take years to finalize.
Natalie, then in her 30s, felt she didn’t have years to spare. Determined, she called her insurance company and found three certified clinics: one in Kentucky, one in Memphis and one in Chattanooga (Tennessee Reproductive Medicine). And that’s where the couple met Dr. Jessica Scotchie, a fertility specialist they had an instant rapport with.
“We went there and met with Dr. Scotchie … And let me tell you, I fell in love with Dr. Scotchie,” Natalie says. “I love that woman so much. She was just phenomenal.”
“We started with a telehealth appointment, and she laid everything out on the table for us. She was so easy to talk to and had such a great bedside manner.”
FAQ: Insurance and IVF coverage
Love at first appointment: why Nashville fertility clinic options didn’t tempt them
The couple made numerous three-hour drives to Chattanooga to see Dr. Scotchie, but they never once questioned their choice. “Even when we learned our insurance rules changed and we could’ve gone to a clinic closer to home, we stayed with Dr. Scotchie,” Natalie says.
This mutual trust became especially crucial after Natalie’s initial fertility treatments didn’t result in a pregnancy. Infertility affects about 10-15% of couples, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. In one-third of cases, it’s due to male factors, another third to female factors, and the rest are either both partners or a diagnosis of unexplained infertility.
Their journey with TRM began with four rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI), given that male infertility was a contributing factor. “I told my husband that I would only do four rounds because I wasn’t getting any younger,” Natalie shares.
Escalating fertility treatments
When those attempts failed, they escalated to IVF (in vitro fertilization). It was during this time that Natalie learned she had diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) – her body wasn’t producing as many healthy eggs as expected for her age. Low ovarian reserve matters because the number and quality of eggs a woman has directly affects her fertility and the likelihood of success with treatments like IVF.
The typical goal in IVF is to retrieve multiple eggs, even if only one embryo is implanted at a time, because having more eggs increases the chances of developing several healthy embryos. This provides more opportunities for future implantations if earlier attempts are unsuccessful.
With DOR, it can be harder and take more egg retrieval attempts to get quality, healthy eggs. “The first round of IVF produced two embryos,” Natalie says. “One didn’t implant, and the other led to a miscarriage. That was rough.”
Related Reading: Brenda’s fight with diminished ovarian reserve
IVF, miscarriage and fibroids: finding strength after setbacks
“I was devastated after we lost the second embryo in early 2022,” Natalie says. “We had already gone through so much – four rounds of IUI, and now two rounds of IVF with nothing to show for it. My husband and I had to ask ourselves if we really wanted to keep going.”
But by July, the couple decided to give it one last try before considering other family building options. Dr. Scotchie wanted to give the couple the best shot at their last round so opted to do an updated fertility exam and discovered that several fibroids she had been monitoring in Natalie’s uterus had grown in size during her treatment. Natalie underwent surgery to remove four fibroids, the largest of which was about the size of a fist.
With the fibroids gone, they geared up for what would be their final round of IVF.
All-in on a last IVF round for this Nashville couple
During this round, they retrieved three eggs, but two stopped growing early. The clinic did a biopsy to test the chromosomes and try to ensure the embryo was viable. The results showed that it was. “That felt like a win,” Natalie says.
The embryo was implanted, and the familiar nerve-wracking wait began. Ten days later, they received the call. The pregnancy test was positive.
Doctor and patients going the extra mile
“I just remember bursting into tears. It was such a relief,” she says. But their excitement was tempered by the memory of their previous miscarriage. “We were excited, but also nervous,” Natalie admits.
Dr. Scotchie, ever-attuned to her patients’ needs, insisted on regular ultrasounds to monitor the pregnancy personally – even past the typical time a patient would be transferred to an OB/GYN. “She knew we needed that peace of mind,” Natalie says. “We made that three-hour drive every week and each time I saw the heartbeat, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders.”
But the pregnancy stuck. And with every ultrasound, the couple could breathe a little easier.
Crespin Isaac Nathan: a miracle baby worth waiting for
On a December day in 2023, they welcomed their baby boy, Crespin Isaac Nathan Westbrook, into the world. Because of the surgery she had undergone before conceiving, Natalie’s doctor recommended a C-section to decrease the risk of uterine rupture.
“When they brought him out of the incision, he wasn’t crying at first and I was holding my breath,” she says. “But then he let out that first cry, that angry, Why did you take me out of my warm, comfy place? cry and, I just broke down into tears.”
After 13 years, they had their miracle baby. It all came down to the decision for one last try, a determined doctor and two equally persevering parents.
“I never thought I’d be grateful for the pain we went through, but I am. It’s made me appreciate every single moment with our son,” says Natalie. At the time of this writing, Crespin was 9 months old, and Natalie found it hard to put him down.
Related Reading: Why people from Nashville choose our fertility clinic.
“Sometimes, I still feel like I’m living in a dream. But it’s the best dream, one I never want to wake up from,” she says. “If our story can help even one person find the strength to keep trying, then it was all worth it.
“Don’t give up. The journey is tough, but the joy at the end makes it all worthwhile.”