As a same-sex couple, Anna Marie and Michelle Carreno-Bolong knew they would need assisted reproduction to fulfill their dream of becoming parents. Married for two years, the thirtysomething women love kids and are surrounded by them as owners of a children’s gym in Redondo Beach.
In 2014, they excitedly decided to start their journey to parenthood and made several appointments with an Orange County fertility specialist. They were disappointed, however, when they did not feel the compassion they were seeking from a fertility practice. They decided to switch doctors after hearing about HRC Fertility and finding Dr. Jane Frederick after researching doctors.
“Right from the start, I knew we’d made the right choice,” Anna Marie recalls. “Dr. Frederick exuded warmth and kindness.”
Their journey was not without disappointments. Michelle failed to get pregnant after several IUIs and the couple suffered a devastating loss after Anna Marie miscarried after her first IUI. Still, the couple never lost faith in Dr. Frederick’s team and in their own resilience.
Says Anna Marie, “The staff was genuine in their emotions and were excellent communicators, always making us feel like part of their family. When we suffered the heartbreak of the miscarriage, they gave us space to mourn the loss and prepare ourselves emotionally and physically before moving on to IVF. This allowed us to dust off our shoulders and begin again.”
After their break, they returned to HRC in February 2015 to undergo an IVF cycle. Because they didn’t want to experience more losses, Anna Marie and Michelle decided to have genetic testing performed on their embryos. Two beautiful embryos were transferred, which led to the birth of their eight-month-old twins.
The couple feel forever blessed for the gift of their two precious little ones, but also extremely fortunate they selected HRC and Dr. Frederick’s team to make their dreams come true. Their experiences between the two clinics were like night and day–and they’ve already recommended HRC Fertility to one friend, who will be undergoing reciprocal IVF.
They named their son Leonardo Sol and their daughter Josefina Luna; their middle names mean sun and moon for the children who light up their lives.