A note from Fertilia: What follows is Divya’s journey in her own voice. We have left out the names of the clinics and doctors she saw over the years, out of respect for everyone’s privacy. The rest is hers to tell.
My name is Divya Nandini. I am 33 years old, I help run our family business, and a little while ago, after fifteen years of waiting, I became a mother.
I want to write this down because for most of those fifteen years, I did not believe this sentence would ever be true for me. If you are somewhere in the middle of your own long wait, maybe my story will sit with you for a while.
Fifteen Years of Waiting
My husband and I married fifteen years ago. We were young, and like everyone around us, we assumed a baby would come when it was meant to. It did not.
I have PCOS, and I have had hypothyroidism for years, the kind that needed my thyroid tablets to keep going up over time. Both of these make conceiving harder, and together they shaped almost everything about my journey.
So we began the long road that so many couples quietly walk. There were follicular studies and folic acid in the early years. There were IUI cycles, more than one, across different years. There was a surgery for my PCOS. In 2016 we went through a full IVF cycle. Fifteen eggs were collected, embryos were transferred, and we waited with everything we had. The test was negative.
In between, there were flickers of hope that did not hold. One year a pregnancy began but turned out to be a blighted ovum, and my period came late and heavy. Another year I conceived on my own, and again it did not continue. Each time, my body would eventually bring my period back, forty days later, as if quietly closing a door.
The last attempt before Fertilia was a frozen embryo transfer in early 2024. It was also negative.
By then I had stopped counting the years out loud. Fifteen years is a long time to hope on a monthly cycle. I was tired in a way that does not show on the outside.
Why My Weight Became Part of the Plan
Somewhere along the way, my weight had climbed past 100 kg. With PCOS and an underactive thyroid, it had crept up steadily, and no amount of being upset about it had moved it.
When I was getting ready for my next embryo transfer, the advice I received was clear and kind. Before we tried again, it would help to bring my weight down. A lighter, healthier body gives an embryo transfer a better chance, and it would be better for me and for a pregnancy too. My eggs had already been retrieved. The transfer was the step ahead of me. The window in between was the chance to prepare.
That is what brought me to Dr. Suganya and the Fertilia team. Not to replace my fertility treatment, but to get my body as ready as it could be for the transfer that was coming.
The Three Months That Changed the Number
I had tried to lose weight before and failed, more than once. What was different this time was that I was not doing it alone, and the plan was built for my actual life.
My meals were planned around the food we already eat at home. I am non-vegetarian, and nothing exotic was forced on me. It was an anti-inflammatory, lower-calorie plan, around 1200 calories a day for me with plenty of protein, close to 75 grams, and three litres of water. My husband was put on his own plan too, a little higher than mine, and that mattered more than I expected. Doing it together meant no separate cooking and no feeling alone at the dinner table.
Every week there was a review. Someone checked in on what I ate, my water, my sleep, my walking, and how I was feeling. On one of those early weeks I wrote back the truest thing I felt about the whole program: it was “very nice to have someone to motivate and give a push.” That push is what I had been missing all those years.
I also kept moving. Some days that meant a proper walk, and my watch would show me the steps adding up.
It was not a perfect three months. Relatives came and stayed, and some weeks I could not exercise the way I wanted. I love seasonal fruits, and giving up some of them was hard. There were weeks the number barely moved, and one week it even went up a little. Nobody scolded me. They just helped me start again the next week.
Watching the Number Come Down
Slowly, the scale began to tell a different story. I had not seen these numbers in years.
It went down, week by week: 102.6, then 101.1, 100.1, 98.9, 97.8, 96.8, 95.9, 94.1, and finally around 92.5. About 10 kg in three months.
But the number was not even the best part. My hair fall, which had worried me for a long time, reduced so much that I kept telling them about it. A dress that had stopped fitting fit me again. Small things, except they were not small to me. For the first time in years, my body felt like it was on my side.
If you are preparing for IVF or IUI and have been told to work on your weight first, you do not have to do it alone. Message Dr. Suganya on WhatsApp and tell her where you are in your journey. She will read it herself and tell you whether our team can help you get ready.
Talk to Dr. Suganya on WhatsApp
The Day the Wait Ended
When my body was ready, I went ahead with my embryo transfer.
This time was different. I still remember the message I sent that day, because I had waited fifteen years to be able to send it: “Finally today the dream day come for me, ET was success.” The scan was good. There was a heartbeat.
A few weeks later I wrote again, and this time the words came out in a rush of relief: “my waiting over 15 years is fulfilled today, I am pregnant.” My growth and heartbeat scan was good. After everything, it was finally happening.
I carried my pregnancy with the team still beside me, and then, after fifteen years, I delivered my baby.
I do not have the words for that morning. I just sent them a photo and a “good morning,” because they had been there for the hardest part of the road, and I wanted them to see how it ended.
What I Want to Say to Other Women
If you are still waiting, I am not going to tell you it is easy, because it was not. Fifteen years taught me that hope and tiredness can live in the same body at the same time.
But I learned something in those last three months that I wish I had known earlier. Sometimes the missing piece is not another procedure. Sometimes it is getting your own body ready so the procedure has its best chance. Losing that weight did not guarantee anything, and every journey is different. What it did was give my transfer the strongest possible start, and give me back a feeling of control I had lost years ago.
You are not failing because it has taken long. You are still on the road. And the road can still turn.
To Dr. Suganya and the whole team, the gratitude I wrote to them then is still true: thank you for your support, not just on the weight, but on my whole pregnancy journey. You helped a person like me get to enjoy motherhood.
Divya’s three months of weight preparation were the lifestyle layer that sat alongside her fertility treatment, not a replacement for it. Her embryo transfer and IVF care were managed by her own fertility team. If preparing your body before a cycle is where you are, the 90-day IVF support program brings the nutrition, movement, and clinical guidance into one plan. You can message us on WhatsApp to talk it through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a real patient story?
Yes. This is a real Fertilia journey, told by the patient herself. The clinical details, weight numbers, and outcome are from her actual experience. The names of the hospitals and doctors involved in her fertility treatment have been left out for privacy.
Why does losing weight before an embryo transfer matter?
Carrying excess weight, especially with PCOS, is associated with lower success rates in IVF and embryo transfer cycles and with higher risks during pregnancy. Bringing weight into a healthier range before a transfer can improve the odds of the cycle working and make for a safer pregnancy. The amount of weight that helps is individual, and it is a conversation to have with your fertility team. You can read more in our guide on how to prepare your body for IUI or IVF.
How much weight did Divya lose, and how quickly?
She went from about 102.6 kg to around 92.5 kg over three months, roughly 10 kg, through a calorie-controlled anti-inflammatory diet built on her usual home food, three litres of water a day, and walking. It was gradual and steady, not a crash diet, which is what makes it sustainable and safe before a pregnancy.
Can you lose weight with PCOS and hypothyroidism?
Yes, though both conditions can make it slower and more frustrating. The key is a plan that accounts for them, with the thyroid properly treated and medication optimised by your doctor, balanced meals, enough protein, and movement you can sustain. We have written more about why weight loss is harder with PCOS and what actually helps.
Did the weight loss alone make her pregnant?
No. Divya’s pregnancy came through an embryo transfer managed by her fertility team. The weight loss prepared her body to give that transfer its best chance and to support a healthier pregnancy. It was one important piece of a much longer medical journey, not a substitute for it.
Does Fertilia replace my fertility clinic or IVF doctor?
No. We work alongside your existing fertility specialist, never in place of them. Our role is the lifestyle layer: nutrition, weight, movement, and the steady support between appointments. Your IVF or IUI treatment stays with your fertility team. You can see how this works across different women in our IVF support journeys.
I have been trying for years. Is it worth preparing like this now?
Many women feel that after years of trying, there is no point in adding one more thing. But getting your body into its healthiest possible state before your next cycle is one of the few things genuinely within your control, and it can change the odds. If you would like to talk about your own situation, message Dr. Suganya on WhatsApp and she will tell you honestly whether preparation would help you.
If any part of Divya’s story felt like your own, that is reason enough to reach out. You do not need to have run out of options. You just need to want a body that is ready for the next step.
Message Dr. Suganya on WhatsApp
She will read your message herself and tell you what the right next step is for you.
