Research shows that one in every eight couples in the United States will fight infertility. This is partly responsible for the rise in IVF, which has increased by 11% over the past two years. However, mixing the drug and self-injected hormones is one of the most stressful and unpleasant parts of the process.
Boston nurse practitioner Alexa Nicholls Costa hopes to help struggling infertile couples by assisting numerous in vitro fertilization injections.
Costa, a board-certified nurse practitioner, said: “Just realize how crazy it is to give us a drug box to a patient box for fertility treatment.
What does it feel like to pass IVF?
Costa Rica knows she surrounds the needle. She is the co-founder and CEO of Lexrx, an aesthetic injection exercise that has three locations in Boston and one in Nantucket. She is also a mother of two. Her daughter Capri is an IVF miracle.
“I’ve been panicking and going home for a while, mixing the medications correctly, storing them correctly, and making an appointment on time. There’s really a lot to do – it consumes, and it really affects your day-to-day work.”
Costa found himself rescheduling many of his own patients to keep the injections and the doctor’s date. The initial timing headache turned into something that didn’t mean much to Costa Rica and the people she treated.
Help others access IVF
“They would say, ‘Oh, you have a date? What are you doing?’ I became very transparent with my client base and went through IVF treatment, hoping to have a second child who opened up a conversation for my patient base. Time consuming. Their heartbreak really talked to me. “They almost wanted to ask, would I be willing to give it an injection?” I do their Botox treatment and I provide them with other services. They trust me with syringes and needles. For me, it felt like the best way to really help my own clients go through this journey. ”
So Costa started seeing patients a few hours later, helping to inject hormones completely free of charge.
To date, she has provided IVF injections to more than 15 patients – all of whom have successfully given birth to happy, healthy babies.
IVF injection anxiety
One of them happens to be her cousin Marisa Penta.
Penta and her wife both went through an IVF cycle, hoping to get pregnant, tried to handle the injections themselves, and eventually turned to Alexa.
“Bruises happen when you inject yourself and hit somewhere inside your body,” Peta said.
When asked about the feeling of having someone else do the injection, Penta described it as “lifting weights is like being lifted.”
“It’s a lot of lenses, a lot of blood sucking, a lot of ultrasound. People get out of the first place of this process, and that’s a very difficult reason,” said Dr. Pietro Bortoletto, co-founder of Terra Priftility, Dedham.
“To paint a picture for you: When patients start the IVF process, they get a box at home with needles, syringes, medications. If I feel overwhelmed with Alexa, I can’t imagine what it would be like for the average patient,” Bortoletto said.
That’s why Bortoletto and Costa are now working to make the process feel overwhelmed. Their plan: Relieve the stress of patients by sending trained nurses to the injection.
If they hadn’t had Alexa, Penta and her wife would certainly turn. They recently celebrated their daughter Ricci’s first birthday, and Penta said she won’t change anything.
“Years infertility – it’s worth it for her,” Penta said.
