JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Women hoping to become mothers could get more help as President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could reduce the costs of in vitro fertilization.
RELATED: Trump has signed an executive order on IVF. Here’s what you should know about the procedure
Local mothers are happy about the opportunity, like Katy Pujadas, who was not initially on board with IVF.
“I was terrified even what IVF was and when you are trying to get pregnant it doesn’t even cross your mind that you would have to do,” Pujadas said. “That would never happen to me.”
However, IVF worked after trying without a successful pregnancy.
“We ended up making our decision, and we came here. I am biased because it worked, but I’ll say it didn’t at first; it took a couple of transfers. It was hard, but it was so worth it,” Pujadas said.
Now she is a mother of one, and she and her husband are expecting another baby on the way.
Her doctor, Dr. Samuel Brown, believes the executive order could help a lot of families.
“It makes us all very excited at a fertility center, one of the major problems with fertility is access,” Brown said.
IVF is a process where drugs are used to help the mother produce more than one egg at a time. Then, it’s fertilized with the sperm to create an embryo. That embryo is placed in the mom, and she becomes pregnant.
The typical cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000.
“The cost is astronomical and then praying your insurance covers it, usually it doesn’t and on top of that you have medications and these aren’t your medications you get at a pharmacy, they are expensive,” Pujadas said.
Regardless of which IVF center you choose, the costs are about the same.
The order was issued in February, and the administration has 90 days to come up with a new plan. That plan could bring more hope for thousands of mothers.
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