Elena BorshchevaPhoto:TNT ChannelMy husband and I (Valery Yushkevich, a fitness trainer. – Ed. “Antenna”) didn’t want our daughter Marta (she was born in 2007) to grow up alone and for there to be a big age difference between our children. That’s why, a few years after the birth of our first child, we started planning a second child. It didn’t work out for a long time. I was shocked. After all, everything went smoothly with the first pregnancy, there were no problems. But here… My husband’s health is fine, and so am I, it seems, but we couldn’t conceive a child. We started going to clinics, consulting with doctors. I’ve been through a lot over the years. I’ve had a ton of tests, and I’ve had several surgeries. Then Valera and I finally decided to try IVF (in vitro fertilization. – Ed. “Antenna”). We chose a clinic on the recommendation of friends, and they also recommended a good specialist to us. We tried once. Twice. Three times. All unsuccessfully. It's scary to remember how much money was spent. There is a state IVF program, but it is designed for childless couples. If you already have one child, you can't use it. But money is okay, I felt for myself how hard it is to survive a state of hopelessness. The moral burden is incredible - at some point you just give up. You think, that's it, you won't have more children. And you try to come to terms with it.