Couple Adopts Preemie Baby After Covid-19 Puts IVF On Hold

As the pandemic continues its grasp on the globe, everyone is feeling the effects of the current pandemic. And, one group of people who are finding this turbulent time particularly difficult are new and prospective parents.

The decision for fertility clinics across the US to stop their current operations was recommended by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. ASRM specifically recommended that treatment cycles for patients be halted in an attempt to flatten the curve during the Covid-19 pandemic, ABC reports.

One such couple who were left disappointed at this news was New York couple Nicole and Andrew Osterhout.

Mr & Mrs Osterhout were hoping to undergo IVF treatment in order to become parents; however, the recent crisis put a halt to their plans.

Nicole and Andrew Osterhout are both from big families and had always wanted to become parents since getting married eight years ago. However, after they were unsuccessful in their attempts to get pregnant, they decided to try IVF.

The couple had initially looked into adoption; however, decided to try IVF upon discovering that Andrew's health insurance covered IVF, ABC reports.

The Osterhouts received a call that there was a baby born out-of-state that was in need of adoption, and with hours of hearing that they had been selected by the birth parents, the couple made the journey to Ohio.

"Less than 72 hours from hearing '[Finn's birth parents] chose you,' we were in Ohio," Nicole told ABC.

Finnick "Finn" Gabriel Osterhout was born one-month prematurely on April 22nd. However, despite being kept in the ICU, Nicole assured that he was in good health, telling Good Morning America:

"He's healthy he just needs to gain weight and learn to bottle feed. He's a fighter. He wants to come home. Even the nurse will say that."

Due to the current Covid-19 crisis, the hospital that Finn is at has had to put in place many restrictions. However, after waiting for what must have felt like an eternity, the couple were finally able to be in the same room as Finn on Mother's day!

"The greatest Mother's Day gift was to have my family together [...] It was absolutely the most beautiful thing in the world," Nicole told GMA.

The couple are hoping to be able to return home with baby Finn. However, this will have to wait until he is healthy enough to do so, and it is safe enough to do so due to the pandemic.

It is great that the Osterhouts have managed to find a ray of positivity in this strange time, and hopefully, they will have a wonderful life with baby Finn.

h/t: ABC