Sasha’s Decision to Pursue IVF at Hannam Fertility Centre
Sasha knew she had PCOS and fibroids, but felt like something was missing. At HFC, she learned she also had endometriosis, and found a team that validated and supported her.
Written by Corrina Allen.
Sasha and her partner arrived at Hannam Fertility Centre seeking a path to building their family. Both were experiencing issues with their fertility, but the fertility clinics they’d visited in the past had failed to provide them with a complete picture of the barriers that might be standing in the way of conception and a successful, healthy pregnancy.
HFC was the third fertility clinic that Sasha had turned to for support, but it was the first time she felt as though she was in the right place. “I didn't have great experiences,” she says of the previous clinics. “I felt like a customer, I didn't feel like a patient. There was a lack of empathy and care.”
Sasha knew that she wanted to explore IVF, but before she committed to treatment, she wanted to have a clear picture of the factors contributing to the infertility she was experiencing. In the past, clinics would pitch her a product without presenting her with a clear plan for her care.
“I was expressing things around pain in my day-to-day life,” she says, “but unfortunately, the statistics show that Black women’s pain is not treated and cared for the way other patients are. I felt like my pain was consistently downplayed. As a Black woman navigating fertility treatments, I definitely have experienced significant bias in my journey.”
“Unfortunately, the statistics show that Black women’s pain is not treated and cared for the way other patients are. ”
Sasha had received diagnoses of fibroids and PCOS (now known as PMOS) in the past, but she didn’t feel as though her doctors could definitively say that those were the issues standing in the way of conception. She’d been dealing with serious pain that she felt remained unaddressed. At HFC, under the care of Dr. Moore, Sasha finally received a diagnosis of endometriosis. For her, that changed everything.
“What I felt with Dr. Moore was an immediate connection. It was clear to me that Dr. Moore is doing this work because she cares. It was the first time somebody ever said to me, ‘I'm sorry that you're going through this.’ No one's ever said that to me before.”
“What I felt with Dr. Moore was an immediate connection. It was clear to me that Dr. Moore is doing this work because she cares. It was the first time somebody ever said to me, ‘I’m sorry that you’re going through this.’ No one’s ever said that to me before.”
Finally, Sasha felt like she had the answers that had been missing: a complete picture of her fertility health. “It was a gamechanger for me to be told, ‘This is why you're not getting pregnant. You're not crazy. You have endometriosis in your [fallopian] tubes and your ovaries. Of course you're living in pain, of course you're feeling this way.’”
With the support of her HFC team, Sasha and her partner chose to go forward with IVF. Sasha completed her egg retrieval in the spring of 2026. She and her partner are currently looking forward to undergoing an embryo transfer cycle, with the confidence that they’ll be treated with compassion and respect every step of the way.
“Half the journey is managing your stress, and you shouldn't have to deal with the stress of feeling like you are not receiving adequate care,” she says. “Hannam is a place that prioritizes care and well-being. You see yourself reflected in the patients there. No matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like, there's a sense of inclusion and belonging.”
“Hannam is a place that prioritizes care and well-being. You see yourself reflected in the patients there. No matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like, there’s a sense of inclusion and belonging. ”
