Mothers Celebrate at Reunion

ANAHEIM —  Some mothers came to swap stories about their pregnancies and to offer advice to other expectant women. Others came to hear those tips and to enjoy the support of their experienced cohorts.

But all of the women who attended the third annual Fertility Reunion had at least one thing in common: Their children were conceived through in-vitro fertilization or other artificial methods.

Friday was a day for them to celebrate their motherhood.

More than 130 parents and children gathered under a tent at Martin Luther Hospital for two hours to lunch with the medical staff and other women who went through the hospital’s reproductive medicine program.

Held to coincide closely with Mother’s Day, the event honored those like Erin Simon of Buena Park, who conceived twin boys 19 months ago through in-vitro fertilization.

“I tell everybody I know about the program. And I tell them not to give up. It took me six years.”

Scores of children feasted on cake and amused themselves with carousel rides and a clown act. The children ranged in age from 4 years old to 1-week-old Elena Politiski.

“I wanted her (Elena) to see all the people that helped make her,” said her father, Ridley Politiski, as he showed her off to others. “After everyone has their babies, (this is) a chance to get together and compare, find out how everyone’s delivery went.”

Politiski said he and his wife, Maria, plan to celebrate Mother’s Day by taking their newborn to a string of family parties.

Shelley Humphrey of Cypress, one of Dr. David Diaz’s first patients, returned to the reunion this year with her 2-year-old twins, Alex and Peter, to visit with others who had gone through the program at the same time she did.

“I think it’s very important just to have that support,” Humphrey said. “It’s great. This is why we’re all here, for the same reason, a miracle.”

Diaz said that since its start, the program has helped 145 patients conceive. Martin Luther is one of three hospitals in the county with a fertility program. Costs for procedures are about $10,000.

The program requires rigorous counseling sessions, fertility tests and insemination. Since frustrations and disappointments often accompany that process, supportive events like this one are important, Humphrey said.

The reunion “is very important because a lot of people have been through what we have been,” said Debbie DiTomaso of Chino Hills. “Everyone here has a little miracle, maybe two or three.”

Mary Shearing, 53, one of the oldest women to become pregnant with the help of medical technology, attended with her 6-month-old twin girls.

Hospital officials believe Shearing, who has three grown children and two grandchildren, is the oldest woman to achieve a double pregnancy via a technique that helps women become mothers even after menopause.