PARENTS' JOY AFTER FIRST ATTEMPT AT MEDICALLY ASSISTED FERTILIZATION

PRIJEDOR, AUGUST 28 /SRNA/ – After years of unsuccessful attempts to become parents naturally, without any clear causes or specific reasons, married couple Sandra and Nikola Ninić welcomed their baby Sofia on August 8, following their first attempt at medically assisted fertilization.

"Sofia is a calm and good baby, not demanding at all. She is the joy in her mom and dad's hearts," Sandra, a 36-year-old woman from Prijedor who lives in Banja Luka, told SRNA. Sandra and Nikola had previously learned that the Republika Srpska Government and the Republika Srpska Health Insurance Fund cover several attempts at in vitro fertilization, and in November last year they decided to pursue their chance of becoming parents through this procedure. "We contacted the Mediko S gynecology clinic, which cooperates with the Health Insurance Fund and performs this procedure. Its friendly staff explained the entire medical preparation process to us. After gathering the necessary medical documentation and receiving approval from the Fund, we began the procedure," Sandra recalls. The entire process went smoothly. "In addition to the support my husband and I gave each other, we also had the support of the doctor who monitored the procedure, as well as the entire staff at Mediko S," Sandra adds. The costs of the in vitro fertilization procedure were fully covered by the Republika Srpska Health Insurance Fund, meaning the prospective parents were not required to make any financial contribution. "That meant a lot to us, because without this opportunity, we would probably have had to finance the attempt to become parents through a loan. That is not easy at all, because imagine having to finance something in addition to your everyday living expenses that you had always imagined would happen completely naturally," Sandra emphasizes. The pregnancy was challenging and much more complicated than the fertilization process itself. "Thanks to the doctor at the Republika Srpska University Clinical Centre, who monitored the pregnancy with great care, we managed to overcome all the obstacles," Sandra stressed. Sandra and Nikola expressed their gratitude to the Republika Srpska Government and the Republika Srpska Health Insurance Fund for supporting young people in this way in their desire and intention to take on the most important role in their lives – the role of a parent. "Thank you for the greatest happiness in life. Only now, after becoming parents, do we see that nothing is more important or more valuable than a child. We also want to encourage all couples who are in the same or a similar situation to take advantage of the opportunity for free attempts and begin the process, because there truly is nothing more valuable than the feelings that come with being a parent," Sandra said.