Mom of 5 chooses pregnancy one more time after fertility clinic asks about her leftover embryos
A family is continuing to grow 13 years after freezing some lucky embryos at an IVF clinic.
Tanis Larson and her husband Dave Larson unsuccessfully tried to have a baby for two years — and in 2010, the Canadian pair ultimately elected to undergo an in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, SWNS reported.
Through that process, Tanis Larson wound up with 13 healthy embryos to start her family.
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"Because my husband and I were both in our 30s, we figured we'd better start the process sooner rather than later," she recalled.
On the first embryo transfer, Tanis Larson became pregnant.
Tanis Larson is pregnant for the sixth time — this time with an embryo that she and her husband made in 2010. (SWNS)
"It was just an amazing feeling to find out we were pregnant," she said, as SWNS reported.
In August 2011, Tanis Larson became a mom to her firstborn son, Kai, in Calgary, Canada.
After 13 months, the Larsons went back to the fertility clinic to have another embryo implanted.
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"We knew we had so many embryos, so we wanted to use them, and we wanted to have three children," she recalled.
After using two embryos for a better chance of implantation, the Larsons welcomed a baby boy named Cruz in January 2014.
Tanis and Dave Larson on the transfer day of their last two frozen embryos. They had the IVF procedure done in 2010. (SWNS)
This cycle continued a year later when the Larsons did another embryo transfer — and became pregnant for a third time.
Their son Clay was born in May 2016 — making all three pregnancies from the same batch of initial embryos.
The Larsons continued on with their life — including renovating a four-bedroom home — when Tanis Larson found out she had conceived naturally.
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"It was the most amazing feeling, the fact [that] I was 39 and all of [a] sudden we became pregnant on our own," she told SWNS.
Their fourth child, a girl named Suzy, was born in Jan. 2019 — but she would not be the last.
Tanis and Dave Larson wanted three children initially — now, they're looking forward to welcoming their sixth child soon. (SWNS)
In May 2021, the Larsons welcomed their fifth child, also conceived naturally, a girl named Summer who has Down syndrome.
"Dave was like, ‘You can’t be serious, this is not happening now [when] we have this house and two extra kids," Tanis Larson recalled of her husband’s reaction to her fifth pregnancy announcement.
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The family was fully content with their group — more than they planned or dreamed could happen, they said.
Tanis and Dave Larson of Canada currently have five children and are now preparing for their sixth. (SWNS)
However, a 2023 phone call from the infertility clinic changed their minds yet again.
The clinic was calling the Larsons to see what they wanted done with their two leftover embryos that had been frozen since 2010.
Said Tanis Larson, "We had two left, and my husband and I thought about it for a while and decided to go through with it."
Currently, at about 32 weeks pregnant and 44 years old, Tanis Larson is expecting her fourth boy — so all four of her boys will have come from the same IVF treatment in 2010.
The Larsons transferred their last two embryos in 2023 and are now expecting their sixth child. (SWNS)
"Moms who want a family should never give up," Tanis Larson told SWNS.
She added, "I want to give moms hope."
Fox News Digital reached out to Tanis Larson for further comment.
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Larson has received backlash online for having more children after giving birth to a child with Down's syndrome.
Dr. Mickey Coffler, a board certified reproductive endocrinologist at HRC Fertility, told Fox News Digital that the chromosomal abnormality risk remains the same as it was when Larson was 31 years old and going through IVF treatment.
A mom of five is pregnant again with an embryo from her first IVF treatment 13 years ago. (SWNS)
"However, there are potential health considerations associated with later-in-life pregnancy, such as increased risk of hypertension, gestational diabetes and C-section delivery," he noted.
The California-based doctor said the couple, however, could have chosen to do preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) on the thawed embryos before transfer.
"Fortunately, embryo cryopreservation offers extended storage without known chromosomal abnormality risks related to storage duration," he noted.
Debates over IVF in the U.S. have been in the news recently. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill into law last week protecting IVF treatments after a February decision by the state Supreme Court led some fertility clinics to pause their procedures.
Larson is pregnant with her sixth child. It's her fourth pregnancy from the same batch of embryos created in 2010. (SWNS)
Senate Bill 159, a bipartisan piece of legislation, was met with heavy support from state lawmakers and quickly moved through the legislature to ensure clinics could resume operations for IVF patients.
"Alabama works to foster a culture of life, and that certainly includes IVF."
"Alabama works to foster a culture of life, and that certainly includes IVF," Ivey said in a statement Wednesday night.
"I am pleased to sign this important, short-term measure into law so that couples in Alabama hoping and praying to be parents can grow their families through IVF."
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The law is designed to protect medical professionals from civil and criminal immunity in case of unintentional death or damage to an embryo following a ruling made by the state Supreme Court allowing three couples who lost frozen embryos during a mishap at a storage facility to file for wrongful death claims.
Ivey also said she understands IVF is a "complex issue" and that she anticipates "there will be more work to come."
Elizabeth Pritchett of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
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