Twins run in Brittany family. Her grandmother had a twin sister, and everyone joked that Brittany would be seeing double in her future, too. She’d sometimes think about the odds of having two babies, not knowing she’d suffer through years of heartbreak—just wishing for one.

“It never even entered my mind that it would be difficult, or that we’d struggle with fertility problems. We were completely unprepared for what was in store for us,” Brittany said.

In five years, the couple endured five miscarriages. And with every loss, it became harder and harder to face family and friends, who didn’t know about their private pain. It was the same questions—over and over. When are you going to have kids? What are you waiting for?

It turns out, Brittany was waiting for a diagnosis. A friend, who worked at GE, asked if she’d ever had a 3D ultrasound. She did some research and found a specialist with a Voluson™ machine. The 3D scan revealed a septate uterus—the most common uterine anomaly, linked to the poorest reproductive outcomes.

“I had never even heard of a 3D ultrasound and I talked to several doctors. No one really did any diagnostic testing,” Brittany said.

“You hear that so many miscarriages are unexplained. After living it, I wonder how many women in my situation have had a 3D ultrasound.”

That diagnosis led to an important surgery and eventually IVF. Knowing it was their best shot at having a baby, Brittany and her husband let science take the lead. At 35 years-old, Brittany was pregnant again and hoping against hope that her dream of being a mother would finally come true. But within months, her father passed away and a heartbroken Brittany miscarried again. With two embryos left, the couple had a hard decision to make: try again, knowing it could end in more pain. Or walk away.

“We didn’t really talk about IVF with family because we knew everybody would have an opinion—and we didn’t want to have that conversation,” Brittany said. “They had no idea what it was like, and we just wanted to get through it.”

On Brittany’s 10th wedding anniversary, the couple found out she was pregnant. From that point on, she started searching for physicians with GE ultrasound systems—insisting the technology was part of her care. She even switched OBGYNs in her second trimester because her doctor didn’t use Voluson.

“I wanted to make sure I was being scanned on the best possible equipment.” She added, “For me it comes down to: if you can see more, you can treat more. I think technology is a huge, huge part of a practice.”

Patient experience is also at the top of her list. Having a 3D ultrasound in her physician’s office saved Brittany valuable time—especially since her pregnancy was considered ‘high risk’ and she required regular scans.

Last year, Brittany got her happy ending with the birth of not one, but two baby girls. Twins—just like everyone predicted. But the role of technology in her desperate journey to become a mother isn’t lost on Brittany.

“What if I never had that 3D scan? Would I have my two girls? Yes, my grandma was a twin, but my babies are IVFs…they’re science babies. I’m just fortunate enough to live in a time where this can happen.”