Carrot member spotlight: Annie Van Roo, IVF journey in the U.S.

Annie Van Roo, Director, Customer Success at Zendesk, had just learned that her fourth round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) hadn’t been successful when her company introduced Carrot. She talked with us about getting support from Carrot’s team and how her fertility benefits made completing her family possible.

How did you first hear about Carrot?

I heard from Carrot from the benefits team at Zendesk in October 2020. Around that time, I had just learned that my fourth round of IVF did not work, so hearing about Carrot made me optimistic about trying once more to have our second child. I’m happy to share that the final round of IVF was successful!

How did Carrot impact your family-forming journey?

We had our first child after three rounds of IVF, and I knew I wanted a second child. We completed a fourth round of IVF after our son was born, and when that didn't work, I was devastated. After learning that I had this new benefit available to me, it pushed me to try one more time using the funds that were newly available to me from Zendesk.

How was your experience connecting with Carrot's Care Team?

It was easy. I made a mistake when filing for the benefit (which affected how it was taxed), and the Care Team was able to liaise with my payroll team at my company to fix the error. With other companies and services, those kinds of things can get so complicated, so I was grateful for how easy it was with Carrot.

Is there anything you would have had to do differently if you didn't have Carrot?

I may not have gone through my fifth round of IVF to have my second baby if it wasn’t for my Carrot benefit. The introduction of the benefit right after I had an IVF cycle that didn’t work could not have come at a more perfect time because it made me want to try once more. We ended up having our beautiful baby girl, and now we feel that our family is complete.

How are your company's benefits in general?

Extraordinary! The best complete benefits package at any company I've worked for.

If you want to learn more about bringing inclusive fertility benefits to your global employees, get in touch with us.

If you’re a Carrot member, sign in to your account to take the next step in your fertility journey.