My husband and I had always wanted children, so like many couples who battle with fertility issues, we were surprised when we found out that we were going to need help to get pregnant.

We had been trying to have a child for two years naturally before we decided to get tested at London Women’s Clinic and see if there was anything wrong. This is when we found out that my husband’s sperm had a low morphology rate, and my irregular periods signalled that something else was wrong too.

We qualified for three rounds of IUI, but none of them ended in a positive pregnancy test. This was quite a difficult experience, but it taught us a lot about the fertility process and how my body reacts to the medication, so we tried to look on the brighter side.

We followed up with the NHS again and spent 6 months undergoing clomid-only cycles that seemed ill-suited to us, so we were extremely grateful when we were once again referred back to London Women’s Clinic.

Beginning IVF with ICSI at London Women’s Clinic, we were rather optimistic considering how positive our experience had been previously – despite the outcomes. We began IVF almost immediately and had our fresh cycle transferred, with our remaining embryos frozen for later use. The clinic had advised me against taking a pregnancy test at home, but I did anyway, and had our first positive test result. However, it wasn’t meant to be. A few days later my blood was tested at the clinic and they told us that it looked like it was a chemical pregnancy.

This broke our hearts as we had never heard of this before, and we had been so happy the days before celebrating our positive result. But the staff at the clinic were extremely understanding and told us to take some time before we were ready to use our frozen embryos.

Our first frozen embryo transfer resulted in another chemical pregnancy. This was just as difficult to process as our fresh cycle, so we took some time off from all the treatments. When we returned, we had our second frozen embryo transfer. The clinic called to advise us that our levels were low, and that we would need to return in a few days for another blood test to see if I was pregnant. A few days later when our second test results came back, we found that my levels had almost doubled. I was pregnant!

This was such an incredible moment as we had gone through so much heartbreak. I experienced some bleeding around the 5-week mark, but after some tests with the NHS, they told us that everything was okay. At our 7-week scan, we were also told by the clinic that our baby was doing fine and that they could see a heartbeat. We truly thought that I was in the clear, which was why it was so difficult when I miscarried at 8 weeks.

This was the hardest time of our lives. We called the clinic and spoke to the doctors, and they were very sympathetic. They advised us to take as much time as we needed before returning to the clinic to look at our last two frozen embryos.

It wasn’t easy, but we picked ourselves back up and returned to the clinic for another transfer. This time, I decided to transfer both of the remaining embryos together as I wanted to increase the chances of one of them working. Following our final frozen embryo transfer, we had a strong positive pregnancy test result! Our scan showed one baby heart beating away.

At the 11-week mark, I started bleeding heavily. I told myself that this was another miscarriage and prepared myself for the worst. However, it turned out to be a haematoma outside the pregnancy sac. The bleeding continued for another 5 weeks, which was one of the most nerve-racking times of my life. Every day I was worried that I would lose my baby.

However, our strong little embryo turned into our miracle rainbow baby that we have today!

Our daughter was delivered by emergency caesarean in September 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. Now, at 10 months old, she has completely changed our lives for the better and we couldn’t be happier.

We’re so grateful for our rainbow baby and are even looking to bring her a brother or sister in the future!

My advice to other women in similar situations would be to never give up hope. After experiencing a miscarriage, I struggled to think it was possible that we would end up with the family we so desperately wanted. It really is an emotional rollercoaster, but we received so much support from the clinic and the staff which helped make it easier. It was one of the hardest journeys of my life, but it is so worth it in the end.

If you are struggling with your fertility and are looking to seek treatment with London Women's Clinic, please contact a friendly member of our enquiries team on 02075634309 to find out more.