by After Struggled To Conceive 11 Years, £55,000 Spent, Nine Unsuccessful Rounds Of IVF, Finally Welcomed Their ‘Miracle’ Baby
Rhona, 43, and Nigel Brown, 46, struggled to conceive after five years of trying naturally. They had no choice but to try IVF, but after five unsuccessful rounds – three free on the NHS, two private – they were diagnosed with low-quality eggs and sᴘᴇʀᴍ.
In 2015, they sought help from a private clinic who confirmed it would not be possible for Rhona to have her own biological baby, and that egg donation was the only option.
Rhona said: ‘We had spent so much time trying for a baby without investigating my body as medics assumed it was just Nigel.” After 10 years, she was told she had a very low egg reserve and low quality eggs – it was devastating knowing she wouldn’t be able to sustain a pregnancy with my own eggs.
She selected the same characteristics to ensure the baby looks like her – such as height, hair colour and green or blue eyes like Nigel. They had tried twice with different donors and it was third time lucky when an altruistic egg donor came along on them ninth round.
‘There were three eggs which were split into two rounds – the first time I got pregnant but I had a ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ for the second time. It was truly horrendous but we refused to give up. Even after two heartbreaking ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇs, each at seven weeks pregnant, the couple held out hope. ”
In December 2017, the parents’ last two remaining embryos were inserted in the tenth round of IVF. Then Rhona began to feel sick over Christmas. She didn’t believe she was pregnant – until a viability scan in January 2018 revealed that she was.
Rhona said: ‘I’ve never done a pregnancy test at home – it has always been a ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ test at a clinic. I had two weeks after the insemination which confirmed I was pregnant and then I was so sick throughout the festive period but I thought it was the ꜰʟᴜ. We had to wait until January for a scan as they were shut over the festive period but I never imagined to see a heartbeat. I was hyperventilating as I was so scared – we had no eggs left and I couldn’t deal with another ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ. I can’t even describe the feeling I had when they showed me the screen with a heart beating. Even the doctors and nurses were crying as they had been through all the ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴇᴀᴋ with us.’
In the summer of 2018, Kiki was born, making the 11-year wait and £55,000 spent all worth it
