AN overjoyed couple who tried for nine years to conceive a child have been given the best Christmas present they could wish for — a healthy baby girl.
Sarah Halliday, 33, and her husband Robert, 50, had virtually given up hope of becoming parents until IVF treatment, funded by her father-in-law’s inheritance money, worked at the first attempt.
The Horninglow couple started trying for a baby soon after they got married in 2002, but had one traumatic experience after another as Mrs Halliday repeatedly suffered ectopic pregnancies.
Mrs Halliday had her first ectopic pregnancy in November 2003, and another five months later.
Following three more years of trying to conceive, Mrs Halliday opted to have an operation to remove her fallopian tubes in a bid to increase her chances of conceiving. She had only one of her tubes removed but suffered another ectopic pregnancy in February 2009.
She told the Mail: “When Robert’s father was really ill he told us he wanted us to use his inheritance money to try IVF treatment.
“We tried it and were over the moon to discover it had been successful the first time. It’s like Robert’s mother and father were looking over us and it was meant to be.”
The couple started IVF treatment, with the help of specialists from Care Fertility in Nottingham, last Christmas and described it as the ‘best day of their lives’ when Mrs Halliday gave birth to Phoebe Betty — Betty the name of Robert’s mother — on October 5.
Proud mum Mrs Halliday said: “I never thought I’d be able to have children. She is a miracle.
“The last nine years have been so traumatic that we almost gave up hope, but it just goes to show that treatment can work. We were just incredibly lucky that it worked first time.
“An ectopic pregnancy is a devastating, stressful and upsetting thing to have to go through, especially three times, but people shouldn’t give up if they want a baby.
“It got to the point where I really couldn’t face it any more and I felt depressed and like I wasn’t a normal woman. It was making me feel a bit like a freak.”
The couple, who enjoy walking their dog, being outdoors and camping trips, said now Phoebe had arrived they had the perfect family, and this Christmas would be extra special.
Mrs Halliday, a civil servant, said: “During previous Christmases it’s felt like something has been missing, even though me and my husband are a strong unit. We are so excited about the future, watching her develop and grow. Every day she reaches new milestones and we feel absolutely blessed to have her.
“I still can’t believe she’s here after all this time. She is the most beautiful little girl.
“I hope my story can inspire others in the same position to keep trying and not to give up hope.”
ECTOPIC PREGNANCY — THE FACTS
DR Maha Ragunath, a consultant reproductive medicine specialist at Care Fertility in Nottingham, who helped Mr and Mrs Halliday, said an ectopic pregnancy happened when a fertilised egg implanted elsewhere in the pelvis, rather than the uterine cavity.
The chances are 11 per 1,000 pregnancies.
The commonest site for an ectopic is in the fallopian tubes. Rarely, they occur in the ovaries, abdomen or cervix.
Dr Ragunath said: “Because the embryo has implanted in the wrong place, it does not allow normal growth or a successful ongoing pregnancy. If left untreated it can result in life-threatening blood loss.
“Early diagnosis and treatment is essential.
“Treatment can be conservative or surgical, depending on the size of the ectopic and severity of symptoms. Surgical treatment is the commonest form of treatment in most cases.”
Dr Ragunath said the symptoms can range from abnormal vaginal bleeding, lower abdominal pain, dizziness or light-headedness from blood loss.
“The rupture of an ectopic pregnancy can also cause severe crampy abdominal pain and shoulder tip pain. Though the incidence in the population is approximately 0.5 to one per cent of pregnancies may become ectopic, this rises to five per cent after assisted conception.
“In women with tubal damage either following surgery or pelvic inflammatory disease, the incidence rises to 20-30 per cent.
“There is good evidence to support the removal of damaged tubes prior to fertility treatment, reducing the risk of an ectopic pregnancy in the future.
“Removing damaged tubes also prevents toxic fluid reaching the uterine cavity, which could decrease the chances of embryos implanting after IVF.”
