COUPLE SHARES FERTILITY STORY TO INSPIRE OTHER WOULD-BE PARENTS - And salutes “bravery of nurses during Covid”

When a couple with an IVF daughter decided to share the story of their fertility treatment to give hope to others struggling to have a baby they were also keen to highlight the courage of the medical staff who supported them during the pandemic.

Lizzie said: “We feel they were very brave, simply in carrying on doing their jobs at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine in that climate.

“We were doing everything we could to stay isolated so that Covid wouldn’t interrupt our programme, but they were having in-person encounters every working day, in a selfless effort to give would-be parents like us the chance to have the baby they so wanted.

“Obviously restrictions were in place, but that struck us as being not only dedicated, but very courageous.”

Lizzie and her husband John started trying for a baby in April 2019. Six months later, with no sign of a pregnancy, Lizzie was also noticing some changes in her periods so she consulted her GP and was referred for blood tests and an ultrasound.

The couple, who were then 29 and 41, now live in Taunton but were living in Bristol at that time so they were referred to Southmead Hospital.

Investigations revealed Lizzie was suffering from severe endometriosis, so she was put on a waiting list to see a consultant but was dismayed to find the first available appointment wasn’t until April 2020.

Lizzie said: “That seemed so far away, which is ironic given how long it took us to eventually have a baby, but it spurred us into making the decision to pursue treatment privately.”

Lizzie’s subsequent operation to remove excess tissue caused by her condition took place in February 2020 and left the couple in no doubt that they would need fertility treatment to have a baby - because the surgeon had discovered both her fallopian tubes needed to be removed during the procedure.

The couple wasted no time getting the ball rolling after that and went to an open evening at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM) in March 2020, followed by an online consultation with the clinic’s medical director Valentine Akande on 24 March – immediately after which the UK went into lockdown due to Covid.

Lizzie said: “We were supplied with at-home blood tests, but otherwise Covid meant everything ground to a halt until June when fertility clinics were able to resume some limited services.

“Eventually we were able to start our IVF treatment and on 22 July I had my first egg collection.

“We were bitterly disappointed that one of my ovaries could not be accessed due to regrowth from the endometriosis which had occurred during the months since my surgery, and so they ended up retrieving only two eggs.

“One of these progressed to become a blastocyst, so I had a fresh transfer which resulted in a pregnancy, but sadly my viability scan showed a low heartbeat and a small sac – it was clear this baby was not going to make it. We were devastated.

“I was going to need another round of IVF, and in the meantime my endo was causing my insides to start gluing themselves back together, so in March I had another endo operation as a necessary precursor to re-starting IVF.

“Having gained greater insight into my personal condition, the consultant was able to develop a protocol for me which took account of my upcoming fertility treatment, and also ensured a stitch was inserted which meant my second ovary was accessible for future egg retrievals.

“By late March I had made a good recovery and we restarted our IVF.

“On 2 May the team at BCRM successfully retrieved six eggs, reporting five days later that four of these had developed into blastocysts.

“We felt like we’d hit the jackpot at last, but the first transfer – a fresh blastocyst – didn’t result in a pregnancy.

“So in early July we had one of the frozen blastocysts transferred.

“By now, the Covid restrictions were far fewer and John was able to be with me for the transfer, which was wonderful.

“And the end result was the arrival of our beautiful daughter, Ada, in April 2022.

“We feel so blessed to have this cheeky, chatty, funny little girl as our daughter. Everybody loves her and we are so grateful every day that we were finally able to have the family we dreamed of.

“The timing of our need for IVF was unfortunate – it’s never any easy road to travel, but going through it against a background of stringent Covid restrictions made everything so much harder. I felt so bad that John was excluded from many of the appointments – it was tough for both of us.

“I know it must have been much worse for those people who actually had treatment interrupted, even so, being put ‘on hold’ indefinitely was also very hard.

“But we would like to send the most enormous ‘thank you’ to the team at BCRM, who could not have been more supportive.

“We honestly don’t think there was anything they could have done better.

“The nurses who supported me throughout the procedures and my disappointments with the first cycle, were just amazing, comforting me and supporting me in every possible way.

“And the consultants we saw were consistently professional and friendly, inspiring confidence without over-promising, and keen to help and answer all our questions. We always felt we knew where we were with them. All fertility patients should have service of this quality.”

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