Woman who lost 13 babies to miscarriages gives birth to adorable girl: 'I can't believe she's actually mine'
Laura Worsley, who suffered a total of 13 miscarriages, finally gave birth to a girl all thanks to a fertility expert's pioneering work.
Eleven of Worsley's pregnancies came to an end in the first trimester, she also lost two boys at 17 and 20 weeks.
Professor Siobhan Quenby then discovered that she was suffering from two conditions that affected her ability to give birth.
Worsley and her husband Dave got pregnant for the 14th time with the help of Prof Quenby and her team. They named their daughter Ivy. "Even now, nine months on, I can't believe she's actually mine," 39-year-old Worsely revealed.
BBC reports that Worsley was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome. “We were told a high dose of folic acid might sort it, but it didn’t,” said Worsley. “We took part in trials, did all the tests and tried different medications, hoping something would work.”
“I don’t know how I coped, to be honest. Dave stayed strong for me but when we lost the boys, he really struggled with that. It was all I lived for - I lost years of my life. I just thought, if I can't have a baby I don't see a point in my life."
After the failed treatment, she was diagnosed with Chronic Histiocytic Intervillositis, which doesn't allow the body to produce a child.
“It was causing my placenta to die in places,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to try again. But Professor Quenby said she had helped women with this successfully. I thought if there’s that one bit of hope, I had to try again. I spoke to Dave about it and he felt the same.”
Worsely added that, during the 14th attempt, she told herself “this is the last time I’m doing this.”
After she took the medication to improve the lining of her womb, the couple conceived naturally for the 14th time.
When Worsley gave birth to her daughter, the newborn was taken to a neonatal incubator in intensive care and doctors warned the couple that she could develop sepsis.
“I just thought she’s a fighter. She just kept going forward all the time, she never went back,” said Worsley. After spending 11 weeks in the hospital, Ivy was finally able to go home.
Worsley revealed that she wants other women who are struggling to conceive to not lose hope.