"We knew Dr Venkat and her team would hold our hand through this journey."
An ectopic pregnancy happens to around 1 in every 90 women and yet just isn’t spoken about enough. Emily’s story starts with a heart-breaking beginning when she and her partner started trying for a baby in 2015 but sadly, Emily suffered a devastating ruptured ectopic pregnancy, which changed the course of her fertility journey…
What is an ectopic pregnancy?
An ovarian ectopic pregnancy occurs when a baby grows inside a women’s fallopian tube. Babies are unable to survive here and often by the time this is discovered, the tube is completely ruptured. And for the health of the mother, the tube would have to be removed immediately.
Luckily, the chances of a future successful pregnancy are good. 65% of women can become pregnant within just 18 months of an ectopic pregnancy.
The next steps
When Emily and her husband felt they were emotionally ready to try for a baby again, they had been assured by professionals that she would be able to conceive but Emily was worried about only having one fallopian tube. A few months later, the couple had some NHS tests done to check her hormone levels and ovulation.
But Emily knew something wasn’t right with her body and so made the decision to start looking for a fertility clinic.
Choosing Harley Street Fertility Clinic
The family started to look at private IVF clinics and began visiting a number of them to see which best suited them. Emily recalls that HSFC held an open evening and when she heard Dr Venkat speak about what we can offer our patients, it put her at ease right away. Emily says that the reason they decided to go proceed with us was down to Dr Venkat.
‘She made everyone feel so comfortable with the treatment packages that were offered. I really got the feeling that after the road we had been down with the ectopic pregnancy, she [Dr Venkat] and her staff would hold our hands through this journey. We really needed that! …Hearing her speak and the way she is able to put people at ease sets the clinic apart.”
Emily’s IVF journey with HSFC
Emily and her partner had a very successful first round of IVF with us here at the Harley Street Fertility Clinic. Her individualised treatment resulted in many eggs being collected and the embryology team created 11 perfect embryos that all made it to day 5.
Today, Emily and her husband are now the proud parents of Melissa, now 4, and baby Dylan. Emily remembers when she came into the clinic with her new family, Dr Venkat rushed over and was so thrilled to see them all, she even called over other staff members too.
“All of the team looked so genuinely happy to meet my children and be a part of our journey. Dr Venkat really does go above and beyond, and her team have done a spectacular job.”
This is what makes HSFC so special, the relationship between our team of specialists and all their patients. Our doctors see all families throughout their entire fertility journey with us and build strong, lifelong bonds, making sure all our patients get a fighting chance to become parents, and it is this ethos that is truly at the heart of everything we do here at Harley Street.
Do the children know about their creation?
Coming from an adoptive family herself, Emily believes that being upfront with children about their creation is really important. She intends to explain to both Melissa and Dylan how they were created, as soon as they’re old enough to understand.
If you are reading this and also wondering how you can talk to your own children about Itheir creation using IVF, then look no further than ‘The Wonderful You: An IVF Story’, written by our very own Delia Corol, Head of Marketing.
A final message
‘IVF sounds daunting- and it can be. That’s why it was so important to read up about everything we could and took the time to understand all of the steps in the process. I would definitely recommend anyone looking to start IVF do this.’
We thank Emily for sharing her story about her journey to motherhood with us and wish her and her beautiful family all the best for the future.
Contact Us
If after reading Emily’s story you would like to speak to us, or attend one of our free webinar events, please visit our dedicated page here. We now hold monthly webinars where Dr Venkat and the team will discuss different elements of IVF from egg sharing to IUI. And if you require support about an ectopic pregnancy, please do reach out to The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.
