November 11, 2021
“I gave birth at 43 and 46. IVF shouldn’t have worked for me, but it did. I am so grateful and don’t take anything for granted”
You often read successful stories about our patients’ IVF journeys, and they sometimes feature babies who have just been born. Other times, we tell the stories of HSFC babies who are definitely not babies anymore! We always love to hear about how much they’ve grown since they were just little embryos.
Today’s story is about Louise, her husband Davood, and their two children Florence and Caspian. Florence and Caspian were already on our website in September to announce the new school year.
To listen to Louise's interview in a podcast, please visit this page.
Finding HSFC
“It was 2015 when I found Harley Street Fertility Clinic,” starts Louise. “We were living in south London and we were with a local clinic for almost a year.”
Louise confesses she felt she wasn’t getting the answers and the guidance she was looking for at the local clinic. “I went into IVF not knowing much about it. Like many people do, I had a very open mind with lots of hopes, but I didn’t really know what was involved.”
It wasn’t long before Louise and her husband decided to look for another fertility clinic. They called Harley Street Fertility Clinic, and the rest, as they say, was history.
The consultation and the making of Florence
“We made an appointment and the treatment started within weeks. A very, very professional, helpful, caring, knowledgeable journey. We learnt so much in the first few weeks about the process, what was possible, what wasn’t possible, what could happen.”
For Louise and Davood, IVF had been their last option. Louise also knew that her cyst, (diagnosed previously at another clinic), may have been the culprit for their lack of success. After meeting Dr Venkat, Louise was told her cyst could be removed straight away. “Within half an hour it was gone,” said Louise.
Because Louise was 42 at the time, the couple were advised to start treatment straight away. Louise had egg collection not long after she started her IVF treatment. “When I woke up, I remember Dr Venkat telling me it was a huge success, 16 eggs! Marion was there too,” she recalls fondly.
“We had 3 embryos, and Florence was born the next July, 2016.”
When we asked Louise about when she was told she was pregnant, she became quite emotional: “The day that Marion told me I was pregnant, I said ‘I don’t believe it!’. I never believed it. Day after day, scan after scan, I kept saying ‘I still don’t believe it, still don’t believe it.’ The day they are born, you still don’t believe this baby is yours.”
“I had a very comfortable, healthy pregnancy. I loved being pregnant. That feeling that you’d never thought you’d feel. It was just amazing. I took every day as a blessing. A baby inside you. So special. I loved it.”
Florence arrived on a Sunday, and her mum says that, “The first 2 weeks of having her home and being a family was the best feeling in the world.”
The making of Caspian
Louise sadly miscarried in June 2018, and she and her husband gave it a few months to understand what had happened and deal with the loss. By then, they knew time was running out.
“We had frozen embryos, so we still had a chance, we still had hope. We came back to HSFC in October and we started treatment almost immediately. It involved progesterone, needles, all the tests and bloods, but it soon becomes part of your life.” Louise says she even had neighbours coming and helping with the injections. “We went into treatment quickly, became pregnant in November and he was born in July 2019!”
“I am so grateful that every time I have had a cycle, it’s worked. I know I am very, very lucky it worked for us. It worked the first time, with the first cycle. Sadly I miscarried the second time after 9 weeks, so I know the ups and downs. I know the emotions of hope and fear. Although we had Florence, I still experienced that fear and loss.”
Louise continues: “I don’t take it for granted at all. I do feel extremely lucky. Other people don’t have this success so quickly. Dr Venkat was always very helpful to me, she was amazing through the whole process - I felt like I was her only patient. You feel so looked after, so special. And all the other staff. Amazing.”
“IVF takes over your life with injections. But constantly think of the end product and what it could be. An emotional time, it really is. But the support from the clinic is amazing.”
A message for other couples
Louise has a piece of advice for other couples: “If you’ve got this far to be in conversation with the clinic, and have the choice of starting to try, I would definitely give it a go.”
Speaking about our success rates, Louise says: “Your statistics don’t say about the age I gave birth. I gave birth at 43 and 46 - it shouldn’t have worked for me, but it did. TWICE.”
It was lovely to catch up with this beautiful family and see how the two children have grown so quickly! If you’d like to find out more about IVF with HSFC, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Did you know we’re writing a book for our HSFC children?
When asked whether Florence has been told about how she came into the world, Louise admitted that she hasn’t, yet!
It was then that we revealed the exciting news that we are writing a book for all of our patient’s babies, to explain to them how they become part of their families, and ours.
Our family grows with each baby, and we are together with your family every step of the way.
