I’m Naomi and I’m a mum to four- year-old Toby and our angel babies Rory and Henry.
We started trying for a baby in July 2006 when I was in my mid-20s, and in September 2008 we started IVF. Midway through treatment a scan showed that my ovaries had overreacted to the hormone injections and there was a high risk of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OHSS) if we carried on so the treatment was abandoned.
In January 2009 we started our second attempt at treatment; my drugs had been adjusted because of how my ovaries had reacted last time. We managed to get some eggs, slightly less than we’d had hoped, but some was better than none. The next day we had a phone call to say that not many eggs had fertilised and they would call the next day with an update. The phone call came and I was told to come to the clinic as soon as possible for embryo transfer as only one had survived so the best course of action was to put it back where it belonged. This was the closest we’d ever been to being pregnant but it wasn’t to be.
Our third attempt was in the summer of 2009, everything went according to plan with a good number of follicles showing at each scan, and about 30 eggs collected. Before going home after the egg collection we were advised that our embryos would have to be frozen as I was again at risk of developing OHSS. We went back at the end of October 2009 and had our embryos defrosted. A few didn’t make it through the first day but there were two looking good for a day three transfer. About an hour before the embryo transfer appointment I had a phone call to say that the embryos had failed to develop overnight, they had defrosted two more but they weren’t looking good either. We were in the same position as last time and we had two embryos put back. This treatment was unsuccessful and we were really sad as everyone around us seemed to be having babies.
Emotionally drained after three and a half years of trying for a baby, I convinced my husband to have a break from treatment. We went to lots of concerts and shows, had a holiday and generally tried to pretend all was well even though there was this huge hole in our lives. All the while friend after friend had happily announced their pregnancies and we were running out of excuses for not going to see the babies; it was all just too painful.
At the end of summer 2010 I was ready to try in vitro maturation (IVM) at a different clinic and we hoped for a better outcome. The egg collection day arrived and they collected a fair number of eggs, hubby did his bit and we were sent home. The clinic had a policy of only doing transfers on day five: this allowed the best embryos to be chosen.
We had daily phone updates and things were looking okay for a couple of days until I had a call to say that all our embryos had stopped developing: there was nothing to put back. The doctor said I had poor quality eggs and embryos, and confirmed my suspicion that donor eggs may be the answer.