Fertility Road Issue 06

READER STORY | letter from the heart
‘‘
LETTER
FROM THE
HEART:
ANITA’S
STORY
Anita tells Fertility Road about her
personal race against the clock
and her dreams of having a family
Imet my husband when I was 30. During our courting
days, we would often talk about our love for children and
what it would mean to us to have our own family. So, ten
years later, at the ages of 40 and 53, we decided to tie the
knot and finally try for children.
Though our initial attempts at conceiving naturally were
unsuccessful, we thought that because of my age I might have
started early menopause. This was the start of our long journey
of taking test after test, and although no medical issue could
be identified, it was determined that my age was the main
contributing factor to my infertility so far.
Age played a massive part on our emotional journey from day
one, both physically and emotionally. We were very conscious of
our ages, starting so late, and that the longer we left it, the more
problems we were going to be encountering, and the less chance
we were going to have of fulfilling our dream of a family.
I was also very aware of the “older mother” syndrome, and all
the issues that were attached with that. As time was of the
essence, we enlisted the help of a Harley Street consultant as soon
as we could, where I underwent two IVF treatments at his London
clinic, though unfortunately neither were successful. Each time my
heart broke, but I knew I wasn’t going to give up that easily.
Family means everything to me
Luckily, a friend of mine, who is also a doctor, suggested that
I used a well-known fertility specialist at the Hammersmith
Hospital in West London.
All the time I was having treatments, my husband and I were still
trying naturally and on the 4th attempt of IVF fell pregnant with
my first son, Nicholas, who is now 4. We were overjoyed to have
him in our lives finally. This was the start of my family that I had
always dreamed of. I rallied round after him, even giving up my job
as a HR Director to spend all my time at home with him. It wasn’t
long before I began enjoying being a mother and all the excitement
that comes along with having a new born in the home.
All the while Nicholas was growing up, I was unhappy. Don’t
get me wrong – I realised how lucky I had been conceiving my
son, but I couldn’t help thinking that Nicholas needed to have
a sibling to grow up with. My husband and I both come from
very big families, so Nicholas would never be lacking in cousins,
Disclaimer: The names in this feature have been changed as the author
wishes to remain anonymous, image is for illustrative purposes only
62 fertility road | may - june