Fay & Steph's IVF story

As a female same sex couple, we were really keen on finding a clinic which would be welcoming and able to offer us a good choice of fertility treatments.

When we initially came across abc ivf, the single embryo transfer approach stood out to us as not many clinics really talk about this but we understood the potential risks of having a multiple birth and it wasn’t something we wanted. To us, this was a really important factor in the decision making process.

We decided to make an enquiry and received a speedy response with lots of useful information so we went ahead and booked an Initial Consultation and Scan. During this appointment we had a scan, discussed our medical histories and were talked through each step of the IVF journey from beginning to end. We found the appointment so useful and felt like we didn’t even need to go away and think about it; we booked to start treatment right away!

For us, at each appointment we felt as though we were visiting family. It didn’t feel like we were attending a clinic where we were just another number through the door! The team were so invested in us and our treatment, it felt as though they were in it with us and feeling everything that we were feeling.

We had a very successful egg retrieval and actually ended up with 5 blastocysts which were all viable in the end so we decided to freeze the 4 which wouldn’t be transferred during the first cycle.

Sadly, our first embryo transfer didn’t end in a pregnancy. When one of the lovely Nurse Consultants called to inform us of the outcome we could hear and feel that she was absolutely gutted for us. Never at any point during our journey with abc did we feel like patients, we were made to feel supported and a part of the family. Any questions or worries we had were answered right away and we always felt reassured after speaking to the team. We cannot thank the individual staff at abc ivf enough! This helped us massively because it was tough to go through an unsuccessful cycle.

We were advised to take some time off, to give the body some time to recover and come back if and when we were ready to try again. That’s exactly what we did. We had our first cycle in June, we then waited a few months and decided to try for a second embryo transfer in October 2019.

Once again, we found the process quite stress free. At the start I was actually expecting it to be a lot more difficult than it turned out to be and we are so grateful for that. I suppose it’s also important to note that fertility wise we were both very healthy and the only reason we needed to have fertility treatment was because we are a same sex couple.

The two week wait after our second embryo transfer was epic! Those two weeks felt a month long. It just seemed to drag on forever, which feels silly saying because it’s just 14 days, but it honestly felt like an entire lifetime. This second time around, we actually gave in and tested early. Steph said that she did actually feel different after this embryo transfer and so we had a bit of hope.

I was just sat on the sofa one day when Steph came down the stairs with the biggest smile on her face. I was so shocked and just though ‘Surely not. Surely it’s not positive!’ but it was!!

A few days after our home positive, we had our in-clinic pregnancy blood test. Later that same day, we received a phone call from the same lovely Nurse who, we could tell even through the phone, was smiling from ear to ear! She confirmed it. We were pregnant! The way we felt in that moment is simply indescribable. It was something we had wanted for so long and we didn’t have the quickest journey so it was a real mix of so many different emotions. We were so happy that it was finally happening, shocked and also excited at what was to come. It definitely took a while for it to sink in.

It was at the 20 week scan and Steph was starting to show that it really sunk it. Of course at this time, it was just the beginning of the pandemic and then lockdown happened so the pregnancy did feel a little bit surreal but we wouldn’t change it for the world.

We have been blessed with the best behaved boy we could have wished for. He is such a happy child and he has slotted into our family as though he has always been here. He’s simply adorable and I’m definitely not bias. It’s just such a wonderful thing!

Fay & Steph x