Case Studies
Baby Joy From NHS Agreement With Bourn Hall
"It is absolutely fantastic," says Tracey, 29, proud and tired mother of six-week old twins. The birth of the boys, ends years of heart-break for her partner Robert; for whom parenthood seemed an unreachable goal.
"We had wanted to have children together for several years but knew it wasn’t going to be easy," explains Tracey. "I have a nine year old daughter from my previous relationship, who was born through natural conception and dearly wanted to have a baby with Robert."
However, Robert had been through fertility treatment already with his former wife, that had sadly been unsuccessful, and he knew all about the hope and heartache that it can bring.
The couple waited for a few years before they decided that they did desperately want a child together. They went to see their GP and found that they were eligible to get help on the NHS through the Bedfordshire PCT.
"My GP referred us to Mr Lobb, consultant gynaecologist at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. We waited for about 3-6 months for this appointment but then we were immediately sent to Bourn Hall clinic for IVF treatment. It was a wonderful experience, I felt so relaxed there that I am sure that was what made the difference," says Tracey.
The couple conceived using a procedure called ICSI (Intracytoplasmic sperm injection), in which the sperm is injected directly into a prepared egg rather than simply mixed with eggs. This increases the chance of success by overcoming the natural barriers that the sperm normally encounters. This type of treatment has only been available since the early 1990s and is a highly skilled procedure, requiring micromanipulation. ICSI is used where there has been previous failed fertilisation with IVF or where there is a low sperm count or poor sperm motility.
Bourn Hall has a large number of embryologists with these skills and has access to donor sperm banks if needed. It has a contract with Bedfordshire PCT to treat 100 couples a year and of the first 29 couples completing treatment this year, 25 are pregnant.
"It has all been worth it, we are thrilled to have the babies, it is just fantastic. I would go through it all again if I had to. The care we had at Bourn Hall was so good."
