Case Studies
NEW MUM PROVES THAT LIFE BEGINS AT 40
If you have been trying for a baby for two years and are having difficulty conceiving, don"t put off asking for help, particularly if you are older, advises one Bourn Hall patient who celebrated her 40th birthday by giving birth to her first child in June 2010.
Tania Peacock was in her late thirties before she and husband Duane started trying to start a family and she says that she was aware that time "might not be on her side."
"Because of my age I went to my GP sooner than I probably would have done if I had been younger and we were sent for tests to see if there were any obvious reasons for not being able to conceive," reveals Tania. "Duane"s tests all came back as normal but it was established that I had blocked fallopian tubes and I was told in no uncertain terms that I would not be able to conceive naturally."
Armed with this knowledge Tania and Duane then had a difficult decision to make because at the time they would have only been NHS-funded for one cycle of IVF treatment.
"I thought long and hard about it because I knew that we could not afford to pay for extra cycles if we didn"t succeed at the first attempt. We had friends in similar situations whose marriages had come under stress and I didn"t want that to happen to us.
"And then miraculously I saw something on Anglia News announcing an increase in NHS funding for eligible couples in the region. I knew then that we were going to have more than one chance and felt that we should take it."
As things turned out Tania and Duane, who live in Diss, Norfolk, were successful after the first cycle of treatment at Bourn Hall and Tania admits that she had a "sixth sense" that the treatment had been successful almost immediately.
"I don"t know why but I just had a really funny feeling as soon as I got back from Bourn Hall," she says. "Having said that when I took the pregnancy test and it was positive I was still really shocked and kept re-testing myself for weeks because I didn"t believe it. It was only when I had the three month scan and saw Scarlett moving around that I relaxed a bit."
Tania says that she had a really easy pregnancy, with no morning sickness just a couple of migraines and that Scarlett arrived at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital on Tania"s 40th birthday!
Tania, who previously worked as a Hotel Service Manager, reveals that her positive experience has inspired her hairdresser to ask for medical help with starting a family.
"I was telling her my story when I was having my hair done and she told me that she was having difficulties starting a family. I advised her not to delay seeking help and the next time I had my hair cut she revealed she had been to see her doctor. My advice is that if you are older and really want to have a child, don"t put it off, go and ask for help because you could be running out of time," says Tania.
"I absolutely love being a mum and Scarlett was the best 40th birthday present I could have wished for."
