A mum has had a healthy baby boy after seven failed IVF attempts thanks to taking a 2p aspirin every day.
Sarah and Chris Broadfield spent seven years and £15,000 trying to start a family, but suffered heartbreak after heartbreak, including two miscarriages.
Doctors eventually found out Sarah, 34, had antiphospholipid syndrome (AS) - a disorder of the immune system which causes an increased risk of blood clots, which is also known as Hughes syndrome.
So when she became pregnant again, she was prescribed daily aspirin to thin her blood – and it worked.
Nine months later, the couple's son Alfie was born in August 2014, weighing a healthy 8lb.
Sarah, from Warrington, Cheshire, said: "Finally holding Alfie in my arms after everything we've been through was the best moment of my life - and it's all thanks to me taking an aspirin a day."
People with AS are at risk of developing deep vein thrombosis and artery clots, but the condition is particularly dangerous to pregnant women as it can lead to miscarriages.
It's estimated that AS is responsible for one in six cases of multiple miscarriages, as well as one in six cases of deep vein thrombosis.
For Sarah, the condition didn't explain why she hadn't fallen pregnant naturally but did explain why she'd miscarried twice.
She said: "It was such a relief to know what was wrong and the solution seemed impossibly simple."
Doctors advised Sarah that taking aspirin daily throughout her pregnancy would thin her blood and dramatically reduce the risk of her miscarrying for a third time.
So Sarah and Chris, 36, tried a final round of IVF and two eggs from previous attempts were implanted in Sarah's womb.
Weeks later, Sarah fell pregnant with twins and started her 'aspirin therapy', as well as having an anti-clotting injection daily, throughout the pregnancy.
Sadly, at the six week scan, the couple were told that one of the foetuses had died.
But, despite their disappointment, the couple were relieved to be told the second baby was developing normally.
Then, at 38 weeks – because of the risk of stillbirth – Sarah was induced and baby Alfie was born on August 1, 2014.
Sarah recalled: "Just after he was born, he went quiet and I panicked. Then we heard him cry and it was the best moment ever.
"Holding him in my arms, it felt so surreal, as we'd waited so long to meet him."
Alfie is now at home and is thriving.
Sarah said: "If only I'd known that taking one aspirin a day could help me so much.
"It would have saved us a lot of heartache. I wanted to speak out to hopefully help any other women who might have this condition without knowing it.
"For us, the aspirin was modern day magic and we always keep a box in our cupboard now, just in case."
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