Couple With 26-Year Age Gap Celebrate Birth Of 'Miracle' Baby After Three Rounds Of IVF
'We couldn't be happier that we've now got our perfect family.'
Caters News Agency
A couple with a 26-year age gap are celebrating the birth of their "miracle" baby.
Sarah Leigh-Bergin, 31, from Cheshire, first met husband Mike, 57, in 2004 when she was 19 and he was 45. They married seven years later.
Mr Leigh-Bergin underwent an irreversible vasectomy 20 years ago, making it impossible for them to conceive naturally.
The couple refused to give up on their baby dream and, after finding a clinic in Norway, they underwent three attempts of IVF before Mrs Leigh-Burton fell pregnant in September 2015.
She gave birth to a baby boy, weighing 6lbs 10oz, on 5 June 2016. The couple named their son Joshua.
"Joshua is mine and Mike's first baby together and we couldn't be happier that we've now got our perfect family," said Mrs Leigh-Bergin.
"Me and Mike have faced critics during our relationship, some people find our age gap uncomfortable.
"But in reality, we are just a normal couple who love each other unconditionally."
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Caters News Agency
Speaking about their relationship, the new mother said: "My parents did ask questions when we got together, with some people assuming we had hidden motives for being with each other.
"But once they saw us as a couple, they could see how much we loved each other. They are now over the moon the have a grandson.
"Me and Mike had always wanted to start a family together and we often talked about it at the beginning of our relationship as I didn't know if it would be possible but I knew we would need help either way.
"In 2014, I started to research different IVF clinics, due to being turned down by the NHS for treatment because Mike had a vasectomy.
"I also had unbalanced hormones and polycystic ovaries making it impossible to conceive naturally."
Leigh-Bergin said each cycle of IVF in Norway cost them £2,000, rather than what they calculated would be £7,000 in the UK.
"After three attempts I actually fell pregnant, we couldn't believe it," she said.
"Seeing the blue line appear on the pregnancy test was the best moment of our lives and then watching my bump grow was incredible.
"Now Joshua is here and he's three weeks old our whole experience feels worthwhile, it was an emotional rollercoaster having two failed attempts but we always tried to stay positive."
The couple are now back home and said they're looking forward to the future together.
"Apart from being sleep deprived, we are doing perfectly fine with Joshua back at home," the new mum said.
"He gave us a scare in hospital as he picked up an infection and needed to be placed in high dependency unit for a few days, all we could do was change his nappy and stroke his skin through the incubator.
"But after 12 days he was allowed home and we could finally take over and look after him full time.
"I also wanted other people to know that despite my and Mike's age gap that couples can still conceive and have their own children even if they're facing problems like we did.
"I couldn't be happier now I'm a mum, and although I'm sure myself and Mike will get some remarks about his age as we push baby Joshua around together, we are determined to be great parents.
"We still have two embryos left, so hopefully we may go out to Norway again and try to give him a brother or sister someday."
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Caters News Agency
Sarah Leigh-Bergin and her husband Mike after the birth of their son
Tone Jarvis-Mack from Fertility Road magazine, who the couple shared their story with, said: "Like most of our readers, Sarah and Mike wanted to find out more information about fertility clinics and the treatments available so they could make an informed decision.
"After a very positive experience meeting Dr Hausken at the Fertility Show in London they decided to travel to Norway to start their own fertility journey.
"From the outset Mike and Sarah knew the odds were stacked against them with a variety of medical problems.
"Despite all the initial setbacks they are the proud parents of baby Joshua thanks to the team at Klinikk Hausken."
10 Things You May Not Know About Your Fertility
(01 of10)
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1. Your fertility is mostly determined by genetics, which influences how many eggs you are born with. Doctors believe that the number of eggs you have at birth determines the length of time you will remain fertile. At birth, women have about two million eggs in their ovaries. For every egg ovulated during your reproductive life, about 1,000 eggs undergo programmed cell death. Other things, such as smoking cigarettes and certain types of chemotherapy, can accelerate egg cell death and promote an earlier menopause.
(02 of10)
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2. Regular menstrual cycles are a sign of regular ovulation.Most women have regular cycles lasting between 24 and 35 days. This is usually a sign of regular, predictable ovulation. Women who do not ovulate regularly have irregular menstrual cycles. Those who do not ovulate at all may have a genetic condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
(03 of10)
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3. Basal temperature charting does not predict ovulation.An older method of tracking ovulation involves taking your oral body temperature each morning before getting out of bed. This is called basal body temperature. This method is used to spot a rise in basal temperature, which is a sign that progesterone is being produced. The main problem with using this method is that your temperature rises after ovulation has already occurred. This makes it more difficult to time intercourse at an optimal time for conception. A better method is to use over-the-counter urine ovulation predictor test kits such as Clearblue Easy. These kits test for the hormone that prompts ovulation, which is called luteinizing hormone (LH).
(04 of10)
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4. Most women with blocked fallopian tubes are completely unaware they may have had a prior pelvic infection.About 10 percent of infertility cases are due to tubal disease, either complete blockage or pelvic scarring causing tubal malfunction. One major cause of tubal disease is a prior pelvic infection from a sexually transmitted disease such as chlamydia. These infections can cause so few symptoms that you may be completely unaware your tubes are affected. This is why fertility physicians will order a dye test of the tubes, called a hysterosalpingogram (HSG), if you have been trying and failing to conceive for 6 months or longer.
(05 of10)
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5. In most cases, stress does not cause infertility. Except in rare cases of extreme physical or emotional distress, women will keep ovulating regularly. Conceiving while on vacation is likely less about relaxation than about coincidence and good timing of sex.
(06 of10)
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6. By age 44, most women are infertile, even if they are still ovulating regularly. Even with significant fertility treatment, rates of conception are very low after age 43. Most women who conceive in their mid-40s with fertility treatment are using donated eggs from younger women.
(07 of10)
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7. Having fathered a pregnancy in the past does not guarantee fertility. Sperm counts can change quite a bit with time, so never assume that a prior pregnancy guarantees fertile sperm. Obtaining a semen analysis is the only way to be sure the sperm are still healthy!
(08 of10)
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8. For the most part, diet has little or nothing to do with fertility. Despite popular press, there is little scientific data showing that a particular diet or food promotes fertility. One limited study did suggest a Mediterranean diet with olive oil, fish and legumes may help promote fertility.
(09 of10)
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9. Vitamin D may improve results of fertility treatments. A recent study from the University of Southern California suggested that women who were undergoing fertility treatments, but had low vitamin D levels, might have lower rates of conception. This vitamin is also essential during pregnancy. At Pacific Fertility Center, we recommend our patients take 2,000-4,000 IU per day.
(10 of10)
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10. Being either underweight or overweight is clearly linked with lowered levels of fertility. The evidence in recent years is that obesity is clearly linked with a longer time to conception. Having a body mass index less than 18 or over 32 is associated with problems ovulating and conceiving, as well as problems during pregnancy.