After years of heartache and many rounds of IVF, a UK couple has welcomed a baby boy
Zoe, 37 and her husband Ben, 42, struggled to have a child for years after they married in 2011.
Baby Teddy was born at 37 weeks, weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz, and the couple could not be happier.
Zoe, from Crewe, told the Stoke Sentinel: “I would love for people to talk more about infertility and not be ashamed.”
The couple began trying for a baby soon after their wedding, but after two years, they were offered medical investigations and then referred to a fertility clinic for support.
They had one round of intrauterine insemination in 2015 that failed, and then moved onto IVF treatment.
The pair had one NHS-funded IVF cycle and another private round – but, sadly, both failed.
On their third round, they got pregnant, but tragically, the baby, who they named Billy, was stillborn at 25 weeks, leaving the couple devastated.
Money and time were fast running out, and, to the couple’s delight, friends and family rallied around to fundraise for them to continue their quest to become parents.
Zoe said: “After the first couple of rounds, we were going to give up. But lockdown reminded us that we still really wanted children in our life, so we kept trying.
“After losing Billy, I had an evening where I just sat and cried and cried. But that was when a friend said to me about starting a GoFundMe page because there are a lot of people who want this for you.”
Astonishingly, the couple’s page raised £8,000 in just four weeks for a seventh round of IVF. They decided to go abroad for treatment and chose Cyprus.
Baby Teddy was conceived, and Zoe gave birth in Leighton Hospital in Crewe in June 2023.
She said: “Amazingly, it took just four weeks to raise the money – and it was amazing to walk out with a baby from the same hospital we had previously left empty-handed.
“If it weren’t for GoFundMe and the generosity and good nature of the people that donated to the find, we wouldn’t have Teddy. So he’s not just our baby, but everyone’s, and we are forever grateful.”
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