Woman Finally Gives Birth At Age 48 After Suffering 18 Miscarriages Over A Period Of 16 Years

May 21, 2021 by apost team

Starting a family and raising happy and healthy children is a dream that many couples realize. For other couples, time, effort and even medical treatments are required in order to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term. Unfortunately, some couples never have children despite their best efforts. Infertility is one of the most challenging things a couple that wants children has to go through, but what happens when even doctors cannot figure out the reason for continued and devastating infertility that leads to multiple miscarriages? 

This was almost the case for Mark and Louise Warneford from Swindon, England. Yahoo News reported that Mark and Louise met in 1999, and they fell in love quickly. Louise knew deep down that Mark was the man she wanted to have children with. When Louise was 32, the couple started trying to conceive. However, Mark had a vasectomy earlier in life. This meant that the couple had to try to conceive in nontraditional ways.

Even after taking non-traditional routes to have a child, however, things became even more challenging for the couple after Louise kept having miscarriages every time she conceived. Women who have gone through one or two miscarriages have felt immense devastation at their losses, but Louise had to go through multiple losses over 16 years, which is more than what one person can handle. 

However, she kept her faith alive, and with the support of her husband, went through the difficulties and in the end, doctors were able to figure out why her pregnancies could not be maintained. After trying one last time, the couple finally had their dreams come true. 

Despite medical treatments, getting pregnant and carrying a healthy baby to term was not something that was easy for Louise. In fact, Daily Mail reported that over a period of 16 years, the couple spent more than $100,000 on treatments. This money went toward paying sperm donors and for numerous IVF treatments.

Louise became pregnant a total of 18 times over those 16 years. Unfortunately, she had the devastating experience of losing those babies to miscarriages all 18 times. She never carried a pregnancy past a few weeks, and the couple and doctors could not figure out the reason for this. Several years later and right before Louise turned 50, she reached out to a different doctor, which proved to be one of the best decisions she made. The doctor realized that Louise’s body had what is commonly known as "killer cells," and these cells would attack and destroy any embryos that she carried.

After this diagnosis, Louise was able to be treated for this condition after which Mark and Louise decided to try to have a healthy pregnancy one last time, and their effort was rewarded. Their son, William, was delivered at 37 weeks. He was a healthy, happy baby, and his parents were elated.

Swindon Advertiser reported that the couple's "rainbow baby" had the couple over the moon. However, the pregnancy was filled with challenges and trepidation.

"I must have done a pregnancy test every day for the first three months,” she said, adding, "I was absolutely terrified, sometimes I would take one twice a day. At one point I had to go to the hospital because I had high blood pressure and even though the doctor said I was okay and the baby was fine – I didn’t leave because I was terrified."

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The couple also had to face unimaginable pain during the pregnancy. "Then around the same time my husband’s dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer and his mum had a heart attack. It was a very difficult time," Louise shared. "I was so scared to go home because I didn’t know what would happen to our baby. When I had William in my arms finally, I was so relieved. He was such a gorgeous boy and I was absolutely relieved."

Louise also wrote a book, "Baby Dreams," to help other women who have had infertility difficulties. "It’s about my journey to motherhood. I had 18 miscarriages and 16 years of IVF treatment," she said, "The reason why I wrote the book is because I have been inundated with messages on social media asking me questions about IVF and asking for help. I want to help others who are struggling – I don’t want women to suffer in the way that I did."

While some strangers mistake the now-older Louise and Mark as the baby’s grandparents, this does not bother them. The couple is thrilled to be raising their son and finally having the family that they have been dreaming about. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Louise said, "We're a perfect family now and I finally feel complete - we even have a grandchild now, and at just ten months old, William, became an uncle."

She went on to add, "I'm not the spring chicken that I used to be and it does take me a while to chase him around the floor but it's worth it."

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