|
|
| Never too late After
two miscarriages, a failed IVF and only one fallopian tube, consulting
engineer Carol Borchard finally fell pregnant with little Aimee at the
age of 46. I'm a divorced mother of a 13-year-old daughter and am in a relationship with a wonderful, slightly yonger man, who's never been married, nor has he had children. In 2004, I suffered a horrific ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Shortly after this, I had a miscarriage as a result of a nasty smash-and-grab incident. We then tried to concieve with IVF, only to lose both embryos. I had to come to terms with the fact that having a second child, which was a lifelong dream, was not on the cards for me. So it was with absolute surprise and disbelief that I discovered I was pregnant early last year! To fall pregnant naturally at the age of 46, with only one tube and my particular gynaecological history, is nothing short of a miracle! But that was just the beginning of a long, exciting journey. Because of my age, I was right at the top of the high-risk pregnancy category and was well aware of the potential dangers involved. And so began the most stressful six months of my life.I made an appointment with Dr Anil Ramdeo who had done my previous IVF, and who agreed to look after me, given my history and unusual circumstances. He was phenomenal - so positive and supportive, and an absolute pillar of strength thoroughout my pregnancy. Once the pregnancy was confirmed, and more importantly, that it wasn't ectopic. I had to wait for the all-important 12-week milestone - and the threat of an early miscarriage - to pass. For the 13-week scan, we were referred to a foetal medicine expert, and were lucky enough to receive the "all clear". However, the amnio, at 16 weeks almost finished me off. Because of my scar tissue and the position of my placenta, doctors struggled to get enough fluid to test. After four attempts, I had to spend two days lying flat on my back, pondering just how risky this pregnancy was - the most stressful 48 hours of my life. But I survived, and Baby survived, and then came the four-and-a-half-week wait for the test results. I don't think I'm alone when I say this wait is one of the most stressful, anxiety inducing experiences any woman approaching 23 weeks of pregnancy can endure. When my gynae called to confirm that there were "absolutely no chormosomal abnormalities", it was like a ton of cement was lifted off my shoulders. You can imagine our delight after an hour-long 4D scan confirmed that our baby was perfectly healthy! At 24 weeks, I was finally able to "come out of hiding" and tell family, friends and colleagues about the pregnancy (I was fortinate that I carried small). The response was overwhelmingly positive. For the first time since finding out I was pregnant, I could relax and enjoy my pregnancy ... and what a feeling! Baby was due to be delivered by Caesarian in early October. That wasn't to be though. On the 15th of August I went into labour and Aimee was born at 30 weeks, weighing 1.4kg. She spent a month in NICU. Today, she's perfectly healthy, her milstones are all spot on, and she's a bright, happy, content little soul. So while most of my friends are now going through menopause and finally starting to see their kids off to university. I'm enjoying motherhood all over again! I hope my story can somehow bring a glimmer of hope to all those women out there who are battling with infertility and the difficult, emotional roller-coaster that goes along with it.
|
