Nikki and Andrew’s story

Nikki and Andrew were married in 2009 and knew they wanted to start a family.

They tried unsuccessfully to conceive naturally, and had gone through the NHS seeking fertility treatment. Having established that the couple had fertility issues, the local NHS trust referred them for IVF, and the couple came to Hammersmith Clinic, where The Fertility Partnership was delivering treatment, for egg harvesting and fresh embryo transfer. Three embryos were harvested and two were successfully fertilised, and although both were fragmented and low quality, these were transferred and a single pregnancy resulted, with Arthur Edward born in August 2013, four years after the couple had first started trying for a baby.

Teacher Nikki returned to work part-time when Arthur was nine months old, and the couple’s lives felt complete for a while. Arthur grew from a baby to a toddler, and as school came on to the horizon, Nikki and Andrew realised that they would love another baby. In the first instance, they returned to the NHS, not realising that they could self-refer themselves. Once they knew that they could approach The Fertility Partnership directly, they didn’t hesitate to contact Boston Place. They explained their circumstances and went for their first appointment.

Nikki says, “We had been so impressed with our first encounter of The Fertility Partnership, that it was the obvious choice to go back there and this time we went to the private facility, Boston Place. I felt a little guilty to be honest, because we already had our wonderful son Arthur. It seemed like we were asking too much, to be given a second opportunity to have another baby. The staff at the clinic really put us at ease and were reassuring when we raised concerns, worries and even the feelings of guilt for wanting to try again. I felt that we were in such good hands because they fully understood how we were feeling and the medical challenges that we faced.”

“This time, I had a stronger treatment protocol and Boston Place accommodated my work schedule really flexibly. It’s not just down the road for us and they offered me appointments to make sure that the experience was as convenient and straightforward as possible.”

“I felt so lucky to be able to have another opportunity to try to extend our family and although still a nerve wracking and anxious time, knowing we had Arthur already allowed me to have a more relaxed attitude towards the treatment which really helped. The actual treatment and process of IVF has never bothered me because although it is heart breaking that you can’t have children naturally, I saw it as a necessary means to the end that we wanted. Four eggs were harvested and we had two embryos transferred which again resulted in a successful single pregnancy, and we were just thrilled when Douglas James was born in June 2017. We could not believe we had been so lucky again. It was another natural delivery and Arthur just adores his baby brother, as we all do. I was so touched to see how instantaneous his love and affection for Douglas was. He is so loving and likes nothing more than playing Row Row Row Your Boat with him at all times of the day!”