We wished for a baby girl and now she's here

Same-sex couple Clare and Linda’s dearest wish was to start a family. They put their faith in the team at TFP GCRM Fertility in Glasgow and welcomed their baby girl via IVF.

Clare and Linda's story

Linda had always been adamant that she didn’t want a family.  

“I’m an early years practitioner,” she says. “I love working with children, I just never envisioned them in my personal life.” 

Then she met Clare, a police response officer.  

“I’m passionate about my job as I’m so maternal,” says Clare. “Kids always come up to me and love to be around me. I’ve always been a very maternal ‘mummy’. 

“When we first met, I used to laugh at Linda and ask whether her job was putting her off having children. Now, I realise she just needed to find the right person to feel the family vibe. 

“And I’m her person.” 

In 2021, when Clare was 37 and Linda was 33, the couple had an initial consultation with the NHS but opted not to have a referral for NHS fertility treatment, as the waiting list was so long. They felt that time was slipping away. 

They had friends in same sex relationships who’d used TFP GCRM Fertility successfully and had read many positive comments on Facebook. TFP GCRM Fertility was easy to get to from their home in Falkirk, mid-way between Glasgow and Edinburgh. 

As soon as they visited the clinic, they felt they’d made the right choice. 

Linda remembers, “From the receptionist on, everyone was compassionate and friendly. They made us feel a wee bit more human and not just like clients.” 

The couple had decided that Linda would carry the baby as Clare, who is older, also has endometriosis and has had several operations on her uterus, with resulting scar tissue. 

Linda has Type 1 Diabetes but the TFP team, having tested her egg reserves and general health, assured her that this wouldn’t stand in her way. 

Then it was time to choose their sperm donor. 

“We wanted to mix his calm nature with Linda's chaos."

Clare and Linda chose a Danish donor from the European sperm bank.  

Linda says, “As Clare wouldn’t be biologically connected to the baby, we looked for a donor with dark brown eyes, just like hers. Then we found a blonde-haired, blue-eyed donor who had the cutest baby picture. 

“He sounded very calm and Zen. He’s a carpenter and lives near the mountains. He was inspired to donate after his friends had trouble conceiving. His family know he’s a donor and support him. 

“We thought, he sounds lovely. It’s a no brainer.” 

As Linda’s ovaries were working well and she had a good egg reserve, the couple opted to try intrauterine insemination (IUI) rather than the more invasive route of IVF. 

The first attempt at IUI appeared to work but sadly ended in a chemical pregnancy – or early miscarriage – as the embryo had stopped developing.  

The couple tried two more rounds of IUI, but neither worked. At this point, they took stock. 

“We were lucky we could afford the treatments,” says Linda, “But we were worried about trying IUI for a fourth time.  

“We were desperate for our family.  I wanted my partner and my baby, but it was heartbreak after heartbreak.” 

With Linda now 34, and fast approaching the years when her egg quality would decline, the couple decided on a round of full IVF. 

There was one straw of donor sperm left and just enough money saved to pay for the treatment. 

"We decided to put all our eggs in one basket, literally."

As a diabetic, it was vital that Linda was in good health ready for the IVF treatment.  

Her monthly cycles were normal and her fertility levels were high, so the team started her on just a short course treatment.  

She felt well physically during this period but having her period suppressed created an ‘emotional rollercoaster’, which Clare helped her through. 

The idea of the egg collection procedure also made her nervous. 

“I’d never had surgery of any kind or been put under. And I hate hand cannulas. As a diabetic, I inject all the time. When someone else injects me, I get very anxious. The whole thing felt daunting,” she says. 

Friends who had gone through the process reassured the couple. And when they arrived at the clinic for the procedure, the nurses were ‘amazing’. 

Clare recalls, “They explained exactly what they would do and how it would feel – and what would happen after the procedure.” 

Of the twenty eggs collected and mixed with donor sperm, ten became embryos and then developed into healthy blastocysts ready for implantation in Linda’s uterus.  

All the blastocysts were frozen, to give Linda’s body a chance to recover after the medication. 

Then it was transfer day. 

The embryologist had defrosted the chosen grade A embryo and told the couple that it looked beautiful. 

Clare laughs, “That was me in tears. I thought, oh my God, we have a beautiful embryo.” 

Linda changed into her gown and was wheeled into the theatre where the nurse did an ultrasound scan so the doctor could select the perfect spot in Linda’s uterus for the implantation. 

The couple watched in awe as the monitor showed the catheter delivering the embryo deep into the uterus and the exact moment – a flash of white light – when the embryo was released. 

“In my head I’d built up the procedure,” says Linda, “But it was just as quick and straightforward as IUI.” 

“We were 100% in for this to work."

Linda remembers spending the next few days feeling worried and Googling the symptoms of early pregnancy. 

Clare, on the other hand, was telling her to keep calm. 

Clare says, “I bought some early response pregnancy tests and, on a whim, some white newborn baby vests. I had a strong feeling that this was it.” 

On the morning of day eight, Linda took a pregnancy test and laid the stick upside down on the dresser, so she couldn’t see the result. 

Clare reached for the stick and turned it over. The result was positive. 

Clare says, “My immediate reaction was to jump on the bed, yelling with happiness. But we had a positive test before so we said let’s not relax properly until we get the blood results back.” 

The laboratory results showed high levels of pregnancy hormones in Linda’s blood. And that’s when the couple really celebrated.  

"We both have lucky numbers."  

Clare and Linda are both firm believers in the power of positive thought to influence outcomes. 

Linda reflects, “I go from zero to 100 miles an hour in a second and I need to find ways to keep calm and relax. When it comes to fertility, I think your mindset influences your chances of success.” 

The couple each have a favourite number. Clare’s is 1111. Linda’s is 777. They’d had the numbers tattooed on their arms just after they started their fertility treatment. 

Clare says, “It’s so strange but for years I’d been seeing the number 1111 and every time I saw it, I’d make a wish for a baby girl.” 

The numbers 11 and 7 seemed to follow them during their fertility journey, so neither Clare nor Linda were surprised when their baby girl, Noa-Raine, was born at 11am on the dot weighing 7lb 7oz. 

Clare says, “Co-incidence, perhaps, but we felt as if this was all meant to be.” 

As for the future, the couple have embryos frozen and plan to try another transfer when Noa-Raine, now five-months old, starts at nursery. 

Linda says, “Because the process was so smooth, we have no issues about going through it again and feel very relaxed about it. 

“TFP GCRM Fertility was such a positive experience. 

“The only thing we’d do differently is probably by-pass the IUI and opt for the IVF from the beginning, as it has a higher success rate.” 

For Clare, as the non-biological mother, a key issue has been ensuring she is listed as a legal guardian of her child, along with Linda. 

“It was a massive thing for us. It had to be done properly and GCRM helped us get the legal side exactly right,” says Clare.