Couple named miracle baby after IVF centre that made their dreams come true
The pair discussed having children on their very first date but endured years of infertility, reports Rikki Loftus
LOVING FAMILY: The couple talked about their dreams of having children from their first date (Image: Collect/PA Real Life)
A couple who talked about having children on their first date before facing years of fertility issues has celebrated their baby's birth by naming her after their IVF centre. Caroline Poulter, 40, tried to start a family for five years, but the couple learned they had 'unexplained infertility'.
Caroline Poulter, a nanny, and her husband, Leo, 42, a customs compliance officer, considered adoption before undergoing fertility treatment. Neve Freya was born in March 2022, and Caroline gave her the name from the building where she was conceived – The Freya Centre at TFP Wessex Fertility.
She experienced a 'difficult' pregnancy with bleeding and severe morning sickness, yet the couple feels 'so grateful' to be parents and call Neve their 'miracle baby'. The pair initially met via friends at a Las Vegas wedding in 2014, and since then, they have talked about their dreams of starting a family one day.
READ MORE
- Here's a list of places where kids can eat for free or £1 this half-term
- How to talk to your kids about vapes and cigarettes after PM's smoke-free plans
Caroline told PA Real Life: "Finding out that we had unexplained infertility was really difficult because there was nothing we could really do about (it), and there was nothing we could do to help improve our fertility. We both talked about wanting children even on our first date, so to spend years seeing negative pregnancy tests was tough.
"Now, I just can't believe Neve is here; she is so special, and I feel so lucky to be her mum. It was the first time we'd hung out together; I was with someone else, but I remember talking to Leo and saying, 'If I was single, I'd be interested in you'. I didn't really think any more of it, but when me and my ex split up, Leo was still there, and we went on a date.
"The first night we went out together, I told him that I would like to get married and have babies at some point in the future. I wanted to be honest from the beginning, and if he wasn't interested, then he wouldn't bother further."
The couple wanted the same thing, and after two years, they started trying for a baby, but they faced nine months of negative pregnancy tests, and Caroline felt worried that it wouldn't be as simple as she first thought. She said she understood it could take up to a year to become pregnant, but she 'started getting twitchy' for doctors to start the tests.
READ MORE
Caroline said they 'couldn't find anything wrong' when fertility testing occurred. Leo's sperm and her eggs were healthy, and there were no miscarriages; they 'just couldn't get pregnant'. They learned they had unexplained infertility, meaning testing hadn't found a cause.
She said it was 'frustrating' as there seemed to be nothing they could do, and after five years of trying, they started exploring other options. They couldn't decide between adoption and IVF, so Caroline and Leo began IVF treatment in January 2021; after egg retrieval, she had a fresh embryo inserted into her uterus, and the other nine embryos were frozen.
She said: "The staff at the clinic were all lovely, just such nice people, and you feel like they wanted us to have a baby as much as we did. They were really on our side and helping us out. The embryo didn't take, which I wasn't surprised about. I didn't have much hope at that point. For some reason, I really thought it would be the third try that would work, so when I had my first frozen embryo implanted, I didn't think it would take either."
Caroline took a pregnancy test in July 2021 and was 'in shock' to see two lines showing she was pregnant. She said she'd seen 'many' negative tests over the years, but the latest 'was just so good', and she 'couldn't stop looking at it'. Yet Caroline found the first half of her pregnancy 'really difficult', and she had spotting early on, which may be a normal IVF symptom, but she had two 'serious bleeds', making her worried about her baby's health.
READ MORE
She said: "I was so worried and stressed about how the pregnancy was going, but I also had really bad morning sickness up until 20 weeks, so I was just very low on energy. Unrelated to the IVF, I'd had a blood clot years prior, so I had to be on daily injections of blood thinners all the way through, and it all just got exhausting towards the end."
Caroline was induced on March 12, 2022, and gave birth the next day to a healthy baby girl, Neve Freya (7lb 13oz). She said the first moments were 'magical', and it was only after seeing her baby that the fact that she was a mother hit home. The couple is settling into parenthood and said they don't plan to have more children.
Caroline, who lives in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, with Leo and Neve, said: "It was amazing, and because of Covid restrictions, we couldn't have visitors, so we spent that first day as just the three of us, which was really special. I just wanted her to myself to soak her in; it had been a long time coming. Being pregnant was not great, and the thought of having to go through that again, but this time, I'd be possibly missing out on things with Neve, so I'd feel really bad.
"I'm just so happy to be Neve's mum, and I still can't believe that she's here and that we get to keep her forever. The actual building where the fertility clinic is in is called the Freya Centre. The original due date that we got given was the first day of spring, and Freya is the goddess of spring, so that, along with the fact that it was the name of the building, made our decision to give her the middle name Freya. It's a beautiful name, and it just seemed like it had to be her name."
Caroline said she and Leo felt grateful to TFP Wessex Fertility for helping them fulfil their dreams, and they wanted to commemorate them in a special way.
For more on TFP Wessex Fertility, visit the website here.
