June 18, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — After suffering 13 heartbreaking miscarriages, a woman in the United Kingdom gave birth to a “miracle baby,” thanks to the pioneering work of a team of medical experts in the neonatal unit at a UK hospital.
“Even now, at nine months on, I can’t believe she’s actually mine,” said Laura Worsley of daughter Ivy, born last fall. “You just go on for so long thinking it’s never going to happen.”
After experiencing an initial series of miscarriages, Laura, 35, and husband Dave, 48, sought the help of Professor Siobhan Quenby and the Biomedical Research Unit at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW).
Quenby first discovered that Worsley suffered from Antiphospholipid syndrome, also known as “sticky blood syndrome,” which can cause repeated miscarriages.
When Worsley experienced more failed pregnancies after her condition was treated, tests revealed that she also suffered from Chronic Histiocytic Intervillositis (CHI), a rare condition causing her body to reject her pregnancies.
‘One last go’
On the verge of giving up, Worsley took steroids to strengthen the lining of her womb, and after becoming pregnant for the 14th time, successfully gave birth to Ivy.
“We decided to have one go with a very high dose of medication, and Laura was very well aware of the risks,” Quenby said in a Channel 5 interview. “And one last go and this was going to absolutely be it.”
After Ivy was born prematurely in September 2018 via Cesarean, she spent 11 weeks in the hospital before being sent home with mom and dad before Christmas.
Working closely with Worsley over the course of a few years enabled Dr. Quenby to develop a new protocol for the treatment of the rare combination of conditions faced by her patient.
Quenby said in a BBC interview that the insights gained from Laura’s treatment will help women around the world.
The years of failed attempts to successfully bring a child into the world took a toll on Worsley.
‘Miracles do happen’
“For a long time, I just wasn't happy. It affected me in a lot of ways,” she recalled. “I didn't feel alive, I felt like I was just existing. In the end, that's all you live for really, to be a mum.”
“I cannot thank the research and the maternity teams at University Hospital enough, they have helped me to have the baby I always dreamt of,” said the happy new mom. “It feels like all of my Christmases have come at once. It’s so important to be able to make a difference for anyone else going through what I went through.”
“Through my story, I want to give others the hope and strength to carry on even when things seem impossible,” said Worsley. “(Initially) we were told a high dose of folic acid might sort it, but it didn’t. We took part in trials, did all the tests and tried different medications, hoping something would work. I don’t know how I coped, to be honest.”
“It was all I lived for – I lost years of my life. I just thought, if I can’t have a baby, I don’t see a point in my life,” continued Worsley.
The CHI was causing portions of her placenta to die. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to try again. But Professor Quenby said she had helped women with this successfully. I thought if there’s that one bit of hope, I had to try again. I spoke to Dave about it and he felt the same.”
“I told myself, this is the last time I’m doing this,” recounted Worsley, who said she and her husband didn’t really tell anyone her 14th pregnancy. “I just kept thinking if we tell people, we’re going to jinx it.”
Worsley said she looks at her daughter now and thinks “miracles do happen.”
“I’d read about other people’s miracles,” she added, “and now I’ve got mine.”