For 10 years Melissa Warpole saved photos of baby showers, nurseries and newborn announcements for inspiration, hoping she would one day be able to share her own.
Finally, on their 12th round of IVF, Melissa and her husband Matty were blessed with positive news. Melissa was pregnant! They welcomed their son, Kai Alan, on 15 April 2020.
Through her incredible journey to become a mum, Melissa has found an inner strength she never realised was there. She hopes her story will help other couples struggling with infertility and remind them never to give up.
Melissa’s IVF story
- 10 years TTC
- 4 miscarriages
- 11 investigative/laparoscopic surgeries
- 12 rounds of IVF
These are Melissa’s numbers. Every couple who has been trying to conceive for a while has numbers. Some are smaller than others. Some may only need 1 round of IVF. Others may never know the IVF journey. Some women may never know the heartbreak that comes with a miscarriage.
But most do.
One in four women will miscarry.
One in eight will struggle with infertility.
Melissa is just one of the countless women who have.
As she tells Mum Central,
Infertility is not only physical, it’s mental as well. It’s hard to have hope and keep trying. The strength behind the families that do it is incredible. It is not for the weak.”
Many couples are going down the IVF route behind closed doors and this is what can be the hardest thing about infertility.
“It can be such a lonely battle,” Melissa said.
Although we always seemed happy, this was the hardest time of our lives. The surgeries, procedures and cycles brought a little bit of hope and every day it took so much to try and stay positive, not only for myself but for my husband as well.”
‘Never give up’
For countless couples, the end result of their journey towards having a baby ends without a baby. This is heartbreaking but it is also understandable. After the heartache of not falling pregnant, or falling pregnant and miscarrying, it can be hard to try again, knowing the pain.
Keep going. No matter how stuck you feel, no matter how bad things are right now, no matter how hopeless and depressed you feel.
No matter how many days or years you’ve spent wishing things were different.
I promise you won’t feel this way forever. It’s been the most rewarding joyful time in our life and if you knew the feeling you have once your little miracle arrives you would keep going.”
For Melissa, it took 10 years and 12 rounds of IVF.
During Kai’s [newborn] photo shoot I couldn’t help but cry. For years I saved photos of baby showers, nurseries, newborn announcements and photos. That day had finally come that I had dreamed about to have our own newborn photos taken.”
I thought we would never get here. After so many disappointments along our journey I can’t believe we have a three-month-old. He is just so perfect, we feel so incredibly lucky.”
IVF success storiesÂ
For women who are undergoing IVF or struggling with infertility, we hope Melissa’s story inspires you to keep the end result in mind, especially on those extra hard and heartbreaking days.
For more happy endings, check out:
