by After 15 Months Of I.V.F Three Cycles And Nine Fᴀɪʟᴇᴅ Mum Fell Pregnant Twice After Going For Fertility ᴍᴀSSᴀɢᴇS
Catherine Perks, from East Sussex, sᴜFFᴇʀs Fʀᴏᴍ ᴇɴᴅᴏᴍᴇᴛʀɪᴏsɪs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀs ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with secondary ɪɴFᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ but was desperate to have a second child. A MUM who spent four years and £14,000 on Fᴀɪʟᴇᴅ IVF trying to conceive a second child fell pregnant twice after going for fertility ᴍᴀSSᴀɢᴇS.
Catherine Perks, from Wadhurst, East Sussex, was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with secondary ɪɴFᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ – the inability to become pregnant, or carry a pregnancy to term following the birth of one or more biological children.
She explained: “I suffer from ᴇɴᴅᴏᴍᴇᴛʀɪᴏsɪs, a common ɢʏɴᴀᴇ problem where ᴄᴇʟʟs from the lining of the womb grow on other internal ᴏʀɢᴀɴs. It can make it difficult to conceive. When I came off the ᴘɪʟʟ, we tried for a baby for two years before getting pregnant with our daughter Amelia, who was born on July 31, 2010. So later, when we wanted to add to our family, we knew it might not happen easily for us.
By Amelia’s third birthday the couple still hadn’t conceived, after nearly three years of trying, and decided to consult their GP. Investigations revealed Catherine’s ᴇɴᴅᴏᴍᴇᴛʀɪᴏsɪs was back – and worse than ever. She had two Fᴜʀᴛʜᴇʀ ʟᴀsᴇʀ sᴜʀɢᴇʀɪᴇs but still her period came every month and she was ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ with secondary ɪɴFᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ.
They went private, using savings and borrowing from their parents to fund the ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ.
After more investigations at a private clinic and a course of fertility ᴅʀᴜɢs, Catherine’s ᴇɢɢs were harvested and fertilised in a laboratory, using Andy’s sᴘᴇʀᴍ. But after 15 months of IVF, three cycles and nine implantations, it still hadn’t worked .
“We spent all our money and got nowhere. I was ᴅᴇᴠᴀsᴛᴀᴛᴇᴅ. I wanted so much for Amelia to have a sibling, not to grow up as an only child. That just ʙʀᴏᴋᴇ my heart.”
Then Catherine’s friend, Lorna, suggested she try something called fertility ᴍᴀssᴀɢᴇ.
She recalled: “I was very sceptical. Expert doctors using the latest technology were unable to help us. Surely something as simple as rubbing my tummy would never work! But even so, I decided to find out more.”
Catherine contacted fertility ᴍᴀssᴀɢᴇ therapist Kerry Barden and decided to give it a go.
But after six fertility ᴍᴀssᴀɢᴇ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛs, which cost her £240, the 36-year-old discovered she was expecting. A year after giving birth to her second child, Oliver, Catherine had another ᴍᴀssᴀɢᴇ to help ease the sʏᴍᴘᴛᴏᴍs of her ᴇɴᴅᴏᴍᴇᴛʀɪᴏsɪs – and within weeks fell pregnant again. Now the mum-of-three jokes that she won’t be having any more ᴍᴀssᴀɢᴇs, as three children is “quite enough”.
