For six years, a Norwich couple would mark each Christmas as another year gone by without their being able to get pregnant.
But last year, Niki and Adam Brighton’s miracle baby boy finally appeared on Christmas Day.
It was an occasion that saw them featured in this newspaper and this year will mark an extra celebration for the family.
Mrs Brighton, 33, of Costessey, said: “Having children is something that I have always wanted and there were nights when I would cry myself to sleep because it just wasn’t happening.
“It was really hard going on social media when friends had posted up photos of their pregnancy bumps and baby scans. I was pleased for them but when all you want is to be pregnant, it feels as though everyone else is moving on with their lives.”
This all changed last year when baby Louis arrived on December 25 following a successful round of IVF at Norwich’s Bourn Hall.
READ MORE: ‘A miracle’: Babies born in Norfolk on Christmas Day
As the couple live in Norfolk, they were referred by their GP for NHS fertility testing at Bourn Hall but the tests could find no reason for their infertility.
Mrs Brighton added: “I did find it frustrating that we didn’t have a cause for our infertility.
“We obviously needed a bit of help.”
She was advised that she needed to reduce her BMI, which led to a complete change of lifestyle for the couple.
“I did a lot of swimming and went to the gym, going on the treadmill and going to spin classes. I lost two stone,” she said.
“I did everything I could to ensure that I was as healthy as I could be.
“As well as exercising regularly, we took vitamins and made ‘fertility smoothies’ ate lots of eggs, avocados and salads.
“Like lots of people during the pandemic we took up walking when the gyms and swimming pools had to close. Walking wasn’t something we had really done before but love it now, we did lots of nice nature trails and walking on the beach. I also took up jogging.
“I basically did everything I could to get my body as ready as possible for IVF treatment and pregnancy. I felt healthier than I have ever felt in my life.”
Once she had reduced her BMI, the couple were approved for NHS-funded IVF and it was on their second round that they were successful.
“Strangely enough my egg collection and transfer were over the Easter weekend.
“When I came round from the anaesthetic, I was told they had only collected three eggs. I thought ‘it’s not going to work’ and cried all the way home.
“I got a call the next day to say two of the eggs had fertilized. One was transferred and then we had to wait two weeks to get the result. I was really scared of taking the pregnancy test in case the IVF hadn’t worked.
“When I found out I was pregnant it was amazing.
“We had our embryo transfer at Easter and Louis was born on Christmas Day. It was very bizarre how it worked out that way.
“He is truly a little miracle.”
As the family prepare to celebrate Louis’s first birthday on December 25, she added: “Every year I would say to myself ‘next year will be the year’ and last year it was.
“Now I have got everything I ever wanted. Christmas is going to be extra special every year now.”
Baby Louis David Edward Brighton was born at 1.47am and was the second to arrive on Christmas Day at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
Mrs Brighton went through 12-hours of labour before having a caesarean section, describing his birth as a “Christmas Day miracle”.
At the time, she added: “We are absolutely amazed and just so happy to have him here for Christmas day it has been a long time coming.”
What is unexplained infertility?
Dr Thanos Papathanasiou, medical director at Bourn Hall Clinic, explained that unexplained infertility is the reason given for around one third of couples seeking IVF treatment in the UK.
It simply means that, following investigative tests, no direct cause can be identified.
He said: “Unexplained infertility might be caused by sub-fertility on both sides and sometimes lifestyle changes such as improving nutrition or medication can increase the chances of natural fertility and we can support couples with advice on this.
“But it can add to a couple’s stress not to be given a definitive reason for not being able to conceive.”
Couples worried about their fertility can have a free consultation at Bourn Hall with a fertility nurse specialist and chat with a nutritionist to help them get “fertility fit”.
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