A mum from Lowestoft is looking forward to celebrating her first Mother’s Day after struggling with her fertility.

Michelle Kirby spoke ahead of Mother’s Day, on March 22, to raise awareness of infertility and going through IVF treatment.

She said: “I had dreamed about my baby arriving for so long it was just the most magical and precious feeling.”

Her son Arthur was born last May after Mrs Kirby and husband Andrew had IVF treatment at Bourn Hall Clinic in Wymondham, near Norwich .

The couple had been trying to have a baby and Mrs Kirby recalled: “Almost everything you hear when you are desperate for a baby of your own is that other people are having babies and when it doesn’t happen for you it is heart breaking.”

Mrs Kirby, who runs her own beauty salon, Beauty Bliss, added: “We tried everything we could to try and take control of the situation.

“Andrew was a marathon runner and even cut down on his exercise because we had read that too much exercise can put stress on the body. I took various supplements and underwent reflexology sessions.”

After going to see their GP, the couple were referred for tests at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, where they were told that they had &rlquo;unexplained infertility’ and were eligible for NHS-funded IVF treatment at Bourn Hall’s Wymondham clinic.

The happy couple were over the moon when the treatment was successful first time.

Mrs Kirby said: “We had never seen a positive pregnancy test before so we literally did a test every day for the next week just to be sure!

“I remember us driving to Bourn Hall for the early scan and neither of us spoke all the way there, we were so nervous.

“I was just praying we would see a little heartbeat and when we did it was just such a magical feeling, I could finally believe the IVF had worked.”

After a good pregnancy Mrs Kirby gave birth to son Arthur on May 11, 2019. Now 34, she added: “Even now we look at him in awe and remind ourselves or how lucky we are to have him.”

Mrs Kirby is advising others struggling with their own fertility, or going through IVF treatment, to try and stay positive and look for ways to relieve the anxiety and stress.