A tiny bundle of Hope
Having overcome illness, bereavement, miscarriages and a cancer scare, Ellie Stoneley Gradwell turned to IVF to fulfill her dream of having a baby and, at 47, she’s now the proud mum of a gorgeous new daughter – with a perfectly appropriate name.
The death of her father, huge issues with work and an autoimmune condition that had her endlessly in and out of hospital – not to mention a breast cancer scare this time last year – would be a lot for anyone to cope with and, at 47 years old, Ellie admits she was skirting the upper age limit for new motherhood too.
Despite the health implications and risks, Ellie and Roy, 49 – who had been trying for a baby since getting married three-and-a-half years ago – made the decision to try one last time to get pregnant, and Ellie set off from the couple’s north Cambridge home for a three week stint in India, to cleanse and reboot her body. “I came back thinner, fitter and healthier,” she says.
Then came IVF treatment, which Ellie had in Alicante. “It was our last ditch attempt, but it worked first time,” she says. “We were very, very lucky.”
Knowing she was likely to face a tumultuous pregnancy because of her age, and having suffered miscarriages before, Ellie set up a blog: crazypregnantperson.com, to act as a record in case things didn’t work out and to help her through the process.
Read more at cambridge-news.co.uk
Story credit to Ellie Walker - Ellie will be blogging about her experiences as a new mum on our Health + Beauty site at www.cambridge-news.co.uk. You can also follow her on Twitter @E11ie5.
Photo credit: crazypregnantperson.com
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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Rewinding Your Biological Clock: Motherhood Late in Lifeby Richard J. Paulson M.D., Judith Sachs
-- In 1996, Dr. Richard Paulson assisted a 63-year-old woman to conceive using in vitro fertilization with a donor egg, and she became the oldest woman in the world to give birth.
This incredible example of how assisted reproductive technologies, or ART, can change the course of nature, raises tough biological, emotional, and ethical issues.
Rewinding Your Biological Clock is a unique exploration of each of these issues, especially the "how-to" of peri- and post-menopausal pregnancy.
Written by a leading fertility specialist and a health educator, this original and daring book rethinks society's most fundamental beliefs about motherhood, aging and life itself.
Paperback: 356 pagesClick to order/for more info: Rewinding Your Biological Clock
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