Egg yolks helped couple conceive after six years of failed IVF: 'We were over ... - Express.co.uk

A couple who spent a heartbreaking six years trying for a baby with multiple failed IVF treatments have finally conceived thanks to egg yolks.

Cathy Garvey, 43, and Dan Bowley, 42, spent £20,000 on four fertility treatments and were left heartbroken when they failed.

But the couple, from Kings Norton, finally cracked it on their fifth attempt when scientists at CARE Fertility drip-fed the new mum egg yolk and soya oil to fight killer cells that were destroying her chances.

And thanks to the unusual treatment, Cathy and Dan, a retail manager, are now the proud parents to baby Joseph who was born on July 8, weighing 7lbs 14oz.

Now the happy couple are starting to save for the wedding they always dreamed of.

'It was worth every penny because we got Joseph in the end,' said Cathy, 43, a recruitment administrator.

'We did have to put off our wedding because we couldn't afford it after spending so much money on fertility treatment.

'But Joseph is perfect. He'll be the guest of honour at our wedding.'

Cathy struggled to get pregnant naturally for two years but had expected to have problems after previously being told she had blocked fallopian tubes.

The couple went on to have two free rounds of IVF which all resulted in negative pregnancy tests.

On the third treatment, they were delighted to find out Cathy was pregnant - but she sadly miscarried at five weeks.

It was only when the couple, who got engaged on Cathy's 40th birthday, visited CARE in January last year, that they discovered she had Natural Killer Cells, which were attacking any embryos placed inside her.

'The cells were rejecting the embryos every time we tried IVF,' said Cathy.

'It was heartbreaking for us when we couldn't get pregnant.

'We really wanted a baby and that's why we went through extremes of having IVF,' she added.

Finally in November last year, they started the rigorous process again, but this time, scientists decided to combat the Natural Killer Cells by giving Cathy two Intralipid infusions of egg yolk and soya oil, once when the fertilised embryos were put back inside her, and again when she had a positive pregnancy test.

Cathy said: 'This was the last time we were going to have IVF and I just had a very positive feeling about it from the beginning. We kept our fingers crossed and two weeks later we had a positive test.

'When we went for the early scan to check everything was Okay, we were petrified yet over the moon. We saw the picture and Dan asked what the flashing was on the screen, and we were told it was the heart beat.

'We both just burst into tears. We hadn't even got that far with the other pregnancy.

'While I was pregnant with Joseph I never moaned about anything. And it was amazing when I felt him kicking inside me. Having a baby was our priority. We've now started saving for our wedding and Joseph gets to be guest of honour.'

Entities 0 Name: Cathy Count: 8 1 Name: Joseph Count: 5 2 Name: Dan Count: 2 3 Name: Dan Bowley Count: 1 4 Name: moon Count: 1 5 Name: Cathy Garvey Count: 1 6 Name: Kings Norton Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1uXznt6 Title: Scans 'could halve stillbirth rate' Description: More than half of stillbirths in the UK could be prevented if the NHS implemented additional scans, a leading obstetrician has told Panorama. Each year, more than 3,000 babies are stillborn in the UK, one of the worst rates in the developed world.