Libby was told by two doctors that she had a 0% chance of getting pregnant.

Libby: He Proposed. We started, I think, 3 or 2 months before. And I fell pregnant 3 or 4 months later. But I then miscarried when I was 7 weeks pregnant.

It felt like, yeah, why me? I then tried talking to doctors. They said well, go away, and try again and keep trying. If it happens 3 times then we’ll start doing something about it.

I was at that time 36 years old. And I thought well, if I need to wait now 3 years before you start helping me, it’s going to be too late. And after our wedding and our honeymoon, we started again but my periods suddenly changed and it was getting irregular. So I went back to the doctors. And again I was sent home, with an answer saying “It happens sometimes”. Whereas I was feeling, well, what if maybe. What if this is the start of menopause? Because I was 37 or 38 years old.

I phoned up and I said “I have irregular periods, can I see a consultant?”. And basically it came up as I had low ovarian reserve. And he suggested IVF. And everything kind of started from there. So it felt all a bit kind of rushed. Just very kind of artificial. The scans, they only revealed, I think I had only 1 or 2 follicles for possible eggs. When we had the first IVF round, but they didn’t collect any eggs. It was heartbreaking and it felt like, oh, we are nowhere again. And I didn’t want to leave with nothing. The option was really to opt for donor eggs. So I said ok let’s go down this route.

The hardest thing for me to comes to terms with, that my body will not produce eggs for my baby. I just remember sitting at home and crying. And, yeah, thinking why me? Why can I not have my own baby? It was the darkest moment. But I then just had to kind of pick up myself and start this route again.

So, we started, or I started taking medication for the second round of IVF. I went to my GP and she said “Well, yeah, it says it’s an area characteristic of a polyp. It doesn’t say it is a polyp. So we can check you in about 6 weeks time. There is a queue.”.[I] explained that it’s already difficult for me to get pregnant naturally. And so my best chance is to have it removed. I think I had to have another scan. And they said again “We think there is polyp”. And I thought how come? I had it already removed. And then I started thinking it happens after I take the medication; the hormones for the IVF treatment. I was disappointed again. And the clinic in the Czech Republic said “Well, the next option then would be to do IVF in your natural cycle. Without the medications.”

And at the same time Rachel was starting her new Plan Yourself Pregnant Programme. I said well I might just try it completely naturally. Without IVF. On average, I think it can be 6 eggs on each ovary. And I only had one or two on one ovary. So we really work on improving the quality of those eggs. Because all you need really is one good egg. We tailored my lifestyle to it. Exercises, diet, emotional support. Rachel would always answer my questions. Or she would always give me other resources to research it myself, and come to an informed conclusion myself.

We had a wonderful community with other girls who went through similar things. Each of us had different problems. Each of us had different issues to deal with.

One day when my period was one day late. I thought “Umm, I’m not sure, maybe it’s getting irregular again.”. And then the next day, I thought, no, I will do the test. I need to know either way. And it was positive.

[Libby’s husband and their baby join]

Libby: I love it. It’s just a new love, really, you find in your life. She is a combination of both of us.

Husband: She is yes. She’s given a fresh outlook, isn’t it, really?

Libby: Yeah.

Husband: Because it’s something… I never thought I would be a father. Less than a year ago we didn’t think it would happen. You know, we’d never get the chance.

Libby: I’m so proud, like when I go out with her. I’m so proud with my pram or pushchair. And when people look at her and say “Oh, she’s so tiny. She’s so cute.” I’m just like “Yeah, she is.”

Libby also said:

Before I met Rachel, I knew nothing about alternative treatments. I had miscarried at the age of 36 when I was 7 weeks pregnant. It was a very hard, sad and emotional experience. I did not understand why it happened and it just felt so unfair. We then stopped trying for a while and when we started again (I was 37 years old then) I began to have irregular periods. I did not get very far talking to NHS GPs and an obstetrician as they follow a strict guideline to treat fertility issues only after 3 years of trying. I felt helpless, I could not get any help to have a baby.

I was, however, lucky to have private health insurance and was then diagnosed with low ovarian reserve. This gave me a starting point and I began to research private IVF route.

When I met Rachel I was pretty desperate at this stage, full of emotions from my previous miscarriage and from my difficult journey with an unknown outcome to have a baby.

Rachel was doing a fantastic job supporting me. For the first time, I was supported and listened to. Rachel also started her Plan Yourself Pregnant programme and I decided to fully throw myself into it and stop the IVF. I met other incredible women who were on their own fertility journey too, learned a lot from them and felt part of a beautiful community. I was becoming a new person.

Following Rachel’s treatment, my period started changing to healthy and regular ones again. Rachel supported me to clear emotional as well as physical clutter and this was the beginning of my new journey. Rachel taught me fertility and relaxing exercises and explained how diet affects fertility. The change in diet resulted in a massive change in my period.

Three months from working with Rachel, the impossible happened and I fell naturally pregnant at the age of 39. I will always remember the morning I found out and told my husband and Rachel. I cried with hysterical happiness on my way to work.

Rachel fully supported me throughout my pregnancy and I really felt like I was on cloud nine. Our little sweet perfect miracle baby girl was born in March 2018.