'We have our much longed for baby'

By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News

Bridget became a mother at 43

Bridget and Joe Barrett are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl - the baby they had almost given up hope of ever having.

She was born in September at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, after 14 years of infertility and miscarriage for the Devon parents.

"I am so relieved - and amazed, really," said Bridget.

"We worked at this for a long time and I think 'Why now? - but now it is."

Mounting stress

At first Bridget had trouble conceiving naturally.

She was referred by her GP for fertility treatment, and had five unsuccessful IVF attempts.

After learning that reducing stress might help her conceive, she gave up her high-pressured job as a sales and marketing manager to give herself the best possible chance.

Suddenly we were not oddities any more; we were just normal people trying to do something other people did Bridget Barrett

Within months she was pregnant twice, but had an early miscarriage each time.

Almost despairing, the couple were referred to international miscarriage expert Professor Lesley Regan, at St Mary's Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Professor Regan heads up the newly reopened miscarriage centre, which is the world's largest. She had reassuring news for the Barretts.

"She said there was no reason why I could not have a baby, but that I did have problems keeping it," said Bridget.

Professor Regan had a simple piece of advice: if Bridget did get pregnant again, she should start taking a regular aspirin.

Aspirin can cut the inflammation which can trigger a miscarriage, and later in pregnancy it helps to thin the blood and reduce the risk of the serious complication pre-eclampsia.

Special care

Bridget felt there was an instant bond with her new doctor.

"It was lovely to meet Professor Regan because to her we were just run-of-the-mill," she said.

"Suddenly we were not oddities any more; we were just normal people trying to do something other people did.

"There were probably tougher cases or more complex cases, as we had no medical reason why I could not get pregnant."

In 2005 Bridget got pregnant again, but again she miscarried.

Then this year at the age of 43 - almost when she had given up hope - she found she was pregnant yet again. And this time she carried the baby to term.

Our mission is to make sure every couple takes home a healthy baby Professor Lesley Regan

But Bridget explained it had been a fraught nine months.

"At the beginning of the pregnancy time passes very slowly particularly over the early weeks, but you get to a certain point at which you think 'I might be in with a chance here'," she said.

"And then past week eight to 12 you think 'I really am in with a chance'.

"Then you have the scans and you realise that you have a healthy baby and you think this might happen."

Baby girl

During the pregnancy Professor Regan and her team kept a close eye on Bridget.

Although - apart from aspirin - Bridget needed no other treatment, she believes the fact that she could count on such specialist support was the key to the eventual success of the pregnancy because, crucially, it helped her to relax.

Two months ago Professor Regan herself delivered the 61b 11oz (3kg) girl.

Professor Regan and her staff hope they will now be able to help many more couples like the Barretts.

As well as offering treatment, the Save the Baby Unit will also be home to a unique tissue bank for pregnancy complications and will hold the biggest known collection of tissue samples from mothers, fathers, babies, placentas and miscarriage tissues as a resource for researchers at hospitals across London and further afield.

The tissue bank will allow researchers to identify genetic codes and environmental factors that cause common pregnancy complications, and for the first time to look at the genetic contribution that fathers make and whether this affects the outcome of pregnancy.

One in seven couples is affected by infertility. One in every four pregnancies (including unrecognised ones) is estimated to end in miscarriage and 1% of women have recurrent miscarriages.

The walls of the new unit are decorated with mementos from grateful parents, happy smiling baby photos, name checks and poignant reminders of those who were not so lucky.

Professor Regan said between 75% and 80% of couples left with a baby.

"Thousands of couples are going through hell. First they have problems becoming pregnant, then they suffer numerous miscarriages, and then later pregnancy complications.

"We see about 1,000 new couples every year.

"Our mission is to make sure every couple takes home a healthy baby," she said.

Bridget said any couple struggling for a baby should stay positive.

"I would tell other women to persevere, never to give up - particularly as when you get older it takes longer to get pregnant," she said.

"The results show that despite what you think might happen,something good can happen."