Couple who tragically suffered SIX miscarriages have given birth to their miracle baby after moving out of their £250,000 home to help pay for IVF treatment
Jo and Adam Wiggins were desperate to become parents and did everything they could to save up money for the treatment
A COUPLE who suffered six miscarriages finally have their miracle baby after moving out of their £250,000 home to save up enough money for IVF treatment.
Jo and Adam Wiggins, both 33, from Braintree, Essex, lost six babies in four years before finally conceiving their miracle baby, Max, who was born in June.
The couple were so desperate to fund further IVF treatment they rented out their home and moved back in with their parents to save up £10,000 for private IVF.
Jo, an administrator for the NHS, said: "We gave up everything to have our miracle baby and I wouldn't change anything we did because without that we wouldn't have Max.
"Going through the trauma of one miscarriage was hard enough but after suffering six we were completely heartbroken but I was determined to be a mother.
"After visiting a specialist I found out that I carried a high quantity of killer cells that were attacking my embryos causing the miscarriages, so I was placed on a mixture of drugs and we tried again.
"But we were then faced with another setback after I miscarried that time as tests also revealed Adam's sperm motility was low which meant we'd need to pay for IVF.
"We had already spent all of our savings on the miscarriage treatments so we were left with no other option but to rent out our home in order to save the money for IVF which cost £10,000.
"Thankfully it worked and once we saw our baby at our 12 week scan we were overcome with emotion.”
Jo and Adam met in 2010 through a mutual friend and soon fell pregnant in 2011; although it was unplanned they both wanted a family and were thrilled with the news.
Jo added: "We were thrilled by the news and naively told everyone who would listen that we were having a baby, but at around six weeks I started to bleed and after collapsing was taken into hospital.
"Two weeks later it was confirmed that I had suffered a miscarriage, it was really hard to accept and it made Adam and I realise that we were ready for children so we started actively trying.
"Over the next three years I got pregnant four more time but sadly miscarried each time, it was such a difficult time.
"I even miscarried whilst on our honeymoon in Mexico, it was supposed to be a really happy time for us but unfortunately it wasn't and this gave us the push to look into the reason behind this miscarriages.
"I found a private specialist who explained that I had a high level of Natural Killer (NK) cells that attacked the embryos as my body saw them as a threat.
"He came up with a treatment plan and I was placed on steroids, an intralipid infusion and a Malaria tablet to reduce the killer cells.
"I fell pregnant for the sixth time in early 2014 and as we reached the six week mark we saw a heartbeat, something we hadn't seen before, but sadly a day before our one year wedding anniversary I miscarried again.”
Previously, the couple had never experienced any fertility issues, but after 12 months of trying to get pregnant a seventh time their attempts were unsuccessful.
Tests revealed that Adam’s sperm had low mortality and they would now need IVF, but sadly didn’t qualify on the NHS, so they’d need £10,000 to fund the treatment privately.
Jo said: "We had already spent in excess of £15,000 on treatments at the miscarriage clinic and had run out of savings, so we decided to rent out our family home and move back in with my parents for a year to save money.
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"It was a really tough time but my family wanted to do all they could to help, we are so grateful and my Nan even lent us half of the money as she knew how much we wanted a baby.
"My sister offered to be a surrogate, she already has two children so wanted to help but I'm stubborn and wasn't ready to give up, I was determined to carry my own baby.
"Thankfully the IVF worked and I became pregnant a seventh time, but we wasn't out of the danger zone yet as I could still miscarry.
"Week by week our baby was getting stronger and at our 12 week scan we finally saw him, we both burst into tears and this was the first time we allowed ourselves to get excited.
"At 39 weeks my waters broke and after a 36 hour labour Max was born, there were some complications at birth but luckily he was healthy and after four days we were able to take him home.
"I have since started my blog, www.miraclemax.co.uk, as I want to reassure others that even if one door closes there is always another one that will open, our journey has been almost impossible to get through at times, but it has all been worth it for Max."
What are Natural Killer cells?
Dr Hassan Shehata, Founder and Director of the Miscarriage Clinic, said: "NK cells are part of our own immune system to protect us from foreign invasion by viruses and bacteria.
"But our group has discovered that when these cells are more active, in particular one called NK CD69, it wrongly identifies the pregnancy as foreign and attacks leading to a miscarriage.
"We have found that by calming these cells with medication some women can achieve successful pregnancies and we advise they continue with the medication until the end of the first trimester of pregnancy as by that time the body is able to protect the pregnancy by releasing natural immune calming substances."