Positive result was greatest Christmas gift after miscarriage grief

The festive period will always hold a very special place in Cara and Steve’s hearts after finding out on Christmas Eve six years ago that Cara was pregnant with their ‘rainbow babies’ following successful IVF at Bourn Hall Wickford.

“I was 30 when we started trying and a couple of friends had children already,” says Cara. “People used to ask ‘when are you going to have children?’ and I would say ‘Oh I don’t know if I want them’. I wanted to keep it private that we were trying and I was scared to think of the possibility of it not happening for us.

“We had some tests done and were told we would need IVF.”

Heartbreak and hope

Cara and Steve with Alfie and Esmae (Photo credit: Kristina Mac of Tiny Posers)

The couple were among the first patients at Bourn Hall’s, new state-of-the-art clinic in Wickford.  Their first round of IVF with ICSI was successful but, heartbreakingly, Cara lost the baby at nine weeks.

“At first I didn’t think that I could face trying again but we still had three embryos frozen at the clinic and, after taking a break, we thought we would give it another go,” says Cara.

A frozen embryo transfer is much less invasive and costs less than a fresh transfer.

“We decided to have two frozen embryos put in and the transfer took place on my birthday in December,” says Cara. “This time around we didn’t tell anyone and two weeks later, on Christmas Eve, we found out I was pregnant again. It was bittersweet because of what had happened last time but we couldn’t wait to surprise our close family with the news on Christmas Day.”

An extra gift

The couple returned to Bourn Hall in the New Year for their seven-week scan.

“The nurse said to us ‘I have got two pieces of good news for you,’” remembers Cara. “And she told us that we were expecting twins. I burst into tears and Steve’s jaw hit the floor, he was so stunned; I don’t think he said anything else for the rest of the time we were in there!“

Because of her previous miscarriage Cara was really nervous throughout the pregnancy.

“It was awful,” she says. “Every time I went to the hospital for a scan I was convinced they were going to tell me I had lost one of them. I felt like that all the way through the pregnancy, the thought of something going wrong was just ingrained in my mind.”

Happily, Cara’s pregnancy progressed well and she gave birth to twins Alfie and Esmae in August 2019.

This year Cara, Steve, Alfie and Esmae were first in line to greet Santa at his grotto at the Wickford At Christmas Fair. “I never thought that I would get to do things like going to see Santa with children of my own,” says Cara from Essex. “It felt amazing.”

They were joined by Becky Green, Bourn Hall Wickford’s Senior Fertility Midwife, who is also a good friend of the family.

Cara and Steve take Alfie and Esmae to meet Santa, with Bourn Hall’s Becky Green

More information

If you have experienced early pregnancy loss and miscarriage then you might find our Miscarriage Service helpful.

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