Our three little MIRACLES

After years of fertility struggles, Annette Hughes is finally a mum

- ASHLEIGH PAGE, LUCY LAING

Every child is a blessing, as the old saying goes. But when I watch my son Efan, four, dancing around making his twin sisters, six-month-old Betsi and Lili, giggle, I can’t help but think that the three of them really are miracles.

My fertility struggles began in 2015, three years after I married my husband Gareth, then 33. I was desperate to be a mum and I fell pregnant quickly, but at seven weeks I suffered a miscarriage. I was devastated – we both were – but, determined to become parents, we continued trying.

By 2016, there was still no sign of a baby and I was referred to a fertility specialist who did blood tests to see if I was even ovulating.

Soon, I began experiencing pain in my lower abdomen, too. Prescribed antibiotics for UTIs over and over again, I could tell something was wrong and began keeping a pain diary, which showed I was feeling pain at the same time during my cycles.

I was referred to another specialist who thought my symptoms could be attributed to endometriosis, where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other areas of the body. Surgery was scheduled to clear the tissue. However, during the op, doctors discovered my fallopian tubes were completely blocked with tissue that usually lines the uterus. Four attempts to clear them failed and I knew my chances of becoming a mum were slipping further and further away.

Doctors warned that IVF was likely my only hope and even then there was only a 5% chance it would work. Gareth and I were very upset. All of our friends were having babies easily – why was it proving so difficult for us? We seemed to be facing hurdle after hurdle.