I wanted to help her have a baby

Andrea Rivas, 34, gave birth to three sets of twins in just three years – but she didn’t keep them all

- JEMIMAH WRIGHT, FRANCES LEATE.

With my newborn baby twins nestled into the crook of each arm, I gazed into their blue eyes and smiled at my husband, Mark, feeling a rush of joy sweep over me. I’d dreamt of this moment for so long, and now in February 2012 it was finally here – our daughter, Avery, and son, Connor, had been delivered by caesarean just hours before.

I didn’t anticipate having any problems getting pregnant, but after two years of trying for a baby, followed by two miscarriages, it became clear something was wrong. In 2010, fertility tests confirmed I had polycystic ovaries, and Mark and I would need IVF to have a baby of our own – only, our first round was unsuccessful.

By now we’d been trying for a baby for almost four years, but it had ended in nothing but heartbreak. With no one else in my family or social circle going through the same thing, I felt alone. That’s when I found a support group on Facebook and met Sandi, then 42. Just like Mark and I, she and her husband, Philip, 40, had tried IVF and were desperate for a child.

‘I don’t think people truly understand what it feels like unless you’ve been through it,’ I told her, messaging one night.

A huge commitment

‘That’s true, all we can do is stay positive,’ she replied. I found Sandi’s attitude inspiring – it didn’t matter what setbacks she faced, she stayed upbeat. When I discovered she only lived 20 minutes away, I invited them out for dinner, and Mark bonded with Philip over the sometimes intrusive process of IVF.