Heartache replaced by joy of twins
10:53am Friday 26th June 2009 in Search Module
HAPPY FAMILY: Nikki and Damian Burkhill with their children Callum and Caitlin
A COUPLE who went through years of heartache trying to conceive a child are telling others not to give up.
Nikki and Damian Burkhill went through an ectopic pregnancy and two miscarriages before successful IVF treatment gave them twins Callum and Caitlin, now aged 20 months.
Now the couple, who were helped by a fertility service in Bolton, have shared their story to inspire others to keep going.
Mrs Burkhill, aged 30, said: “It is incredibly difficult. All you want is a baby.
“It’s been a massive rollercoaster for us but it has definitely been worth it. I would advise people going through similar things to talk to people who understand and not to give up.
“We thought about it, especially after the second miscarriage which devastated us, but if we hadn’t gone on, we wouldn’t have Callum and Caitlin.”
She and her husband, aged 39, began trying for a baby in the year 2000, knowing it would be difficult because Mrs Burkhill was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries at the age of 19. Women with the condition rarely ovulate, making them less fertile.
In 2001, they had an ectopic pregnancy, with the baby starting to develop in one of Mrs Burkhill’s fallopian tubes.
The couple then turned to IVF and conceived in 2005, but lost the baby at 12 weeks.
Another round of IVF six months later led to a pregnancy but Mrs Burkhill miscarried at six weeks.
She was pregnant with the twins in early 2007 and they were born by Caesarean section on September 25.
The Burkhills, from Adlington, were helped by CARE Fertility, which has a unit at the Beaumont Hospital, Lostock.
Mrs Burkhill has gone on to become an egg donor in a bid to help other women become mums.
cherry.thomas@the boltonnews.co.uk
