Mother has children naturally after being toldMother has children naturally after being told she would never conceive even with I.V.F.A woman who was told she would probably never get pregnant even with I.V.F has had four babies in less than a year – and all were conceived naturally.Charlotte Parker had almost given up hope after doctors said her ᴇɢɢ count was so low that the Fᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ would not work without an ᴇɢɢ donor.
But as the 32-year-old and her husband Billy were starting to look for ᴅᴏɴᴏʀs, they were amazed to discover she was pregnant. She gave birth to son Lewis on September 6 last year. She then defied the ᴏᴅᴅs ᴀɴᴅ sᴜʀᴘʀɪsᴇᴅ ᴇxᴘᴇʀᴛs by becoming pregnant again just weeks later – and this time it was triplets. Adam, Jamie and Ella were born prematurely on August 4 and had to be cared for in a neonatal department for over a month. But they are doing well and are now back at home.
Mrs Parker said: ‘Having four babies is ᴄʀᴀᴢʏThere’s lots of feeds with 26 bottles in 24 hours and then changing… we get through around 30 nappies every day.
The couple, who live in Crawley, West Sussex, were distraught when a consultant told them I.V.F would not work. The treatment involves doctors extracting ᴇɢɢs and fertilising them before implanting the embryos back in the womb – so a low ᴇɢɢ count means they will struggle to extract any. Mrs Parker said it was devastating to find out she had an ‘extremely low’ ᴇɢɢ count, adding: ‘It felt like our future plans had been taken away from us.’
Charlotte Parker with her triplets and right, with husband Billy and son Lewis
She spent the next few months getting second opinions from private fertility clinics. But Mrs Parker, a legal secretary, said: ‘Everyone was telling me the same thing – that I had a low ᴇɢɢ count and would sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇ to conceive naturally.’
She and her 29-year-old husband started looking at ᴇɢɢ ᴅᴏɴᴏʀs, but a week before their first appointment Mrs Parker took a pregnancy ᴛᴇsᴛ and it was ᴘᴏsɪᴛɪᴠᴇ. After Lewis arrived, the couple, who married in 2014, wanted a bigger family, but knew it was highly unlikely. However, an ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅ sᴄᴀɴ in January revealed Mrs Parker was expecting the triplets. She gave birth at 32 weeks at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey. Ella weighed just 3lb 8oz, while the boys were only slightly heavier, with Adam at 3lb 11oz and Jamie at 4lb 4oz. Mrs Parker said: ‘They looked tiny, like little dolls. Lewis is a little young to fully understand he has three new siblings but isn’t ꜰᴀᴢᴇᴅ.” She and her husband, who is a chef, have worked out night ‘shifts’ to ensure they each get a few hours of rest while looking after their children, and also have support from their parents.
Mrs Parker said: ‘It’s amazing for us to be together now as a family after everything. We’re really happy to all be home and feel very lucky to have four happy and healthy babies. So many people are told similar things to what I heard and do not get the happy outcome they want, so we feel very fortunate… I didn’t think it was possible.’