Long, hard journey that finally brought us our Gracie

A DECADE ago, Lisa Glossop was morbidly obese, suffering fertility problems and fearing she would never have the baby she so longed for.

But now – 13 stones lighter – she is looking forward to spending Mother's Day at home in Doncaster with her daughter Gracie, who is 14 weeks old.

Coincidentally, it was on Mother's Day last year that Mrs Glossop, 33, did a pregnancy test and found out her second round of gruelling IVF treatment had been successful.

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She and her husband Julian, 38, had been trying to conceive for more than 10 years.

Mrs Glossop, from Sprotbrough, said: "Julian was my boss at work. We were friends for a long time, then he asked me out for a meal on July 28 1999. We got engaged on November 22 the same year and married in June 2003.

"I had a problem with contraception, in that I couldn't take the Pill and was allergic to condoms, but we knew we were staying together – this was no fly-by-night thing – so we thought 'if something happens, it happens'. The problem was, 18 months down the line, nothing had happened."

The couple went for tests and were devastated to discover that, not only did Mr Glossop have a low sperm count and low sperm motility, but Mrs Glossop had blocked Fallopian tubes.

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Over the next few years they went for a series of tests to discover what was wrong but the answer remained the same – their chances of conceiving naturally were virtually nil.

Mrs Glossop said: "I was referred to a gynaecologist and they said that, if I stopped smoking and lost the weight, they'd send us for IVF at Care Fertility in Sheffield.

"I stopped smoking the minute I walked out of that clinic and also began trying to lose weight."

Numerous diets proved unsuccessful, however, and although Mrs Glossop lost three stones for her wedding, the weight soon piled back on.

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"I just couldn't do it," she said. "Every time I would lose so many pounds, then it'd tail off and it'd go back on. I got to 25 stone and I was permanently starving."

Even slimming pills prescribed by her GP were ruled out, as they brought on asthma attacks.

Realising that drastic measures were necessary, Mrs Glossop went on the waiting list for a gastric bypass.

"I went for surgery in June 2007 at the Thornbury Hospital in

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Sheffield. I was so frightened that, the night before, my husband caught me sitting at the kitchen table writing my goodbye letters. When you're that size, and with having a general anaesthetic, I realised the odds weren't in my favour."

The operation was a success, and within a month Mrs Glossop had lost two-and-a-half stones.

Unable to eat anything other than liquids and pureed food, six months later she was eight stones lighter and also much fitter, thanks to regular gym workouts.

As soon as she got down to a weight she knew would be acceptable for IVF, she got back in touch with the hospital and the couple began treatment.

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Mrs Glossop said: "IVF was the most traumatic time of my life. My emotions were crazy – one minute I was laughing, the next I was sobbing my heart out."

When their first IVF cycle was unsuccessful, Mrs Glossop said she "went through hell". "It was like I'd suffered the loss of my babies before they were even born", she said.

Knowing they only had one more chance at IVF on the NHS – and aware they couldn't afford to go private – the couple began their second cycle in February 2009.

Mrs Glossop said: "We had six eggs which were all good and two of those were planted. One of those is Gracie."

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After an easy pregnancy and a short labour, Gracie was born a week over her due date, on December 2 last year.

Mrs Glossop said: "She was seven pounds 12 ounces of pure joy."

Requirements for ivf success

In-vitro fertilisation, or IVF – which comes from the Latin for "within the glass" – involves fertilising the egg cells with the sperm outside of the womb and then transferring the fertilised egg back into the patient's uterus.

For IVF to be successful, it needs a healthy egg, sperm that are capable of fertilising that egg, and a uterus which will be able to sustain a pregnancy.

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Couples having difficulty conceiving are allowed a limited number of IVF cycles on the NHS and thereafter have to pay for private treatment which can cost from 4,000 to 8,000.

The success rate of IVF treatment decreases as the woman gets older.

In 2006 – the latest statistics that are available from the NHS – 29 per cent of cycles resulted in a live birth for woman aged under 35, compared with just 11 per cent for women aged between 40 and 42, and less than one per cent for women aged over 44.

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