A woman who was on the pill for 10 years was left heartbroken after struggling to conceive when she finally stopped taking birth control.
For Olivia Greenaway, joyful celebrations like Christmas or birthdays were just a constant reminder of the family she didn’t have.
The 32-year-old, who lives in Berkshire, would feel a pang of longing every time she spotted toys for sale or heard about friends planning the festive period for their kids.
READ MORE: ‘Trolls call me a gold digger because I’m marrying man with world’s first FACE TRANSPLANT’
Olivia and her husband, Liam, 33, tried for a baby for months, which is not considered a very long time for conception but the hopeful mum had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right.
Unfortunately, she was right.
“I wanted it so bad that I just couldn’t see hope some days,” Olivia, who works as head of digital capability, told Need To Know.
“Everyone around us was pregnant.
“The best way I can describe it is we were delighted for our friends, and we loved and cared for their children dearly.
“At the same time, we were devastated for ourselves, knowing that we didn’t seem to be able to have that.
“Every Christmas, Easter, birthday that passed was another reminder of what we didn’t have.
“All of our friends had babies at Christmas time and we had been trying to get pregnant before some that had two babies at this point.
“Life seemed totally unfair and it was difficult to put on a smiley face and go through the Christmas traditions, reminding us what we still didn’t have.”
After initially trying for a baby in 2017, Olivia felt that her body may have been struggling to adjust as she had been taking the contraceptive pill for 10 years prior.
Olivia and Liam, who works as a branch manager, were also regular gym goers.
Due to weight training, her body fat had dropped to 13%.
Doctor’s told the couple that Olivia needed to put on weight to give her reproductive system the best chance of working.
She was prescribed Metformin, a drug which lowers insulin and blood sugar levels, to help regulate periods and improve ovulation, and Clomid to stimulate her ovaries to release eggs.
Sadly, this still proved unsuccessful for the couple.
“At first doctors thought it was unexplained infertility which quite frankly is the most awful term because it sounded like they were just giving up by saying it was unexplained,” Olivia said.
“I was getting more and more desperate, I became obsessed with tracking my ovulation and taking pregnancy tests, it wasn’t healthy.
“I do believe that being on the pill for so long had a detrimental effect on my reproductive system.
“The pill was a quick fix for a teenage skin issue but looking back now, it wasn’t worth it and I hugely regret taking it.”
Olivia underwent further tests before becoming eligible for NHS-funded IVF.
They chose TFP Fertility’s Oxford clinic for their treatment, where a consultant discovered that Olivia had PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome).
Olivia had standard IVF in the Spring, which produced 14 eggs and ultimately six embryos.
She said: “The staff were just the most natural and caring and it wasn’t a huge sales pitch.
“Also, we looked online at their success rates and they were strong.
“It was great to know what the plan was and it felt more like a reassuring process Vs ‘Try this pill for six months and we’ll see’ which is what we had had previously.
“The egg retrieval was a lot on my body, because of my polycystic ovaries I produced a lot of eggs which was uncomfortable and I was quite emotional on the medication.
“It is a strange thing telling your employer you’re starting IVF, it isn’t as if a couple without fertility struggles would tell their employer they’re about to start having unprotected sex.”
After the transfer, she ended up in A&E, as she couldn’t stop being sick and her stomach had swelled.
She was then diagnosed with OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome), which can be more common in women with PCOS.
Olivia had to stay in hospital for a week to be monitored and felt worried about the outcome of her IVF.
Two weeks later, she took a pregnancy test which was positive, and on 20 January 2022, they welcomed their son, Arthur.
“Everyday was a worry, I googled every little symptom and struggled to focus on anything else.
“My husband Liam was my calm and I couldn’t have done it without him.
“We had multiple private scans with Arthur and spent hundreds of pounds because I was constantly worried something was wrong with him.
“I didn’t allow myself to truly believe it was happening until he was safely in my arms.
“I will never forget going to the babyshow with my sister-in-law and niece and buying a buggy.
“For years I had wandered around John Lewis or Mothercare looking at the buggies and pushing my friends’ babies, wishing it was our turn, it felt surreal when it finally was for our baby.
“Arthur had to go to special care for a little while and it was strange going back to the ward without my baby, but even though he wasn’t in my arms, I just felt a huge sense of relief and purpose.
“Like I finally was doing what I was meant to be doing, being a Mummy.”
Just 18 months later, Olivia and Liam decided to try to give Arthur, who is now two years old, a sibling.
In September 2023, the couple had a frozen IVF transfer, which led to the birth of their second baby, George, on 15 May this year.
She said: “We were apprehensive that we would be tempting fate and it perhaps wouldn’t be as smooth or successful which gave us a huge amount of fear.
“But we were hopeful and knew what the process was this time, which helped hugely.
“George’s pregnancy wasn’t as straightforward so there was an even larger sense of relief when he was put into my arms.
“Every needle, every piece of medication, every examination and every appointment suddenly is forgotten, and I would have done it 100 times over to get my boys.”
Olivia and her husband now have two healthy babies, and are looking forward to the festive period.
She is also excited to start weight training again.
Olivia added: “When you are fit and healthy, it is a shock to have to stop an exercise you love.
“I love lifting weights and plan to go back to it, now we have the children.”
“We can’t wait for Christmas this year, Arthur is Grinch mad and talks about Father Christmas a lot.
“Both boys already have a special bond and we can’t wait to make memories and traditions with our family that we worked so hard to get.
“Christmas reminds us of the hope we had and held onto, even when it felt impossible, but we continued to have faith and now couldn’t be happier.”
