Andrea Byrne, a news presenter, has spoken out about the struggles she and her husband faced during their seven-year journey to conceive. During this time, Byrne said that she often felt guilty and feared her husband would be “better off” without her due to their struggles with infertility. Byrne and her husband eventually had their daughter Jemima, who was conceived naturally and “defied science”, in 2019.
After getting married in 2012, Byrne and her husband started trying to conceive straight away. However, after going to a fertility clinic for tests, they were told that Byrne would likely never be able to carry her own pregnancy due to a rare genetic defect. The couple underwent several rounds of IVF and other treatments. They also faced the emotional toll that infertility can take on a relationship. At one point, Byrne recalled telling her husband to just “go and find somebody else” who could conceive more easily.
After years of trying, doctors told the couple that their only hope was surrogacy. Byrne writes in her new book, Desperate Rants and Magic Pants, that they explored the possibility of finding a surrogate in the US in 2018. However, just minutes before Byrne was due to present the evening news, they received news that none of the embryos that could have been used for a surrogate were viable. In the midst of this setback, Byrne said she felt guilty about being unable to do what other women could, but just a few months later she fell pregnant naturally.
Byrne hopes that her story will help others who are struggling with infertility feel less isolated. She advises those going through this struggle to be kind to themselves and to find moments of joy where they can. Byrne’s book, which was released in October, includes reflections from other celebrities who have faced fertility struggles
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
