The journey to parenthood isn’t always straightforward, as Lucy and David Boyd discovered when they faced multiple heartbreaking pregnancy losses. Their story reflects the emotional and physical struggles many couples endure in the face of infertility, particularly secondary infertility.
The Boyds, from Dundrum, welcomed their first child, Will, in November 2020. Despite Will being born prematurely at 32 weeks, the couple had no reason to anticipate complications with future pregnancies. “We were young, fit, and healthy. We assumed having a second baby would happen just as easily,” Lucy, 34, recalled.
However, their experience with trying for a second child proved to be far more challenging. In April 2022, the couple began attempting to conceive again. Though they quickly became pregnant, they suffered a miscarriage at eight weeks. After taking time to grieve, they tried again but lost the pregnancy at six weeks. A third miscarriage followed in February 2023, deepening their sense of confusion and sorrow. “When you’ve had a healthy pregnancy once, it’s hard to process why it’s not happening again,” Lucy shared.
Lucy and David were grappling with secondary infertility, a condition affecting many couples who struggle to conceive or carry a second child to term. In fact, as many as one in seven couples in Ireland face secondary infertility, with up to 40% of clients at Sims IVF experiencing similar challenges.
The added difficulty for Lucy, a nurse manager at Sims IVF in Dublin, was managing her professional life while enduring such personal pain. “I’m very private at work, so discussing my struggles with colleagues was difficult. But it helped me relate to the couples coming into the clinic, giving me a deeper sense of compassion,” she said.
Her personal journey was also shaped by the realities of working in fertility care, where she was often confronted with the worst outcomes. “After everything I saw at the clinic, I waited for something to go wrong, even when we had positive news,” Lucy admitted. Despite this, her close connection with the medical team at Sims IVF provided hope.
A breakthrough came when Lucy was diagnosed with a rare congenital condition known as uterus didelphys, or a double uterus. This condition can make it difficult to carry a pregnancy to full term, which explained some of their previous losses. After their third miscarriage, the Boyds pursued fertility investigations, eventually deciding on IVF. During these tests, two stenographers at Sims IVF found access to Lucy’s non-dominant uterus, which had previously been undetected. “It was a breakthrough moment,” she said.
Their IVF journey began in May 2023. After a failed first cycle, the couple tried again with a frozen embryo transfer in August. This time, Lucy received a positive pregnancy result, but rather than joy, the initial reaction was anxiety. “After multiple losses, you’re just waiting for something to go wrong,” she explained.
Helga Behan, a specialist fertility counsellor at Sims IVF, explained this common feeling of anxiety that many couples experience after pregnancy loss. “It’s a challenging time, especially during the two-week wait after an embryo transfer. Couples often live in limbo, trying to manage their fear of more loss,” Behan said. She emphasized the importance of providing a supportive, non-judgmental space for couples during this difficult time.
For much of her pregnancy, Lucy remained on edge. David recalls obsessively researching the likelihood of survival at each week of pregnancy, while Lucy admits she couldn’t fully relax until her baby was safely in her arms. “Even once we passed the 30-week mark, I still couldn’t let go of the fear of preterm labor,” she said.
At 38 weeks, Lucy gave birth to their daughter Sophie via elective Caesarean section. “It was a beautiful experience, and we were thrilled to finally meet our little girl. It was such a surprise—everyone in our families had either all boys or all girls!” David said.
The Boyds’ story is a testament to perseverance, the importance of support, and the resilience of the human spirit. Lucy offers advice to others facing similar struggles: “Be kind to yourself. Reach out for support, whether it’s through counselling or talking to someone who understands. It can be a very lonely journey, and having someone to talk to helps.”
Despite their tough path to parenthood, Lucy and David’s story is one of hope and the eventual joy of a long-awaited child.
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