Highlights of 2019: New clinic celebrates arrival of first baby

18 Dec 2019

Baby bear - our Wickford clinic's first baby

Less than a year after our Wickford clinic opened, staff were delighted to hear news that Bear the clinic’s first baby had been born.

Baby Bear’s mum and dad, Leonie and Chris, were the first NHS patients to have their consultation at the clinic.

Leonie had always suspected that she might have problems getting pregnant as she had undergone an operation on one of her ovaries when she was only 15. After struggling to conceive for a number of years the couple sought help and were referred for treatment.

One cycle of IVF and first baby success

The couple’s IVF treatment at Bourn Hall was successful first time around and Leonie had been so delighted to finally have a positive pregnancy result that she drove to Tesco in her pyjamas to buy more tests, as she just couldn’t believe the good news.

Dr Arpita Ray, Lead Clinician for our Essex clinics, said, “Chris and Leonie’s’ heart-warming story demonstrates the life-changing impact of NHS funding.”

Reassurance for the future

The couple also have five embryos from their treatment frozen at Bourn Hall, which means that if they later want siblings for Bear they will be able to have a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) cycle without the need to undergo another full cycle of IVF.

Leonie said, “Chris is an only child and we always wanted more than one child so it is really reassuring to know that we have those embryos in the bank for the future.”

Everyone at Bourn Hall wishes Leonie and Chris a magical Christmas together as a family with their first baby, Bear!

Baby bear - our Wickford clinic's first baby
Baby bear’s first Christmas

More information

Not at the stage of celebrating your first Christmas as a family? Read our guest blog from K.K. Goldberg, with her top tips for answering intrusive questions like “When are you going to have a baby then?”

If, like Leonie, you’re worried about your chances of conceiving, we have developed a summary of the major causes of female infertility.

We offer a range of fertility tests and recently launched a new Fertility Diagnosis and Ovulation Induction treatment service, which is free for those referred by a GP (even in areas where IVF is not funded), providing couples struggling to conceive with answers in six weeks. Find out more about free fertility diagnosis in six weeks.

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Genuine experiences from real patients. See why so many trust us with their fertility care.

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“We went to an open evening at Bourn Hall Wickford and came away feeling really positive about the place. The staff were really friendly and the presentation was clear about the statistics regarding success rates and live birth rates; their data was very transparent. We came away feeling like we would really be looked after.”

Katy and Leigh are parents to Charlie after IVF

Patient 2023

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“We chose to make an appointment at Bourn Hall Wickford because of the favourable reviews. When we got there and met the staff they were just so lovely, making us feel welcome and explaining to us what tests would need to be done and what our options were; we just thought ‘yes, let’s get the ball rolling!”

Jess and Fran are mums to Nathan after IVF with donor sperm

Patient 2023