A Lowestoft woman has described her emotional journey after admitting she had hit "absolute rock-bottom" when she couldn't conceive. Gemma Cook admitted she felt "sad and alone" as she spent years trying to get pregnant. Having first started trying for a baby 10 years ago with husband Paul, and after being referred for NHS-funded IVF at Bourn Hall Clinic in Norwich, Gemma happily now is the mum of three children after successful IVF treatment.
Raising awareness of how infertility can impact mental health and wellbeing - which is being highlighted during Fertility Week that runs from November 4-8 - she recalls spending one Christmas in absolute despair after yet another year had passed of trying to get pregnant without success. "It was my worst Christmas ever and it is only now, looking back, that I realise that I had hit absolute rock-bottom emotionally, I felt alone, completely helpless and out of control of my own life," she said. "It felt so unfair.
Everyone seemed to have children already or was pregnant, and I was the one left behind. "I was really happy for my friends who were having children but at the same time felt sad for me." Gemma and Paul, from Lowestoft, were referred for IVF at Bourn Hall Clinic in Norwich after tests had revealed they would be unable to conceive naturally.
Their first IVF round was unsuccessful – so when their second treatment resulted in a pregnancy, Gemma says she didn’t react how she would have liked to as she was "too anxious and scare.
