A Royal Wootton Bassett couple have welcomed a baby daughter despite the husband having undergone a vasectomy during his first marriage, thanks to fertility treatment at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM).
Shona and Allen Payton welcomed daughter Madison at the end of January after undergoing IVF treatment following an unsuccessful vasectomy reversal procedure. The couple, who met at work and married in 2022, were keen to start a family together. After raising £3,500 for a vasectomy reversal operation, they were disappointed when it did not result in a pregnancy.
They then attended a free open evening at Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine, where they received a mini consultation and guidance on the fertility treatment options available to them.
Shona, 30, said, “We had chosen BCRM because we’d heard about their higher-than-average IVF success rate. The free event at BCRM included a private mini consultation with a specialist who explained what we were entitled to on the NHS, which was incredibly useful.”
Although the couple were not eligible for NHS-funded IVF treatment because Allen already had children, they were able to access NHS investigations to rule out any fertility issues. Following blood tests and scans, BCRM specialists suggested sperm retrieval surgery for Allen followed by IVF treatment using ICSI.
Shona admitted she was initially nervous about the IVF injections. “I was very apprehensive about the injections involved in IVF because I had a real thing about needles, and Allen virtually had to chase me around the house to give them to me at first,” she said. “But it turned out they really weren’t that bad – I soon got used to it.
“Staff at the clinic were incredibly kind to us, and we always felt very well supported there.”
After a successful embryo transfer and the anxious two-week wait, the couple discovered Shona was pregnant.
“To our delight, after the two-week wait that followed my embryo transfer we discovered I was pregnant, and at the end of January we welcomed our beautiful daughter Madison into the world,” she said. “Every time I look at her I marvel at what modern medicine can achieve, and we’re so very grateful to BCRM for enabling us to have her and for the wonderful care they gave.”
Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine is the longest established fertility clinic in Bristol and supports both private and NHS patients from across the South West and Wales. The clinic also holds regular free open evenings, which include confidential mini consultations with fertility specialists.
