Years Of Heartbreak Led To This Smile

Laura Worsley, 36, suffered physical and emotional trauma to become a mum

- Kara O'neill, Hannah Crocker

Scrolling through the website filled with prams, car seats and all the baby clothes you could imagine, my stomach did an excited flip. It was late 2008 and, after a year of dating, my partner, Dave, then 36, and I were expecting our first baby.

‘We need to pick a theme,’ I told Dave, thinking about the nursery. It was early days, but I couldn't help but start planning.

Only, at just over six weeks, I went to hospital suffering from crippling stomach pains and bleeding. The doctors confirmed I’d miscarried. I was devastated, but tried to be positive as I’d read one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, and many women go on to have healthy babies.

After I’d taken time to recover emotionally, Dave and I tried again, falling pregnant quickly once more. But I got to six weeks and history repeated itself.

‘We’ll keep trying,’ Dave said, hoping to reassure me, but when it happened a third and then a fourth time, it became difficult to put on a brave face.

‘Why is this happening?’ I sobbed to Dave one night after yet another trip to hospital. We went to our GP, who referred us to a specialist.

After numerous tests, I was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome, an immune-system disorder that causes increased risk of blood clots, which can contribute to miscarriage. ‘Taking a higher dose of folic acid should help,’ a specialist reassured. Buoyed by a renewed sense of hope, I took the recommended dosage religiously while Dave and I tried again.

Trying again

But more miscarriages followed, as did appointments with doctors as we desperately tried to figure out what was going wrong. Each time, we were told to ‘keep trying’.