#7 Infertility, IVF, an Incompetent Cervix and Cecil and Wilfred’s story with Sophie Martin

In this week’s episode of Footprints on our Hearts, I talk to Sophie Martin about infertility, being a midwife and her twin sons, Cecil and Wilfred, who died shortly after they were born.

I haven’t had to go through IVF so I’m incredibly grateful to Sophie for sharing her experiences of IVF so openly. If you haven’t experienced infertility yourself, I’d recommend listening to her story so you, like me, you can better understand what many women have to go through on their journey to bring home a baby.

In the interview we talk about:

• Infertility and what’s involved with IVF (9:36)
• Finding out she was pregnant with twins, struggles with morning sickness and anxiety (19:28)
• Going into premature labour at 21 weeks and giving birth to twins (26:23)
• The initial weeks of grief and going back to work seven weeks after giving birth (34:50)
• Having a Transabdominal Cerclage (TAC) – a cervical stitch – and going back for IVF round two (40:20)
• The impact of infertility on mental health – grief, staying positive and the fear of being pregnant (43:54)

You can connect with Sophie on Instagram @the.infertile.midwife.

In the introduction, I mention Dancing in the Wings, a play about baby loss. Tickets are still available here for the final performance next Friday 20^th March in Chester, Cheshire.

If you’re currently pregnant, you may want to look at the information issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists about COVID-19 (coronavirus).

And I give a shout out to the Finally Pregnant podcast hosted by Cat Strawbridge (@tryingyears) who talks to women about their experiences of pregnancy after infertility or loss.

Question of the week: when was the last time grief hit you out of the blue? For me, it always seems to hit when I go on holiday…

If you enjoy the podcast, I’d really appreciate it if you could leave a review on your podcast app. You can connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/footprintsonourhearts/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/skyesfootprints) or email alison@footprintsonourhearts.com.