I I was 26 when my gynecologist told me that my fallopian tubes were blocked and I wouldn't be able to get pregnant. I was devastated. I always wanted children. It was 1972; I lived in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, and worked as a college teacher. ECO did not exist, and when my husband and I put our names down to adopt a child, we were told that we had very little chance because there were few children available for adoption at the time. Meanwhile, my gynecologist was trying to open my fallopian tubes. It didn't work.
I refused to accept that I had no choice. I read every article possible about infertility treatment. Three years later, I heard about a medical breakthrough from a gynecologist Patrick Steptoe and physiologist Robert Edwards. It was described as very experimental and new.
I wrote to Patrick about my situation. It took almost a year, and my husband and I had to undergo many tests, but eventually Patrick told me that I was the perfect candidate for their free, innovative IVF program.
Bob explained it all in layman's terms – how the egg would be extracted, placed in a petri dish, fertilized with my husband's sperm, and then, at the optimal stage, returned back to my uterus. Although there was a lot of skepticism in the press about this procedure, I was not scared by the thought of having a “test tube baby.” I was delighted. This was my only chance.
I began to live with hope. But in February 1977, when my first IVF attempt failed, it broke my heart. I remember crying on the train home. With the help of Bob, Patrick, and embryology nurse Jean Purdy—the most supportive person I've ever met—I pulled myself together. The following May I made a second attempt. Another woman on the program, Lesley Brown, was pregnant with Louise by this time, which gave us all hope. Louise became the first child born through IVF in 1978.
After the egg was implanted, I believed that this time it would work. Two weeks later, when I didn't get my period, I felt blessed. I was pregnant with my second IVF child in the world.
I went into labor during a snow storm. Bob and Patrick went to Glasgow – Patrick was planning to have my baby by caesarean section. But because of the thunderstorm, it took them several hours – and they kept stopping along the way to call and advise my gynecologist.
They did not arrive in time, but with the help of a gynecologist, my son Alastair was born on January 14, 1979, weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces. He was the first boy to undergo IVF in the world. My desired baby suddenly appeared here. I was overwhelmed with emotions. When they handed it to me and I had to hold it, I cried.
The funny thing is that he didn't cry. He just looked at me. It was a look I will never forget. I told him that I loved him and that the time had come – I had been waiting for him for so long. My husband was too over the moon, as did Patrick and Bob when they arrived an hour later.
Alastair is now 46 years old, a First Auxiliary Officer in the Royal Navy and my pride and joy. We both love to travel and a few years ago we took a trip around the world together. We slept under the stars in Australia and climbed the Fox Glacier in New Zealand. I feel grateful for every minute I spend with him. He is still the most important person in my life.
I'm still very close to the four other women in the program. I will never forget the camaraderie we had and how each of us understood what the other was going through. We have created an unbreakable bond. I remember one of them telling me, “If it doesn’t happen for me, do it for all of us.”
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I look back and feel lucky that I went through it all because I have Alastair. I'm so glad IVF is considered “normal” today and I'm honored to have played a small role in this medical breakthrough.
The miracle of Alastair's existence is entirely due to Bob, Patrick and Jeanie. Since then, more than 13 million highly desirable children have been born through IVF, and it is their dedication and faith that has made this possible. I was in the right place at the right time—and as a result, I will always consider myself blessed.
As told to Donna Ferguson
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