‘We wanted to show people the hidden side of IVF treatment’
Health correspondent Mark Smith meets the determined couple who are speaking openly about what’s it’s like to go through six rounds of IVF treatment without success
ACOUPLE who are on their seventh round of IVF have shared their experiences in a bid to reduce the “taboo” around the treatment.
Lewis and Hannah Vaughan Jones, who both work as TV newsreaders, decided to post a series of video blogs on YouTube which candidly expose the hardship and heartache of the fertility process.
The footage reveals Hannah’s painstaking regime of injections and their side-effects as well as her frequent trips to hospital.
“Everyone knows someone who has gone through IVF but very few people have that mental image of the process because it’s not talked about,” said former Penarth resident Lewis, who married Hannah in 2015 after dating for six years.
“And when people do open up, it’s all about how it helped them produce this ‘miracle’ baby after X number of rounds of treatment.
“But there’s no guarantees of a happy result. We wanted to film our journey in real time to reveal that hidden side of IVF and the demands of it.”
After taking a complex range of medication including steroids, CNN presenter Hannah had 17 eggs removed from her ovaries at a clinic in London last week which were then each fertilised with one sperm.
The following day she found out that half of them had fertilised “normally” and on Friday it is hoped that Hannah will have two healthy embryos transferred into her in the hope the cells will multiply.
But despite her positive outlook, she’s trying not to get her hopes up too high after so many failed attempts.
Hannah said: “Having been through the ritual of IVF several times I was looking for some kind of control over what is a completely control-stopping experience.
“You’re told when you have to take every bit of medication, when you should go to appointments, when you should exercise and what you should eat.
“Given we are both broadcasters, it seemed right to produce short videos about the IVF treatment.
“It has been a cathartic experience and an eye-opener for even some of my closest friends.”
Hannah, 36, said not being able to get pregnant and undergoing IVF has had both a physical and mental impact on her life.
“My body is designed to create children and the fact I’m not able to do that at the moment makes you lose your sense of self,” she added.
“You get so caught up in being envious of other women being pregnant. You want to be able to jump for joy as it’s the most wonderful thing in the world.
“But the fact you don’t feel ecstatic for them is awful and makes you question your own character.”
She said having to inject herself at home remains “really nerve-racking” and is something she’ll never get used to.
“People don’t realise how much IVF takes over your life,” she added.
“Unless you’re a diabetic who’s used to injecting yourself, it’s really scary.
“I think the large sharps bin I show in one of the videos shows how much I have to inject myself.
“Luckily my side-effects haven’t been as bad as others, even though it does make me emotional. Some people swell up, which ironically makes them look pregnant.”
Former Stanwell Comprehensive School pupil Lewis, 36, said the IVF process had tested their relationship but strengthened it in the long run.
“We have had arguments and there have been slamming of doors, but we are particularly strong and solid and we have similar outlooks on life.”
Since uploading their first four YouTube clips, and Hannah having written a first-person piece for The Times, the couple say they have been inundated with messages from across the world.
Hannah added: “One woman contacted me who’d miscarried a 13-week foetus to thank me for giving people like her a voice.
“To know that it’s starting a conversation and could pull people out of a deep pit of despair is wonderful.”
The couple were given one round of IVF on the NHS in London but had to pay for the others themselves.
In other parts of the country the NHS will pay for up to three rounds of IVF before they need to go private – where one cycle of treatment may cost as much as £7,000.
Lewis added: “If we find that it hasn’t worked on Hannah’s side then we will save money and opt for surrogacy, but if on the balance it’s my side then we will go for adoption.”
Hannah added: “I have always loved the idea of adoption but we cannot start the process until you’re completely clear of fertility treatment.”
If you would like to contact Lewis or Hannah, you can send a message to them on Twitter via @HVaughanJones or @LVaughanJones