For Jenn and Nick Walter the birth of their twins was a new beginning, but also a happy ending, for the couple who had tried for so long to start a family.
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Liam and Jasmine were born at the Royal Women’s Hospital on 3 November (Melbourne Cup Day) 2009. “When they were born, I was sobbing so much the nurses thought something was wrong,” Jenn explained.
“But my obstetrician, Dr Steve Cole, just explained how happy we were, and said we had been on a long journey.”
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 | Jenn and Nick Walter holding Jasmine and Liam
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| When Jenn was finally pregnant with the twins, she would wake up every day and think: ‘Please just let me get through this day.’
She was 28 when she and Nick started trying to conceive. Today, they are philosophical about the years spent on their journey to parenthood.
“Those seven years gave us a chance to become more financially secure. We are more mature, really ready for parenthood. We have always been very close, but this has cemented our relationship.”
In 2003 they first met Professor John McBain of the Assisted Reproduction unit, and Jenn was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (POS).
Due to a history of irregular periods, Jenn had been taking the contraceptive pill since her teens.
She used medication to stimulate ovulation and tried to get pregnant naturally. But she either produced no eggs in a cycle or too many.
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In 2005 the Walters decided to try IVF fertilisation. Through this process they produced embryos, some of which were frozen for later implantation.
By March 2006 they tried their third cycle of IVF which resulted in a fresh embryo but Jenn miscarried – a scenario that was to be repeated many times.
A stimulation cycle in October 2006 produced four embryos. One became an ectopic pregnancy, one miscarried and the remaining ones were non-viable.
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At this point, they took some time out, while Jenn used acupuncture and discovered she was allergic to dairy, wheat and eggs, so cut those out of her diet. “Every little bit helps,” she said. “I cut those things out for a year before producing viable embryos.
“I also believe the acupuncture really helped the embryos implant, although John (McBain) puts it down to his skill!”
Professor McBain’s team also found that Jenn had a significant hormone imbalance.
In August 2007 they tried Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) to check the viability of embryos before implantation, but found nothing amiss.
It was also confirmed that the couple did not have any chromosomal abnormalities, but they did find that Jenn’s eggs were poor, which probably explained the non-viable embryos.
Two unsuccessful cycles of PGD prompted them to see a haematologist who found that Jenn had a clotting disorder, and prescribed medication.
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The couple persisted with IVF stimulation cycles. “At the start of 2009 I had another stimulation cycle but I didn’t produce enough eggs to warrant PGD because you need at least four eggs,” Jenn said.
“But they implanted two anyway and I got pregnant and stayed pregnant.” She stayed on the blood thinning medication until 32 weeks, and delivered the twins at 38 weeks by caesarean section.
Jenn and Nick said the support of family and friends over the years has been invaluable, especially in dealing with multiple miscarriages.
“It has been a team effort. Professor McBain also went through this journey with us. We got to know him very well over seven years, and the nurses were so good. Sometimes it felt like I was the only patient they had to look after,” she said.
Would they contemplate adding to their family? “I know it’s a cliché but the twins are just so good, and beautiful. We are just so thrilled with what we have.”
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