Cerys – Our Journey

Being a mother was something I dreamed of more than anything else since I was a child. Unfortunately my world was shattered when I was 16 years old and was given a diagnosis of MRKH. This diagnosis is where I have an absent uterus, and would never be able to bear a child of my own. Following this prognosis and lots of previous health conditions, this topped it off for me and I really struggled emotionally and physically. I was always informed that I’d be required to use IVF and a surrogate in order to have my own biological children.

After an ovarian cyst scare in April 2022, I came to the conclusion to try and freeze my eggs. I felt that since I am 23 now, it was the ideal opportunity to freeze them. This would give me till I was 33 to locate a surrogate and use them.

In June 2022, with the help of my partner Adam, I made enquiries at a nearby reproductive clinic and began the embryo freezing procedure. However, I discovered after some tests that my egg levels were very low for my age and the equivalent to a woman who was going through menopause. This indicated that retrieving my eggs wasn’t going to be simple, and I was going to be required to undergo numerous cycles of IVF to get at least one healthy embryo.

We were devastated.

I have suffered a lot over the years, but recently I have found it particularly difficult to cope. All of this news has been a tremendous shock to the system. I’ve carried a lot of stress, guilt, and anxiety with me about a variety of issues, namely whether or not this will work out, whether or not I’ll have a child of my own.

We are now working out what we can do and how to support this process and are extremely grateful for the support given already we really want to have a child that is biologically ours before it is too late.  We are now sharing our story publicly in the hope of raising awareness and support to help us make this dream come true.