CBBC historian Greg Jenner is celebrating happy news after the birth of his baby girl, but he has also shared the excruciating journey of fertility issues that he and his wife endured over 10 years.
The Horrible Histories star and his wife welcomed their first child, Esmee, last Thursday and are naturally elated with the tot’s arrival.
But it’s a particularly bittersweet moment for the couple, who have battled seemingly endless heartache on their mission to start a family.
Detailing their painful history of fertility issues in a Twitter thread, Greg told his 76,500 followers: ‘You may have noticed I’ve had a lot of down days on here.
‘In 2014, I married my wonderful wife, after a decade together, and we began trying to get pregnant. It didn’t go as we’d hoped. First, 2 years of nothing. Then in 2016, 2 miscarriages…
‘Then in early 2017, an ectopic miscarriage. I can’t tell you how devastating it was to feel hope then despair on a loop.’
Greg went on to reveal how he and his wife opted to go down the IVF route but were required to wait three years, during which time their natural fertility decreased.
After finally being able to try IVF thanks to a ‘kind doctor’, the couple faced more devastation as the first two rounds failed.
The author recalled: ‘It was doubly heartbreaking because IVF is utterly brutal and watching my wife suffer for no end result was truly horrible.’
The couple considered adoption if IVF completely failed but then they made the brave decision to ‘gamble’ their life savings on private IVF.
Greg explained: ‘Just FYI, this coincided with the lowest-earning year in my 15-year career. I was trying to write a book full time, but it’s so hard to be creative & funny when you’re really sad & stressed about money. It was a battle for both of us to carry on working when we felt so hopeless.
‘We did 4 private rounds of IVF in 2018. The doctors kept tinkering with the medicine. Eventually, the last one worked. We were pregnant! But immediately we began fearing another loss; 4 years of grief conditions you to constantly expect bad news. Every growth scan was terrifying.’
Greg’s wife was struck down with hyperemesis, severe pregnancy sickness that left her vomiting eight to 12 times a day.
But fortunately, the pregnancy was a success and the mother-to-be was able to carry their baby girl to term.
And even more of a silver lining – Greg was able to finish the book he had worked on for four years before Esme’s birth.
With many late nights, of course.
Sharing news of Esme’s birth, Greg told his followers: ‘And on Thursday night, thanks to my wife’s incredible courage — and the kind support of friends, family & medical staff — and, after 15 years together, and 5 years of pain, we finally held our baby. She’s called Esmé, she has a ridiculous amount of hair, and she’s amazing.’
Explaining his decision to detail their fertility journey at length, Greg stated: ‘I’m sharing this story because infertility is an agony often felt in private. People rarely knew how to talk to us. It sometimes made me angry there wasn’t more awareness. But I get why that is because I kept it hidden. I was scared. And I still don’t want to talk about it now.
‘So, forgive me if I don’t respond to your tweets. I’m not strong enough; I don’t want to relive it all, and I don’t want to be some IVF spokesperson, or a news story, and I’m not qualified to give infertility advice. I’m sharing this because i feel I should, not because I want to.’
Welcome to the world, little Esme.
If you need more information or advice about infertility, please visit the NHS website.
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