Lisa Riley, 43, who first joined ITV‘s Emmerdale in 1995 to play Mandy Dingle, impressed and inspired her fans for shedding such a huge amount of weight back in 2016. She revealed her weight loss transformation on ITV’s Loose Women. After shedding the pounds, the actress set her sights on becoming a mum, but last year revealed her hopes of having children would never come true as tests revealed she was likely to never conceive. Lisa was undergoing IVF treatment to help her conceive, but was the told by doctors it would almost certainly end in failure.
“Finding out that I was unlikely to get pregnant was a blow. But I refuse to be defined by that,” she told the Daily Mirror.
“People think women need to have a child to complete themselves, but that just isn’t the case.
“I feel that I have taken ownership of the situation now. I have seen other people go through years and years of IVF treatment and the stress and pressure that creates.
“I don’t want to do that. We have decided now that we aren’t going to go down that route, and now that we have made that decision I could not be happier.”
Lisa decided to try for a baby after her dramatic weight loss, which she achieved through healthy eating and regular exercise.
The star was aware her age would present a challenge in getting pregnant, and after a year of fertility tests, the quality of Lisa’s eggs showed to be too poor.
Now, Lisa has been hoping to change the way society regards women who don’t have children as “lacking” in their lives.
She added: “I don’t want people to look at me like an unfinished painting because I don’t have a child.
“Collectively as women we do need to stand strong on this.”
What is IVF?
IVF, which stands for in vitro fertilisation, is a technique available to help people with fertility problems have a baby, and begins with he removal of an egg from the woman’s ovaries.
The egg is then fertilised with sperm in a laboratory, creating an embryo, and then returned to the woman’s womb to grow and develop.
When it comes to who can have IVF, the NHS advises: “The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guidelines make recommendations about who should have access to IVF treatment on the NHS in England and Wales.
“These guidelines recommended that IVF should be offered to women under the age of 43 who have been trying to get pregnant through regular unprotected sex for two years, or who have had 12 cycles of artificial insemination.
“However, the final decision about who can have NHS-funded IVF in England is made by local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), and their criteria may be stricter than those recommended by NICE.
“If you’re not eligible for NHS treatment, or you decide to pay for IVF, you can have treatment at a private clinic. Costs vary, but 1 cycle of treatment may cost up to £5,000 or more.”
The health body adds: “The success rate of IVF depends on the age of the woman undergoing treatment, as well as the cause of the infertility (if it’s known).
“Younger women are more likely to have a successful pregnancy. IVF isn’t usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low.”
If you’re having trouble getting pregnant then you should start by speaking with your GP.
Another Emmerdale star who experienced problems during pregnancy is Charley Webb.
