"I'd Kind of Given Up Hope of Ever Becoming a Father": Catherine-Anne & Alex's Journey to Milo with Thérapie Fertility

Catherine-Anne and Alex, from Downpatrick, County Down, never set out with a plan. They simply stopped preventing pregnancy and waited. When nothing happened, they went looking for answers. Almost 10 years later, they finally welcomed their son, Milo, into their family.

Like a lot of couples, Catherine-Anne and Alex didn't sit down one day and decide to start trying for a baby. They just stopped actively preventing it. It was only once Catherine-Anne turned 30 that the quiet worry became impossible to ignore: nothing was happening, and it was time to find out why.

That was eight years ago. Catherine-Anne is now 38, and sitting beside her is the reason for all of it: their son, Milo.

A Different Kind of Consultation

After exploring options closer to home, the couple travelled down to Dublin for a consultation at a fertility clinic. It was there that they met their consultant for the first time and the honesty of that conversation stayed with them.

They were told plainly what their chances were, and those chances weren't high. It would have been easy for the couple to feel discouraged by that news. Instead, it gave them something they valued even more: certainty. There would be no surprises halfway through, no unexpected complications sprung on them without warning. If it was going to happen, they'd know exactly what they were walking into and they'd walk into it together with their medical team.

For a process that is as emotionally and financially demanding as fertility treatment, that upfront honesty mattered enormously to them.

"It's an expensive process, and I really appreciated how honest and upfront they were with us from the first moment," Catherine-Anne says.

"It Didn't Feel As Clinical"

Having previously gone through treatment with the NHS, Catherine-Anne and Alex noticed the difference straight away. The atmosphere at the clinic in Dublin felt warm rather than sterile. Everyone they encountered was friendly, and there was a genuine sense of positivity in the place which is something they say made a real difference, even though they knew, rationally, that it was still a clinical medical setting.

It felt personal. It felt human. And for a couple navigating one of the hardest chapters of their lives, that mattered.

The Wait

The treatment itself was tough, that's the reality of IVF... there's no softening that. Catherine-Anne and Alex found themselves waiting in a hotel room in Dublin for the results of a blood test, having been told to go home and relax. Relaxing wasn't really an option.

When the phone call finally came, the reaction was immediate and overwhelming. They're fairly sure the hotel staff downstairs in reception heard them.

They kept the news close at first, but soon the phone calls started, to Alex's parents and then to Catherine-Anne's parents over FaceTime. More tears. More shouting. Catherine-Anne's older sister, who had been there for every step of the journey, celebrated with a lap of the room when she heard.

Milo

Alex says he didn't stop crying for almost a full day. And then came the moment that made sense of all of it: the doctor lifting their baby boy up, then placing him on Catherine-Anne's chest. More tears followed (the good kind,) the kind that come after years of hoping.

Looking back now, both agree: it's tough, but if you get to this point, it is so worth it. Everything that came before it fades.

Their Advice to Others

Catherine-Anne and Alex are honest about what it takes to get through fertility treatment. Whatever way someone chooses to go through it, with a partner or on their own, they stress the importance of having somebody alongside you. The highs are high, and the lows are real.

Alex was especially conscious of this the second time around, having seen what Catherine-Anne went through during their first attempt. He worried about how a second round might affect her. What made the difference, he says, was the support they received from the clinic itself.

Alex had, in his own words, kind of given up hope of ever becoming a father. Now he has his son.

"Thank you very, very much," he says. "I cannot thank the team enough for everything they did for us."

Little Milo, it turns out, was worth every bit of it.

Ready to talk it through?

At Thérapie Fertility, we're delighted to offer a free fertility nurse consultation with each patient at the start of their journey. This is a no-strings-attached conversation to give you all the information you need to decide whether testing or treatment is right for you.