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Starting the Journey: Trying to Conceive After Marriage
Newly married couple, Rachel and John had begun trying for a baby, and like most couples, they assumed that it would just happen. Four years later, increasingly upset and frustrated, they learned that they would qualify for state funded IVF. After attending one of the National Fertility Hubs, they selected Thérapie Fertility as their clinic of choice. In this blog post, we share their story of bringing their precious daughter, Isla Grace, into the world, with the help of the team at Thérapie Fertility.
Meet Rachel and John
“My name is Rachel Butler and we're from Co. Kilkenny.” Rachel begins. “This is my husband John, and this is our little woman Isa Grace Butler.”
Rachel and John had assumed that after they got married, a baby would naturally follow. She continues. “I had been on the pill for years and when I came off the pill and we decided that we were going to start trying. Unfortunately, we didn't realise how hard it was going to be.”
Rachel and John were one of the 1 in 5 couples who will face infertility at some point in their lives.
Rachel continues to tell us about how they contacted their GP to see what their options might be for further assistance.
“We were lucky enough that we qualified for the publicly funded IVF. We got an appointment for Holles Street for January of 2024. It turned out that there were issues on both sides and then we were referred to Thérapie Fertility.”
They were relieved to finally be on the road to parenthood, even though they knew that this might be their one and only chance to make it happen.
After attending their first consultation, they learned that the odds were not in their favour. “I had read into IVF but I never realised quite how much goes into it. We were told by Dr. Megat that looking at both of our histories, he said I'm giving you a 20 to 30% chance.”
Rachel described how difficult it was to come to terms with the fact that they needed assistance in order to conceive. “It's a hard thing as a woman to realise that your body is not capable of doing what you think it should do naturally.” And John on the other hand, felt frustrated at feeling incapable. “A lot of it for me was the fact I couldn't help, and I felt pretty useless.”
Nevertheless, the couple persisted and managed to get through their IVF cycle as a team, and in March 2025, their beautiful daughter Isla Grace was born.
As they struggled to hold back the tears, Rachel and John couldn’t thank the team at Thérapie Fertility enough. “The team here have gone above and beyond to make us feel welcome. I don't think I have words, you've changed our lives something fierce. All we can say is thank you from the bottom of our hearts, you are incredible people. You don't realise how much it can change people's lives for the better. Thank you so much for everything you've done for us.”
When asked what they would say to someone else who is in a similar situation, John says “Don't second guess yourself on it. If you think you're struggling, go and just even it's a matter of just getting checked and ruling out things or crossing off things either way you'll get the right answers you need, and you'll get the right help.”
Want to know if you qualify for state-funded IVF in Ireland?
To learn more about Publicly Funded IVF, you can read our blog here about how to apply.
