Number of IVF babies born at Sheffield Fertility almost trebles in 16 years
We've had special access to the lab at Jessop Fertility - as stats show the number of babies born there has almost trebled since they opened in 2001
Last updated 14th Dec 2017
Hallam can exclusively reveal the number of babies born through IVF at the NHS-run fertility lab in Sheffield has almost trebled in the last 16 years.
Jessop Fertility's delivered 1000 babies since 2014 through IVF and other fertility treatments.
They've already had more than 300 confirmed pregnancies this year.
Georgie, from Nether Green, had 4 years of unsuccessful treatments before eventually giving birth to a baby boy 2 years ago.
She says it was tough - but totally worth it:
"Seeing Teddy for the first time after he was born and holding him and the joy that he's brought to us - my family, my partner's family. He was a joy every single day and I am so glad to be a parent. It felt like it was never going to happen but it did.
"I had refused to make a phone call so we'd driven to the middle of the Peak District and I was just lying randomly in some heather just like crying, thinking it wasn't going to work - and then we found out we were pregnant and it was just amazing.
"It's the highs and lows of the emotion - you think it's going to work and then you get the devastating news that is hasn't. It's really really tough but it is totally worth going through IVF to ultimately become parents. We're so happy to have had Teddy."
The team at Jessop Fertility say they want more people to be aware of what they do - so couples come forward for help sooner if they're struggling to conceive.
Rachel Cutting's the Principal Embryologist - she says it a rewarding job:
"We opened in 2001 and each year we see more and more babies being born and what's really special I think for us as a team here is to see families being created. Bbecause it's not the couple coming through for one baby - they'll come back and have a sibling and that's really lovely when you see families being created.
"The feedback we get when patients visit, when they've had their babies - it changes their lives completely - and it's perhaps good that they've forgotted the stress of going through IVF at the time but you can really see it makes a huge difference to create a family for those individuals."