'A stranger paid for our IVF baby ... he's a miracle'
"We will always be grateful for that one lady who took the time to read our application and chose us. It changed our life forever - without the foundation or that one selfless woman, we wouldn't have Teddy with us today."
Family Life
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Meet little Teddy Blandford, the incredible miracle baby born through IVF that was paid for by a total stranger!
Teddy’s mum, Jennifer, had already suffered a miscarriage and undergone two attempts at IVF which had been paid for by family members, but was running out of options when they were unsuccessful.
Fearful they would not be able to have a family, the 38-year-old and her husband, Matthew, reached out to a fertility organisation and were amazed when a kind-hearted donor stepped forward.
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The stranger, who the couple only know as ‘Helena’, gave them $5800 for their third attempt, and little Teddy was born prematurely seven months later.
Nine months on he’s a bouncy toddler, and teacher Jennifer praised the woman’s “selfless and amazing act”.
“Some woman who doesn't know us put money into our future and it’s made us the family that we are now,” she said.
“We are just eternally grateful that she's given us our son."
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Couple turns to fertility organisation for help
Jennifer and Matthew always dreamed of becoming parents and first started trying for a baby after tying the knot in August 2019.
After a year of trying and one heartbreaking miscarriage, the couple were struggling to conceive and began looking into fertility treatments, but because of their age they weren't eligible for the free round of IVF on the NHS.
In September 2021 Jennifer’s parents stumped up $7700 for their first round of IVF. The following April the couple tried again, thanks this time to her sister and brother-in-law paying $5800 for the second attempt, but it had to be dropped due to medical reasons.
That’s when the couple reached out to The Fertility Foundation, an organisation set up in 2017 to help families wanting to have children.
Since 2021 it has helped with issuing grants to couples, allowing people to donate money. Teddy is the third baby born from this programme.
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"Someone wanted to pay for our next round"
Jennifer, from The New Forest, UK, said her and her husband were “gutted” after their fertility issues.
"We started trying for a baby straight away after we got married in 2019 and didn't have any luck until January 2021, when I fell pregnant but lost the baby around a week later.
"It was devastating.
"After chatting to my parents about our struggle, they offered to pay for our first round of IVF.. We harvested eight embryos from that cycle. We had one transfer, which didn't take, and I was ready to give up.
"My body and mind were exhausted from being consumed with trying to have a baby for over two years.
"However, my sister and brother-in-law then offered to pay for our second round of IVF, but my body was just not responding to the medication, and again, it was another unsuccessful attempt.
"Running out of options, we then applied for The Fertility Foundation, which helps fund fertility treatments for people.
"We received a call from them shortly after, which we thought was going to be for screening, however, they explained that someone had already read our application and wanted to pay for our next round of IVF.
"We could not believe it."
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"It has restored our faith in humanity"
The couple then got the ball rolling with their third round of IVF and discovered that they were pregnant in June 2022.
"The call was so out of the blue and it has restored our faith in humanity,” Jennifer said.
"We will always be grateful for that one lady who took the time to read our application and chose us.
"It changed our life forever - without the foundation or that one selfless woman, we wouldn't have Teddy with us today.
"Finding out I was pregnant was unreal. It was such a big thing for us, but after previously losing a baby, we were fearful and felt like we couldn't relax because we knew how it felt to go through a miscarriage.
"However, the longer the pregnancy went on, the more my bump started to appear, and I could feel the baby moving, it became more real.
"It was something we'd both wanted for so long.
"I absolutely loved being pregnant. It all went smoothly until towards the end when doctors discovered that my placenta was failing and the baby was in danger.
"We were terrified our baby wasn't going to make it."
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"He has the cheekiest laugh and smile"
Jennifer was then booked in for a planned C-section in a bid to save her unborn baby.
Teddy was due on March 1, 2023, but he arrived on January 6 due complications.
"Teddy was born at 3lbs 5oz, and after being brought over to me for a quick cuddle after welcoming him into the world, he was then taken to NICU as he needed some oxygen,” Jennifer said.
"It was such a surreal experience. I wasn't able to see him for seven hours after that, however, Matthew went up with him to the NICU.
"Teddy was in hospital for a total of six weeks, and it was up and down throughout the entire time as he suffered from some infections and a small gap in a valve in his heart.
"It was terrifying. We were so worried he was never going to make it home, and even after coming all this way, he still might not make it.
"However, he is a fighter, and in February, we were finally able to bring him home and start our life as a family of three.
"It's amazing. We are adamant that we are going to enjoy life with our son and are constantly out and about making memories - whether it be going to coffee shops, picnics, or walks.
"We are conscious that we lost time with him while he was in hospital so we are making up for it now.
"We're currently planning his first birthday too, which is so exciting.
"Teddy is a little flirt and has the cheekiest laugh and smile.
"We're so grateful for this opportunity and to the people who donate to the charity.
"It's been a challenging journey over the last four and a half years, but now we are finally called mummy and daddy, it's the best feeling in the world."
Originally published as 'A stranger paid for our IVF baby ... he's a miracle'
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