Kate Ceberano’s brother Phil and wife Angela pregnant in IVF Christmas miracle

After several miscarriages and intrusive IVF cycles, Angela and Phil Ceberano are celebrating a miracle this Christmas.

Phil and Angela Ceberano are pregnant with their "miracle baby". Picture: Nicole Cleary

After every IVF cycle Angela and Phil Ceberano expected the worse when the phone rang.

The news was always bad and blunt: “The numbers aren’t what we would like them to be”, were the words that saw their hopes plunge to the pit of their stomachs.

Several miscarriages and 15 cycles of intrusive IVF treatments can break most couples during a waiting game to find what specialists call the “golden egg”.

Angela had reached 40, an age rarely celebrated when talking fertility.

The positive and always glass half-full PR expert was starting to lose her winning smile.

But the Flourish PR boss works best when looking on the bright side.

After three longs years of fertility treatments and invasive drugs, which sent her spiralling into depression, Angela and her musician husband Phil, the brother of singer Kate Ceberano, were ready to go to their plan B.

Angela had forms for donor eggs from South Africa ready to sign at their Mornington Peninsula tree-change home.

But they were waiting on a last glimmer of hope, a Christmas miracle from their last IVF cycle.

Then, while sitting on the back deck with their fur-babies, a border collie called Sonny and a toy poodle called Harry, a life-changing phone call came from Dr Lynn Burmeister’s Fertility Number 1 clinic: “You’re pregnant.”

“I still can’t believe it every time I say it out loud,” Angela laughs, beaming her winning smile once again.

A Christmas miracle! Phil and Angela Ceberano are pregnant thanks to the help of fertility IVF specialist Dr Lynn Burmeister. Picture: Nicole Cleary.

She is now 14 weeks pregnant and says she wants to speak openly about what she and Phil call their “pregnancy journey”.

“We were committed to every which way, up or down, but there is a lot of trauma that comes with it,” Phil said.

“You’d have a moment where it’s looking good and then all of a sudden it gets pulled out from underneath you.

“We had so many false starts and chemical pregnancies. It was an agony waiting for the call to come and I would know just from the way they said hello and my heart would sink.”

Phil has been by his wife’s side for every scan, injection and appointment and said he wished there was more education and support counselling for men and women on their fertility journeys.

The two became outspoken advocates during the harsh Covid lockdowns when Premier Dan Andrews banned IVF treatments, determining them to be elective procedures.

The Ceberanos were in the middle of an IVF cycle and campaigned tirelessly against the ban, talking to the media and posting on social media.

“It was overruled and IVF treatment reinstated within 48 to 72 hours, ”Angela said.

“That was pretty cool and was a win for the industry. I think a lot of people learnt a lot about IVF during that time.

“It showed us how isolating it can be and how more awareness is needed. I hope we can continue to do that because we know how tough it can get.

“If sharing our story can give others a glimmer of hope, then it is worth it.”

The positive approach of “fertility queen” Dr Lynn Burmeister, also known as a “stork” or “baby whisperer,” also helped TV host Sonia Kruger on her pregnancy journey.

“Women are born with a finite number of eggs, and as we age, that number decreases, and it decreases rapidly over the age of 36,” Dr Burmeister said.

“With Angela, we did multiple egg collections so our embryologists could choose the best embryos to transfer. We are always looking for that one golden egg that is going to become a baby.

“Angela and Phil’s strength and mindset is inspiring, and we couldn’t be happier that they get to celebrate their very special Christmas blessing this year.”