Stephanie Latchum, from Ferryhill, UK, really wanted a second child. But she couldn’t get pregnant naturally. After experiencing two ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇs in two years, Stephanie decided to resort to I.V.F. And just before the start, she suddenly found out that she was expecting a baby. Yes, not one, but three!
Stephanie and her husband Michael Gough agreed before their wedding that they would have at least two children. Soon the newlyweds had a son, Zach. When the boy grew up a little, the couple decided that it was time to think about the second baby. And they both really wanted it to be a girl.
However, two whole years of attempts did not lead to the desired result. True, Stephanie became pregnant twice, but both times ended in ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇs. The frustrated woman decided to undergo an examination and went to the medical center. And as a result, she was even more upset: the doctors diagnosed her with ᴘᴏʟʏᴄʏsᴛɪᴄ ᴏᴠᴀʀʏ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ.
“Hearing the verdict of the doctors, I just fell into despair and cried for days on end. After all, I so wanted to give Michael a daughter, and Zach a sister. And now my dream has faded away… But after calming down a little, I thought: why am I sure that everything is lost, because there is still I.V.F,” recalls Stephanie.
With her decision made, Stephanie made an appointment at a ꜰᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ center and waited for her turn. In the meantime, in order to unwind a little from sad thoughts and tune in to the positive, I decided to go on vacation to Mallorca with my husband and son.
After returning from Spain, Stephanie immediately came to the clinic, where she was first sent for an ultrasound. And then a real surprise awaited the woman.
“The doctor who conducted the examination suddenly looked at me sternly and asked: “Why did you contact us at the center?” “I want to do I.V.F,” I murmured. “What is I.V.F if you are already pregnant? And triplets!” Stephanie laughs.
Apparently, the holiday in Mallorca really benefited her, because as a result, three little bellies settled in Stephanie’s stomach. It turns out that instead of one daughter, which she and Michael dreamed of, they will have three at once!
But the surprises are not over yet. It soon became clear that the ꜰᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴢᴇᴅ ᴇɢɢ had divided twice, so the triplets were identical. According to doctors, this happens only once every 200 million births.
And on March 30, 2019, Stephanie Latchum safely gave birth to three daughters, Ollie-Anna, Isabella and Brianna.
The birth of the triplets was a real holiday for Stephanie and Michael, but harsh everyday life followed.
“It takes me over an hour to feed three babies. Then I change them, play with them and put them to bed. And while I’m doing all this, it’s time for the next feeding. And so on in a circle all day long. I don’t have a minute left for myself,” Stephanie sighs.
“Three babies at the same time is, of course, wonderful, but also very troublesome. But Steph and I are still very happy that we have our little ones. They are just amazing!” Michael says.
