Pregnant Bake Off star Laura Adlington reveals the gender of her 'miracle' baby as she details the 'tears and heartache' of nine-year fertility battle

Daily Mail​

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Great British Bake Off star Laura Adlington has revealed the gender of her unborn 'miracle' baby.
The pregnant TV personality, 36, confirmed the sex of her first child with her husband Matt after a gruelling nine-year fertility battle, involving 'so many tears and so much heartache'.
The size 26 body positivity model took to her Instagram page on Sunday night to reveal the couple are expecting a boy, while sharing a sweet story about how their much-wanted baby was always 'meant to be'.
Laura confirmed her pregnancy in April after 'quietly deciding to give IVF a try' over a year ago.
The television baker previously gave up her hopes of having a baby after she was told by doctors that her only chance to get pregnant was to try IVF and she would have to lose a substantial amount weight first to qualify.
Posing with an adorable teddy bear outfit, Laura revealed she and Police Community Support Officer Matt eagerly bought the dungarees not long after she'd come off the contraceptive pill in the hope that their journey to parenthood would be swift.
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Although Laura was initially 'excited at the thought of finally becoming a mum', she 'had no idea how long or how hard the journey ahead would be'.
Alongside the sweet photograph, she wrote: 'True story: About nine years ago, not long after I'd come off the pill, we popped into Tesco to grab a few bits for a family picnic.
'Excited at the thought of finally becoming a mum, I made a beeline for the baby section and picked up this little outfit. I held it up to Matt and said, "Shall we get it?". He laughed and reluctantly agreed. And into the trolley it went.
'Back then, I had no idea how long or how hard the journey ahead would be. Months passed. Then years. Negative test after negative test. So many tears. So much heartache.'
Laura admitted she found it difficult seeing her friends and family get pregnant while it wasn't happening for her and Matt - and said she came close to giving away the baby outfit on many occasions.
She continued: 'One of the hardest things was watching all our friends and family get pregnant, while we kept waiting with empty arms, wondering "When is it going to be our turn?".
'Over the years, there were times we were caught short needing a baby gift, and I was tempted to give this little outfit away (I didn't really know what else to do with it) until a friend gently asked how I'd feel seeing someone's else's baby in it, and suggested I hang onto it.
'And so I did. Three house moves and nearly a decade later, this tiny outfit has quietly stayed with us, tucked in a bottom drawer, or in the corner of a room that never got touched.
'Unless on very rare occasions I'd find it while spring cleaning and would hold it close to my chest, praying one day our baby might wear it. Well, earlier this year, as many of you know, our prayers were finally answered.'
Confirming the gender of the couple's baby and her feelings about expecting a boy, Laura told her followers: 'And recently we found out we're having a little boy. I'll be honest: part of me had hoped for a girl.
'But looking back, we never bought a girl's outfit – just this one. So maybe that's the universe's way of saying this was always meant to be.
'Now, this little outfit isn't just a symbol of hope. It's waiting, just like we are, for the little boy who was always meant to fill it.'
The GBBO 2020 star announced she was expecting her first child after being told to lose 14st before she could get pregnant, sharing the joyful news in an Instagram post after 'quietly deciding to give IVF a try' over a year ago.
She previously gave her hopes up of having a baby after she was told by doctors that her only chance to get pregnant was to try IVF and she would have to lose weight first to qualify.
Sharing her happy news, she wrote: 'After 9 years of infertility, we are very excited (and still a bit in shock) to be expecting our little IVF miracle in October.
'I know announcements like this can be really painful, especially if you're in the thick of waiting or grieving, so please feel free to mute or unfollow if you need to and know I'm sending so much love your way.
'It's been such a really long, and to be honest lonely road to get here – something many of you will know if you've followed me for a while or listened to the podcast.
'We'd honestly made peace with the idea that having children might not happen for us. But about a year and a half ago, we quietly decided to give IVF a try.
'We kept it to ourselves and decided not to share online (or even with family) just so we didn't put more pressure on ourselves.
'We had an unsuccessful round and a cancelled round, and then found out a couple of months ago that I was finally pregnant.
'I'll be sharing a bit more over the coming weeks about our journey to get here but for now we're just really excited to share our news with you all. We honestly can't believe our luck.'
In 2022, Laura detailed how it was always a dream of hers to become a mother.
Speaking to Fabulous magazine, she said: 'Unless you've gone through infertility and that heartache of really wanting it and it not happening... it's the hardest thing I've ever gone through.'
Will losing weight increase your chances of getting pregnant?
Doctors regularly recommend patients lose weight to improve their chances of falling pregnant.
Reams of studies show that being overweight reduces the chances of a successful conception.
And for those that are obese the possibility is even smaller.
The NHS says women trying to conceive should maintain a healthy weight and eat a healthy diet.
And stillbirth charity Tommy's says even losing a few pounds can help.
The NHS has fertility clinics to help women trying to conceive.
But many of these won't treat patients until they reach a certain weight.
And some will put patients on a rigorous weight loss programme before considering them for treatment.
NHS guidelines as to who gets fertility treatment are not universal, meaning individual trusts have the power to decide which women to help.
Under the 'postcode lottery', local health providers can ask women to be a 'healthy weight' before agreeing to fund the procedure.
The TV personality told how she had always wanted to be a mother and thought, "what's the point?" if she couldn't have a child.
She said: 'I've never thought, "I want to take my own life", but I definitely have had thoughts that I didn't want to be here any more. And I have phoned Samaritans on a few occasions and really benefited from it.'
Laura said she tried to lose weight after speaking to her doctors and even considered bariatric surgery before deciding it wasn't for her.
The star, who has struggled with her weight since she was eight, found it difficult to lose so much to have the IVF.
She said: 'It was such a lot to lose - about 14st and I just struggled to do that. I wonder if that will always play on my mind, particularly as I get older.'
Last month, Laura hit out at the NHS as she admitted she was fat-shamed by medical professionals while trying to undergo IVF treatment.
The Great British Bake Off shared her frustration at numerous fertility experts in the NHS who told her she 'needed to lose weight ' to conceive.
Opening up with her fans in a Q&A over on her Instagram, Laura, who was a size 26 pre-pregnancy, was asked whether she was offered IVF by the NHS.
Describing her awful experience she began: 'Our experience with the NHS (just in regards to infertility I want to add) was dreadful.
'We waited 8 months to be seen by a specialist. On the day of our appointment we were weighed and fat shamed in the CORRIDOR before being able to go into her office, and then told we couldn't even have tests done because of my BMI.
'BMI is an archaic and inaccurate measure of health but the NHS uses it as an excuse every time. We had the door shut in our face every single step of the way and it's wrong.'
BMI first gained popularity in the 1970s and calculates whether an individual is a healthy weight for their height as a way of judging body fat.
A healthy BMI is typically measured between 18.5 and 24.9. Anything under 18.5 is considered underweight. BMIs between 25 and 29.9 fall into overweight territory, and above 30 is considered obese.
While BMI has been used for years, it has its flaws. For example, it cannot distinguish between muscle and fat in weight meaning it bizarrely calculates that chiselled wrestler-come-actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is technically obese.
Laura told fans her BMI was 45 and after being denied IVF on the NHS her and her husband Matt went to The Lister Fertility Clinic in London to receive their treatment.
She said: 'As far as I know they are the only clinic to not have an upper BMI limit. Mine was 45. Overall our experience was really positive. My weight was mentioned at the start. I had to pay to see an obstetrician and speak to of their anaesthetists.
'Our case was then put to a panel before we were approved. My weight was never brought up again.'
The star also revealed it had cost the couple £10,198.54 per cycle as she shared a copy of the couple's bill statement.
How does IVF work?
In-vitro fertilisation, known as IVF, is a medical procedure in which a woman has an already-fertilised egg inserted into her womb to become pregnant.
It is used when couples are unable to conceive naturally, and a sperm and egg are removed from their bodies and combined in a laboratory before the embryo is inserted into the woman.
Once the embryo is in the womb, the pregnancy should continue as normal.
The procedure can be done using eggs and sperm from a couple or those from donors.
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that IVF should be offered on the NHS to women under 43 who have been trying to conceive through regular unprotected sex for two years.
People can also pay for IVF privately, which costs an average of £3,348 for a single cycle, according to figures published in January 2018, and there is no guarantee of success.
The NHS says success rates for women under 35 are about 29 per cent, with the chance of a successful cycle reducing as they age.
Around eight million babies are thought to have been born due to IVF since the first ever case, British woman Louise Brown, was born in 1978.
Chances of success
The success rate of IVF depends on the age of the woman undergoing treatment, as well as the cause of the infertility (if it's known).
Younger women are more likely to have a successful pregnancy.
IVF isn't usually recommended for women over the age of 42 because the chances of a successful pregnancy are thought to be too low.
Between 2014 and 2016 the percentage of IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was:
29 per cent for women under 35
23 per cent for women aged 35 to 37
15 per cent for women aged 38 to 39
9 per cent for women aged 40 to 42
3 per cent for women aged 43 to 44
2 per cent for women aged over 44