“Whenever we go past the Centre for Life, I look at my girls and say, ‘that’s where you were made’. I’m so proud of that fact and I want them to be too.”
Life is celebrating its 25th birthday this year! Over the past quarter-century, it has made a lasting impact – from babies born through groundbreaking fertility treatments to patients benefitting from pioneering research and clinical care. And, of course, the science centre has inspired and entertained thousands of families, school groups, and adults.
As we mark this milestone, we’re sharing stories from those whose lives have been shaped by Life.
Soon after Lindsey met her partner Laura, they knew they wanted to build a family together. They had a loving home and successful careers, but having children of their own was the dream.
Their journey started in 2019 with a consultation at the NHS Newcastle Fertility Clinic based at the Centre for Life and in December that year, Lindsey began the first of six rounds of IUI (intrauterine insemination).
During lockdown in June 2020, their sixth round was successful and in March 2021, the couple’s first daughter Isla was born during another national lockdown.
Lindsey said: “Fertility treatment was an emotional rollercoaster for us with so many highs and lows. The timing was also difficult as when I did become pregnant, we were in the middle of the Covid pandemic, and I was also looking after my mum. But I was just so happy to eventually be pregnant!
“When Isla was born, Laura was allowed to be there for the C section but had to leave soon after she was born and then only allowed to visit for an hour a day whilst in hospital.
“It was a bit of a challenge, but having Isla completely changed our lives and we loved every second of being her parents.”
A year after Isla was born, Lindsey and Laura decided to try fertility treatment again to make their family complete and provide Isla with the full sibling that Lindsey never had.
After another two unsuccessful IUI attempts, they proceeded to IVF (in vitro fertilisation), effectively entering their ninth round of fertility treatments in August 2022.
Lindsey added: “It was a very emotional process – they managed to get a fair few embryos but none of good quality and nothing came of the two fresh embryos that we were advised to transfer. They had explained that this would probably be the case though.
“I asked the embryologist about the other embryos, but was told that they didn’t think any of them would develop further, based on their previous experience of this stage. The embryos were now creeping towards day six, which is on the later side of things.
“However, the following day I got a call saying that two more embryos had gone on to develop well enough to freeze and hopefully survive the thawing process. We felt so relieved that we might have another chance after all!
“We then had a decision to make about whether to transfer one embryo at a time or both together, as after that there would be no embryos left. The specialists advised two, primarily due to their poor quality and age upon freezing, among other factors.”
In November 2022, for the couple’s 10th round of fertility treatments, both embryos survived their thaw and were transferred. About a month later Lindsey was told that she was pregnant with triplets.
“We in a state of shock but very grateful that it had worked! Laura and I were just starting to get our heads around the fact that our family was really going to grow quickly, when I had a very heavy bleed 11 weeks into the pregnancy.
“It turned out to be a subchorionic hematoma, bleeding between the uterus wall and the sac that surrounds the embryo, which resulted in similar bleeding to a miscarriage, and everyone in hospital thought that I was losing the triplets. I tried to remain positive, whilst also realistically preparing myself for the worst.”
“But despite the odds, a scan showed three heartbeats and after a lot of rest, the pregnancy progressed well and Alice, Heidi and Summer were born at 32 weeks and 3 days in June 2023 weighing 4.2lbs, 3.5lbs and 3.7lbs.”
The early days were tough, with the triplets being tube-fed in incubators and Lindsey seeing less of Isla for seven weeks, but the babies’ weights steadily increased, and they were eventually brought home.
Lindsey said: “It was amazing when we got to take them home and be a complete family. Obviously, we were nervous too, coping with a toddler and baby triplets was quite overwhelming!
“But we have survived the toughest parts and, although we have busier lives than most, we are incredibly happy and proud of how far we’ve all come. I look to staff at Life with so much fondness and we are very grateful for their constant support to help our family grow – because of them we now have four beautiful children.
“Whenever we go past the Centre for Life, I look at my girls and say, ‘that’s where you were made’. I’m so proud of that fact and I want them to be too.”
Lindsey isn’t sure if her fertility journey is fully over yet, with thoughts of possibly trying for one more baby in the future.
She added: “Isla came home from nursery a little while ago and said ‘Mammy, I need a cat and a brother because I only have doggies and sisters.’ She certainly has more chance of getting a brother than a cat!”
However, if that doesn’t happen, Lindsey and Laura are more than content with the family they already have.
Lindsey added: “We really are blessed. A million ‘thank yous’ to everyone at Life. They gave me the greatest gift in becoming a Mammy. Every stage has been worth it to get where we are today!”
Life is celebrating 25 years! We’ve been reminiscing about some of our favourite memories since we opened and would love to hear yours!
