Celebrity Stories
After 3 Cycles of IVF, Eastenders Star Welcomes Baby Number 3
Eloise Edington | 14 Sep 2021
IVF really does have all the ups and downs of a rollercoaster and sometimes it can be helpful to hear the stories of other people to see that, even during the lowest of lows while trying to conceive, there is hope.
Fertility Help Hub are delighted to hear about how IVF has helped another couple complete their family. Eastenders actor, Kellie Bright, knows all too well about the infertility rollercoaster, having conceived two children through IVF herself. Read on to find out how her last embryo became a wonderful miracle.
Words by Katherine Compton
Eastenders actor, Kellie Bright, is now mum to three youngsters, Freddy aged 9, Gene aged 4, and her anonymous newborn. Kellie had her first child at the age of 34 without any fertility help. However, when she was trying to conceive her second child, she suffered secondary infertility and turned to IVF to continue growing her family. The IVF transfer was successful and she brought home her son, Gene. There were three embryos remaining in storage.
Although Kellie and her husband, Paul Stocker, were happy and content with their two sons, Kellie could not shake the feeling that she wanted to use the remaining embryos. She says: ‘I had such an emotional attachment to those embryos. I know they’re just cells but they had the potential to be another Gene! I couldn’t let it go.’
After some years of back and forth debating with her husband about whether or not their careers and lifestyle could accommodate having a baby and toddler, Kellie felt that she couldn’t part with the remaining embryos and decided to give IVF another try. Kellie has now welcomed baby number three into the world, announcing the ‘safe arrival of the latest addition’ to their family, adding that, ‘mum and baby are doing well.’
Related Article – New Egg Freezing Law Will Give Women More Choice
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Photo Credit: @kelliebrightofficial Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Photo Credit: @kelliebrightofficial Instagram
While IVF helped Kellie when she was TTC, it wasn’t always smooth-sailing. The first two IVF frozen embryo transfers had not been successful, meaning that Kellie only had one chance left to have her third baby. With such a weight and expectation on this third embryo, and after two unsuccessful frozen embryo transfers, Kellie was completely devastated when she began to bleed two days before she was supposed to take a pregnancy test. Kellie recalled that the bleed was, ‘significant enough for me to be in floods of tears, with my husband cradling me. It stopped quite suddenly, so I still did the [pregnancy] test, even though in my heart I thought it hadn’t worked. So when it said, “pregnant” I almost fell to the floor.’
Bleeding After An IVF Transfer
Symptoms experienced after an IVF transfer during the two-week waiting period can be misleading. For example, breast tenderness is often associated with pregnancy while bleeding or spotting is not, which is not necessarily the case. The reality is that no symptom is a good indicator of the success of IVF treatment. You should only take into account the results of a home urine pregnancy test and subsequent blood test at your fertility clinic.
Bleeding after an IVF frozen or fresh embryo transfer will often cause distress, as it may seem like an indication that the transfer was unsuccessful. However, light bleeding during the two-week wait after an IVF transfer may be ‘implantation bleeding’, because it may indicate the bursting of little blood vessels as the embryo implants into the womb lining. Spotting may also happen as a result of physical exam or as a side effect of hormone medication such as progesterone given as vaginal suppositories. Light bleeding is not in itself either a good or bad indication but you should always report any bleeding or cramping to your doctor, but not panic. It is worth noting that not everyone will experience implantation bleeding.
After the shocking and glorious revelation that she was pregnant, the elated Kellie rushed downstairs to tell her husband Paul. Kellie had been, ‘so shocked and thrilled,’ that she couldn’t believe it.
‘I knew it was my last chance, so the fact it was positive was so unbelievably wonderful. A truly wonderful, crazy life moment.’
View this post on Instagram
Photo Credit: @kelliebrightofficial Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Photo Credit: @kelliebrightofficial Instagram
For Kellie, the journey to completing her family had been painful at times. However, her experiences with IVF go to show that even the tough fertility journeys, where the worst is expected and it seems like there is no hope, can still turn into a miracle.
She shared a snap of her newborn gripping one of her fingers tightly, both relieved to have finally met each other after such a long wait. After years of debating, failed transfers, doubt and all the bumps in the road along the way, they’re finally together.
For now, Kellie would like to spend some time with her newborn. She has kept most of the facts about her child private and has not yet posted much to her social media aside from reassurance that she and her baby are safe, well and happy.
