According to NHS statistics, around one in seven couples may have difficulty conceiving. For women, this can be for various reasons including advanced age, womb health issues and more.

Despite this, there are many women such as Destiny Thomas, Dawn Heels and Okwudiri Okonkwo who have come out of the other side of such fertility challenges and been able to have children. If you are currently on a fertility journey, or supporting someone who is, their tips and experiences might prove encouraging.

Black Ballad: What was the main reason that getting pregnant was a challenge for you?

Dawn Heels: I had 16 fibroids that were stopping implantation. I could have gone on to try and try to get pregnant, but it would never have happened because of where the fibroids were positioned. 

Okwudiri Okonkwo: I started this journey pretty early in life as I had irregular periods from when I was in secondary school and my mum was very eager to correct it. I must have been about 13 when I started going to gynaecologists in Nigeria. They were not able to correct it. I met my husband at 18 and we officially married when I was 24. We tried and tried to have a baby and eventually, when we went to see the doctors, they said I had polycystic ovaries. I was about 30 at that point.

Destiny Thomas: I had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). I was also diagnosed with endometriosis and a condition known as hostile mucus – where the mucus that is produced in my body kills off my husband’s sperm before it can implant.