Real-life inspiration:
Complementary therapy success stories

As these stories show some couples will do anything to have a baby! Be inspired and enjoy their stories, and we hope you experience their good luck.

TANYA: 'Everywhere I looked I saw pregnant women'

We realised that it had taken over our lives. We were constantly calendar watching. Every time we had sex we convinced ourselves that this was it. We even put off going on any holidays abroad just in case we put ourselves at risk. I bought so many pregnancy tests that the chemist knew me by my fist name!

Everywhere I looked, every woman I saw was pregnant - it seemed like the world had gone pregnant mad. Then my sister read an article about reflexology being used as a treatment for infertility. It was worth a try, surely?

All about me…

Name: Tanya
Age: 35
Job:Facilities manager in a law firm
Lives: London
Significant others:Husband Russell, 40 and daughter Mollie, 4
Type of treatment:Clomid, reflexology
Trying for:3 years

Find a good caring doctor - one you feel confident with. Don't allow yourself to be rushed. Ask as many questions as you can and if you don't understand get them to explain it again. Talk to people about the treatments and tell them how you're feeling. There are more people than you imagine who have been through the same.

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We'd been trying for a baby for about two years and all along we kept making excuses as to why I wasn't getting pregnant. It could it have been our lifestyle, diet, working hours - there were all sorts of reasons but no concrete ones - until it got to the point that maybe there was a problem and perhaps we should seek help!

We visited our doctor for advice and with some persuasion she referred us to St George's hospital in Tooting for tests. The thing that really stuck in my mind was that the Fertility Department was right smack bang in the antenatal department, so all you saw were loads of pregnant happy women. This was awful and I felt a huge emptiness and loss.

We met with a doctor who asked a series of fact-finding questions, and we underwent a series of tests and scans. They couldn't pinpoint why I wasn't getting pregnant; but there was a suggestion that one of my ovaries was slow or not quite functioning properly.

So I was put on a drug called Clomid. We felt things were never really explained to us, but we were so desperate we'd try anything. I can remember a nurse handing me a syringe telling me to fill the contents of the phial into the syringe and inject myself. I was petrified. The sight of needles made me sick. She showed me once and I had to remember for the following month, and of course try to carry on with life as normal.

I managed to inject myself but at first it was very scary. I felt very isolated and out of control. And it was futile anyway. By my last course of Clomid my internal scan showed that I had too many eggs and that cycle had to be abandoned.

We were handed a price list of various treatments and told we had a long way to go. At that point we both felt we couldn't go on with it any more as it had taken over our lives. We were constantly calendar watching. Every time we had sex we would convince ourselves that this was it, we even put off going on any holidays abroad just in case we put ourselves at risk. I bought so many pregnancy tests that the chemist knew me by my fist name! Everywhere I looked, every woman I saw was pregnant - it seemed like the world had gone pregnant mad.

Although we agreed that that was it, I still couldn't get my head around it. I'd spent years living in fear of becoming pregnant before we got married, and then years wishing I was.

A short time after, my sister read an article on Reflexology about it helping combat infertility, so as a present she bought me a course of six sessions at the Replingham Clinic in London. I was very nervous and hadn't a clue what to expect, but as soon as I arrived I sensed a calmness. The waiting room was cool and painted in a very light green, with lots of certificates on the walls.

I met with the Reflexologist, who asked me a few questions, but I didn't tell her the real reason I was there. She began pressing and massaging my feet and she asked me to let her know if there were any areas that hurt as she massaged them. I indicated the areas as she went on, and afterwards I felt I had slept for years. It was fantastic. We chatted about the areas that hurt and she indicated that I might have an ovary problem. I couldn't believe it. When I told her why I'd come she said she could help and would concentrate on that area of the foot.

At each session, I'd go in, shut my eyes and wake up an hour later feeling so relaxed and at peace. It was fantastic. I looked so rested afterwards that some of my friends even asked if I'd been on holiday!

After the fourth session I had a weird feeling that I hadn't felt before. I felt pregnant!

Russell bought a pack of two pregnancy tests, but when I did the test there was nothing. We were both very quiet that weekend, but I still felt funny. So on the Monday I convinced Russell that we should use up the very last test. Russell and our cat Vinnie waited outside the bathroom until it was ready.

Then, there were the two blue lines. We couldn't believe it, we were so happy but also very nervous. Things go through your head like 'is the line really blue enough?' or 'it could it be wrong.' But a visit to the GP confirmed it for us. We'd done it!

Although many of the things that happened have been forgotten, I'll never forget the way I felt so isolated and how uncaring some doctors and nurses can be. We often felt rushed and like we were causing a problem. It was the most stressful times of our lives. But holding my baby girl Molly for the first time made everything worth it. She's now four and is an absolute joy to us.

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