Seven year wait was worth it

A couple are celebrating the birth of their first child, the first to be born using a pioneering new technique. The process is called "vitrification" and is a new method of freezing unused embryos that allows for a better chance of survival, meaning the couple - Ian and Rebecca Bloomer, who have been trying for a baby for seven years - could try again as soon as they were ready. Mrs Bloomer fell pregnant straight away after using one of the embryos and gave birth to a healthy baby girl, called Evie, on July 23rd.

The couple, from Cwmbran, South Wales, had been trying for a baby since they got married in 2001, but unfortunately Mrs Bloomer found she had endometriosis, a condition which makes it difficult to conceive.

"We were willing to try anything really, we'd both always wanted children," she said.

"It's overwhelming - I'm still staring at her now thinking 'wow, she's ours - it's actually happened for us'.

"I hope that if anybody going through treatment sees us and sees Evie it gives them one last little bit of hope to go for it."

Vitrification is a process where cells are rapidly cooled and then stored at very low temperatures.

It differs from conventional freezing techniques where ice crystals can form which may damage the embryo when it is thawed.