A 40-year-old woman who was gifted £10k after her mum and mates rallied around so she could undergo IVF with donor sperm has had a 'miracle' baby. Leigh Cooper, 41, always wanted to have kids and decided to embark on parenthood alone after a break-up with her partner in October 2019.
Her mum, Jacqui Cooper, 69, a retired counsellor, gifted her £3k of her lifesavings and five of her best friends chipped in with the rest of the funds needed for IVF treatment. Leigh fell pregnant after her first round of IVF in Bristol in October 2020, but almost died when she suffered a miscarriage at nine weeks and her body started to shut down due to her oxygen saturation levels being so low.
Despite this ordeal, Leigh was determined to try again at the London Women's Clinic, Bristol, in April 2021. After waiting two menstrual cycles, another embryo transfer worked, and she conceived again - but ''struggled mentally'' throughout the pregnancy after the trauma of her miscarriage.
Finally, on December 10, 2021, Leigh gave birth to her son, Malakai, at 4.30pm, at Treliske Hospital, Cornwall, weighing 7lbs 3oz. Leigh, a wellness business owner from Westwood Ho, North Devon, said: "I've always wanted to be a mum and I wasn't afraid of doing it alone.
"When I was nearing 40, I realised that I needed to take it seriously and put my all into having a baby by myself. I ate lots of nuts and berries, as they're high in antioxidants.
"I cut out processed food and cut down on my sugar intake - which was hard because I have a sweet tooth. After all the ups and downs, it was surreal when he was born.
''It didn't sink in at first that I was actually a mum. It was like I was dreaming - I thought I'd wake up and he'd be gone. I'd gone through so much to have him, and finally I could see him and hold him in my arms."
Leigh's journey began after a break-up led her to realise she had ''no time to lose'' if she wanted to experience motherhood. Hoping to keep costs down, she found a Ukrainian clinic online and jetted off for artificial insemination (IUI) in March 2018.
Less invasive than IVF, IUI involves sperm being injected into the uterus where it is left to fertilise the egg naturally. But after extensive tests, Leigh was informed her follicles were not the right size for an IUI procedure and she was forced to return home.
Despite ''feeling hugely deflated'', Leigh decided to fundraise for treatment in the UK. Her mum, Jacqui, helped her raise money by explaining Leigh's situation to friends and family and asking for donations to help cover the cost of further treatment.
"My mum didn't want me to go back to Ukraine for IVF," she said. "So, she decided to fundraise by asking friends and family for donations so that I could have the procedure in the UK.
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''If I'd had IUI in Ukraine, then my baby would never have been able to find out who their father was as the rules around sperm donation are different than in the UK. Friends and family kindly donated to help me fulfil my dream of becoming a mother. I felt like I'd won the lottery."
In just a few days, Jackie managed to raise £10k - which would cover the cost of a sperm donor, medication and hormones, and one round of IVF in the UK. In July 2018, Leigh had her first appointment at the London Women's Clinic, Bristol, to have her eggs retrieved.
This procedure involved eggs being collected using a needle that's passed through the vagina and into each ovary before the retrieved eggs are mixed with a sperm donation to create embryos.
However, her follicles were too small again and medics were forced to abort the treatment. Leigh said: "It was really hard, but I just took it as a sign that it wasn't the right time and put my plans to continue treatment on hold."
Two years later, after a global pandemic and another break-up, Leigh decided to "go all out" and put all her energy into becoming a mother.
"I decided to throw everything at it," Leigh explained. "I changed my diet so that I was eating lots of foods that support fertility.
"I ate lots of nuts and berries, as well as green smoothies with spirulina and spinach, and I made my own energy bars from cacao and maca powder with dates, nuts and seeds. I also did lots of meditation and visualisation of the IVF being a success and having a baby by myself."
In October 2020 at the same Bristol clinic, doctors were able to successfully retrieve 22 eggs, and make 12 embryos. This then meant that Leigh had 12 chances of falling pregnant, but each embryo transfer cost £3k - which was covered by the £10k she had fundraised.
She said: ''Once I had my embryo, I started thinking about picking a sperm donor. I was only given information about the donor's weight, height, ethnicity, level of education, profession and a small paragraph giving a brief summary of their personality.
''I opted to pick a mixed-race donor, because I was so impressed by the information he'd given about himself. It said that he's the type of person that lights up a room whenever he walks in, and that's something that will always stay with me and made me choose that donor."
Leigh fell pregnant after her first round of IVF, but sadly the pregnancy ended nine weeks later after a miscarriage that left her fighting for her life.
"At first it was like having a really heavy period, and I knew I was losing the baby," Leigh said. "It was in the early hours of the morning, and I was on my own and really didn't feel right. Something inside me said that I needed to call 999. I managed to speak to the call handler before passing out."
Paramedics managed to enter Leigh's home and took her straight to hospital, where doctors found that her oxygen levels were saturated, and her organs were shutting down. She was not given an explanation as to why this happened.
Leigh said: "It was so traumatic - I could have died. And I never found out why it happened, it was perhaps just not meant to be. It was difficult to go through something like that alone - people don't consider things like miscarriage when you're trying for a baby on your own."
After waiting two months, she was able to try again and fell pregnant for the second time in April 2021, welcoming a baby boy, Malakai, now 16-months old, nine months later.
She said: "It's been incredibly challenging, and I went through a lot to get here, but it's also the best thing I've ever done. Malakai is a little daredevil - he has no fear whatsoever. He's so sociable and loves people. I have such a close bond with my son, but I also want to make sure he has male role models in his life.
"That's why when he's older, I'll let him choose male role models to look up to. It could be a musician or an athlete, and we'll go together to watch them perform or compete.
"It's definitely hard, it's been a struggle. I don't live near my family, and I recently moved to an area where I don't know many people.
"It's the little things like going to the toilet, or wanting to make myself a coffee, that are difficult because he wants to be held all the time so I don't really get a break. I've had to make my own community and support network.
"I know he'll have a lot of questions when he gets older, and my plan is to always be honest with him. I'll explain that there are lots of different types of families - some people have two mummies or two daddies, some people only have one mummy, some just have grandparents.
"I'd love for him to have siblings, and really hope to have more children so that he has a sense of family. It'll be difficult, but I just go into mumma bear mode and we make it work."
Leigh's mum, Jacqui, added: "Since Leigh had Malakai she's turned out to be such an amazing mother. Her life has not been easy but she's such a strong woman and will do whatever it takes to bring him up with love and good values. She is truly an inspiration and I'm glad I could play a part in her journey to becoming a mother."
