Megan McKenna has opened up about her IVF journey with fans after revealing last week that she's set to become a mum.
The 31-year-old Ex on the Beach star took to Instagram this evening (8 April) to share a video montage of her rollercoaster journey alongside a lengthy statement.
Have a look:
McKenna announced she was expecting her first child with fiancé Oliver Burke last week, posting an adorable montage video to break the happy news to her followers.
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"A little bit of you and a little bit of me… now we’re a family," she said.
The couple have now spoken out about their struggles to conceive, revealing in a poignant post that they had sought the help of a fertility clinic.
McKenna explained that they had been 'trying naturally for a while' but were 'not falling pregnant'.
"I wanted to make sure everything was ok in there so we decided to see a fertility clinic," she said.
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"When I was younger I was diagnosed with PCOS and knew I should freeze my eggs at some point. We went and had a scan and tests and it showed that my ovaries were ok but my womb lining was thin!
"It was at 5 when it should be at 8 and there was some other issues we needed help with. I'm so happy we went to see a fertility clinic or I would never of known as my lining wouldn’t have been thick enough to make a successful implantation."
McKenna continued: "We spoke with our doctor and decided to freeze our embryos first and also have 1 implanted once my lining was at the right thickness and was nice and healthy.
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"I started on medication 3 times a day and injections twice a day and pessaries for extra progesterone. After months of getting my lining good I went in for an egg retrieval."
The mum-to-be said 'everything went amazing' and that they managed to get 'so many' eggs.
"A few days later I started to get unwell and it turned out I had OHSS," she went on.
"Over hyper stimulation of my ovaries. Very painful and dangerous because my ovaries were HUGE! I had fluid leaking inside my stomach which was making my belly swell and I couldn’t walk it was so painful.
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"Some people just get it. I was hospitalised for 5 days and was now on blood thinners to make sure nothing else bad happened."
McKenna said they sadly didn't get many embryos in the end, as they 'didn't survive the thawing process.
"But we got enough to make this happen…" she revealed.
"A few months after getting myself better and fit!! We decided it was time to have our AAA embryo implanted! It was incredible.
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"I was back on the meds and injections as my womb lining had dropped again. I was also taking baby aspirin to stop miscarriage. A month later when my lining was good we had our baby put in it was the most magical experience seeing it go into me being placed safely with embryo glue to make sure it sticks! And it did!
"I can’t thank our doctor Mohammed and nurse Jade and acupuncturist who was amazing throughout the whole process. I feel so lucky to be where I am and couldn’t have done it without them.
"Thank you to Oli for being my rock and my at home doctor and my mum for always being there for me."
Many fans praised McKenna for being so open about her journey, given just how many people experience fertility issues.
One commented: "So lovely to see IVF being spoken about! So happy you have your happy ending."
Someone else said: "So brave, honest and raw to talk about this. This could help so many. I'm so glad you got baby stuck, wishing you a healthy, happy pregnancy and future."
A third added: "This is so incredible of you to share. As someone who has fertility issues and can only have IVF as an option it’s lovely to see someone be so open about it."
Rhiannon Ingle