British Mom Spends 10 Years and $106K on IVF Because "We Wanted a Child That Was Genetically Ours"

"We wanted a child that was genetically ours, and after being told I'd never be a mum I felt determined to prove the doctor wrong." It was that determination that led Teresa Greenhalgh, 46, and her husband, Tony, 53, down a 10-year journey to having a child of their own. The British couple chronicled the process and costs in an article in today's Daily Mail.

According to Teresa, she first tried to get pregnant at 26, when married to her first husband, to no avail. Five years later, after she was with her current husband, she still wasn't conceiving and sought professional help. She learned she had polycystic ovaries. After two years of trying, the couple underwent their first round of IVF. Over the next 10 years, they'd undergo another seven rounds before welcoming their daughter, Adelaide. The total cost of the treatments? A whopping $106,302.

The couple skipped vacations and extended their commutes to jobs that paid higher salaries so they could afford the treatments. "I was sure I would fall pregnant eventually," Teresa said. "I just felt in my gut I could have a baby of my own."

But it wasn't until she was 43 that her dreams came true. After taking a break from the treatments, Teresa heard about a new treatment being offered at the Zita West fertility clinic in Marylebone, England. She decided to look into it as a last-ditch effort. She learned her immune system was rejecting the embryos as foreign objects, which accounted for the miscarriages and unsuccessful transplants over the years. At the clinic, she underwent intralipid infusion therapy (including being drip-fed egg protein and soya oil) and an endometrial scratch, and she removed all alcohol and processed foods from her diet. She underwent acupuncture and stopped using tampons. When the clinic felt she was ready, they transferred in embryos. In June 2013, she learned she was pregnant.

Today, 1.5-year-old Adelaide is the joy of her parents' life. "We made sacrifices to get there, but it was worth it," Teresa said. "We feel so blessed to finally have a child together."