Andrea, Sunderland

 

My journey to motherhood has taken almost 8 years and whilst it has been the most difficult period in my life by far, it has also been the most rewarding. Not only because we now have a beautiful baby girl who lights up our world every minute of every day (even when she screams the house down), but because I have learned so much about myself, my body and most importantly how vital it is to invest in the best treatment with the best specialists, to give yourself every chance of realising your dreams. And I would go through it all 10 times over again to get to where I am right now....loving life!

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It took two and a half years for me to be diagnosed with severe endometriosis and once discovered I then suffered a miscarriage, before starting treatment and then...having conceived once, I was keen to stay on track and pushed ahead with two unsuccessful cycles of IVF. Following my second failed cycle I felt more in tune with my body and having had two identical cycles, I felt I may have had natural killer cells. So I pushed for blood tests to determine whether I was right, to try and make sense of why my body was producing great quality embryos, which just couldn't seem to successfully implant. I was diagnosed with anti phospholipid antibody syndrome. This means I have a super efficient immune system, so my body thought my embryos were foreign bodies and were killing them off.

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At the end of my second cycle my husband and I split up as the process proved all too stressful for him and he subsequently decided he no longer wanted children (despite wanting children when we married). I knew I definitely did want a family, so we went our separate ways and six months later I met my now amazing fiance. 

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I then underwent two major surgeries to remove as much of my endometriosis as possible (but not all), following which I switched to a private (fantastic) IVF clinic and began my third cycle. A few months before this a family friend recommended specialist fertility acupuncture, at which point I was introduced to Laura and her partner.

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Immediately it became apparent that the knowledge and experience Laura had would be invaluable in assisting my cycle at every stage. And it was!

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My treatments with Laura became not only a source of intense relaxation, (which is essential to help reduce stress during IVF) but a source of invaluable information and support, which instilled complete confidence in your body responding positively to treatment, with perseverance and dedication. There weren't any questions regarding fertility Laura could't answer and her positive approach never faltered, regardless of how many wobbles I may have had, of which there were many.

Laura became an essential part of my fertility journey and I have no doubt whatsoever that she contributed significantly to the success of my last cycle, which led to the birth of our magical daughter. I can't recommend her expertise enough and can't thank her enough for the part she played in making our dreams come true!

 

I now class Laura as a friend and am so grateful she became such an integral part of my life and my journey to become a mother.

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Gemma L, Durham

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I met Laura in 2017. We had only been trying for a baby for a few months but I had noticed a change in my periods for about a year before that, so I was pessimistic about being able to conceive. I was convinced I was part of the problem. A remembered a friend telling me a few years earlier about a lady who had helped her to go on to have a successful pregnancy after many miscarriages, so I thought I’d see if she could help me too.

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My first session with Laura was emotional! But she slowly and calmly gathered information on my symptoms and medical history to help inform her of my diagnosis and options available. After the first month of acupuncture I instantly noticed my periods felt a little more ‘normal’, and the pain I was previously feeling had significantly lessened. The next session Laura suggested taking Chinese herbs to reduce flow stagnation. The next month I was pregnant! I went on to have a beautiful healthy baby boy who is now a cheeky 2 year old! 

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Knowing how successful Laura’s therapies were for me two years ago, after trying for another baby for 5 months with no success, I turned to her for help again. 4 sessions and 1 batch of herbs later, I was pregnant again, and so far so good!

 

Laura is truly a miracle worker and I really don’t think we’d be in the very fortunate position that we are today without her! Thank you Laura!

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Ashley, 38

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Our fertility journey began 6 years ago, after a year of trying our GP requested sperm analysis and initial tests showed poor quality sperm.

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After making lifestyle changes further tests confirmed sperm had returned to normal levels.

I also underwent a hysterosalpingogram and various blood tests which showed no abnormalities and we were given a diagnosis of unexplained infertility.

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We decided to try without medical intervention for several months in the hope we could now fall pregnant but did not achieve a pregnancy. 

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We then underwent three back to back rounds of IUI but sadly no pregnancy was achieved.

We decided to take a break from treatment trying naturally for several months but no pregnancy was achieved despite me having regular monthly cycles.

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After a review with our consultant we were referred to a different clinic for IVF. In our first round of IVF we harvested 17 eggs, of which 9 fertilised, but only one made it to a blastocyst and transfer day, unfortunately we did not sustain a pregnancy from this round of IVF.

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We took a further break from medical intervention for several months, still trying naturally each month, but again never achieving a pregnancy. My aunt repeatedly recommended Laura to me knowing the struggles we were having, and knowing Laura’s success in cases similar to our own journey.

I eventually got in touch and arranged to see Laura in winter 2017 as I was feeling physically and emotionally drained through a combination of work stress, infertility and other personal life stressors.

Laura advised she could start seeing me in the new year, but in the mean time asked me to start charting my basal temperature and advised of an app that I could use that she would log into and track.

I had avoided temperature charting previously in an attempt to not obsess or become stressed about fertility, but having gone through four rounds of fertility treatment, and not wanting to do any further rounds I knew I needed to try a different approach.

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I actually really enjoyed doing this and found it very informative. 

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I had a months of data in my first appointment with Laura, and found this to be the most holistic appointment I’ve ever had with anyone including health professionals and previous acupuncture practitioners.

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Laura went into detail about every aspect of my physical and psychological health and wellbeing, and over several weeks taught me so much about my body.

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I began to see physical changes to my monthly cycles and my physical and mental health, feeling the best I’d felt in years. Blood tests at my GP at the request of Laura showed my thyroid was subclinical hypothyroid. This self-corrected with Laura’s treatment alone when bloods were repeated. Laura was so determined and enthusiastic at my appointments, she helped restore my dwindling hope.

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On my third cycle with Laura i showed signs of implantation on my temp chart but a test on day 29 was negative. My period didn’t show so two days later with a crampy stomach I took a further test and to our absolute delight got the first positive test we have ever had. 

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We couldn’t believe it, and were absolutely ecstatic and fully attribute our positive test to my 3 months of treatment with Laura. Laura treated me for the rest of my pregnancy and helped reduce my stress and anxiety in the first 12 weeks when I was undergoing investigations for ovarian cancer and was convinced, I was going to cause myself to have a miscarriage (this thankfully turned out to be all clear). 

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I booked a session in with Laura to help induce labour on my due date. Within minutes of my appointment Laura advised my baby wasn’t ready yet, and sure enough our little girl stayed put for a further week.

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As I sit here writing this with our now one-year old daughter, we still can’t believe we have our little miracle and will both be eternally grateful to Laura as we completely believe our daughter is with us as a result of Laura’s treatments.

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I highly recommend Laura for alternative therapies whether it be for infertility, mental or physical health problems. 

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Lara’s knowledge and intuition are outstanding and hearing all the positive feedback from others who have gone on to visit Laura further reinforces my belief in her treatments.

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Laura has been such a huge part of our fertility journey and I now refer to her as magic Laura! 

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Ciara, Sunderland

 

I was a year into my journey to motherhood when I met Laura. Her treatments had been recommended by a friend, who’d had similar difficulties conceiving, and felt that acupuncture had been the significant difference in her finally getting pregnant. It had been a difficult 2 years, with many months of hope followed by heartbreak, (what felt like) endless fertility testing and a missed miscarriage that had left me feeling incredibly low and helpless. BUT from my first session with Laura I felt empowered and reassured that all could be well!

 

During the first session she took an incredibly detailed case history and listened for over an hour to my anxieties, concerns and hopes for motherhood. From that first session I felt back in control of my journey. With Laura’s help and support over the coming months my mood and reproductive health were restored and I felt ready to embark on the next part of our journey - IVF. Laura ensured I had all of the support and treatment I needed during the various stages of IVF. I have low egg reserve but we managed to successfully have 3 fertilised embryos and on 7th December 2018 found out we were pregnant!

 

During the initial stages my anxiety heightened and we had several early scares, but Laura provided additional support at each stage and ensured I had extra treatments when needed. As my pregnancy progressed, she also helped me to build up the courage to reduce my sessions as I no longer needed weekly sessions. The sessions were a time I cherished during my pregnancy and were a sacred time for me and my baby. 

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Our beautiful son was born perfect and healthy (although a little early) in July 2019. Throughout my journey I felt supported and empowered by acupuncture and the additional advice and support offered by Laura. I cannot recommend her services enough and am a complete convert to the benefits of Chinese medicine (for both physical and mental wellbeing). I will definitely be calling upon her expertise in the future as my journey to full reproductive health continues. 

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The Peacocks

 

Our journey to having our very own little family took 6 and a half years (it felt decades longer). we decided to start trying as soon as we were married and like most other people just thought it would happen naturally but with the news, we would have to go through IVF to even have a chance of having a baby was devastating. 

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In a state of sheer panic, we started our IVF journey with little information about the process and everything seeming quite a blur, after the second failed attempt I took a break did my research Which suggested Acupuncture and met Laura. I didn’t know what to expect and was really nervous for my first session but it was fantastic she was so down to earth made me feel so comfortable and I loved it from day one. I had the best naps ever in her room.

 

She was amazing and helped me learn so much about my body and that it’s not all about acupuncture but herbs and eating well can also help (Laura suggested the paleo diet which I took on board). Laura also saw my husband for Acupuncture and advised him to start taking the herbs which she provided. When I started seeing Laura, I already had my third cycle planned in so only had a few sessions with her and the cycle was successful unfortunately ending in miscarriage at 17 weeks. After this we took a break from IVF as I wasn’t sure I could go through the heartbreak again but still continued with the acupuncture ... just in case I changed my mind.

 

In 2018 after I started my fourth cycle at a different clinic and it just felt right. Laura had been fantastic support throughout and this time things were different, I had been looking after myself, having more sessions with Laura which helped me relax about the whole situation. There wasn’t a question I asked that she didn’t know the answer too or if she didn’t, she would find out and let me know. The knowledge she has about fertility is just amazing and the passionate and positivity she has is infectious. She told me what to ask the doctors and what I really needed to be happening at this stage... things I wouldn’t have a clue about without her. And I truly believe we wouldn’t have our beautiful daughter without her. I can’t thank Laura enough for helping us become a family and can and have highly recommended her to people who need help or advice regarding the subject.