The Yours Members site has all the latest from the magazine, including exclusive celebrity interviews and real life stories like this chat with Carolyne Ness who become a mum at 58...
When Carolyne Ness plays with her five-year-old son, Javed, in the park, she can’t believe how lucky she is. After
28 years of devastating fertility struggles, Carolyne thought she’d never experience becoming a mum.
But after flying more than 6,000 miles to a medical centre in India to undergo embryo adoption, which uses an egg and sperm from younger donors, she was blessed with her first child, at the age of 58.
Carolyne, now 64, says, “I’d always wanted to be a mum, but I thought I’d left it too late. Embryo adoption was my last chance, and I couldn’t believe it when I found out I was pregnant two weeks later. It was a miracle. Javed has made my life complete.”
After spending her 20s travelling, Carolyne returned to her hometown of Fife, Scotland, at 30 and met a man she later married. While trying to conceive, the couple were eventually told they had unexplained infertility.
Carolyne recalls, “It was a crushing disappointment that tore us apart. I considered IVF, but as our relationship was already on the rocks, I didn’t want to bring a child into that set-up. We divorced after 10 years together.”
In 2009, Carolyne, then 40, went to Australia for a holiday. After meeting a man there, she relocated to Sydney, getting a job as a receptionist, but sadly children weren’t meant to be again.
She says, “He wasn’t keen on the idea of IVF and the process in Australia was more complicated.
I also considered adoption, but it was difficult, expensive and emotionally draining. My relationship didn’t work out, but I loved Australia and decided to stay.
“After that, I didn’t meet anyone I could imagine starting a family with and, for a while, I believed I wouldn’t cope as a single mum. I was really happy for friends when they had babies, but I couldn’t help feeling envious. Although the longing never abated, I was happy – but I knew I was running out of time.”
So, in 2011, Carolyne looked into embryo adoption. Due to her age, there were limited options,
but she found the International Fertility Centre in New Delhi, India, which accepted women up to the age of 58.
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