FOR Islandmagee woman Shirley Neill the arrival of her baby daughter on her 40th birthday last July was the greatest gift she could have received: Julia's birth followed an agonising fertility journey of six years of trying for a baby and being told by medical experts she had 'unexplained' infertility.
"Words can't describe the feeling I had when Julia was born. It was the most overwhelming and beautiful feeling ever," says Shirley, adding that she "no longer needs birthday presents", now that she has her daughter.
Having been together for 20 years, Shirley and husband David underwent much emotional heartache trying to conceive. David struggled whenever he saw fathers pushing prams, but for Shirley the impact of being childless was exacerbated with her job as an area manager for Rascals Day Nursery, where she was surrounded by young children and babies every day – a heartbreaking reminder that she couldn’t have a baby.
After several gynaecological investigations and two unsuccessful cycles of IVF, the couple started to look for answers from a complementary therapy perspective.
"We were told we had a good egg collection and good-quality embryos, so the heartache and disappointment was indescribable. All medical staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital could tell us was it was 'unexplained infertility'. But I knew there had to be a reason and was convinced it was going to happen and one day we were going to get our baby," Shirley says.
A friend told Shirley that a new alternative treatment was available in Belfast called Maya massage. She was told that a practitioner, Ruth-Ellen Logan, had helped many women with fertility issues to conceive, both naturally and with assisted reproduction techniques.
"We thought at this stage, anything is worth a try," Shirley says.
Maya massage is an abdominal massage that aims to stimulate the ovaries, reposition the uterus and detoxify a congested, sluggish pelvic area. It draws on the Central American Mayan culture, which held that the position of the uterus is vital to pelvic health, and that if it is out of position it can lead to women suffering from all kinds of problems – including difficulties conceiving.
Ruth Ellen Logan first encountered Maya massage in 2008 and travelled to America to receive treatment. She credits that treatment with the birth of her two children Aiyana, four, and two-year-old Tommy. Determined to help other childless couples, she trained in the technique in America before establishing her Logan Fertility Method practice, which involves treating fertility challenges by combining acupressure, mindfulness and reflexology.
"Ruth-Ellen, having experienced IVF herself, coupled with the personal loss she had gone through, clearly understood our ongoing mix of sadness, hope, disappointment, optimism, discouragement and frustration to name but a few daily emotions," Shirley says.
At a consultation in September 2012, Shirley told Ruth-Ellen that she and David had booked another IVF cycle for November but she advised against it, suspecting that Shirley had an auto-immune issue that might be hampering implantation in her uterus.
They went ahead with the IVF cycle, however, but it was once again was unsuccessful. Despite feeling like "our world had ended", Shirley and David summoned the strength to continue and were signposted by Ruth-Ellen to the Zita West Clinic in London, whose tests confirmed immunology was the reason they hadn't conceived so far.
"Some women, instead of accepting a baby, reject it like a foreign object, in the same way our immune system rejects flu or meningitis. Fertility challenges are not always purely reproductive. The entire body's balance needs to be functioning adequately for you to grow that baby," explains Ruth-Ellen Logan.
"Logan Fertility Method offers an alternative therapy that works with acupressure that works to recreate some kind of balance in the body. I've used my methods from a diagnostic point of view on a number of women and been able to advise them that they may have an autoimmune condition and they have gone on to get the blood test done."
While more routinely offered to couples in America, St Mary's Hospital in London is the only NHS hospitals that offers auto-immune testing for couples who have had years of unexplained fertility challenges and unsuccessful IVF treatments. However, Ruth-Ellen acknowledges that a number of private doctors in Northern Ireland are now offering auto-immune drug therapy to clients with multiple failed IVF treatments.
As with all complementary therapies – which often come without scientific evidence-based research – these procedures and treatments are viewed by some as radical and even controversial. However, Ruth-Ellen, whose clients have welcomed 485 babies into the world, says: "When couples have spent thousands on unsuccessful IVF treatment, you have to look at other avenues."
"Obviously at Logan we are a wellbeing centre so there isn't any scientific research into my methods. We've had a 78 per cent success rate and always take a very balanced view and what Logan fertility is doing is offering comfort and support and a service that is very needed in Northern Ireland today for women who will go on to have successful pregnancies but also for women who won't."
Shirley underwent treatment for her reproductive immunology issues and with a new-found sense of faith booked a fourth cycle of IVF at the London clinic for November 2013.
"We were investing everything in this, both emotionally and financially, having spent almost £35,000 on treatments to date," says Shirley who couldn't believe it when the digital pregnancy test she took a few weeks later said 'pregnant'.
She continued to see Ruth-Ellen throughout her pregnancy and was treated with relaxing therapy for an hour each week. After 8 months and 14 days, she gave birth to a beautiful daughter, weighing 7lbs 9ozs.
Shirley admits it's been a tough journey which put strain on her marriage. "It was very trying and David also had to deal with my hormones, but seeing Julia's smile every morning makes it all worthwhile."
Would they consider having another child? "I don't have another £20,000 to spend," Shirley laughs. "We're very content to be blessed with Julia."
:: For more information see loganfertility.com.
