A NEW mum is taking part in Europe’s biggest open water swimming event to raise money for the fertility centre that helped her to have a miracle baby.
Laura Carter, 26, and her husband Nick, 27, of Edinburgh Drive, Hindley Green, unsuccessfully tried to have a baby for four years before turning to The Hewitt Fertility Centre for help.
The intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment they were given worked at the first attempt and they are now the proud parents of healthy baby boy Austin, who was born on December 3.
Keen to repay the fertility centre for giving her the greatest gift imaginable, Laura has signed up for the Great North Swim at Lake Windermere on June 4 and is appealing for sponsors for her half-a-mile swimming challenge.
The nursing assistant said: “When I heard about the Great North Swim I decided it was a great way to repay the centre and help more couples like us to have their miracle babies.
“I want people to know that they are not struggling alone.
“It took four years for us to be able to hold our miracle and it wouldn’t have happened without The Hewitt Fertility Centre.”
The fertility centre is based at Liverpool Women’s Hospital but has a unit in Wrightington Hospital and used to have one at Leigh Infirmary.
Laura added: “We are a young couple and we did everything right. Nick stopped smoking but it (having a baby) just wouldn’t happen.
“After eventually going to Leigh Infirmary and then getting the treatment, we couldn’t believe it when they said we were successful after the first try – they told me on April Fools’ Day.”
The ICSI treatment the couple received sees a single sperm injected directly into an egg, while conventional in vitro fertilisation (IVF) sees fertilisation taking place in a dish where many sperms are placed near an egg.
Around 10,000 people will be taking part in the Great North Swim, swimming up to 10 kilometres.
Laura will be practising her swimming at Pennington Flash Country Park in the lead up to the event having been registered to do so.
To sponsor Laura visit bit.ly/1su51Uu.
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