It's Good To Remember Who you Are - Interview with Lisa at Rainbow and Renovation

Today Zoe speaks to Lisa, creator of Rainbow and Renovation Instagram. Lisa tells her brave story of infertility, IVF and loss. They discuss Lisa’s pregnancy journey which sadly resulted in the loss of her son at 16 weeks and how it was later discovered that she has what is called an ‘incompetent cervix’ and how this has been managed to hopefully stop anything similar ever happening again.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Lisa met her husband Ryan at the end of a holiday and there were married after three years. It was a very busy time for them as they also bought a house in that time as well as having to emotionally deal with Ryan’s health problems, including a kidney transplant. It was after all this Lisa and Ryan realised life was a gift and they started to start trying for a baby. Ryan and Lisa ended up being fast tracked for IVF, this was because the medication Ryan had to take for his kidney transplant meant that they would not be able to conceive naturally. They had a first cycle but they didn’t have a very good experience, they weren’t given answers to the questions they had and the clinic were very bad at communicating. Egg collection was low for what the clinic expected and on day 6 after implantation Lisa started to bleed. Within a few days she sadly miscarried. They had a second cycle, fell pregnant and were discharged from the clinic at six weeks. Lisa really struggled with anxiety with this pregnancy, she paid for extra scans for reassurance. At 16 weeks Lisa started getting pain in her abdomen and back, she spoke to her GP and midwife and was told it was normal and referred her for physio. She was told multiple times after this that everything was ok but she then had bleeding and after another examination was devastatingly was told the neck of her womb was open and she was at risk of miscarrying. She underwent surgery to try and stop the miscarriage but they were unable to do a stitch to close her cervix, this meant she would probably miscarry. The way Lisa was treated by the Drs throughout this emotional time was truly awful, especially after the surgery was unable to be performed. Whilst it may have been true there wasn’t much medically they could do to help, they could have made a huge difference to Lisa and her experience by giving her emotional support and treating her the way she deserved. After being diagnosed with an incompetent cervix Lisa was advised to have a stitch in pregnancy but after having chemical miscarriages and seeing other women’s experiences she saw a different Dr and he examined her case and recommended she had a permanent stitch at the top of the cervix instead. In August last year she had this operation performed so has renewed hope of a successful pregnancy in the future.   BEST MOMENTS   “I just needed another focus”   “I was just completely desperate”   “What grief teaches you is that you don’t actually go through grief in the same way and not at the same time”   “C-Section mums aren’t given the credit they are due!”   VALUABLE RESOURCES   www.petalscharity.org www.tommys.org www.arc-uk.org www.sands.org.uk     ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Cresswell Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness. Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital. Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage. With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop & Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth. Zoe’s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations. Zoe’s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.   CONTACT DETAILS Instagram : @zoecresswell_me Facebook: Zoe Cresswell LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell