A mum in Swindon has shared her experiences of IVF treatment and wants to raise awareness of IVF support in the workplace.

When Susie Lewinska, 39, married her husband Paul in 2013, the couple were excited to have children together, but with a history of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), they knew they were likely to face challenges.

In 2014 they were referred for three rounds of IVF on the NHS at TFP Fertility Oxford and the TFP Fertility satellite clinic in Swindon for blood tests and scans.

Following several failed transfers and a miscarriage, they decided to take part in a genetic screening study at the clinic and found that two of the embryos were mosaic, which meant a higher risk of miscarriage, but one was genetically normal.

“It became my wonderful baby boy, Eliasz”, said Susie.

Eliasz was born in April 2017 and Susie had been juggling treatment, appointments, the disappointment of failed transfers and raising her son, while working in a senior role within a government department.

In 2021 she decided it was time for a change and started a new senior role at the UK Space Agency, where she was pleased to see her new employer had guidelines on supporting women in a similar situation to hers, so she could still hold down her senior role and be a mother.

“I found a policy on IVF, a guide for managers and a guide for employees. It was fantastic to see”, Susie explained.

 “They even have a guide for managers about what not to say, such as, ‘well, maybe it wasn’t meant to be.’ Silly things that people may say if they are nervous in dealing with you. After that, I told my director straight away.

 “As an organisation, the UK Space Agency is about people. So, I felt comfortable sharing this and saying that if I needed to take time off, my director would know why.

 “Everyone gave me the space to take all the appointments I needed, and I made sure someone was there to deputise for me in case I had to take any unplanned time off.”

Susie and Paul soon decided to try another round of IVF and the clinical team were worried about previous recurrent miscarriages, suggesting she should take the hormone progesterone to increase the success rate of implantation and encourage the early growth of the embryo in the uterus.

This proved to be her most successful round of IVF yet - resulting in four healthy embryos - and Susie found out she was pregnant again.

The couple welcomed their daughter Emilia into the world in February 2022.

“By this time the team at the Swindon office knew me well. The staff at Swindon were great. They have been there for me in the hardest times. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to carry on with this”, Susie said.

As Susie’s 40th birthday approaches, she is expecting her third baby in September through IVF, following a frozen transfer of one of her healthy embryos.

She added: "If you had said to me nine years ago you that I’d have two children and one on the way, I wouldn’t have believed you.

 “With this final pregnancy, I feel I’m happy with my family and can move on. We just had the first trimester scan, and it is incredible. We’ve got there three times.

 “For anyone going through IVF, having the support from not just your family and friends but your workplace is so important. Knowing my work were understanding around my IVF appointments and allowing flexibility really helped me through an already stressful time.”