Clare Nasir thought the outlook was set fair when she landed her dream job in television, and believed that one day a family would complete her happiness.

But her path to motherhood has been fraught with difficulty – at one stage she feared she would never have children – and after she had a ‘miracle’ baby she had to endure the anguish of watching her daughter fight for life.

“It’s certainly taught me that you never know what life will throw at you,” said Clare, 41, now presenting the weather for ITV and formerly producer and presenter at GMTV for 10 years.

“In my early 30s I was a career girl and thought I’d just have children, pop them in nursery while I worked and my life would just sail on. I think it’s an understatement to say it didn’t quite work out like that!”

Clare is married to DJ Chris Hawkins, and they have a two-year-old daughter, Sienna. Diagnosed in 2000 with multiple and unusually large fibroids (growths in the uterus), she endured increasing pain and weight gain for years until she had treatment to shrink them. “I ended up having three operations – eventually I had to have a tumour, originally the size of a rugby ball, surgically removed.

“Ironically, even though my heart was breaking inside because I thought I’d never get pregnant, people assumed that I was having a baby because my stomach was so swollen.

“Luckily, I was able to avoid a hysterectomy and was finally given the news that it was possible I could one day have a family.”

After she met and married Hawkins, 35, in 2005, the couple tried immediately for a baby but after two years turned to fertility treatment. After three lots of failed IUI (where the man’s sperm is injected into the uterus) they turned to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), which failed at the first attempt in 2008.

“I was completely devastated. It’s such a deep instinctive need to have a baby and it can become an obsession when you keep failing. It was a very difficult time for both of us.”

But a chance encounter with acupuncturist Bernard Nolan, she believes, was a turning point.

“I met him at a party and he impressed me with his calm, gentle manner and confidence that I could be helped,” said Clare. “Bernard told me my body resembled a battlefield after all it had gone through with so many drugs and operations. He suggested acupuncture could open up all the energy channels in my body, and regulate the blood flow in my system.”

It’s estimated that one in seven couples experience problems conceiving, and there are around 33,000 cycles of IVF carried out in Britain every year, which has an average 15% success rate.

Medical opinion is divided on the benefits of acupuncture but there have been studies suggesting that the ancient Chinese practice, where fine disposable needles are inserted on points along certain meridians, may enhance a woman’s chance of conception.

Clare had a combination of shiatsu, finger pressure therapy and acupuncture, with needles placed in her feet, legs and arms, three times a week for three months.

“I had so little faith in anything working that I’d even filled in adoption forms,” she said. “So after years of emotional ups and downs, I couldn’t believe it when after the second IVF I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. I cried with joy.

“I believe acupuncture was key because it both relaxed me and made me feel that I could do something to help my body. It boosted me mentally.”

Her pregnancy joy was shortlived as a string of problems meant constant worry and scans. Clare gave birth to Sienna on November 11, 2009, two months before her due date.

“It was touch and go when Sienna was born. She was only four pounds in weight, with breathing problems, and was in intensive care for six weeks,” she said.

“On several occasions she stopped breathing in my arms and went blue. It was such an anxious time and I couldn’t bear to contemplate losing her. But she battled through and being able to take her home a week before Christmas was the most wonderful, magical moment.”

l For more information on acupuncture, go to www.introducingacupuncture.co.uk or www.bernardnolan.com.