I was told I was too old to be a mother aged 40 – but after 29 rounds of IVF, a stillbirth and miscarriages, I finally have three children

A woman has defied the odds after having three children following an astonishing 29 IVF treatments, despite being told she was ‘too old’.

Beth Hobson, 55, from Manchester, started IVF 15 years ago despite being told she had only a 10 per cent chance of becoming pregnant naturally.

The education consultant, who spent £200,000 to undergo the 29 rounds of IVF, started treatment in mid-2009 and had 13 failed attempts before becoming pregnant for the fourteenth time.

In the eleven years since, she has had two more children. During those years she also endured a number of miscarriages, as well as a stillbirth on Boxing Day in 2014.

Against all odds, Beth said she wanted to ‘prove everyone wrong’ – and show that you’re never too old to start a family.

She said: ‘Never tell a Northern girl she can’t do it. I was told I was too old to be a mother, and I proved everyone wrong.

‘You never get over the anxiety of IVF, even during pregnancy, because you never know when your next scan will be your last. But I always said it was non-negotiable that this had to have a happy ending, no matter what happened.”

The mother-of-three met her husband, 53, a special education teacher, after being set up on a blind date by colleagues in July 2007.

The two married in July 2008 and started trying to get pregnant a few months later.

Beth, who was 40 at the time, was aware that the ‘clock was ticking’ and went to a doctor to find out how likely she was to conceive naturally.

“My doctor opened me up and looked at my fallopian tubes,” she recalled. ‘I remember her saying she was ‘very disappointed’ when she saw that I only had a 10 percent chance of becoming a mother naturally.

‘I felt like apologizing on behalf of my tubes. I remember sitting in the little room and thinking, ‘I’m not going to cry.’ I wanted to walk out with my head held high, get into my husband’s car and google IVF clinics.’

Despite being told her chances were slim, Beth was more determined than ever. “I always wanted to be a mother, and I was going to make that happen,” she said.

The couple immediately started researching and first ended up at the Klinikk Hausken clinic, Norway. The clinic had a high enough success rate and was chosen as the clinic, starting with five rounds of supervised IVF.

Much to the couple’s dismay, the first five rounds proved unsuccessful, so Beth moved to a clinic in London for another round.

“It was so cruel,” she said. “I was in so much pain during the egg retrieval procedures. I would have to travel by bus from Exeter, where I now live, to London in excruciating pain.’

And even after the painful retrieval of the eggs, the only thing they had taken with them turned out to be non-viable.

After researching a condition called immunofertility – which means the immune system mistakenly attacks reproductive cells or tissues – Beth found the IVFSERUM clinic in Athens, Greece.

She tested positive for the condition and underwent seven more rounds of IVF under her new consultant, Penny.

The seventh round proved successful – and in April 2012 she was delighted to discover she was pregnant with her son William, who is now 11.

She explained: ‘Penny took me in her arms and said to me, ‘We’ll get you there.’ Every bit of our salaries went towards each round of IVF, but it was worth it.

Beth eventually became pregnant on attempt eight at the Athens clinic. Despite eventually becoming pregnant, Beth didn’t feel like she could relax until William was born.

He was originally a triplet, but during her pregnancy she unfortunately miscarried his siblings.

Finally, to put her fears to rest, William was born by caesarean section at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital on January 15, 2013.

A year later, in February 2014, the couple decided they wanted to give William a sibling.

Beth chose to continue their IVF journey in Athens and managed to successfully conceive for the second time, giving birth to her son Thomas, now eight, on November 11, 2015.

Beth recalled the ongoing ordeal and described IVF as ‘the trenches’.

‘You run, fall and pick yourself up – three months after holding a funeral for our stillborn baby and a miscarriage, I discovered I was pregnant with Tom.’

Still wanting more, Beth continued to try for her third child, but was eventually told in 2019, at the age of 50, that she was ‘too old’ to keep trying in Athens.

She found a clinic in Cyprus that specialized in older mothers and underwent just two rounds of IVF until she became pregnant again.

Then, on April 27, 2022, Beth had her first daughter, baby Grace.

Since then, Beth has had a partial hysterectomy immediately after birth, which has left her unable to have babies.

In the 15 years of treatment, both Beth and her husband spent £200,000 undergoing 29 rounds of IVF.

“We saved money from our salaries, but also from donations from friends and family,” she explained.

‘It largely meant making sacrifices: not going on holiday, not getting sweets. Every bit of extra money went into the pot. It was worth it: a happy ending,” she said.