A couple who have spent years trying to conceive say IVF has “robbed” them of enjoying their 20s.
Megan and Ryan Lamour, 27 and 28, started dating at the age of 16, after meeting through friends two years prior.
They knew they were each other’s “one,” and Megan stopped taking her birth control pill in October 2020, after they moved in together.
But by March 2022, they hadn’t been able to conceive – and it was revealed by a GP that Ryan has a low sperm count, and they have a 0.5% chance of conceiving naturally.
Two subsequent rounds of IVF have failed, and despite being on the waiting list for a third, Megan and Ryan wish to go private so they can look into other options if it doesn’t work.
They say becoming parents would mean “the world” to them – and they want to be able to give their parents a grandchild.
Megan, a postal worker from Newtonabbey, Northern Ireland, said: “Our IVF journey has robbed us of enjoying the last few years of our 20’s as it’s all we can think about and stopped us from being able to go abroad on multiple holidays and even our honeymoon as we can’t leave the country and need to save our money for treatment.
“It’s taken all the excitement, fun and privacy of trying for a baby.
“It’s taken over our life, it’s stopped us planning anything and living our life, it’s given us darkness, it’s going to take all our savings amd it’s been all we’ve concentrated on.
“A baby would be everything – it’s all we’ve talked about for nearly five years.
“I’ve been seeing people I used to go to school with having kids, and it’s hard not to compare myself.
“We want to give our parents their first grandchild.”
The couple had already been together seven years, when they decided to start trying for a baby in late 2020.
Megan says they were “love’s young dream” – despite a few hiccups, and knew they would always be there for each other.
But after over a year of trying, nothing happened – apart from a chemical pregnancy Megan experienced in March 2022.
“Sometime in March 2022, I took a test, and it was positive,” she said.
“I was three-or-four days late – but a couple of days later, I started bleeding, and another test said negative.
“There wasn’t time to let myself get excited – it was gone, as quickly as it came about.”
Feeling like “enough was enough,” Ryan ordered an at-home test to measure his sperm count.
He says it worked similarly to a pregnancy test – in that a line would show up if he had enough sperm to conceive.
When the line didn’t appear, they booked in to see a GP – who confirmed in June 2022 that his count was low.
Ryan, a postal worker, said: “That was tough.
“I feel more guilt than anything else, because the issue’s on my side.
“You do feel guilty, because all I want is to be able to give Megan the gift of being a mother – and I can’t do it as easily as other people can.
“It’s taken a while to come to terms with that.”
In September 2022, the couple were added to the NHS waiting list for IVF – and were told it could take three-to-four months to receive an appointment.
Megan and Ryan got married in November 2023 – and in the same month, were called in for their first consultation.
“Here in Northern Ireland, we’re only entitled to one free cycle,” Megan said.
“But if you have frozen embryos, you can continue the round until you’ve run out.”
The consultant prescribed Megan with norethisterone, to take once a day for five days, in order to control her menstrual cycle.
For the following 10 to 15 days, she took one-to-two injections a day, to prepare her eggs for retrieval.
On March 7, 2024, Megan had the egg retrieval procedure – which was initially successful.
“We were able to get 10 [eggs] collected and six were fertilised,” Megan added.
“Five days after the procedure, one of the fertilised eggs was able to be transferred into my uterus, and two were frozen.
“But two weeks later, I got the call – the transfer wasn’t successful.”
On November 26, 2024, Megan and Ryan’s first wedding anniversary, they were told the second embryo transfer hadn’t been successful, either.
With one frozen embryo left, and an estimated wait-time of nine months, the couple have decided they want to continue IVF privately.
They’ve put the money they were going to spend on a honeymoon into a savings pot – and have started a GoFundMe in the hopes of reaching their goal.
Megan said: “There’s one private clinic we think we’re going to go for.
“It’s a bit dear but you get two unlimited tries – and a partial refund if you don’t have a live birth at the end of it.
“As far as further plans go, we’ll see how this journey goes for another two years.
“If we can’t do anymore, we’ll maybe look into adoption.”
Ryan added: “All I can do is hold Megan’s hand through this; it’s been horrible to watch.
“There’s still hope – with our NHS chances running out, it’s crazy money.
“But I can’t put into words how much it would mean to have this baby – I’d give anything to be a dad.”
Megan and Ryan’s GoFundMe can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/journey-to-baby-larmour
