Gill Porter, now 52, became a first-time mother to twins Floyd and Jayla after a decade-long IVF journey costing £25,000. The Belfast woman, who was adopted, said her desire to have biological children drove her through four private IVF cycles.
At 39, Porter was deemed too old for NHS-funded IVF, so she and her husband Phil pursued private treatment. After two failed cycles in Belfast and Glasgow, they took a break. A third attempt in 2015 also failed. In 2017, they tried a fourth cycle at a clinic in Prague, which proved successful.
Porter described the Prague clinic as more personal, allowing them to avoid work stress. She took two pregnancy tests six days apart; both were positive. A 14-week scan revealed twins, and at 28 weeks they learned it was a boy and a girl. “It really did feel that we’d hit the jackpot,” she said.
Porter developed HELLP syndrome shortly before giving birth, a rare liver and blood clotting condition, and spent 10 days in hospital. She acknowledges her fortune in affording treatment, noting that the private route is not open to everyone. Now running a family-friendly café in east Belfast, she says life with three-year-olds is hectic but fulfilling.
