The tears and joy of IVF as Shropshire doctor reflects on long career
It has taken 29 years. In that time,12,000 couples have been treated and 8,000 babies born.
But the joy of helping people realise the dream of parenthood through IVF cannot be quantified by sheer numbers.
Consultant gynaecologist Bernie Bentick retired last year after almost three decades, providing fertility treatment for couples, and 40 years in total with the NHS.
During his career he introduced the gynaecology procedure of a hysteroscopy camera inside the uterus to investigate and treat several conditions, working at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.
And he began and developed the Shropshire Fertility Service, moving to IVF in collaboration with a neighbouring fertility unit in 1996, and a commenced fully independent IVF Unit in Shrewsbury in 2003.
Among the thousands of couple he helped were husband and wife Steve Tidmarsh and Sarah Thompson, from Telford.
The pair, who met when they worked together at Goodyear in Wolverhampton, spent 10 years trying for a baby before they eventually had their twins Jack and Francesca, both 10.
They tried for four years before turning to IVF, and after spending more than £40,000, enduring seven gruelling cycles and a tragic miscarriage on the fourth attempt, they finally got their happy ending in June 2010.
"It was all worth it in the end," said Sarah, a consultant for the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.
"I had the twins by C-section, and it was almost like a celebration. There were a lot of doctors and nurses who knew what we had been through who came to see me in the operating theatre. And quite a few of them, including Bernie, came to their christening at Weston Park. There were more people there than at our wedding."
As is becoming more common these days, Sarah wanted to become a mum later in life so she could build a successful career and travel.
But, as she and Steve found out, success is not guaranteed, especially when you get older.
Rates have improved over the years since the first IVF baby was born in the 1970s, so that now 50 to 70 per cent of treatment cycles are successful, in women under 35 years of age.
However, as many couples are older, overall success is about 25 per cent.
Infertility affects one in seven of the population – 1.2 per 1000 each year – or 600 couples out of 500,000 in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin. There is a higher incidence in older couples, which is deemed to be women over 35 and men over 45.
After her miscarriage, Sarah remembers wondering whether she could keep going through the devastating disappointment of failed cycles.
"I remember just lying in bed and crying my eyes out, trying to contemplate that it might not be meant to be and I'm not going to be a mum.
"Lots of my friends had been having children and as much as I was happy for them it was hard. I couldn't face christenings because people knew what I'd been through and I didn't want it to be awkward or to break down in front of them."
But thanks to their commitment and the work of medics like Bernie and his team, Steve and Sarah did have their twins, and Sarah added: "They're very different. Jack is quite a typical, laid-back lad who loves animals. Francesca is very independent.
"She will question things and stand up for herself. She could end up being in CID or a criminal barrister!"
Reflecting on his career, it is happiness like he has given Steve and Sarah's family that means the most to Bernie.
When the work of his team paid off, there was the rich reward of seeing a couple enjoying the dream of parenthood.
He said: "During my NHS career, I was constantly touched by the happiness that fertility treatments brought to childless couples, their appreciation for the care we provided and the frequent letters, cards and tokens of appreciation that they gave us after treatment, whether they were successful or not.
"This was due to the whole team working together in a caring, friendly and professional way to provide the best we could for couples under our care.’’
