Lisa Riley health: ‘It messes with your head’ Actress discusses her IVF journey

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Lisa Riley, 45, is an actress and television presenter famously known by playing the character Mary Dingle in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale between 1995 and 2001. The actress has always had hopes of having a baby and shares her journey and heartbreak with IVF.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Riley said: “Finding out that I was unlikely to get pregnant was a blow. But I refuse to be defined by that.

“People think women need to have a child to complete themselves, but that just isn’t the case.

“I feel that I have taken ownership of the situation now.

“I have seen other people go through years and years of IVF treatment and the stress and pressure that creates.”

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a complex series of procedures used to help with fertility or prevent genetic problems and assist with the conception of a child.

IVF is the most effective form of assisted reproductive technology.

The procedure can be done using your own eggs and your partner’s sperm.

Or IVF may involve eggs, sperm or embryos from a known or anonymous donor.

In some cases, a gestational carrier — a woman who has an embryo implanted in her uterus — might be used.

Unfortunately, IVF treatment does not always work successfully, said The Fertility Partnership.

The site added: “Younger women have a higher chance of IVF success, with the success rate for women under 35 at 40 percent.

“IVF can fail for many reasons, and the chances are that it is completely out of your control.”

The soap star said at the time: “There are a lot of reasons why I want to have a baby.

“Some are to do with the fact I’ve saved myself by losing weight, but also that I’m in love for the first time in my life and he would like to have a baby if we can.”

However, a year of secret fertility tests showed the quality of Lisa’s eggs was so poor, the odds were stacked against her.

Riley and her partner decided to spare themselves the heartache and not pursue IVF.

She said: “My body was being pumped full of hormones to get my egg readings, and in the end they weren’t good. It messes with your head, and I just couldn’t do that to myself anymore.

“The past few months have been really hard, emotionally draining, and we just decided that enough was enough.

“I tried it, I gave it a go and it didn’t work.”
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