Louise Warneford has had a long journey to motherhood. On that journey, she's experienced a lot of heartbreak.
One thing Louise certainly had was the ability to persevere. In 16 years, she experienced 18 miscarriages in her attempts to have children. Many others in her position would have given up along the way, but she held onto hope.
Five years ago, hope brought Louise and husband Mark a miracle: a baby boy. Just days before her 49th birthday, Louise gave birth to a healthy baby boy, William. Louise has written a book about her experience, Baby Dreams.
Throughout all of her pregnancies, Louise Warneford was wary of pictures. "I never allowed photos when I was pregnant because I assumed I would lose the baby and I didn’t want that sad memory," she told Today.
"Each loss left me devastated. All my hopes, all my dreams … my whole world would just fall apart. It never got easier."
Over 16 years of trying to conceive, Louise experienced 18 miscarriages. It was disheartening, but Louise held on to hope. Then, at 48 years old, she found out she was pregnant.
Louise and husband Mark used a donor embryo, as they had in several pregnancies before. They got their miracle with the birth of their son, William. Their baby was born just days before Louise's 49th birthday.
"When William was placed in my arms I felt like I'd won the lottery. I was absolutely euphoric," Louise shared.
"All the doctors and nurses were in tears because they knew my story."
Louise has written about her experience in her book, Baby Dreams. In it, she talks about the process that gave her hope when she'd thought she exhausted all her options. It was after meeting Dr. Hassan Shehata, an OB-GYN in England, that she felt she still had a chance.
Dr. Shehata diagnosed Louise with elevated "natural killer" (NK) cells. NK cells are part of the immune system and help the body fight infection. The doctor believes they can cause recurrent miscarriages.
"The NK cells think you're carrying cancer or a virus and kill off the pregnancy," Louise explained.
Dr. Shehata placed Louise on a combination of steroids, baby aspirin, and blood thinners. Louise was able to make it to 37 weeks pregnant with William, after never having a pregnancy last past 14 weeks. It was a miracle for Louise, but medical professionals say it doesn't work for everyone.
Dr. Lora Shahine, director of the Center for Recurrent Pregnancy Loss at Pacific NW Fertility in Seattle says these therapies don't yield results in the majority of women.
"For decades, doctors have been at a loss for ways to help women with multiple miscarriages and many of the treatments that focus on the immune system have left women still frustrated," she explained.
"Scientific studies examining drastic immunosuppression treatment for women to prevent miscarriage have not proven beneficial, but women — and their doctors — desperate for an answer and an intervention, will often take the risks associated with these treatments."
