Celebrating five years of Bourn Hall Essex

An IVF baby for each of the years that Bourn Hall’s Essex clinic has been open came to celebrate the clinic’s 5th anniversary and I was pleased to be there to meet them as part of my role as an ambassador for Bourn Hall.

The original clinic in Cambridgeshire has always held a special place in my heart as it was set up by the pioneering team that brought about my birth in 1978 and gave hope to infertile couples all over the world.

I visited many times as a child with my mum and dad and my sister Natalie was one of the first Bourn Hall babies.

By founding the world’s first IVF clinic, Bob Edwards and Patrick Steptoe started methods that are now used worldwide. There are now more than 12 million IVF babies in the world.

It was very special to be part of the fifth anniversary of Bourn Hall in Wickford, Essex and I enjoyed meeting some of the babies that have brought joy to Essex families in the last five years.

Dr Arpita Ray, Lead Clinician of Bourn Hall Essex, said her motivation each day is to help her patients realise their dream of a baby. She said: “Our knowledge has increased significantly since those early days. We are now able to treat many different types of infertility and we are celebrating that today.”

Bourn Hall used its wealth of expertise to design a full-service clinic for Essex in Wickford. It opened in 2018 to provide a one-stop location for fertility advice, testing and treatment, and this year opened a new Miscarriage Clinic. The Wickford clinic is complemented by a satellite clinic in Colchester, so patients don’t need to travel far for appointments. The success rates are excellent: 54% of those that started treatment in 2022 now have a baby or ongoing pregnancy.

Dr Ray continued: “I am also delighted that, from April 2023, all Essex couples who meet the NHS eligibility criteria are being given the chance of IVF fertility treatment. I hope this will encourage more people that want a child not to delay seeking advice and support.”

Find out more about IVF in Essex and Bourn Hall’s Wickford clinic on their Clinics page, and read stories in their blog.