TAKING your little one to meet Father Christmas isn’t just a magical experience for them.

For parents who have struggled to conceive or perhaps gone down the IVF route, Christmas time can make them all the more joyful and appreciative of their most amazing gifts in life.

Two south Essex mums discovered just that at the Wickford Christmas Street Fair held at the weekend.

Shanna Mattacks from Basildon and Leonie McCaughren from South Ockendon in Thurrock both conceived babies after successful IVF treatment at Bourn Hall Clinic in Wickford. 

Both women had previously struggled with infertility so this special moment with their children – meeting Santa – was a dream come true. 

The clinic is once again sharing the joy by sponsoring the Father Christmas grotto at the Wickford at Christmas Street Fair – which it has been doing since 2017.

‘Heartwarming,’ is how Shanna describes the experience. 

The 37-year-old always knew her chances of having a baby were slim as she had cancer as a baby and the treatment can damage a woman’s eggs. Shanna was later told her fallopian tubes were blocked by endometriosis.

Fortunately, her eggs had survived and she now has two beautiful IVF children, Henry aged eight and Arabella, aged three.

Shanna said: “Taking Arabella to meet Father Christmas and to see my fertility nurse Angela again has been a lovely experience for us both and we will always remember it.” 

Bourn Hall fertility nurse specialist Angela Leach joined the families on Sunday with her colleague Katie Rees, also a fertility nurse specialist at the  clinic.

Angela said: “Christmas is all about families and at Bourn Hall we understand that this time of year can be particularly difficult for those who want a baby more than anything in the world.

“But Christmas is also a time of hope and every year Bourn Hall helps hundreds of couples to achieve a little miracle, we look forward to seeing many more ‘Bourn Hall Babies’ excited to see Santa in the years to come.” 

Two-year-old Bear was  also at the fair. He was the first baby to be born following treatment at Bourn Hall’s new state-of-the-art clinic, which opened in Wickford in 2018.

His mum Leonie, 33, met husband Chris when they were teenagers and the couple had always wanted children. Leonie was concerned, however, that an operation on her ovaries when she was younger may have affected her chances. 

Bear was conceived after NHS-funded treatment and Leonie clearly remembers when she got a positive pregnancy test for the first time: “I was so excited that I drove to Tesco in my pyjamas to buy more pregnancy tests just to double-check it was true!” 

Leonie added: “Taking Bear to see Father Christmas was lovely and it was so nice to share the experience with another Bourn Hall mum too. I think we were just as excited, if not more, than our children!”

The Wickford at Christmas Fair was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, which also affected fertility treatment. Bourn Hall had to close for a few months during the first national lockdown in March 2020 but was one of the first to meet the specialist requirements to reopen and did so by transforming the way it works. 

The Wickford clinic has introduced remote working and virtual consultations, strengthened its team and links with GP practices, to provide a responsive service to patients.

bournhall.co.uk.