Credit: SWNS
A woman determined to become a mum despite being single and in her 50s had her dreams come true – after welcoming a little girl via IVF.
Kelly Clarke, 51, was known amongst friends for being ‘great with kids’ and always wanted to be a mum but had been unlucky in love.
As she approached her 50th birthday, Kelly knew 'time was not on her side' and made the decision to fly to Athens, Greece, in March 2020 for an IVF consultation on recommendation from a friend.
She claims she was met with a ‘huge amount of resistance’ from family at the thought of being an older mother and using a sperm donor to welcome a child – but knew that being a mum was what she wanted.
A woman determined to become a mum despite being single and in her 50s had her dreams come true – after welcoming a little girl via IVF.
Kelly Clarke, 51, was known amongst friends for being ‘great with kids’ and always wanted to be a mum but had been unlucky in love.
As she approached her 50th birthday, Kelly knew 'time was not on her side' and made the decision to fly to Athens, Greece, in March 2020 for an IVF consultation on recommendation from a friend.
She claims she was met with a ‘huge amount of resistance’ from family at the thought of being an older mother and using a sperm donor to welcome a child – but knew that being a mum was what she wanted.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I can't stop looking at her, because she's mine.
00:09My name's Kelly. I'm a first-time mum. I'm 51 now. I was 50 when I had Lila.
00:16I was cabin crew for 23 years, so flying around the world.
00:20I was never really here long enough to develop proper relationships.
00:25Focused on my career, and I have always wanted children. It's been my dream,
00:32and I've watched all my friends and family around me have children,
00:35and just wanted to do that myself, and just wanted to be a mummy.
00:39I first considered going through IVF alone literally after my 49th birthday,
00:45because obviously having been so unlucky in love and getting to the age of 50 that was looming,
00:51it was now or never. Worries and concerns were that at 50, would I be able to carry a child,
00:58and would there be any health complications? After having the baby, how am I going to cope?
01:04How am I going to look after her? Would I lose my job? What would happen? Et cetera, et cetera.
01:10The overwhelming desire to have a baby was more important to me than all the problems
01:15and the worries that I had about doing it. So I decided to go to Athens for the procedure,
01:20because of the reputation that the clinic has. A friend of mine at work had had a successful
01:27procedure there, as had everyone that she'd spoken about.
01:31Using a sperm donor initially worried me, because I knew I wasn't allowed to choose the donor,
01:39but Sophia at the clinic made me feel so comfortable. It was like she was family,
01:45that I had total trust in her, total trust in them, and they gave me a complete biography
01:52of the donor sperm. Obviously you don't get to see the pictures or anything, which is fine.
01:57When I saw that positive pregnancy test, I wanted to ring my mum and dad straight away.
02:02I wanted to ring my sister. It's the best thing I have ever, ever seen in my life.
02:09I was just a little bit sad that I didn't have somebody to share it with, because my family
02:14wasn't on board with it. A lot of my friends thought I was being a bit silly. They were worried
02:21about being the oldest mum at the school gates. A few of my friends have also said, you know,
02:30the same sort of thing, how are you going to cope when you're 70, she's 20, you know,
02:34as you get older, how are you going to look after? I had a lot of support from best friends,
02:41but obviously I had to travel out there on my own and in a foreign country.
02:45It was, yeah, it was very lonely, very lonely. When I held my daughter for the first time,
02:52I cried. It's the best feeling that I ever, ever had, and I can't stop looking at her,
03:02because she's mine. I can't stop looking at her, being so grateful that it worked for me for the
03:07first time. There's never a right time, and any time is the right time, so just go and do it,
03:15because the joy that they will bring you is just second to none, and I wouldn't change this for
03:22the world. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Go and do it. Just go and do it.
03:27Don't think about it. You just, you just got to do it.