Couple from Wales struggling to conceive finally welcome a baby after dad ditches BREAD
A couple who have been together for two decades and were told they would never conceive have welcomed a baby after the dad ditched BREAD to improve his health.Stephen and Rachel Greenwood were told by doctors that they would never conceive children together and even IVF would not work due to their medical conditions.Rachel, 41, has polycistic ovary syndrome whilst Stephen, 55, suffered a twisted testicle as a teenager that left him with an extremely low sperm count.The couple believed they would never become parents until a miracle happened after Stephen ditched BREAD 10 months ago in order to combat his diabetes.His diabetes had left him suffering with yeast infections that could reduce his fertility even further, but after ridding his diet of all yeast products, the infections disappeared completely in just two weeks.Five months after Stephen ditched the bread and pastries, Rachel couldn't believe it when doctors revealed she was 21 weeks pregnant.The excited couple finally welcomed the baby that they had to wait over two decades for on July 1 and are loving being parents.Video filmed 15th July 2021.
STEPHEN GREENWOOD: Hi, I'm Steve Greenwood, and I'd just like to tell you our wonderful story.
Rachel, my wife, and I have been together for 21 years, and we've been married for 12 years.
And when I was 18, I had an unfortunate incident where I was told that the likelihood is that I would unfortunately not produce children.
15 years ago, my wife and I went for IVF, and I was told that my count was so low that unfortunately we couldn't even qualify for IVF, and that ICSI was an option.
But as ICSI produces a miscarriage rate that we weren't happy with, we decided that it wasn't for us at all.
So we gave up on the idea of having children and enjoyed our holidays and time together and traveled as much as we possibly could.
Five to six years ago, I was diagnosed with diabetes and used to suffer from some severe yeast infections.
And basically, as time got on, those infections got worse.
September of last year, I was sat in a living room chair and I managed to put my back out.
I couldn't walk.
Went to see an osteopath locally.
And he'd known me-- he's known me for quite some time and asked me if I was still a diabetic.
I said yes, and I was explaining about the yeast infections that I was getting, i.e.
Thrush, et cetera.
And he said to me, read this book called "Candida albicans" about yeast infections.
Read through it, ticked all the boxes, lethargic, tired, bloating.
And I stopped eating anything with yeast in it-- breads, cakes, pastries-- not to lose weight but just to feel a bit healthier.
And then in March of this year, my wife was complaining of stomach pains and went to the doctor.
And she is known to suffer with kidney stones, and she was diagnosed as having a kidney stone.
And on three separate visits to the doctor she was given painkillers to come away.
On the third visit, when she returned home, she looked quite unwell.
So I decided to take her to A&E in Shrewsbury.
And upon taking some blood samples there, she was basically told that she was pregnant.
Bit of a shock after 21 years.
I was actually in a local fast food establishment waiting to get out of the carpark.
And when the phone rang and said, can you come back to the hospital?
I've got this news to tell you.
With the delight, I drove straight back into the fast food establishment, completely confused, and then went back to the hospital.
And unfortunately, my wife was then told, on the result of her bloods, that the pregnancy was likely to be ectopic.
Due to COVID, obviously we couldn't visit the hospital.
And she was taken to Telford, where she spent the night.
And the following morning a scan was taken place.
And the result of that scan was a beautiful, healthy 21-week-old baby boy, who we've named Oliver.
And he's fit and healthy.
He was a little bit premature, we believe, because his gestation period, we weren't sure exactly of dates.
But he was born 5 pound, 5 ounces.
He's thriving.
And he's my absolute world.
The only lifestyle change that I made was to cut out the yeast.
And if this little story can help somebody, who knows?
