For All Mum Kind with Denise Phillips • Million Dollar Baby IVF

Denise Phillips is a mum to Beth and stepmum to Ellie, an award winning hair stylist and she has recently launched her own range of hair styling tools. She shot into the public conscious a few years ago when she bravely and candidly went on record to talk about her infertility. As someone who went through my own fertility story I was delighted when Denise agreed to be on the podcast and share her experiences of going through IVF as well as finally becoming a mum. At the age of 25 Denise had never had a regular period and after many years of tests and being prodded and poked she was finally diagnosed as infertile. At that stage she didn’t even know if IVF would work for her. Several rounds of IUI and IVF later and Denise was still no closer to being pregnant. This put a massive strain on her financially, emotionally, physically and almost caused her to split with her partner. Then on her 30th birthday she finally got the news she so desired - she was pregnant. By this stage Denise was a “fertility expert” and she explains on the podcast the difference in the treatments that are available. We also discuss how far Ireland is lacking behind in fertility compared to the rest of Europe. Did you know that it is only Ireland and Lithuania who do not class infertility as a disease and thus offer no financial assistance? We also talk about why women who have IVF are four times more likely to suffer with post natal depression. Denise’s honesty and openness is so refreshing. She has no qualms in crashing through the stigma that surrounds fertility. Although she admits that “nobody wants to share their failures” she realises the importance of opening up this conversation so that anybody else out there who is struggling with their own fertility will know that they are not alone. And for this I thank you Denise. To follow her and her daughter Beth’s story further please check out her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milliondollarbaby_ivf/ A quick note on the recording quality of this podcast: I met Denise at her salon in Newbridge on quite possibly the rainiest morning on record and you can hear the rain hammering away in the background. So if you hear a faint - and sometimes not so faint - hiss don’t worry, your earphones are not broken! Thanks as always for listening and if you want to talk further about any of the topics on this podcast please feel free to message me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forallmumkind/ If you are enjoying the series please share it with your friends, especially any soon to be new mums or those who may be struggling with their own experience. And if you have the time please rate and review me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. Thanks! Pamela x Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz