A County Durham couple once told they had “zero chance” of getting pregnant tragically lost their “perfect” baby girl just minutes after being born.
Courtney Jacques and her partner Kevin Morris were “over the moon” when they found out they were expecting last summer after a “rollercoaster” of a few years.
Despite knowing she may not ever have children due to an operation when she was two-years-old, Courtney, 25, kept hope - and the couple’s second attempt at in vitro fertilisation (IVF) saw their dream “finally come true”.
But tragically, the teaching assistant’s world came crashing down when her waters broke at just six months pregnant.
And, just 18 minutes after being born, her “beautiful” girl Dahla passed away.
Now, Courtney and Kevin, 26, are raising money to fund a fourth IVF attempt, having already tried three full cycles on the NHS.
Two more rounds could cost the couple around £9,000, on top of medication, time off work, travel, fuel, and more as they come to terms with the heartbreak of losing their daughter.
Courtney, who started seeing electrician Kevin in 2019, said: “I was told at an early age that I might not be able to have children because I had to have major surgery when I was one or two-years-old. They had to take away part of my ovary.
“But we knew from the start that we both really would love children. They just said that the best outcome for us is going to be IVF.”
At one point, when she was in hospital trying to arrange IVF, Courtney claimed she was told that the chance of her and Kevin having a baby was at zero.
But it didn’t stop them.
And there was a ray of hope in 2022 when the couple visited another hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, and were told staff were willing to give IVF a try.
But sadly, the couple’s first round ended in heartbreak in 2023. They decided to wait until May 2024 until they tried again - but this time, it worked, and Courtney fell pregnant.
“We were over the moon”, she said. “We couldn’t believe it had worked. But it all just turned into tragedy.”
‘It was awful’
Just six months into her pregnancy, Courtney’s waters broke at the couple’s Stanley Crook home.
She said: “I had been to hospital the week before because I was feeling a bit of pressure, something was not feeling right. The doctor thought it could be growing pains.
“That was Thursday. And the following week, my waters broke. It was awful.”
Courtney, who is originally from Spennymoor, quickly got herself to hospital alongside Kevin where their baby girl Dahla Myah Morris was born at 4.27pm on October 3.
Tragically, she died just moments later, taking her last breaths on her mother’s chest.
“She was just perfect”, Courtney said.
“She had the cutest button nose and everyone said that she had my nose. She had the loveliest toes and fingers ever and she had these beautiful pretty lips.
“She was just so beautiful. I can’t even believe that was what she looked like.”
Courtney had to go into surgery following the birth, and she stayed in the hospital for several days where she and Kevin, originally from Tow Law, could spend time with Dahla.
She later returned to hospital for more scans, which she described as a “traumatic” experience, returning to the place where she lost her baby as other mothers prepared to give birth.
And one month later, on November 4, came the heart-wrenching task of holding a funeral.
She said: “We never thought we would get pregnant and now we are going to have this awful nightmare. The worst thing was that it was Kevin’s first ever funeral.
“My heart just broke for him even more.”
‘We continue hoping for our miracle’
About a year on from trying to get pregnant with Dahla, Courtney and Kevin decided to try a third round of IVF treatment on the NHS. Sadly, it was unsuccessful.
They now face having to pay for further rounds themselves.
“We never ask from anyone”, Courtney said. “[Someone told us] there is no harm in doing it - and when I looked I saw we had raised more than £600.
“My medication alone costs more than £1,000, so that £600 raised will pay for half of my meds.
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“We know times are tough for many, and we’d never expect anything. But if you’re in a position to donate, even just a small amount, it would mean the absolute world to us.”
At the time of writing, £655 had been donated to the couple.
To visit the GoFundMe page, copy and paste the link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/xetk62-please-help-us-on-our-ivf-journey
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