After losing 18 babies I've had a little miracle, says ecstatic mum Angie Baker
And yesterday she was talking about her joy as she held her baby daughter Raiya in her arms.
Angie, 33, spent 13 years trying and failing to become a mum.
Her heartache finally came to an end in December thanks to pioneering hospital treatment.
Gazing at Raiya yesterday she said: "She's my little miracle. I can't explain how I feel. I'm overwhelmed. It seems like a dream.
"I still have to pinch myself. She's perfect in every way."
Angie was 20 when she had her first miscarriage. Then they happened between five and eight weeks after each conception.
Doctors told her it was "just one of those things" but she was convinced this was something that could be treated. She said: "I never gave up. I was desperate for a baby and persevered. Deep down I always thought it would be a problem that could be cured."
She discussed the possibility of adoption with her partner, Lee Gibson, 31, a martial-arts instructor But then she found out about Dr Hassan Shehata, who specialises in recurrent miscarriages. She contacted him for help in 2006 and was referred for treatment.
Dr Shehata, who works at Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust in Surrey, said: "Eighteen miscarriages is a huge number. This was the most unusual case I've come across.
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"You're more likely to win the lottery than have 18 miscarriages through bad luck. Therefore there had to be an underlying cause."
A specialist £200 test, available only at three hospitals in the world, including Epsom, showed Angie had high levels of natural killer cells - a sub-type of white blood cells.
The problem is thought to affect one in seven women.
It meant that instead of protecting the pregnancy, the aggressive NK cells mistook a foetus for a foreign body and attacked it.
Dr Shehata started Angie on a course of treatment which involved taking a steroid tablet before and after conception.
After Angie had her 18th miscarriage it emerged she was diabetic. Dr Shehata adjusted her insulin levels and the next time Angie's pregnancy carried through to term.
Raiya was born on December 9, weighing 7lb. She is a healthy and thriving 10-week-old.
Angie, from Peacehaven, East Sussex, said: "I absolutely love it. I enjoy every moment. It's so precious. I can't believe she's here and she's mine. Her father dotes on her. She's his little princess."
Dr Shehata's team usually treats women who have had three or four miscarriages, although he has dealt with another patient who had 13.
The Miscarriage Association's Ruth Bender Atik said: "This is a wonderful result after 13 years of losing babies and much loss and heartache."
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