TRUE STORY: 'Infertile' woman, 46, who was desperate to prove the doctors wrong spends £70,000 on TEN YEARS to finally have a baby

A woman who went through ten years of heartache trying to conceive has finally become a mother – after spending £70,000 on IVF. Teresa Greenhalgh, 46, and husband Tony, 53, from Wrexham, North Wales gave up holidays abroad and both worked 70 hours a week to fund the expensive treatment.

Now they are proud parents to a 20-month-old daughter, Adelaide Louise. Speaking of the moment she was born, Teresa said: 'It felt like we were holding a miracle in our arms. All those years of trying and all the money we spent was worth it for that moment.' Teresa Greenhalgh, 46, proudly cradles her newborn daughter Adelaide who was conceived after £70,000 worth of IVF treatment over the course of a decade

The proud mother describes the moment she first met her baby as 'like holding a miracle in my arms'. Despite being advised to consider surrogacy and adoption, Teresa was determined to have a biological child of her own. Teresa had always longed to be a mother and tried for a baby with her first husband from the age of 26. However despite failing to conceive, she never sought medical help and the couple broke up when Teresa was 31.

She then met current husband Tony, and the pair started trying for a baby six months into the relationship. By this time Teresa had discovered she had polycystic ovaries. Knowing it could affect her fertility they didn't want to waste any time.

Teresa says she always had a gut feeling she would have a baby of her own and refused to listen to doctors who told her she would never be able to conceive

Teresa undergoes an hospital examination during her pregnancy

'We loved each other and knew there was no point hanging around,'

Teresa explained. After two years they had not conceived naturally and Teresa had her first round of IVF at a private clinic, costing £8,500. 'We spoke to our GP about IVF on the NHS, but the waiting lists were long,' she said. 'We didn't want to waste time, so we went straight to a private clinic.'

Though the treatment was initially a success, the pregnancy was ectopic. After a second round of unsuccessful private treatment a year later, Teresa was advised to consider adoption or surrogacy.

'I wouldn't hear of it,' she recalled. 'I was sure I would fall pregnant eventually. I just felt in my gut I could have a baby of my own.

'It felt really cruel to tell a woman who was only 33 she'd never be a mother. In all honesty, it was like a red rag to a bull.

'We wanted a child that was genetically ours, and after being told I'd never be a mum I felt determined to prove the doctor wrong.'

Over the next five years the Teresa underwent another three rounds of treatment at a cost of £8,500 each.

Teresa and husband Terry, 53, bring their baby daughter home (left). When their attempts to conceive naturally failed, the couple worked 70-hour weeks to fund their IVF treatment

She and Tony stopped holidaying abroad, and worked 70-hour weeks in their jobs as IT contractors to earn extra cash. 'We even commuted further distances to be able to carry out the best paid IT contracts,' Teresa said.

But after each of their attempts failed, Teresa began to struggle. 'By then, my brother and two sisters all had children. As much as I loved my nieces and nephew, they were also a reminder of what I didn't have,' she said. 'I couldn't bear being around friends who had children, it was too painful.'

When Teresa finally fell pregnant, people expected her to be happy. But the fear of something going wrong left her on tenterhooks throughout the pregnancy

After previously suffering an ectopic pregnancy and seven failed attempts at IVF, the anxious mum was only able to relax when baby Adelaide arrived

The years of enduring gruelling treatment took its toll and Teresa decided to give herself a break from IVF.

It was only when she was 43 that she decided to have another try, after discovering a new treatment was available at the Zita West fertility clinic in Marleybone, London. 'I wanted to be able to tell myself I had tried everything I could,' she explained. 'I didn't want to live with regrets and thoughts of, "if only I'd tried one more time".' New testing technology at the clinic revealed a problem with Teresa's immune system that meant her body was rejecting the embryos as foreign bodies.

Adelaide was conceived after Teresa decided to have one last try at IVF, aged 43. As well as medical treatment, she made lifestyle changes such as cutting out processed foods and giving up alcohol to help increase her chances of conceiving. Under the care of world renowned Dr George Nduwke, Teresa had £15,000 worth of treatment.

This included being drip fed egg protein and soya oil - a treatment known as intralipid infusion therapy, which is used to treat women with immune abnormalities. She also had an endometrial scratch, a procedure used to enhance the chance of implantation through a minor scratch to the womb lining. 'Previously I'd been sent straight down the route of IVF and it felt like I was on a conveyor belt.

'But this time I also saw a nutritionist and made radical diet changes, including cutting out all alcohol and processed foods,' she explained. 'I had acupuncture and even stopped using tampons, as advised by Zita.' The couple also spent an additional £3,500 having the embryos tested for genetic conditions.

Teresa and her husband say they feel incredibly blessed to finally have a child together after years of struggling. Their daughter Adelaide Louise is now 20 months old. In June 2013, Teresa had embryos implanted and two weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant.

She recalled: 'People assumed I would be thrilled to be pregnant, but I was terrified of something going wrong. 'I just wanted our baby to be born, and was on tenterhooks throughout the pregnancy.'

Bouncing baby Adelaide pictured on a family day out with her dad Tony. Finally, in March 2014, their daughter Adelaide Louise Greenhalgh arrived. 'It felt like we were holding a miracle in our arms,' Teresa said. 'All those awful dark moments, and there were so many, they just melted away in a moment. 'We made sacrifices to get there, but it was worth it. We feel so blessed to finally have a child together.'

The £70,000 baby: Adelaide is now 20 months old and her parents say the heartache of their struggle to have her just melted away the moment she was born