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MKR stars open up about devastating IVF loss

<p><em>My Kitchen Rules</em> stars Carly Saunders and Tresne Middleton have opened up about the tragic end to their IVF journey, after their miracle baby died from cancer at the age of one. </p> <p>The women shared how they are coping with their profound loss, while sharing some major warning signs that doctors missed to indicate their daughter, Poppy, was sick. </p> <p>Speaking candidly to <a href="https://7news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/mkr-couple-carly-and-tresne-who-lost-beloved-daughter-in-traumatic-tragedy-tell-of-tiny-sign-before-deadly-diagnosis-c-11046213" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>7Life</em></a>, Tresne shared how they first knew something wasn't right with young Poppy. </p> <p>"We noticed her belly was starting to get enlarged. So, it was a little bit distended. And when she was feeding, she would have quite large vomits."</p> <p>She also said Poppy would bruise easily, with bruises and marks on her skin lasting for several weeks at a time. </p> <p>Poppy's pale complexion was also a telling sign that she was seriously ill.</p> <p>When they took Poppy to the doctors, their worst fears were confirmed when their miracle baby was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a severe form of blood cancer.</p> <p>"If they've got bruises or excessive bleeding - they are generally signs that the leukaemia is affecting their marrow which therefore affects their blood," Carly said.</p> <p>After Poppy received her diagnosis, Carly and Tresne made the decision to make Poppy's life as loving and as normal as possible. </p> <p>"It let her feel like this is a normal lifestyle. We didn't treat her any differently than we would any other child," she said.</p> <p>"We did as much as we could to try and normalise what was happening to her. I don't think she knew any different."</p> <p>The women have been documenting their grief journey online since Poppy passed away in February this year at the age of one. </p> <p>The couple recently returned home to Australia after spending time in Thailand, with the hopes the escape abroad would help them heal. </p> <p>Posting a video montage of their time in Thailand to Instagram, the couple wrote, "Home again… it is time to face home again."</p> <p>"It's beyond us that the whole time we were in hospital with Pops we just wanted to be home, and now we'll do almost anything to avoid it."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

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Dylan Alcott’s girlfriend shares exciting update

<p dir="ltr">Tennis star Dylan Alcott’s girlfriend, Chantelle Otten has shared an exciting update on the couple’s plans to expand their family.</p> <p dir="ltr">Otten took to her Instagram Stories to announce that she is currently undergoing hormone fertility therapy to freeze her eggs, in hopes of one day starting a family with the Paralympic star.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m actually going through my second round of egg freezing at the moment,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think a lot of people watched Dyl (Dylan) and I, on Big Miracles, a few months ago.</p> <p dir="ltr">“And yeah I’m just doing another round because I want to have them there for when we are ready but also I can donate afterwards as well.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I know plenty of people who might not have as good of a journey as I am having with egg freezing because I have a lot of eggs unlike the Easter bunny so if anyone has questions about it please let me know,” she added.</p> <p dir="ltr">Otten, who is a sexologist, met the seven-time Australian Open winner who represented Australia in the Paralympics, at one of his book readings in 2018 and the pair began dating that same year.</p> <p dir="ltr">The couple made their relationship public at a tennis event in April 2019.</p> <p dir="ltr">The couple have been open about their plans to start a family and have appeared on <em>Nine’s</em> IVF documentary <em>Big Miracles</em> to share their fertility journey.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We're both young but also super pumped to be parents one day so it's something we're excited to think further about in the future,” Alcott had said in an interview for the documentary.</p> <p dir="ltr">Otten has shared that the couple started discussing their options for the future during COVID.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Honestly, we just came together and I said, 'I think I might freeze my eggs'. Dylan thought it was a great idea," she told <em>Nine</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We weren't sure what our fertility journey would be like as a couple so this felt like a natural next step in our process. It didn't take us long to think about it but in terms of taking steps and looking at options,” she added.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

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“Octomom” shares first day of school photo

<p dir="ltr">Nadya “Octomom” Suleman has shared a photo of her eight youngest children on their first day of the new school year.</p> <p dir="ltr">The former porn star, who now goes by Natalie, already had six children when she made headlines after falling pregnant with octuplets in 2009 via IVF treatment.</p> <p dir="ltr">The now 47-year-old has shared a photo of Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Jonah, Makai, Josiah and Jeremiah all smiling at the camera and arms around each other. </p> <p dir="ltr">“First day of 8th grade. Be proud of yourselves kids for being kind, respectful, and helpful to all your fellow peers, teachers and staff,” Natalie wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“You are exceptional role models to the 6th and 7th graders.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I love you.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChWQ08ROVZ0/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChWQ08ROVZ0/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Nadya “octomom” Suleman (@nataliesuleman)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Natalie then noted that her six children, Ameerah, Calyssa, Elijah, Jonah, Joshua and Aidan, did not want to be a part of the photo. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I respect their choice, so should you,” she wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">Natalie occasionally shares family photos to update fans who have been following her since she fell pregnant with the octuplets. </p> <p dir="ltr">In a previous interview, she got candid about being in the spotlight and confessed that she “never wanted the attention”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I was pretending to be a fake, a caricature, which is something I’m not, and I was doing it out of desperation and scarcity so I could provide for my family,” she told The New York Times in December 2018.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve been hiding from the real world all my life.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

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“My life turned upside down”: IVF mix-up sees mum looking for her real baby

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A woman has shared the shocking story that resulted in her giving birth to someone else’s baby.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Olga Alyokhina, from Chelyabinsk in Russia, loves the son she gave birth to but wants to find out if her biological baby was born to another woman.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 33-year-old suspects the biological parents of her son, two-year-old Denis, may be raising her child and has shared the story in an effort to find the woman she met at an IVF clinic who she believes may have been mistakenly given her fertilised egg.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The state-run Chelyabinsk Regional Perinatal Centre, where Olga underwent the procedure, has paid Olga </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">£</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">29,500 ($AUD 55,675) in compensation for the mix-up.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The day I went in for the extraction of biomaterial, I met a woman in the same ward,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We exchanged a few words but I just cannot remember her name.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She said she and the unnamed woman both had 10 eggs extracted.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We met again at the ‘insemination’, sharing the same ward … I have not seen her since.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The IVF treatment was successful, with Olga giving birth in November 2018.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, before leaving the hospital the new parents were shocked to discover their son’s blood type was A.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My blood type is B, my husband has O. Our son cannot have such a blood type,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My life turned upside down. I was in a deep state of shock and panic.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The doctors conducted new blood tests and a DNA test, with the results arriving three months later.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We were told neither of us were the biological parents of our son.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following the revelation, the hospital suggested she leave the baby with an orphanage and abandon looking for her biological son.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“What were they talking about? Denis is not a piece of dried bread in a bakery shop that I don’t want to take,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I accepted my son. He is our child.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Please try to understand me - he is our boy. My husband supported me 100 percent.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the hospital paid the parents compensation, no apology was issued.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The parents’ request to know the name of the other woman in Olga’s ward, or any other IVF mother who may have been implanted with her egg, was refused by the hospital for medical secrecy reasons.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The hospital never apologised,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Their representative behaved so arrogantly.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They looked at us as beggars who came to ask a favour. No regret, no sympathy.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the pursuit to find their biological child, the couple hopes to establish contact with the family.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If we find them - we would love to establish normal contacts. We could potentially relocate to where they live. Or they would relocate close to us,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think there is no chance we will swap the kids back.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I would never give up on Denis. I breastfed him. He is our long-awaited child.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“His biological parents could have Denis for holidays if they felt like it. I just want to establish a relationship with them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They have a right to know they have a son,” she said.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Facebook</span></em></p>

Family & Pets

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Deb Knight opens up about miscarriage heartbreak: “A cloud of sadness”

<p><span>Deb Knight knows pain and heartache all too well, she has admitted in an interview with <em>9Honey</em>.</span><br /><br /><span>The Channel 9 star, who currently is a <em>2GB</em> host has revealed after two miscarriages and 11 cycles of IVF, that the pain is like a “cloud of sadness”.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842573/daily-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/7fcbfda77ffb4772b72474d1c4efd2e0" /></p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em><br /><br /><span>"It was like a cloud of sadness was hanging over me at the time because it is that emotional rollercoaster, that cliché very much rings true with IVF," Deb said.</span><br /><br /><span>"I would turn up to work and put on the brave face of presenting the news, which is what I was doing at the time.</span><br /><br /><span>“And I look back at myself then and I don't relate to who that person was because I was just very sad."</span><br /><br /><span>Deb and her partner Lindsay Dunbar thankfully got their happy ending, when they welcomed their son Darcy who is 11, and Elsa who is 9, through IVF.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842572/daily-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/95285d2fc3804e28a7b4222a86cb5f08" /></p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em><br /><br /><span>However that would not be the only baby joy for Deb, who naturally fell pregnant at the age of 42 with her baby girl Audrey – nearly six years after she had Elsa.</span><br /><br /><span>"It completely caught us unawares and changed everything," Deb admitted.</span><br /><br /><span>"But the body is just a wonder and sometimes stuff happens and it happened to us.</span><br /><br /><span>Audrey came along and we can't imagine not having her in our lives."</span></p>

Caring

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Couple with 39-year age gap welcome twins

<p>Over the last few years, Max and Sam Delmege have taken A Current Affair viewers through their journey, and now they've shared some exciting news.</p> <p>The pair have welcomed the birth of their twins Tommy and Lexie.</p> <p>"Well our magical day finally arrived at 9 pm on Monday," Mrs Delmege told<span> </span><em>A Current Affair</em><span> </span>in a video message today.</p> <p>The twins are currently being cared for in the special care nursery at Pindara Hospital on the Gold Coast.</p> <p>"I can't believe I am a mum," Mrs Delmege said in a video she posted to Facebook.</p> <p>The couple, who have a 39-year age gap between them, have proven that age is no barrier when it comes to a loving relationship.</p> <p>A Current Affair has been following their journey from the very beginning, airing their highs and lows after they previously lost twins around the critical 12-week mark.</p> <p>"It was all sort of like a reality. Particularly when we heard the heartbeats, it was pretty amazing, then boom … in an instant it is just taken away from you and there is nothing you can do about it," Mrs Delmege said at the time.</p> <p>Mr and Mrs Delmege were never going to give up on their dream of starting a family.</p> <p>After 23 attempts over six tiring years, they finally are the parents of a baby boy and girl.</p> <p><em>A Current Affair</em><span> </span>host Leila McKinnon visited the couple in hospital at the end of 2020 when Mrs Delmege was admitted for around the clock bed rest to keep the babies safe.</p> <p>"I do feel very blessed to be here, I just wish it could be in little bit different circumstances where I could be at home and not stuck in the hospital," Mrs Delmege said while on bed rest.</p> <p>Taking to Facebook to share the exciting news, Mrs Delmege wrote: "We would love you all to meet Tommy Steven Maxwell Delmege and Lexie Rita Delmege," Mrs Delmege said.</p> <p>"Max and I are absolutely in love and they are smashing goals and being little champions in the special care nursery. We even had our first cuddles today."</p> <p>And so, the next chapter in this unlikely couple's incredible journey to parenthood begins.</p> <p>"They are deadset the cutest things I've ever laid my eyes on and Max and I are so in love," Mrs Delmege said.</p> <p>The couple also wanted to thank everyone for their support on social media, saying: "We couldn't be more thankful to everyone who has been involved in our care right from the start six years ago up until now to ensure these two babies were delivered safely and healthy."</p>

Family & Pets

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Ada Nicodemou's ex-husband shares heartbreaking tribute to stillborn son

<p>Ada Nicodemou’s ex-husband Chrys Xipolitas has shared a touching tribute to their stillborn son, Harrison, on what would have been his  fifth birthday.</p> <p>“A part of me died on this day!” Xipolitas wrote in a post on Wednesday. “Eternally grateful for the 2 beautiful healthy children I have. Not a day goes by where I don’t think what if? Today you would of turned 5.”</p> <p>The couple lost their second son on August 7, 2014 after the baby died in a stillbirth.</p> <p>Following the loss, Nicodemou took a two-month leave from <em>Home and Away</em>. </p> <p>“We understand we have lived some of our lives in the public eye. But we respectfully ask for privacy at this difficult and extremely painful time so we can grieve and heal,” Nicodemou and Xipolitas said in a statement at the time.</p> <p>A month after Harrison’s death, the actress posted a poem on her Instagram account. </p> <p>“I’ll never get to hear you laugh and giggle or see your little toes wiggle ... There are many things I will never get to do, but the hardest is not being with you,” the poem read.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/s8w-X7GFaE/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/s8w-X7GFaE/" target="_blank">@xippo74 and I would like to thank everyone for their love and support through a very difficult time. Thank You!</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/adanicodemou/" target="_blank"> Ada Nicodemou</a> (@adanicodemou) on Sep 14, 2014 at 7:30pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Nicodemou and Xipolitas split in 2016 after nine years of marriage. The pair shares son Johnas, who was conceived via in vitro fertilisation and born in 2012.</p>

Family & Pets

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Fifi Box shares unexpectedly candid pregnancy update

<p>Fifi Box speaks to an entire nation regularly, but as she’s pregnant, some things are still off limits.</p> <p>That was, until her close friend and television presenter Lisa Wilkinson tried her best to help her out with her “pregnancy-related sciatica”.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwB5aLZAmPy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwB5aLZAmPy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Fifi Box (@fifi_box)</a> on Apr 9, 2019 at 2:24am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"Pregnancy related sciatica kicked in today but lucky I had Dr @lisa_wilkinson on hand for a deep tissue massage! Magic hands," wrote Fifi.</p> <p>"I can't recommend @lisa_wilkinson highly enough for any lower back remedial pain you might have, magic elbows!!" she shared on another post.</p> <p>Lisa Wilkinson also shared the snap on her Instagram, saying:</p> <p>"Beautiful @fifi_box is 28 weeks pregnant and and let's just say, she's having issues that only a buttock massage from a trusted girlfriend can solve!</p> <p>"So we did this before heading into @theprojecttv studio tonight. And yes, I'm available for hire!"</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwB74FkgLNw/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwB74FkgLNw/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Fifi Box (@fifi_box)</a> on Apr 9, 2019 at 2:47am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Box explained to <em>The Project </em>how difficult it was to conceive via IVF.</p> <p>"Nearly three years ago, I made the decision that the right path for me and my little family was to go through IVF with the help of a donor.</p> <p>"So I went to the clinic and I think most women in their late 30s would know when you walk in to see an IVF specialist and you're shown the graph, gives you a very rude shock about your chances, from then on it was a case of fingers crossed," she explained.</p> <p>"You don't share it because you don't know if you're going to have any success. I was given a 7% chance of having a baby!</p> <p>"It's still a bit of shock to me, we're just really thrilled," an elated Fifi added.</p> <p>This is her second child, which has been conceived by an unknown sperm donor. Fifi's first child Trixie, aged 5, is with Olympian swimmer Grant Kelly.</p> <p>Would you get a massage from Lisa Wilkinson? Let us know in the comments.</p>

Family & Pets

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Deb Knight opens up about unexpected dilemma after IVF

<p>When Channel Nine journalist Deb Knight and her husband Lindsay Dunbar turned to IVF to have kids, they were faced with a rather unexpected decision afterwards: what to do with the one leftover embryo?</p> <p>Knight, who went through two years and 11 cycles of IVF to have son Darcy and daughter Elsa, eight and seven respectively (21-month-old Audrey was a “lovely surprise”), visited the <span>Today </span>show yesterday to talk about the rarely-discussed dilemma faced by thousands of parents around the country.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media"> <div style="padding: 8px;"> <div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"> <div style="background: url(data:image/png; base64,ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaacwaaaascamaaaapwqozaaaabgdbtueaalgpc/xhbqaaaafzukdcak7ohokaaaamuexurczmzpf399fx1+bm5mzy9amaaadisurbvdjlvzxbesmgces5/p8/t9furvcrmu73jwlzosgsiizurcjo/ad+eqjjb4hv8bft+idpqocx1wjosbfhh2xssxeiyn3uli/6mnree07uiwjev8ueowds88ly97kqytlijkktuybbruayvh5wohixmpi5we58ek028czwyuqdlkpg1bkb4nnm+veanfhqn1k4+gpt6ugqcvu2h2ovuif/gwufyy8owepdyzsa3avcqpvovvzzz2vtnn2wu8qzvjddeto90gsy9mvlqtgysy231mxry6i2ggqjrty0l8fxcxfcbbhwrsyyaaaaaelftksuqmcc); display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTMHAyyAL3M/" target="_blank">A post shared by Deborah Knight (@deborah_knight)</a> on Apr 22, 2017 at 6:24am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>There are four common options for parents with leftover embryos – using them, donating them to another couple, donating them to medical research, or discarding them. After much thought, Knight and Dunbar decided to donate their “spare” embryo to medical research.</p> <p>“If I had a friend or family member who was having trouble conceiving, that would be a different scenario,” the 45-year-old explained. “Donating to a stranger ... you have to connect with that person. You have to then go down the process of giving up all of your rights to that potential child. There are all sorts of legal issues to consider.”</p> <p>According to IVF specialist Dr Rick Gordon, only around one in 100 couples who consider donating their remaining embryo(s) to a couple struggling with their fertility actually go through with it.</p> <p>“When the penny drops that it's their own child out there – a sibling to their own children – that's a different kettle of fish,” he said. "We’re talking cells here, but to people's brains, these are potential human beings.”</p> <p><span>Today</span> show co-host Georgie Gardner praised Knight for speaking so openly about a topic so rarely discussed. “I appreciate so much you being so candid and sharing your experience.”</p> <p>Knight replied that she only hoped her story would help others grapple with the difficult decision. “Hopefully it helps others going through the process to know that they’re not alone.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Deb Knight/Instagram.</em></p>

Caring

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Meet the world’s first litter of IVF puppies

<p>The first litter of puppies to be born via in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has arrived, and they’re very cute.</p> <p>The breakthrough was made thanks to researchers at Cornell University. Alex Travis, associate professor of reproductive biology at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine said, “Since the mid-1970s, people have been trying to do this in a dog and have been unsuccessful.”</p> <p>IVF involves fertilising a mature egg with a sperm in lab. Once they produce an embryo, this embryo gets transferred to a “host” female. The host for this study gave birth to seven healthy puppies.</p> <p>Scientists have been trying to perform canine IVF for years without much success, which has been partly put down to the differences between the reproductive systems of humans and dogs.</p> <p>Perhaps what’s most exciting about this development is the implications it has for conservation.</p> <p>Dr Margaret Casal of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine told CBS, “The reason for doing things like this is that it will lead to the preservation of species that are almost lost.”</p> <p>To view all the puppies, scroll through the above gallery. </p> <p><em>Image credit: Cornell University </em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/12/dangers-to-pets-at-christmas/">Keep your pet safe this Christmas</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/12/bear-cub-wants-a-fight/">Watch an adorable grizzly cub beckoning for a fight</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/news/news/2015/12/16-adorably-fluffy-cats/"><strong>15 adorably fluffy cats to brighten your day</strong></a></em></span></p>

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