20 February,2010 07:26 AM IST | | Agencies
Angie Baker has given birth to a healthy baby daughter after 13 years of miscarriage pain after pioneering treatment that cost just u00a320 (Rs 1,500).
The 33-year-old, who has had 18 miscarriages while trying to start a family, calls ten-week-old daughter Raiya her 'little miracle'.
Never lose hope: Angie Baker with baby Raiya
Baker said, "I never gave up. I was desperate for a baby so I persevered. It seems like a dream and I still have to pinch myself. She's perfect in every way."
Doctors gave her the u00a320 steroid treatment after discovering she had high levels of a type of white blood cell which treated foetuses as foreign bodies and attacked them. From the age of 20, Baker's failed pregnancies took place again and again, between five and eight weeks after conceptionu00a0-- but doctors told her it was 'just one of those things'.
After her 17th miscarriage, Baker contacted Dr Hassan Shehata, a recurrent miscarriage expert.
He discovered her level
of natural killer white blood cells was much higher than average and prescribed a steroid treatment.
When she fell pregnant for the 18th time, it was discovered that she was diabetic and the high sugar levels caused by the steroids resulted in yet another miscarriage.
Shehata then adjusted Baker's insulin levels and her next pregnancy was successful. The pioneering treatment starts before conception and doses are higher than previously used. Shehata said, "This is the most unusual case I've come across. You're more likely to win the lottery than have 18 miscarriages through bad luck."
Baker is revelling in motherhood. "I enjoy every moment. It's so precious. I can't believe she's here and she's mine," she said.
